Senate committee substitute to the 2nd edition, as amended, replaces the prior edition in its entirety. Makes conforming changes to act’s long and short titles.

Section 1

Increases the duties of an arresting law enforcement officer under GS 15A-501 to require the officer to inform any judicial official determining conditions of pretrial release of any of the defendant’s behavior observed by the officer prior to, during, or after the arrest that may provide reasonable grounds for the judicial official to believe the defendant is a danger to themselves or others.  

Adds violent offense to GS 15A-531’s definitions, which encompass:

• any A through G felonies requiring assault, use of physical force or threat of physical force against a person as an essential element of the offense;
• felonies that require registration in any of the databases under the sex offender and public protection registration programs listed in Article 27A of GS Chapter 14;
• first or second degree murder;
• the eighteen listed offenses under GS 15A-533 that require a judge (not a magistrate) to determine whether a defendant may be granted pretrial release;
• eight listed drug-related offenses, including an offense under GS 90-95 (the Controlled Substances Act) that involves fentanyl; or
• any offense that is an attempt to commit any of the above described offenses.

Establishes a rebuttable presumption for the eighteen offenses listed in GS 15A-533 that no condition of release will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of the community for a defendant charged with any of those offenses. Requires the conditions of pretrial release for a defendant who is either (1) charged with a violent offense and for whom the judge determines has been previously subject to an order of involuntary commitment in the past three years or (2) is charged with any offense and the judge has reasonable grounds to believe the defendant is a danger to themselves or others, to include:

• requiring the defendant to receive an initial exam by a commitment examiner, as described, to determine if there are grounds for a petition for involuntary commitment;
• directing the arresting officer to transport the defendant to a hospital emergency room or other crisis facility with certified commitment examiners for the initial examination. Specifies that the transporting officer can only release the defendant if the other conditions of pretrial release are met and either no petition for involuntary commitment is filed or a petition is filed but no custody order issued;
• ordering the commitment examiner to either petition for involuntary commitment if there are grounds to do so or provide written notice to the judge that there are no grounds for involuntary commitment;
• determining custody of a defendant when a petition for involuntary commitment is filed, whether or not the defendant has met all other conditions of pretrial release, under the provisions of Article 5 of GS Chapter 122C during the pendency of that petition and any hearings and orders issued pursuant to that Article; 
• providing, that if the defendant has not met the other conditions for pretrial release, the defendant will be held in the local confinement facility until all conditions are met, if (1) a petition for involuntary commitment is not filed; (2) no custody order for involuntary commitment is issued; or (3) at any other time, the conditions of GS Chapter 122, Article 5, governing the procedure for admission and discharge pertaining to voluntary and involuntary commitment require the defendant’s release.

Removes the authority for a judicial officer to grant pretrial release on a written promise to appear under GS 15A-534. Requires a judicial official to either impose (1) house arrest with electronic monitoring or (2) an appearance bond for defendants who have been convicted of three or more Class 1 misdemeanor or higher offenses in the past ten years. If the judge has found that a defendant charged with a violent offense has rebutted the presumption of dangerousness (discussed above), then requires the judge to impose either home detention with electronic monitoring or an appearance bond for a defendant charged with a first violent offense and home detention with electronic monitoring for a defendant charged with a second or subsequent violent offense after being convicted of a prior violent offense or after being released on pretrial release conditions for a prior violent offense. Requires the defendant’s criminal history to be made available to the judicial official and for it to be considered when determining conditions of release. Adds the defendant’s housing situation to those factors the judicial official must consider on the basis of any available information. Requires written findings of fact in an order of pretrial release for defendants either charged with a violent offense or who have been convicted of at least three Class 1 misdemeanors or higher offenses within the previous 10 years. Makes clarifying and conforming changes. Makes conforming changes to GS 15A-535(b) (issuance of pretrial release policies) and, effective when the act becomes law, to GS 122C-54 (access to records of involuntary commitment).

Effective December 1, 2025, and applies to persons appearing before a judicial official for the determination of pretrial release conditions on or after that date. Requires, by no later than December 1, 2025, for (1) each judicial district that does not already have the capability of imposing house arrest with electronic monitoring to enter into a memorandum of agreement with a qualified vendor to provide such services, with the defendant to pay for such services; (2) the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to provide a method for judicial officials to determine if a defendant has been subject to a prior order of involuntary commitment for purposes of complying with the new pretrial release procedures set forth in the act; and (3) for the AOC to develop or modify any forms necessary to implement the above new pretrial procedures.

Section 2

Effective December 1, 2025 and applying to offenses committed on or after that date, adds committing an offense while the victim was using a public transportation system as an aggravating sentencing factor for capital and felony offenses.  

