Senate amendment to the 1st edition adds the following.

Modifies anticonvulsants, classified as a Class V controlled substance under GS 90-93, to specify that the term includes cenobamate and lasmiditan and their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, unless specifically exempted or excluded or unless listed in another schedule.

 

Amends GS 20-58.3A, which provides for the automatic expiration of a perfected security interest in a manufactured home perfected by notation on the certificate of title after 30 years of issuance, unless the title states a different maturity date. Expands subsection (g) to also grant immunity to license plate contractors of the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), in addition to the DMV, from tort claims based on reliance by the DMV or a DMV contractor on any application for renewal of the perfection of a security interest on a certificate of title for a manufactured home submitted to the DMV or the contractor by a third party, as authorized by the statute.

Amends GS 20-58.4, which provides for the release of a security interest in a motor vehicle upon satisfaction or other discharge, to direct DMV license plate contractors, in addition to the DMV, to issue a new certificate of title upon the owner's exhibition of signed documents evidencing the release and the certificate of title. No longer requires the DMV to be satisfied by the regularity of the release prior to issuance of the new certificate of title. Regarding the release of a security interest in a vehicle that is a manufactured home, requires DMV licensed contractors, in addition to the DMV to send notice to the last known address of the secured party before cancellation, and prohibits cancellation if the secured party files an objection within 15 days after the notice was sent (previously, required notice by registered letter to the last known address of the secured party). Similar to the changes made to GS 20-58.3A, expands subsection (f) to also grant immunity to license plate contractors of the DMV, in addition to the DMV, for tort claims based on reliance by the DMV or a DMV contractor on any release, affidavit, certificate of title notation, or documents evidencing the release or satisfaction of a security interest related to certificates of title for manufactured homes submitted to the DMV or the contractor by a third party, as authorized by the statute.

Regarding the surrender of title to a manufactured home that qualifies as real property under GS 20-109.2, no longer requires the DMV Commissioner to require evidence demonstrating that all affected secured parties have been notified and consent to the owner of a manufactured home's application for a new certificate of title following cancellation of the initial certificate of title when the owner seeks to separate the manufactured home from the real property. Deems there to be no right of action against a DMV license plate contractor, in addition to the DMV, for a person damaged by the cancellation of a certificate of title pursuant to subsection (a1), which provides for surrender of the certificate of title to a manufactured home that qualifies as real property when the certificate of title is unavailable.  

Effective October 1, 2021.

Enacts GS 130A-309.14 to prohibit State entities and political subdivisions which receive State funds from selling or providing food or beverages in or with disposable food service ware, as defined, unless the ware is reusable, compostable, or recyclable, as defined by statutory cross-reference. 

Enacts Part 2J, Management of Disposable Food Service Ware, to Article 9, GS Chapter 130A. States legislative findings and sets forth five defined terms. Prohibits prepared food retailers, as defined, from selling or providing food or beverages in or with disposable food service ware, unless such ware is reusable, compostable, or recyclable, as defined.

Reenacts and makes the following changes to expand Part 2G, Plastic Bag Management, of Article 9, GS Chapter 130A. Revises the legislative findings to apply statewide rather than focusing on coastal areas. Repeals GS 130A-309.125, which limits the Part's scope to counties which include a barrier island or peninsula that meets specified criteria. Makes technical changes. 

Makes the above provisions apply to retail sales on or after October 1, 2023.

Provides for the following, notwithstanding the above enactments. Permits State entities and political subdivisions to continue to use its stocks of food service ware purchased prior to October 1, 2023, until such stocks are exhausted. Permits prepared food retailers to continue to use stocks of food service ware purchased prior to October 1, 2023, until the earlier of July 1, 2024, or when such stocks are exhausted. Permits a retailer to continue to use stocks of plastic bags subject to the ban enacted by Part 2G, Article 9, GS Chapter 130A, as amended, until the earlier of July 1, 2024, or when such stocks are exhausted. 

Adds to the limitations and requirements of consumer tastings held by a spirituous liquor special event permit under GS 18B-1114.7, to include that the permit must be issued in the name of the business listed on the permit application. 

Directs the ABC Commission to amend its rules consistent with the act pursuant to the procedures of GS 150B-21.1.

Applies to permits issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2021. 

