Title: S.L. 1997-57
Category: Session Law

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1997 SESSION

S.L. 1997-57
SENATE BILL 16

AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA SENTENCING AND POLICY ADVISORY COMMISSION TO MODIFY STATUTORY LANGUAGE DEFINING CERTAIN INTERMEDIATE PUNISHMENTS, TO CHANGE THE JUDICIAL AUTHORITY TO DELEGATE RESPONSIBILITIES TO PROBATION OFFICERS AND TO MODIFY THOSE DELEGATED RESPONSIBILITIES, TO MODIFY THE TARGET POPULATION FOR COMMUNITY PENALTIES, AND TO IDENTIFY THE POPULATION INELIGIBLE FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 143B-262(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The Department shall establish within the Division of Adult Probation and Parole a program of Intensive Supervision.  This program shall provide intensive supervision for probationers, post-release supervisees,  and parolees who require close supervision in order to remain in the community pursuant to a community penalties plan, community work plan, community restitution plan, or other plan of rehabilitation.  The intensive supervision program shall be available to both felons and misdemeanants.  Each offender shall be required to comply with the rules adopted for the Program as well as the requirements specified in G.S. 15A-1340.11(5)."
Section 2.  G.S. 15A-1340.11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A-1340.11.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Active punishment. – A sentence in a criminal case that requires an offender to serve a sentence of imprisonment and is not suspended.  Special probation, as defined in G.S. 15A-1351, is not an active punishment.
(2)	Community punishment. – A sentence in a criminal case that does not include an active punishment or an intermediate punishment.
(3)	Day-reporting center. – A facility to which offenders are required, as a condition of probation, to report on a daily or other regular basis at specified times for a specified length of time to participate in activities such as counseling, treatment, social skills training, or employment training.
	(4a)	House arrest with electronic monitoring. – Probation in which the offender is required to remain at his or her residence unless the court or the probation officer authorizes the offender to leave for the purpose of employment, counseling, a course of study, or vocational training.  The offender shall be required to wear a device which permits the supervising agency to monitor the offender's compliance with the condition electronically.
(5)	Intensive probation. – Probation that requires the offender to submit to supervision by officers assigned to the Intensive Supervision Program established pursuant to G.S. 143B-262(c), and to comply with the rules adopted for that Program.  Unless otherwise ordered by the court, intensive supervision also requires multiple contacts by a probation officer per week, a specific period each day during which the offender must be at his or her residence, and that the offender remain gainfully and suitably employed or faithfully pursue a course of study or of vocational training that will equip the offender for suitable employment.
(6)	Intermediate punishment. – A sentence in a criminal case that places an offender on supervised probation and includes at least one of the following conditions:
a.	Special probation as defined in G.S. 15A-1351(a).
b.	Assignment to a residential program.
c.	House arrest with electronic monitoring.
d.	Intensive probation.
e.	Assignment to a day-reporting center.
In addition, a sentence to regular supervised probation imposed pursuant to a community penalties plan as defined in G.S. 7A-771(2) is an intermediate punishment, regardless of whether any of the above conditions is imposed, if the plan is accepted by the court and the plan does not include active punishment.
(7)	Prior conviction. – A person has a prior conviction when, on the date a criminal judgment is entered, the person being sentenced has been previously convicted of a crime:
a.	In the district court, and the person has not given notice of appeal and the time for appeal has expired; or
b.	In the superior court, regardless of whether the conviction is on appeal to the appellate division; or
c.	In the courts of the United States, another state, the armed services of the United States, or another country, regardless of whether the offense would be a crime if it occurred in North Carolina,
regardless of whether the crime was committed before or after the effective date of this Article.
(8)	Residential program. – A program in which the offender, as a condition of probation, is required to reside in a facility for a specified period and to participate in activities such as counseling, treatment, social skills training, or employment training, conducted at the residential facility or at other specified locations."
Section 3.  G.S. 15A-1343(b1) reads as rewritten:
"(b1)	Special Conditions. – In addition to the regular conditions of probation specified in subsection (b), the court may, as a condition of probation, require that during the probation the defendant comply with one or more of the following special conditions:
(1)	Undergo available medical or psychiatric treatment and remain in a specified institution if required for that purpose.