Section 3

Amends GS 7A-171.3 by expanding upon the types of rules that must be included in the rules of conduct for magistrates to also include rules governing conflicts of interest.

Amends GS 7A-173 expanding upon who may suspend a magistrate to also include the Chief Justice (magistrates may already be suspended by the chief district judge of the district court district in which the magistrate's county of appointment is located). Requires that when the Chief Justice is ordering suspension, the order must include the charges constituting grounds for removal and requires the order to be filed with the office of the clerk of superior court for the county in which the magistrate was appointed; the clerk must then notify the chief district judge who must implement the suspension until a final determination of the charges on the merits is made under the specified hearing requirements. Requires that the magistrate’s salary continue during this suspension. Expands the grounds upon which a magistrate may be suspended or removed to include failure to make statutorily required written findings. Prohibits permanently removing a magistrate, when at the hearing, the judge finds that the only grounds for removal are the magistrate’s failure to make statutorily required written findings, and the magistrate has no prior charges of or suspensions for failure to make statutorily required written findings.

Section 4

Requires the North Carolina Collaboratory (Collaboratory) to study: (1) the intersection of mental health in the justice system for both adults and juveniles in North Carolina, including initial response, mental health evaluation, inpatient and outpatient involuntary commitment, incarceration, post-release monitoring and treatment, and any other items the Collaboratory deems relevant; (2) the availability of house arrest as a condition of pretrial release in each county or judicial district; and (3) methods of execution other than those currently authorized by State law. Allows the study to include issuing research awards to provide, as necessary, planning grants for a preliminary investigation to: (1) identify, obtain, and analyze existing data; (2) identify other critical data that could be acquired and analyzed; (3) identify appropriate stakeholder groups for engagement; (4) develop a holistic and longer-term research team and plan with a formal scope of work, timeline, and deliverables; and (5) any other items the Collaboratory deems relevant. Also allows using these preliminary findings to fund awards for additional research to support the study.

Requires units of State or local government that receive requests from the Collaboratory to cooperate and assist within 30 calendar days. Shared information that is confidential or not public record is required to remain confidential, must be withheld from public inspection, will only be used for study purposes, and may not be publicly disclosed except as deidentified, aggregated information or data.

Requires a preliminary report to the specified NCGA Commission by April 1, 2026, and a final report by March 1, 2027.

Requires the Collaboratory to reallocate up to $1 million of the funds appropriated to UNC (Budget Code 16020) for the Collaboratory for the purposes described in Item 188 on Page B-56 of the Committee Report referenced in Section 43.2 of SL 2021-180 (which provided funding for the Collaboratory to study the effectiveness and efficacy of an approved in situ treatment of the nutrient impaired surface waters in lakes and reservoirs on cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms), for this study, including consultants or faculty, staff, or students affiliated with institutions of higher education.

Section 5

Prohibits the recreation of The Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which was created by the Governor's Executive Order No. 145 and has expired, except by act of the General Assembly.

Section 6

Amends GS 15A-1415(a), which sets out the timing by which a defendant in a capital case may file a postconviction motion for appropriate relief based on any of the grounds sets out in the statute. Adds the requirement that a hearing for a motion for appropriate relief based on grounds in the statute must be heard within 24 months of the motion being filed; if the hearing is continued beyond 24 months, then the court must make a written finding of extraordinary circumstances that provide good cause for a delay.

Amends GS 15A-2000(d)(1), which specifies that the judgment of conviction and sentence of death is subject to automatic review by the NC Supreme Court of North Carolina under procedures established by the Rules of Appellate Procedure; adds the requirement that the review occur within 24 months of entry of judgment unless the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court makes a written finding of extraordinary circumstances that provide good cause for a delay.

The above changes become effective December 1, 2025, and apply to: (1) motions filed and judgments entered on or after that date and (2) motions filed or judgments entered prior to that date, and any motions pending on that date, except that any motion filed or judgment entered more than 24 months prior to that date must be heard no later than December 1, 2027, and must be scheduled for hearing or review by December 1, 2026.

Enacts new GS 15A-2007, setting the venue for any filing, claim, or proceeding related to the conviction, sentencing, treatment, housing, or execution of a defendant convicted of a capital offense and sentenced to death, as in the county of conviction. Specifies that this does not apply to matters authorized by law to be filed directly with the NC Supreme Court. Effective December 1, 2025, and applies to any filings made and any proceedings or hearings held on or after that date.

Requires that the AOC, no later than the effective date of the provisions above, develop or modify any forms necessary to implement this section. Requires any provision where a written finding of fact may be required, that the form provide a blank area for that written finding to be entered.

