NC Gov Cooper: Governor Cooper Signs Second Chance Act Into Law

Raleigh -- PRESS RELEASE June 25, 2020 North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's Office: Today, Governor Roy Cooper signed the following bill into law:

Senate Bill 562: The Second Chance Act
Governor Cooper shared this statement on SB 562:

"We can give people who make amends for past mistakes the opportunity to clear their records. This bill offers that opportunity and a path to good jobs and a brighter future." 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2019
SENATE BILL 562
RATIFIED BILL
*S562-v-6*
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS REVISIONS TO THE EXPUNCTION LAWS OF THIS
STATE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
PART I. EXPUNCTIONS FOR OFFENSES COMMITTED PRIOR TO THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE LEGISLATION KNOWN AS RAISE THE AGE
SECTION 1.(a) Article 5 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by
adding a new section to read:
"§ 15A-145.8. Expunction of records for offenders under the age of 18 at the time of
commission of certain misdemeanors and felonies upon completion of the
sentence.
(a) A person or the district attorney may file, in the court of the county where the person
was convicted, a petition for expunction from the person's criminal record of any misdemeanor
or Class H or I felony not excluded by subsection (b) of this section if the offense was committed
prior to December 1, 2019, and while the person was less than 18 years of age, but at least 16
years of age. The petition shall not be filed until (i) any active sentence, period of probation, and
post-release supervision ordered for the offense has been served and (ii) the person has no
restitution orders for the offense or outstanding civil judgments representing amounts ordered for
restitution for the offense.
(b) An offense is not eligible for expunction under this section if it is (i) a violation of the
motor vehicle laws under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes, including any offense involving
impaired driving as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(24a) or (ii) an offense requiring registration pursuant
to Article 27A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, whether or not the person is currently
required to register.
(c) If the petition was not filed by the district attorney, the petition shall be served upon
the district attorney of the court wherein the case was tried resulting in conviction. The district
attorney shall have 30 days thereafter in which to file any objection thereto and shall be duly
notified as to the date of the hearing of the petition. The district attorney shall make his or her
best efforts to contact the victim, if any, to notify the victim of the request for expunction prior
to the date of the hearing. Upon request by the victim, the victim has a right to be present at any
hearing on the petition for expunction and the victim's views and concerns shall be considered
by the court at such hearing.
(d) If the court, after hearing, finds that (i) the offense was a misdemeanor or Class H or
I felony eligible for expunction under this section, (ii) the offense was committed prior to
December 1, 2019, and while the person was less than 18 years of age, but at least 16 years of
age, (iii) any active sentence, period of probation, and post-release supervision ordered for the
offense was completed, and (iv) the person has no restitution orders for the offense or outstanding
civil judgments representing amounts ordered for restitution for the offense, the court shall order
that the person be restored, in the contemplation of the law, to the status the person occupied
before such arrest or indictment or information, and that the record be expunged from the records Page 2 Senate Bill 562-Ratified
of the court. A person convicted of multiple offenses shall be eligible to have those convictions
expunged pursuant to this section.
(e) Any petition for expunction under this section shall be on a form approved by the
Administrative Office of the Courts and shall be filed with the clerk of superior court in the
county where the person was convicted. Upon order of expunction, the clerk shall forward the
order to the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(f) No person as to whom such order has been entered shall be held thereafter under any
provision of any laws to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of
that person's failure to recite or acknowledge such arrest, or indictment, information, or trial, or
response to any inquiry made of the person for any purpose.
(g) The court shall also order that the conviction be expunged from the records of the
court. The court shall direct all law enforcement agencies, the Division of Adult Correction and
Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety, the Division of Motor Vehicles, and any
other State or local government agencies identified by the petitioner as bearing record of the same
to expunge their records of the petitioner's conviction. The clerk shall notify State and local
agencies of the court's order as provided in G.S. 15A-150.
(h) A person who files a petition for expunction of a criminal record under this section
must pay the clerk of superior court a fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00) at the
time the petition is filed. Fees collected under this subsection are payable to the Administrative
Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred twenty-two dollars and
fifty cents ($122.50) of each fee to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety for the costs
of criminal record checks performed in connection with processing petitions for expunctions
under this section. The remaining fifty-two dollars and fifty cents ($52.50) of each fee shall be
retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts and used to pay the costs of processing
petitions for expunctions under this section. This subsection does not apply to petitions filed by
an indigent."
SECTION 1.(b) This section becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to
offenses committed before that date. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall develop and
disseminate the forms required by this section no later than September 1, 2020.
PART II. PROSECUTOR AND LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCESS TO EXPUNGED
FILES
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 15A-151.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A-151.5. Prosecutor access to expunged files.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Administrative Office of the
Courts shall make all confidential files maintained under G.S. 15A-151 electronically available
to all prosecutors of this State if the criminal record was expunged on or after July 1, 2018, under
any of the following:
(1) G.S. 15A-145. Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at
the time of conviction of misdemeanor; expunction of certain other
misdemeanors.
(2) G.S. 15A-145.1. Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18
at the time of conviction of certain gang offenses.
(3) G.S. 15A-145.2. Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of
age at the time of the offense of certain drug offenses.
(4) G.S. 15A-145.3. Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of
age at the time of the offense of certain toxic vapors offenses.
(5) G.S. 15A-145.4. Expunction of records for first offenders who are under 18
years of age at the time of the commission of a nonviolent felony.
(6) G.S. 15A-145.5. Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age

limitation.

Read full bill @ link below