(2)	Attend or reside in a facility providing rehabilitation, counseling, treatment, social skills, or employment training, instruction, recreation, or residence for persons on probation.
(2a)	Submit to a period of imprisonment in a facility for youthful offenders for a minimum of 90 days or a maximum of 120 days under special probation, reference G.S. 15A-1351(a) or G.S. 15A-1344(e), and abide by all rules and regulations as provided in conjunction with the Intensive Motivational Program of Alternative Correctional Treatment (IMPACT), which provides an atmosphere for learning personal confidence, personal responsibility, self-respect, and respect for attitudes and value systems.
(3)	Submit to imprisonment required for special probation under G.S. 15A-1351(a) or G.S. 15A-1344(e).
	(3b)	Submit to supervision by officers assigned to the Intensive Supervision Program established pursuant to G.S. 143B-262(c), and abide by the rules adopted for that Program.  Unless otherwise ordered by the court, intensive supervision also requires multiple contacts by a probation officer per week, a specific period each day during which the offender must be at his or her residence, and that the offender remain gainfully and suitably employed or faithfully pursue a course of study or of vocational training that will equip the offender for suitable employment.
(3c)	Remain at his or her residence unless the court or the probation officer authorizes the offender to leave for the purpose of employment, counseling, a course of study, or vocational training.  The offender shall be required to wear a device which permits the supervising agency to monitor the offender's compliance with the condition electronically.
(4)	Surrender his driver's license to the clerk of superior court, and not operate a motor vehicle for a period specified by the court.
(5)	Compensate the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources or the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, as the case may be, for the replacement costs of any marine and estuarine resources or any wildlife resources which were taken, injured, removed, harmfully altered, damaged or destroyed as a result of a criminal offense of which the defendant was convicted. If any investigation is required by officers or agents of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources or the Wildlife Resources Commission in determining the extent of the destruction of resources involved, the court may include compensation of the agency for investigative costs as a condition of probation. This subdivision does not apply in any case governed by G.S. 143-215.3(a)(7).
(6)	Perform community or reparation service and pay any fee required by law or ordered by the court for participation in the community or reparation service program.
(7)	Submit at reasonable times to warrantless searches by a probation officer of his person and of his vehicle and premises while he is present, for purposes specified by the court and reasonably related to his probation supervision, but the probationer may not be required to submit to any other search that would otherwise be unlawful. Whenever the warrantless search consists of testing for the presence of illegal drugs, the probationer may also be required to reimburse the Department of Correction for the actual cost of drug screening and drug testing, if the results are positive.
(8)	Not use, possess, or control any illegal drug or controlled substance unless it has been prescribed for him by a licensed physician and is in the original container with the prescription number affixed on it; not knowingly associate with any known or previously convicted users, possessors or sellers of any such illegal drugs or controlled substances; and not knowingly be present at or frequent any place where such illegal drugs or controlled substances are sold, kept, or used.
(8a)	Purchase the least expensive annual statewide license or combination of licenses to hunt, trap, or fish listed in G.S. 113-270.2, 113-270.3, 113-270.5, 113-271, 113-272, and 113-272.2 that would be required to engage lawfully in the specific activity or activities in which the defendant was engaged and which constitute the basis of the offense or offenses of which he was convicted.
(9)	If the offense is one in which there is evidence of physical, mental or sexual abuse of a minor, the court should encourage the minor and the minor's parents or custodians to participate in rehabilitative treatment and may order the defendant to pay the cost of such treatment.
(10)	Satisfy any other conditions determined by the court to be reasonably related to his rehabilitation."
Section 4.  G.S. 15A-1343.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A-1343.2.  Special probation rules for persons sentenced under Article 81B.
(a)	Applicability. – This section applies only to persons sentenced under Article 81B of this Chapter.
(b)	Purposes of Probation for Community and Intermediate Punishments. – The Department of Correction shall develop a plan to handle offenders sentenced to community and intermediate punishments.  The probation program designed to handle these offenders shall have the following principal purposes: to hold offenders accountable for making restitution, to ensure compliance with the court's judgment, to effectively rehabilitate offenders by directing them to specialized treatment or education programs, and to protect the public safety.