Section 7

Amends GS 15A-1003 by adding that before dismissing any charges under GS 15A-1008 (concerning the dismissal of charges when a defendant lacks capacity to proceed), if the defendant is not subject to an involuntary commitment order issued under Part 7 (Involuntary Commitment of the Mentally Ill) of Article 5 of GS Chapter 122C, the court must make the determinations and findings required by subsection (a) of the statute upon motion of the district attorney. Applies to dismissals and proceedings occurring on or after December 1, 2025.

Amends GS 15A-1008 to no longer allow a district attorney to reinstate proceedings that had been dismissed either (1) when it appeared to the court’s satisfaction that the defendant will not gain capacity to proceed or (2) upon the expiration of a period of five years from the date of determination of incapacity to proceed in the case of misdemeanor charges and a period of 10 years in the case of felony charges. Also prohibits expunging criminal charges under GS 15A-146 (providing for the expunction of records when charges are dismissed or there are findings of not guilty). Applies to dismissals and proceedings occurring on or after December 1, 2025.

Amends GS 122C-268 to require that notice of the hearing be given to the chief district judge and the district attorney in the county in which the defendant was found incapable of proceeding when the respondent's custody order indicates that the respondent was charged with a violent crime, and the respondent was found incapable of proceeding. Under current law, the district attorney in the county in which the respondent was found incapable of proceeding may represent the State's interest at the hearing; adds that if the district attorney elects to represent the State's interest, upon motion of the district attorney, the venue for the hearing, rehearings, and supplemental rehearings will be the county in which the respondent was found incapable of proceeding. Applies to commitment proceedings initiated on or after December 1, 2025.

Amends GS 122C-277(b) to make the facility, instead of the attending physician, responsible for providing notice when a respondent who was initially committed as the result of conduct resulting in the respondent being charged with a violent crime, and respondent was found incapable of proceeding, of the attending physician's determination regarding the proposed discharge or conditional release. Expands who must receive the notice to include the district attorney of the district where the respondent was found incapable of proceeding. Also adds that if the district attorney elects to represent the State's interest, upon motion of the district attorney, the venue for the hearing, rehearings, and supplemental rehearings will be the county in which the respondent was found incapable of proceeding. Applies to commitment proceedings initiated on or after December 1, 2025.

Section 8

Amends GS 7B-2510, which concerns juveniles placed on probation after adjudication of an offense by adding the following. Allows the court to extend probation for additional periods up to one year after notice and a hearing, before the expiration of an order of probation for an adjudication of an offense that would be a Class A, B1, or B2 felony if committed by an adult, when the court finds that the extension is necessary to protect the community or to safeguard the juvenile’s welfare. Caps the total period of probation at three years. Allows the hearing on extending probation to occur after the expiration of an order of probation at the next regularly scheduled court date or if the juvenile fails to appear in court. Also allows the prosecutor, in addition to the juvenile court counselor or counselor, the juvenile, or the court, to make a motion for the court to review the progress of any juvenile on probation at any time during probation or at the end of probation.

Amends GS 7B-2511, concerning the termination of a juvenile’s probation, to allow the termination order in cases involving a victim to be entered with the juvenile present after notice and a hearing. Requires giving notice to the victim if they have requested to be notified of court proceedings under GS 7B-2053, and requires the court to give the prosecutor, the victim, or the person who may assert the victim's rights the opportunity to be heard at the hearing.

Amends GS 7B-2514, concerning post-release supervision planning by requiring every plan developed for an offense that would be a Class A, B1, B2, or C felony if committed by an adult to require the juvenile to complete three years of post-release supervision. Requires the plan to be in writing and based on the juvenile’s needs and public protection. Allows post-release supervision in these instances to be terminated with the juvenile present after notice and a hearing. Requires providing notice of the hearing to the victim if the victim has requested to be notified of court proceedings under GS 7B-2053, and requires giving the prosecutor, the victim, or the person who may assert the victim's rights the opportunity to be heard at the hearing.

Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2025.

Section 9

Amends GS 7A-60(a1) by increasing the number of full-time assistant district attorneys in prosecutorial district 26 (Mecklenburg County) by 10, from 61 to 71.

Appropriates $1,623,510 in recurring funds beginning in 2025-26 and $37,520 in nonrecurring funds in 2025-26 from the General Fund to the AOC to hire 10 full-time assistant district attorneys in Prosecutorial District 26.

Appropriates $433,000 in recurring funds beginning in 2025-26 and $20,990 in nonrecurring funds in 2025-26 from the General Fund to the AOC to hire five full-time legal assistant positions in Prosecutorial District 26.

Effective retroactively to July 1, 2025.

Section 10

Includes a severability clause.