Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

FILED SENATE
                                                                                        Apr 1, 2021
                         GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
                                                                S.B. 483
                                     SESSION 2021           PRINCIPAL CLERK
     S                                                                   D
                             SENATE BILL DRS35182-MLa-48A
     Short Title:   Marijuana/Diversion Court/Class 3 Misd. Study.                             (Public)
     Sponsors:      Senators Mohammed, Murdock, and Woodard (Primary Sponsors).
     Referred to:
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT TO RECLASSIFY MISDEMEANOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA OR
    HASHISH OFFENSES AS INFRACTIONS, TO ALLOW THE EXPUNCTION OF CLASS
    3 MISDEMEANOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA OR HASHISH OFFENSES, TO
    STUDY RECLASSIFYING CERTAIN CLASS 3 MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES AS
    INFRACTIONS, AND TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR DRUG TREATMENT COURT
    PROGRAMS AND MENTAL HEALTH COURT PROGRAMS.
 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
 9
 PART I. DECRIMINALIZE MISDEMEANOR POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA OR
 HASHISH
            SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 90-95(d)(4) reads as rewritten:
            "(4) A Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a controlled substance
                    classified in Schedule VI shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor, but any
                    sentence of imprisonment imposed must be suspended and the judge may not
                    require at the time of sentencing that the defendant serve a period of
                    imprisonment as a special condition of probation. If the quantity of the
                    controlled substance exceeds one-half of an ounce (avoirdupois) of marijuana
                    or one-twentieth of an ounce (avoirdupois) of the extracted resin of marijuana,
                    commonly known as hashish, the violation shall be punishable as a Class 1
                    misdemeanor. an infraction. If the quantity of the controlled substance
                    exceeds one and one-half ounces (avoirdupois) of marijuana, or
                    three-twentieths of an ounce (avoirdupois) of the extracted resin of marijuana,
                    commonly known as hashish, or if the controlled substance consists of any
                    quantity of synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols or tetrahydrocannabinols isolated
                    from the resin of marijuana, the violation shall be punishable as a Class I
                    felony."
            SECTION 1.(b) Article 5 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by
 adding a new section to read:
 "§ 15A-145.8B. Expunction of certain possession of marijuana offenses.
     (a)    If a person was charged with a misdemeanor violation of G.S. 90-95(a)(3) for
 possession of marijuana or hashish, and the person was convicted, the conviction shall be ordered
 to be automatically expunged no later than December 1, 2023, in the manner set forth in this
 section.
     (b)    The clerk of each superior court shall determine which cases meet the criteria for
 expunction set forth in subsection (a) of this section. Upon completing the review required under
                                 *DRS35182-MLa-48A*
     General Assembly Of North Carolina                                                    Session 2021
 this subsection, the clerk of each superior court shall prepare an order of expungement for each
 case that meets the criteria set forth in subsection (a) of this section and was finalized in his or
 her court. Upon completion of the order of expungement, the court shall order the expunction.
 Upon order of expungement, the clerk shall forward the petition to the Administrative Office of
 the Courts.
     (c)     No person as to whom such an order has been entered under this section shall be held
 thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury, or to be guilty of otherwise
 giving a false statement or response to any inquiry made for any purpose, by reason of the
 person's failure to recite or acknowledge any expunged entries concerning apprehension, charge,
 or trial.
     (d)     The court shall also order that the conviction ordered expunged under this section be
 expunged from the records of the court and direct all law enforcement agencies bearing record
 of the same to expunge their records of the conviction. The clerk shall notify State and local
 agencies of the court's order as provided in G.S. 15A-150.
     (e)     Any other applicable State or local government agency shall expunge from its records
 entries made as a result of the conviction ordered expunged under this section. The agency shall
 also reverse any administrative actions taken against a person whose record is expunged under
 this section as a result of the charges or convictions expunged. This subsection shall not apply to
 the Department of Justice for DNA records and samples stored in the State DNA Database and
 the State DNA Databank."
             SECTION 1.(c) Subsection (a) of this section becomes effective December 1, 2021,
 and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. The remainder of this section becomes
 effective December 1, 2021.
24
 PART II. STUDY RECLASSIFYING CERTAIN CLASS 3 MISDEMEANOR OFFENSES
 AS INFRACTIONS
             SECTION 2.(a) Study. – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of
 Government (School of Government), in consultation with the North Carolina Sentencing and
 Policy Advisory Commission, shall study (i) which Class 3 misdemeanor offenses have a low
 impact on public safety, (ii) whether the offenses should be reclassified as infractions, and (iii)
 whether low-level traffic offenses should be moved to the North Carolina Administrative Code
 and enforced as a civil violation by the Division of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Public
 Safety.
             SECTION 2.(b) Report. – The School of Government shall report its findings from
 the study required under subsection (a) of this section, including any recommendations for
 legislative action, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety by
 March 7, 2022.
38
 PART III. FUNDING FOR DRUG TREATMENT COURT PROGRAMS AND MENTAL
 HEALTH COURT PROGRAMS
            SECTION 3.(a) There is appropriated the sum of four million two hundred thousand
 dollars ($4,200,000) in recurring funds for each fiscal year of the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium
 from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts to be used to support the work
 of the North Carolina Drug Treatment Court Program in creating and sustaining local drug
 treatment court programs.
            SECTION 3.(b) There is appropriated the sum of four million two hundred thousand
 dollars ($4,200,000) in recurring funds for each fiscal year of the 2021-2023 fiscal biennium
 from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts to be used to facilitate the
 creation and funding of new and existing mental health court programs to serve individuals that
 have a mental health diagnosis or treatment history and are defendants in the criminal justice
 system. Among other functions, the local mental health court programs funded by this section
     Page 2                                                                       DRS35182-MLa-48A
    General Assembly Of North Carolina                                               Session 2021
 shall recommend mental health treatment plans for individuals served by the programs and shall
 monitor the progress of the individuals receiving treatment while the individuals remain in the
 program.
            SECTION 3.(c) This section becomes effective July 1, 2021.
5
 PART IV. EFFECTIVE DATE
          SECTION 4. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes
 law.
    DRS35182-MLa-48A                                                                        Page 3
Statutes affected: 
Filed: 90-95
Edition 1: 90-95