Bill Summaries: H609 SALARY INCREASES/ADULT CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEES. (NEW)

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  • Summary date: Sep 3 2019 - View Summary

    AN ACT AWARDING LEGISLATIVELY MANDATED SALARY INCREASES AND SPECIAL ANNUAL LEAVE TO STATE ADULT CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMPLOYEES. SL 2019-208. Enacted August 30, 2019. Effective July 1, 2019, except as otherwise provided.


  • Summary date: Aug 26 2019 - View Summary

    Senate amendment to the 3rd edition makes the following changes.

    Adds that of the funds appropriated in the act from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety for compensation increases to State adult correctional facility employees, $15 million in recurring funds must be used to provide salary supplements to employees in high-need correctional facilities in accordance with Part IV of the act. 


  • Summary date: Aug 21 2019 - View Summary

    Senate committee substitute deletes the provisions of the 2nd edition and instead provides the following.

    Part I.

    Appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) $35,914,734 in recurring funds for the 2019-20 fiscal year and $56,829,468 in recurring funds for the 2020-21 fiscal year to award compensation increases to State adult correctional facility employees pursuant to the act's provisions. Specifies that State funds are appropriated for each year of the 2019-21 fiscal biennium as agency receipts up to the amounts needed to implement the legislatively mandated salary increases set forth in the act for each year of the fiscal biennium. 

    Part II.

    Mandates the following salary increases. Effective July 1, 2019, awards a State employee who is employed in a State-funded position based in a State adult correctional facility on June 30, 2019, a 2.5% annual salary increase in the 2019-20 fiscal year and any salary adjustment otherwise allowed or provided by law. Similarly, effective July 1, 2020, awards a State employee who is employed in a State-funded position based in a State adult correctional facility on June 30, 2020, a 2.5% annual salary increase in the 2020-21 fiscal year and any salary adjustment otherwise allowed or provided by law. Mandates the award of increases in the same manner for part-time employees on a prorated basis. Sets forth parameters and guidelines for the salary increases and funds appropriated, including prohibiting funds appropriated by the act from being used to provide salary increases in excess of those legislatively mandated, with amounts in excess of that required for implementation required to be credited to the Pay Plan Reserve. Requires the Office of State Budget and Management to report to the specified NCGA committee and division by May 1, 2020, and May 1, 2021, on the expenditure of funds, as specified, under the act for the respective fiscal year. 

    Part III.

    Establishes a pay differential ranging from 10% to 20% to be applied to a correctional officer's salary during any period of time the officer is assigned to a lower custody level facility and works at a higher custody level facility.

    Part IV. 

    Deems DPS employees serving in high-need correctional facilities having the highest number of vacancies eligible to receive flat-dollar salary supplements, payable monthly, for up to a two-year period. Sets the minimum base supplement rate at $2,500 annually, and provides for the rates to be based on the facility's staffing difficulty, ranging from Level I to Level III, with vacancy rates ranging from 20% to 30% for at least 12 months in the prior biennium, and corresponding supplements ranging from the base supplement rate to three times the base supplement rate, respectively. Provides that the salary supplement rates assigned to each high-need correctional facility at the beginning of each fiscal biennium is effective for the facility throughout the fiscal biennium. Requires DPS to re-designate high-need facilities at the beginning of each subsequent fiscal biennium based on the same criteria provided. Allows DPS to exclude facilities or assign lower levels to facilities if necessary. Prohibits DPS from providing supplements to facilities that do not meet the minimum criteria provided. Requires unexpended supplement funds at the end of each fiscal year to be distributed proportionally to employees in high-need facilities who were employed at a designated facility for the entire fiscal year. Specifies that the supplements are not compensation for Retirement System purposes.

    Part V.

    Awards anyone employed in an adult correctional facility as a full-time permanent employee of DPS on July 1, 2019, and eligible to earn annual leave, a one-time additional five days of annual leave credited on July 1, 2019. Provides for part-time employees to receive a pro rata amount of the same leave awarded by the act. Details parameters and limitations for the leave awarded, including that the leave has no cash value and cannot be paid out upon separation or retirement. Adds that any vacation leave remaining on December 31 of each year in excess of 30 days is reduced by the number of days awarded by the act that were actually used by the employee during the year, so that the calculation of vacation leave days that would convert to sick leave reflects the deduction of those days of special annual leave awarded that were used by the employee during the year. Allows the leave to carry forward to each following year, as specified. Clarifies that no employee is required to take the additional leave awarded.

    Part VI.

    Provides that the act's provisions prevail in the event they conflict with GS 143C-5-4, concerning the procedure for the enactment of the budget. Provides that the appropriations provisions remain in effect until the Current Operations Appropriations Act for the applicable fiscal year becomes law, at which time the Director of the Budget must adjust allotments to give effect to that act from July 1 of the fiscal year. 

    Part VII.

    Effective July 1, 2019.

    Makes conforming changes to the act's titles.