Revises GS 14-4, making it an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $50 to violate a local ordinance or ordinance of a metropolitan sewerage district (currently a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to $500, or $50 if the ordinance does not specify a greater fine, except violations of ordinances regulating the operation or parking of vehicles are an infraction punishable by fine of up to $50). Adds that the statute does not restrict local authority or the authority of a metropolitan sewerage district from imposing stricter civil penalties for violation of any ordinance pursuant to their respective authority under GS 153A-123, GS 160A-175, or GS 162A-81. Makes conforming changes. Applies to violations on or after December 1, 2021.

Enacts GS 14-4.2 to bar criminal convictions unless the offense is a common-law offense or appears in the following GS Chapters: 14 (Criminal Law), 20 (Motor Vehicles), or Article 5 of GS Chapter 90 (Controlled Substances Act). Excludes persons who have actual knowledge that the behavior constitutes a crime. Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2021. 

Provides a savings clause for prosecutions for offenses committed before December 1, 2021.

Effective December 1, 2021. 

Enacts new Article 3A of GS Chapter 95, to be cited as the Healthy Families and Healthy Workplaces Act (HFHW Act). Denotes that state public policy in promoting the general welfare of the people of North Carolina requires the enactment of new Article 3A under the police power of the state.

Provides definitions for the following terms as used in the HFHW Act: (1) child, (2) domestic violence, (3) employ, (4) employee, (5) employer, (6) federal act, (7) health care provider, (8) immediate family member, (9) paid sick time or paid sick days, (10) parent, (11) sexual assault, (12) stalking, and (13) small business.

Provides that the proposed HFHW Act does not apply to (1) bona fide volunteers in an organization where an employer-employee relationship does not exist or (2) any person who is exempt from the Wage and Hour Act under GS 95-25.14(a)(2) through (8), GS 95-25.14(b), GS 95-25.14 (b1), GS 95-25.14(c), and GS 95-25.14(e). Makes an exception regarding domestic workers, providing that they are exempt only if they are employed in the place of residence of their employer.

Provides that paid sick time begins to accrue at the start of employment at a rate of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Provides additional guidelines regarding discretionary advancement of sick time by the employer, limits on the amount of paid sick time accrued, and the accrual of paid sick time when there is a separation of employment followed by a rehiring by the same employer. Provides that with the exception of the specified exemptions to the proposed HFHW Act, any employee who works in North Carolina and who must be absent from work for the reasons delineated in proposed new GS 95-31.5(a) is entitled to paid sick time.  

Directs that paid sick time is to be provided by an employer to an employee who meets any of the following reasons listed in proposed new GS 95-31.5: (1) to care for a member of the employee's immediate family suffering from health issues or to care for the employee's own health, unless the care is covered under federal law or (2) absence necessary due to the circumstances resulting from the employee or an immediate family member of the employee being a victim of stalking or domestic violence or sexual violence if leave allows the employee or family member to obtain: medical attention needed to recover from physical or psychological injury or disability caused by stalking or domestic violence or sexual violence, services from a designated domestic violence agency or other victim services organization, psychological or other counseling, relocation, or legal services. Permits the employer to require certification of the qualifying health issue or event when a paid sick time period covers more than three consecutive work days. Provides guidelines for determining what may be deemed acceptable certification. Provides that an employer may not require certification from a health care provider that is employed by the employer. Prohibits an employer from requiring the disclosure of details relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or an employee's medical condition as a condition of providing paid sick time to an employee. Directs an employer to treat as confidential any information that the employer acquires about the employee or the employee's immediate family regarding domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or health conditions. Prohibits the employer from requiring an employee to secure a replacement worker as a condition of providing sick time under the proposed HFHW Act. Directs the employee to make a good faith effort, when the use of sick time is foreseeable, to provide the employer with advance notice. States that this act provides minimum requirements regarding paid sick time and should not be construed to limit, preempt, or otherwise affect other applicability of law, regulation, or policy that extends additional or greater protections to employees, nor should this proposed act be construed to discourage employers from adopting more generous paid sick time policies. Provides that employers already offering a paid sick time policy do not have to modify that policy providing that the paid sick time policy currently in place offers an employee, at his or her discretion, the option to take paid sick time that is equivalent to the amount and for the same purposes offered under the proposed HFHW Act.

