John Richard Bell IV, born on May 18, 1979, is an American politician and a Republican member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He has been representing the 10th district, which includes constituents in Wayne, Greene, and Johnston counties, since 2013.
Bell completed his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. He started his career as a Manager of Sales and Business Development at North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union. He later joined Sentinel Risk Advisors as a client executive.
In 2016, Bell endorsed Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries. Bell was elected by the state House Republican Caucus to the position of state House majority whip in 2014, and to the position of majority leader in 2016. Bell was also chairman of the House Regulatory Reform Committee and the House Select Committee on Wildlife Resources.
In the state House, Bell has been a supporter of restricting wind energy development, taking the position that wind farms are a threat to military bases in North Carolina because they could obstruct low-level military training flights. Bell sponsored legislation in 2013 to increase wind-energy regulation, and in 2019 helped negotiate a bill to require the state to consult military commanders as part of the state permitting process for wind farms.
Bell and other General Assembly Republicans have opposed Democratic Governor Roy Cooper on the issue of expanding Medicaid. Cooper and other Democrats support the expansion of Medicaid, and Republicans oppose it. Bell introduced legislation in 2019 to allow the sale of beer and wine at North Carolina public universities during athletic games. The bill passed later that year, and seven University of North Carolina System institutions took advantage of the law by opting to allow alcohol sales on game days.
Bell is currently running for re-election to the North Carolina House of Representatives to represent District 10. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.