(c)	Probation Caseload Goals. – It is the goal of the General Assembly that, subject to the availability of funds, caseloads for probation officers supervising persons sentenced to community punishment should not exceed an average of 90 offenders per officer, and caseloads for offenders sentenced to intermediate punishments should not exceed an average of 60 offenders per officer by July 1, 1998.
(d)	Lengths of Probation Terms Under Structured Sentencing. – Unless the court makes specific findings that longer or shorter periods of probation are necessary, the length of the original period of probation for offenders sentenced under Article 81B shall be as follows:
(1)	For misdemeanants sentenced to community punishment, not less than six nor more than 18 months;
(2)	For misdemeanants sentenced to intermediate punishment, not less than 12 nor more than 24 months;
(3)	For felons sentenced to community punishment, not less than 12 nor more than 30 months; and
(4)	For felons sentenced to intermediate punishment, not less than 18 nor more than 36 months.
If the court finds at the time of sentencing that a longer period of probation is necessary, that period may not exceed a maximum of five years, as specified in G.S. 15A-1342 and G.S. 15A-1351.
Extension. – The court may with the consent of the offender extend the original period of the probation if necessary to complete a program of restitution or to complete medical or psychiatric treatment ordered as a condition of probation. This extension may be for no more than three years, and may only be ordered in the last six months of the original period of probation.
(e)	Delegation to Probation Officer in Community Punishment. –Unless the presiding judge specifically finds in the judgment of the court that delegation is not appropriate, the Division of Adult Probation and Parole in the Department of Correction may require an offender sentenced to community punishment to:
(1)	Perform up to 20 hours of community service, and pay the fee prescribed by law for this supervision;
(2)	Report to the offender's probation officer on a frequency to be determined by the officer; or
(3)	Submit to substance abuse assessment, monitoring or treatment.
If the Division imposes any of the above requirements, then it may subsequently reduce or remove those same requirements.
If the probation officer exercises authority delegated by the court pursuant to this subsection, the offender may file a motion with the court to review the action taken by the probation officer. The offender shall be given notice of the right to seek such a court review. The Division may exercise any authority delegated to it under this subsection only if it first determines that the offender has failed to comply with one or more of the conditions of probation imposed by the court.
(f)	Delegation to Probation Officer in Intermediate Punishments. –Unless the presiding judge specifically finds in the judgment of the court that delegation is not appropriate, the Division of Adult Probation and Parole in the Department of Correction may require an offender sentenced to intermediate punishment to:
(1)	Perform up to 50 hours of community service, and pay the fee prescribed by law for this supervision;
(2)	Submit to a curfew which requires the offender to remain in a specified place for a specified period each day and wear a device that permits the offender's compliance with the condition to be monitored electronically;
(3)	Submit to substance abuse assessment, monitoring or treatment; or
(4)	Participate in an educational or vocational skills development program.
If the Division imposes any of the above requirements, then it may subsequently reduce or remove those same requirements.
If the probation officer exercises authority delegated to him or her by the court pursuant to this subsection, the offender may file a motion with the court to review the action taken by the probation officer. The offender shall be given notice of the right to seek such a court review. The Division may exercise any authority delegated to it under this subsection only if it first determines that the offender has failed to comply with one or more of the conditions of probation imposed by the court.
(g)	Repealed by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 19, s. 3.
(h)	Definitions. – For purposes of this section, the definitions in G.S. 15A-1340.11 apply."
Section 5.  G.S. 7A-771(5) reads as rewritten:
"(5)	'Targeted offenders' means persons charged with or convicted of misdemeanors or felonies who are eligible to receive an intermediate punishment based on their class of offense and prior record level and who are facing an imminent and substantial threat of imprisonment."
Section 6.  G.S. 15A-1368.4 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e1)	Prohibited Conditions. – The Commission shall not impose community service as a condition of post-release supervision."
Section 7.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1997, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 8th day of May, 1997.
s/	Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

s/	Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives

s/	James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor

Approved 12:48 p.m. this 16th day of May, 1997

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Senate Bill 16	S.L. 1997-57	Page