Requires employers to provide notice to employees, in Spanish and English, of their entitlement to paid sick time as well as other related information. Notice may be provided by supplying each employee with a notice in Spanish and English or by conspicuously displaying a poster in the place of employment in both languages. Prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who request or use paid sick time. Provides that an employee has a right to file a complaint with the Commissioner of Labor (Commissioner) or in the General Court of Justice if an employer (1) denies an employee paid sick time or (2) retaliates against an employee for requesting or taking paid sick time.

Authorizes the Commissioner to enforce and administer the provisions of the proposed HFHW Act. Provides criteria regarding an employer's liability for a violation under the proposed HFHW Act, including provisions for the potential awarding of liquidated damages for a violation of the act. Directs that actions under the proposed HFHW Act must be brought within two years pursuant to GS 1-53. Also provides that the rights and remedies created under the HFHW Act are supplementary to all existing common law and statutory rights and remedies. Directs the Commissioner to adopt rules to implement the proposed act. Provides that the provisions of the proposed act are severable.

Makes conforming changes to GS 95-241(a).

Contains a number of whereas clauses.

Effective July 1, 2021, and applies only to covered employment on or after that date and does not apply to any collective bargaining agreement entered into before July 1, 2021, still in effect on that date.

Identical to S 459, filed 4/1/21.

Decreases the required period of separation prior to divorce under GS 50-6 from one year to six months. Adds a new provision permitting the parties to waive the separation period requirement if the divorce is uncontested and does not involve minor children. Provides that the statutory period for separation is not tolled for cohabitation of the parties for financial reasons. Makes conforming changes. Makes conforming changes to required content of a complaint for divorce under GS 50-8 where separation is the cause.

Enacts GS 52-14 to abolish common-law causes of action for alienation of affection and criminal conversation. Provides a savings clause for cases pending when the act becomes law. Makes a conforming repeal of GS 52-13, which sets forth procedures for causes of action for alienation of affection and criminal conversation. 

Appropriates $2 million for 2021-22 from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Central Management and Support, to be allocated equally among the following health centers, for programs or initiatives targeting racial and ethnic health disparities in diabetes, high blood pressure, and health conditions attributed to food insecurity: (1) The C.W. Williams Community Health Center, Inc., in Mecklenburg County; (2) Lincoln Community Health Center, Inc., in Durham County; (3) Triad Adult and Pediatric Medicine, Inc., in Guilford County; (4) Greene County Healthcare, Inc., in Greene, Pitt, and Pamlico Counties. Effective July 1, 2021.

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (Department), Division of Social Services (Division), to begin deployment of the North Carolina Families Accessing Services through Technology (NC FAST) system as it relates to case management functionality for the child welfare system and aging and adult services' programs. Requires deployment of the child welfare case management component of the NC FAST system statewide by July 1, 2022. Requires the Division to enter into a contract to augment and enhance the child welfare case management component of the NC FAST system before August 1, 2021. Sets out requirements for the contract. 

Appropriates $17,262,882 for 2021-22 from the General Fund to the Division to implement this act. Effective July 1, 2021.

Directs the Building Code Council (Council), and local governments enforcing the 2018 NC Fire Prevention Code (Code) to adhere to the following directives with respect to exit obstruction and waste accumulation, defined to mean Section 1031.2, 1031.3, 304.1, 304.2, and 304.4 of the Code. 

Directs code enforcement authorities with jurisdiction over apartment occupancies to permit doorstep refuse and recycling collection containers that stand upright on their own and do not leak liquids in exit access corridors. Establishes distinct criteria and limitations based on whether apartment occupancies have enclosed corridors, or have open-air corridors or balconies served by exterior exit stairs. Allows for doorstep refuse and recycling collection containers to be up to 13 gallons, with one refuse and one recycling collection container per apartment occupancy for those with enclosed corridors. Allows for doorstep refuse and recycling collection containers to be up to 27 gallons, with one refuse and one recycling collection container per apartment occupancy for those with open-air corridors or balconies. For enclosed corridors, limits doorstep containers from occupying exit access corridors for single periods exceeding 12 hours. For both types of occupancy corridors, limits waste in a doorstep container to be placed in the exit access corridor for single periods not to exceed 5 hours. Details further criteria regarding compliance with Code provisions related to egress and required written policies and procedures that must be in place and enforced by apartment occupancy management staff. Authorizes enforcement authorities to approve alternative container and storage arrangements that provide the equivalent level of safety as those described. Allows a phase-in period until December 31, 2021, prior to enforcement of the provisions. 

