Enacts GS 15A-1225.1(b1) to provide that in a criminal case involving an alleged sexual offense against a child witness, the court may rely solely on lay testimony in determining (1) whether the child would suffer serious emotional distress by testifying in the defendant’s presence and (2) whether the child’s ability to communicate with the trier of fact would be impaired by so testifying, so as to authorize remote testimony by the child witness. Applies to criminal proceedings pending on or after October 1, 2011.