  • Summary date: Apr 16 2019 - View Summary

    House amendment #1 makes the following changes to the 1st edition.

    Amends proposed GS 7B-1901(d), now establishing that any person who takes an individual who is 21 years old or older (was, 18 years old or older) into temporary custody for an offense committed when the individual was a juvenile must proceed under the provisions of GS Article 23, police processing and duties upon arrest, Subchapter V, GS Chapter 15A.

    Amends the proposed changes to GS 7B-1903(e), now providing that when secure custody is ordered for any person 18 years old or older who falls within the jurisdiction of the court, the order can, rather than must, designate that the person be temporarily detained in the jail of the county where the charges arose. Makes conforming changes to GS 7B-1905. 


  • Summary date: Apr 4 2019 - View Summary

    Amends the definition of delinquent juvenile set out in GS 7B-1501(7) (applicable to provisions governing undisciplined and delinquent juveniles) and GS 143B-805(6) (applicable to the general provisions governing the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice (Division) of the Department of Public Safety) to more specifically exclude from the term juveniles less than 18 but over 16 years of age who commit any violation of the motor vehicle laws under GS Chapter 20 (previously, excludes the described juveniles who commit any violations of motor vehicle laws). Recodifies GS 20-106 (receiving or transferring stolen vehicles) as GS 14-71.2.

    Amends GS 7B-1604(b) concerning limitations on juvenile court jurisdiction. Now provides for a juvenile who has previously been convicted in either district court or superior court for a felony or misdemeanor, including an offense involving impaired driving, to be prosecuted as an adult for any criminal offense the juvenile commits after the district or superior court conviction. Excludes misdemeanor violations of motor vehicle laws.

    Amends GS 7B-1901, establishing that any person who takes an individual who is 18 years or older into temporary custody for an offense committed when the individual was a juvenile must proceed under the provisions of GS Article 23, Police processing and duties upon arrest, Subchapter V, GS Chapter 15A.

    Amends GS 7B-1903, now providing that when secure custody is ordered for any person 18 years or older who falls within the jurisdiction of the court, the order must designate that the person be temporarily detained in the jail of the county where the charges arose. Makes conforming changes to reflect this change in GS 7B-1905. Further amends GS 7B-1905, removing the requirement for juveniles being temporarily detained in an approved detention facility to be separate from any jail, lockup, prison, or other adult penal institution. Now specifies that it is unlawful for a sheriff (was county) or any governmental unit to operate a juvenile detention facility that does not meet the standards and rules adopted by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and has been approved by the Juvenile Justice Section (Section) of the Division for operation as a juvenile detention facility (no approval previously required).

    Amends GS 7B-1906 to require further hearings for secured custody to be held at intervals of no more than 30 calendar days for a juvenile who was 16 years old or older at the time the juvenile allegedly committed an offense that would be a Class A through G felony if committed by an adult. Permits further hearings to be waived with consent of the juvenile through the juvenile's counsel. Provides for further hearings to be held at intervals of 10 days upon request of the juvenile through the juvenile's attorney and for good cause as determined by the court. Makes conforming changes.

    Amends GS 7B-2200.5, concerning transferring jurisdiction of a juvenile to superior court if the juvenile was 16 years old or older at the time the juvenile allegedly committed an offense that would be a Class A through G felony if committed by an adult. Current law requires either notice to the juvenile and a finding by a bill of indictment against the juvenile of such an offense, or notice and a probable cause hearing finding probable cause the juvenile committed such an offense in order to transfer jurisdiction. Establishes a time period within which the probable cause hearing must be held, requiring the hearing to be conducted within 90 days of the date of the juvenile's first appearance; however, allows the court to continue the probable cause hearing for good cause. Additionally, requires the court to remand a transferred case to district court and expunge the superior court record upon joint motion of the prosecutor and the juvenile's attorney. Makes conforming changes to GS 7B-2202, which requires a probable cause hearing for felony juvenile cases to be conducted within 15 days of the date of the juvenile's first appearance.

    Amends GS 7B-2204 to require that personnel of the Section or personnel approved by the Section transport juveniles from the detention facility to court pending release following transfer and from the holdover facility to court and back to the detention center during pretrial hearings. Requires the juvenile to be transported by personnel of the Section or personnel approved by the Section to the custody of the sheriff of the county where the charges arose in the event the juvenile reaches 18 while awaiting the completion of superior court proceedings. Provides that a juvenile can be held in a detention facility pending transfer to the Division upon receiving an active sentence if the facility is operated by the sheriff pursuant to GS 7B-1905(b), as amended. Makes organizational changes.

    Amends GS 7B-2508 to specify that in order for the court to impose a disposition level one level higher than would otherwise be provided for the class of offense and delinquency history level of the juvenile, the court must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the adjudicated offense was committed as part of criminal gang activity (previously did not specify the burden).

    Enacts GS 15A-145.8, detailing the procedure for superior courts to expunge records of charges remanded to district court under GS 7B-2200.5, as amended. Specifies the effects of such an expunction.

    Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2019.