Directs the Council to revise the identified exit obstruction and waste accumulation provisions of the Code consistent with the described directives. Authorizes adoption of temporary implementing rules. 

Enacts Article 81A, Regulation of Valet Trash Companies, to GS Chapter 58, directing the Office of State Fire Marshal of the Department of Insurance (Office) to adopt rules for valet trash services, defined to mean the removal of household waste and recyclable materials after the residents of multifamily residential communities place the waste and materials for collection outside their doors. Requires consultation with persons who own or operate a company engaged in providing valet trash services. Enumerates five components that must be addressed, including the establishment of a registry for persons offering valet trash services that comply with the Article and procedures and submissions required to be listed in the registry. Authorizes the Commissioner of Insurance (Commissioner) to execute cease and desist orders for violations of the Article or its companion rules. Authorizes the Commissioner to access a civil penalty ranging from $100 to $500 per violation of the Article, subject to notice and hearing requirements. Provides parameters for determining the penalty amount. Directs for penalty proceeds to be remitted to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund. Provides for the penalty to be in addition to payment of other criminal penalties. 

Enacts new Article 26, Earned Wage Access Services Act, providing as follows. Requires registration as an earned wage access (EWA) service provider before providing earned wage access services. Sets the registration and renewal fee at $1,000; registration must be renewed every three years. Sets out information that must be included in the application for registration.

Allows a registered EWA service provider to provide earned wage access services through a contract with an obligor or service provider to an obligor if: (1) the EWA service provider verifies the consumer's earned wages based on data relating directly to the consumer's earnings in that pay period; (2) the EWA service provider informs the consumer in writing that the consumer has a right to receive the full amount of the obligor's next payment of wages on the next date on which the obligor is scheduled to pay the consumer if the consumer chooses to not use earned wage access services; and (3) the consumer authorizes in writing that the amount of the payment of earned wages from the EWA service provider is to be deducted from the obligor's next payment of wages to the consumer. Prohibits an obligor from sharing information with an EWA service provider relating to the obligor's accrued and expected obligations to the consumer unless the obligor has entered into a contract for earned wage access services with the EWA service provider and the consumer has given advance consent to sharing the information. Allows an EWA service provider to charge a fee for earned wage access services if they are disclosed in writing to the consumer before the consumer chooses to use the services. Provides that if an EWA service provider complies with this Article, then the EWA service provider's earned wage access services are not lending activity and its payments pursuant to those services are not loans, and any fees for the EWA service provider's earned wage access services are not interest. Allows the Commissioner of Banks (Commissioner) to examine an EWA service provider, with the costs borne by the EWA service provider. Specifies when the reimbursement of these expenses can be waived. Allows the Commissioner to adopt rules to enforce the Article. Sets out actions that may be taken for violations of this Article, after notice and opportunity for hearing, to include (1) revoking, suspending, or refusing to renew an EWA service provider's registration; (2) ordering an EWA service provider to cease and desist from providing earned wage access services; and (3) assessing a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each willful violation. Failure to comply with the Article is an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

Effective October 1, 2021.

Directs the Secretary of Revenue to waive all penalties for unpaid sales taxes as if the Secretary extended the time for filing a return for good cause under Article 5, GS Chapter 105 and had granted additional time within which to file the return and pay the tax due. Restricts the waiver to qualified businesses, defined to mean a business that failed to timely pay sales taxes due between February 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, certifies that the taxes were not timely paid as a direct result of economic hardship resulting from a governmental response, as defined, to the COVID-19 pandemic, and paid the overdue tax debt in full by May 1, 2021. Directs the Department of Revenue to make an application available for qualifying businesses to seek the described relief which includes any required documentation. Requires qualifying businesses to apply for relief under the act by July 1, 2021. 

Includes whereas clauses.

