GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2007

S                                                                                                                                                     1

SENATE BILL 88

Short Title:     Clarify Oaths.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senators Kinnaird;  Cowell, Dorsett, Graham, Malone, Nesbitt, Shaw, and Weinstein.
Referred to:	Judiciary l (Civil).

February 12, 2007

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to clarify the existing law on administration of oaths.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 11-2 reads as rewritten:

"§ 11-2.  Administration of oaths.

(a) Judges and other persons who may be Persons empowered to administer oaths, oaths shall (except in the cases in this Chapter excepted) require the party to be sworn to lay his hand upon the Holy Scriptures, in token of his engagement to speak the truth and in further token that, if he should swerve from the truth, he may be justly deprived of all the blessings of that holy book and made liable to that vengeance which he has imprecated on his own head. first require the party to be sworn to place the party's hand upon the Bible or any text sacred to the party's religious faith. If appropriate to the person's religious faith, the words "so help me God" may be deleted.

(b) Officials empowered to administer oaths are not required to provide sacred texts other than the Bible, but copies of sacred texts donated for that purpose may be maintained by the officials responsible for administering oaths under the laws of this State."

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.