States the NCGA's intent to expand Medicaid eligibility to the following population of the State's veterans: (1) veterans with a modified adjusted gross income below 100% of the federal poverty level; (2) veterans who are 19 or older, and under 65; (3) veterans who are not entitled to or enrolled in Medicare benefits under Part A or Part B of Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act; and (4) veterans who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage under the North Carolina Medicaid State Plan as it existed on January 1, 2020. Defines a veteran as a State resident who is entitled to any benefits or rights under the laws of the US by serving in and discharging honorably from the US Armed Forces.

States the NCGA's intent that the costs associated with Medicaid expansion to the veteran population described above be paid entirely from the following and without federal assistance: (1) the General Fund; (2) an increase in assessments on hospitals similar to the Hospital Provider Assessment Act; and (3) a tax on prepaid health plan premiums and an assessment on managed care organizations operating in this State.

Adds to the entities and notices the State Auditor must execute upon publishing an audit report pursuant to GS 147-64.6 to require the Auditor to notify the Local Government Commission upon publishing a report that is the result of an investigation of a unit of local government subject to the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act, Article 3, GS Chapter 159. Makes language gender-neutral.

Amends GS 159-34, which mandates local governments and public authorities to conduct annual audits, to authorize the Local Government Commission (Commission) to select the certified public accountant to conduct the annual audit when the Commission has received notice of a release of an investigative report with respect to that unit of local government or public authority from the State Auditor pursuant to GS 147-64.6, as amended. Permits using this authority for up to three fiscal years following the release of the investigative report. Allows the Commission to instruct the Secretary to issue a request for proposals when selecting a CPA. Requires the CPA to report directly to the Commission and governing board, comply with Commission rules, and be paid by the governing board. Authorizes the Commission to exercise the authority with respect to any unit of local government audited by the State Auditor on or after July 1, 2018.

Amends GS 153A-28, concerning counties, and GS 160A-64.1, concerning cities, to direct county and city finance officers to garnish compensation paid to any chair or other board of commissioners member, or the mayor or city council members, respectively, to collect any unpaid monies due to the county/city for county/city services until such debt is paid in full using the procedure for attachment and garnishment set forth in specified law relating to delinquent taxes. Adds to GS 153A-28, concerning counties, that the provisions of GS 105-368(a) that limits the amount of compensation that can be garnished to no more than 10% for any one pay period inapplicable to the new provision (a similar provision already exists in GS 160A-64, concerning cities); makes language gender neutral. Applies to any compensation paid under these statutes on or after July 1, 2021.

Enacts GS 14-234.2, making it a Class H felony for an elected officer to solicit or receive personal financial gain from the political subdivision for which that elected officer serves by means of intimidation, undue influence, or misuse of employees of that political subdivision. Excludes financial gain received for acting in the elected official's official capacity, or received with the approval of the respective governing board. Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2021.

Revises the definitions and parameters applicable to GS 14-234, which bars public officers and employees from benefiting from public contracts, as follows. Expands what constitutes a public officer or employee deriving a direct benefit from a contract to include that the person (either the public officer or employee, or his or her spouse) is a director, officer, or governing board member of a nonprofit entity that is organized or operating in the State primarily for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, public health and safety, or educational purposes and which is seeking a contract, excluding entities created by the State or any of its political subdivisions. Adds and defines contract to mean the award of money from the public agency in the form of a grant, loan, or other appropriation. Applies to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2021. 

Amends Rule 411 of the NC Rules of Evidence, GS 8C-1, regarding the inadmissibility of evidence that a person was or was not insured against liability on the issue of whether the person acted negligently or otherwise wrongfully. Specifies that the rule does not require the exclusion of evidence of insurance coverage limits when offered for another purpose, such as proof of agency, ownership, or control, or bias or prejudice of a witness. Adds that the term insurance bars parties from introducing evidence of any payments made by insurance under the collateral source rule. Excludes barring evidence of health insurance, disability insurance, or other forms of benefits that can be characterized as insurance. Applies to proceedings pending on or after October 1, 2021. 

To be summarized.

Substantively identical to H 269, filed 3/10/21.

Amends GS 135-5 (concerning the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System), GS 135-65 (concerning the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System), and GS 120-4.22A (concerning the Legislative Retirement System), to provide, from and after July 1, 2021, a 2% increase in the retirement allowance to or on account of beneficiaries whose retirement commenced on or before July 1, 2020, or a prorated amount for those whose retirement commenced after July 1, 2020, but before June 30, 2021, as determined by the respective Board of Trustees.

Appropriates $96 million from the General Fund to the Reserve for Retiree Cost-of-Living Adjustments for each of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years to implement the act. 

Effective July 1, 2021.

Amends the terms and definitions in GS 166A-19.3, which are applicable to Article 1A, North Carolina Emergency Management Act. Amends the term emergency so that it is an occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property requiring an immediate response as a result of (was, resulting from) any natural or man-made accidental, military, paramilitary, terrorism, weather-related, public health, explosion-related, riot-related, cause, or technological failure or accident. Adds that no matter how imminent or severe it may be, an ongoing threat persisting for more than six months is not an emergency and should be address through legislation. Adds and defines the term statewide emergency area as any emergency area applicable to two-thirds or more of the state's counties.

Amends GS 166A-10.20 by amending the expiration of states of emergency declared by the Governor or NCGA so that when the emergency area is not statewide, the state of emergency expires when it is rescinded by the authority issuing it, and when the area is a statewide emergency area, the state of emergency expires 30 calendar days after issuance, unless extended by enactment of a general law.

Amends GS 166A-19.22 to set states of emergency declared by a municipality or county to expire 30 calendar days after issuance, or when it is terminated by the issuing body. Allows a governing body that declared the state of emergency to petition the NCGA for an extension.

Repeals GS 166A-19.23, which specified that a declaration issued pursuant to Article 1A triggers the prohibitions against excessive pricing during states of disaster, states of emergency, or abnormal market disruptions pursuant to G.S. 75-37 and G.S. 75-38..

Amends GS 166A-19.30, which gives the Governor the power to impose prohibitions and restrictions in the emergency area during a gubernatorially or legislatively declared state of emergency, when the Governor has determined that local control of the emergency is insufficient to assure adequate protection for lives and property for the specified reasons, as follows. Now requires concurrence of the Council of State. Amends the instances under which the Governor can exercise this power to: (1) include when the legal control measures of the jurisdictions conflict or are uncoordinated to the extent that efforts to protect life and property are or will be hampered (no longer specifies that the area in which the emergency exists has spread across local jurisdictional boundaries) and (2) remove the reason of the scale of the emergency being so great that it exceeds the capability of the local authorities to cope with it. Adds that the powers under this statute supplement the Governor's emergency powers only to the extent necessary to allow the Governor to assume powers otherwise delegated to specific local authorities within the areas of the local authorities' jurisdiction. Provides that this does not give the Governor any additional power to impose prohibitions and restrictions through an executive order declaring a state of emergency that contains a statewide emergency area beyond the powers described in the statute, and that Council of State concurrence is still required before the Governor may issue statewide prohibitions and restrictions.

Enacts new GS 166A-19.80 requiring all orders that bind, curtail, or infringe the constitutional rights of private parties to be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling public health or safety purpose. Requires the orders to be limited in duration, applicability, and scope. Defines constitutional rights as including: freedom of movement, the right to work and enjoy the fruits of one's labor, the right to vote in free and open elections, the right of assembly, the right to petition, religious liberty, freedom of speech and press, property rights, due process, equal protection, the right to have a jury trial, the right to keep and bear arms, all rights enumerated in Article I of the North Carolina Constitution, and all rights protected by the US Constitution against infringement by state government. Sets the process for challenging validity or application of an executive order issued by the Governor. Provides that to the extent that GS Chapter 166A or other State law grants the power to issue an executive order declaring a state of emergency that contains a statewide emergency area, only the Governor may issue orders that bind, curtail, or infringe constitutional rights in a nontrivial manner and such orders require concurrence of the Council of State.

Amends GS 1-267.1 to require any challenge to the validity of or application of an executive order issued by the Governor to be filed in the Superior Court of Wake County and be heard and determined by a three-judge panel.

Effective October 1, 2021.

Part I.

Amends GS 90-95(d)(4) making possession of a controlled substance classified in Schedule VI (marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols) an infraction, rather than a Class 3 or Class 1 misdemeanor based on quantity. Maintains that if the quantity possessed exceeds one and one-half ounces of marijuana or three-twentieths of an ounce of hashish, or any quantity of synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols or tetrahydrocannabinols isolated from the resin of marijuana, the offense is punishable as a Class I felony. 

Enacts GS 15A-145.8B to establish automatic expunction for misdemeanor possession of marijuana or hashish convictions by December 1, 2023. Directs the clerk of superior court to determine which cases meet the criteria for expunction, order expungement for each case finalized in his or her court, and forward the petition to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Provides for the effect of the expungement regarding liability for failure to acknowledge any expunged entries concerning apprehension, charge, or trial. Additionally requires the court to order the conviction order expunged to be expunged from the records of the court and direct law enforcement agencies bearing record of the same. Requires the clerk to notify State and local agencies of the court's order pursuant to state law, excluding DNA records and samples stored as specified. Provides for expungement of related records from any other State or local government agency, and reversal of any administrative action taken against a person whose record is expunged as a result of the charges or convictions expunged.

Effective December 1, 2021.

Part II.

Directs UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government (SOG) to study (1) which Class 3 misdemeanor offenses have a low impact on public safety, (2) whether the offenses should be reclassified as infractions, and (3) whether low-level traffic offenses should be moved to the Administrative Code and enforced as civil violations by the Division of Motor Vehicles or the Department of Public Safety. Requires consultation with the NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission. Requires SOG to report to the specified NCGA committee by March 7, 2022. 

Part III.

Appropriate $4.2 million in recurring funds from the General Fund for each fiscal year of 2021-23 to AOC to be used to support the NC Drug Treatment Court Program in creating and sustaining local drug treatment court programs.

Appropriates $4.2 million in recurring funds from the General Fund for each fiscal year of 2021-23 to AOC to be used to facilitate the creation and funding of new and existing mental health court programs to recommend mental health treatment plans for individuals served by the programs and monitor the progress of the individuals receiving treatment while remining in the program.

Effective July 1, 2021. 

Appropriates $4.2 million in recurring funds for each year of the 2021-23 biennium from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts to support the work of the North Carolina Drug Treatment Court Program in creating and sustaining drug treatment court programs.

Appropriates $4.2 million in recurring funds for each year of the 2021-23 biennium from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts for the creation and funding of new and existing mental health court programs serving those with a mental health diagnosis or treatment history who are defendants in the criminal justice system. Requires the courts to recommend mental health treatment plans for individuals served by the programs and monitor their progress.

Effective July 1, 2021.

Amends GS 17C-20 to open up eligibility for the Criminal Justice Fellows Program (Program) to all counties (was, tier one counties with a population of less than 125,000).

Appropriates $663,579 in recurring funds for 2021-22 from the General Fund to the Department of Justice to be allocated to the Program for continued recruitment of qualified in-state high school seniors or unemployed/underemployed graduates and to provide them with a forgivable community college loan. Effective July 1, 2021.

Amends GS 150B-1 to exempt from rule-making: (1) the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission with respect to establishing minimum standards for in-service training for criminal justice officers and (2) the Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission with respect to establishing minimum standards for in-service training for justice officers.

Identical to H 439, filed 3/29/21.

Amends GS 54-109.14 to establish a $250 charter fee and a $2,500 investigation fee for new credit unions established. Makes clarifying and technical changes to the statute.

Changes the penalties for delayed reporting by credit unions under GS 54-109.15. More specifically calls for late penalties to be paid when credit unions fail to make timely semiannual reports or other reports required by the Administrator (rather than failure to make the reports in general). Now directs the Administrator of Credit Unions to annually determine a schedule for the late penalty to be assessed during the next calendar year on or before December 1, with per-day penalties beginning at no less that $75 and not exceeding $750 (was fixed at $75 per-day). 

Effective October 1, 2021. 

Amends GS 143B-437.08 by establishing five enterprise tiers, in addition in development tiers, in which an enterprise tier one area is a county whose annual ranking is one of the 20 highest in the State; an enterprise tier two area is a county whose annual ranking is between 21 and 40 in the State; an enterprise tier three area is a county whose annual ranking is between 41 and 60 in the State; an enterprise tier four area is a county whose annual ranking is between 61 and 80 in the State; and an enterprise tier five area is a county that is not in a lower-numbered enterprise tier. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to identify all of the areas of the state by development tier and enterprise tier. 

To be summarized.

To be summarized.

To be summarized.

To be summarized.