GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2023

S                                                                                                                                                     3

SENATE BILL 565

Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 4/19/23

House Committee Substitute Favorable 5/22/24

Short Title:      Amend Expunction.	(Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:

April 5, 2023

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to revise the laws on the availability of expunged records AND TO repeal the automatic expunction of dismissed charges.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

part i. revise expunction statutes

SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 15A‑151 is amended by adding two new subsections to read:

"(a1) Court records expunged under this Article are confidential and shall be retained by the clerks of superior court as confidential files. Expunged records retained by the clerks under this subsection shall be retained in accordance with the retention schedule for the underlying case type, as prescribed by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts in conjunction with the State Archives pursuant to Chapter 121 of the General Statutes. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall maintain on behalf of the clerks of superior court any expunged records retained in electronic form by the clerks under this subsection.

(a2) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall make all confidential records maintained under this section electronically available to the clerks of superior court and to personnel of the clerks' offices designated by the respective clerk. A clerk shall not disclose to any person or for any reason the existence or content of any expunged record from a county other than the clerk's own county. A clerk shall disclose the existence or content of an expunged record from the clerk's own county only as follows:

(1) Upon request of a person, or the attorney representing the person on the expunction matter, requesting disclosure or copies of the person's record.

(2) To the office of the district attorney.

(3) To the Office of the Appellate Defender upon appointment of that office as counsel for the person who was the subject of the expunged record."

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 15A‑151.5 reads as rewritten:

"§ 15A‑151.5.  Prosecutor access to expunged files.

(a)        Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall make all confidential files maintained under G.S. 15A‑151 electronically available to all prosecutors of this State if the criminal record was expunged on or after July 1, 2018, under any of the following:State.

(1) G.S. 15A‑145. Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of misdemeanor; expunction of certain other misdemeanors.

(2) G.S. 15A‑145.1. Expunction of records for first offenders under the age of 18 at the time of conviction of certain gang offenses.

(3) G.S. 15A‑145.2. Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain drug offenses.

(4) G.S. 15A‑145.3. Expunction of records for first offenders not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense of certain toxic vapors offenses.

(5) G.S. 15A‑145.4. Expunction of records for first offenders who are under 18 years of age at the time of the commission of a nonviolent felony.

(6) G.S. 15A‑145.5. Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age limitation.

(7) G.S. 15A‑145.6. Expunctions for certain defendants convicted of prostitution.

(7a) G.S. 15A‑145.7. Expunction of records for first offenders under 20 years of age at the time of the offense of certain offenses.

(7b) G.S. 15A‑145.8A. Expunction of records for offenders under the age of 18 at the time of commission of certain misdemeanors and felonies upon completion of the sentence.

(7c) G.S. 15A‑145.9. Expunction of records of certain offenses committed by human trafficking victims.

(8) G.S. 15A‑146(a). Expunction of records when charges are dismissed.

(9) G.S. 15A‑146(a1). Expunction of records when charges are dismissed.

(b)        For any expungement granted on or after July 1, 2018, the record of a criminal conviction expunged under subdivisions (1) through (7b) of subsection (a) of this section this Article, other than a criminal conviction expunged under G.S. 15A‑145.9, may be considered a prior conviction and used for any of the following purposes:

(1)        To calculate prior record level and prior conviction level if the named person is convicted of a subsequent criminal offense.

(2)        To serve as a basis for indictment for a habitual offense pursuant to G.S. 14‑7.1 or G.S. 14‑7.26.

(3)        When a conviction of a prior offense raises the offense level of a subsequent offense.

(4)        To determine eligibility for relief under G.S. 90‑96(a).

(5)        When permissible in a criminal case under Rule 404(b) or Rule 609 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence.

…."

part ii. repeal automatic expunction

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 15A‑146(a4) is repealed.

SECTION 2.(b)  Section 1 of S.L. 2022‑47, as amended by Section 14.5 of S.L. 2023‑103, and Section 2 of S.L. 2022‑47 are repealed.

SECTION 2.(c)  G.S. 15A‑146(c) reads as rewritten:

"(c)      Any petition required to be filed for expungement under this section shall be on a form approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts and be filed with the clerk of superior court. Excluding any expunction granted by operation of law pursuant to subsection (a4) of this section, upon Upon order of expungement by a court, the clerk shall notify State and local agencies of the court's order as provided in G.S. 15A‑150 and forward the petition to the Administrative Office of the Courts."

SECTION 2.(d)  G.S. 15A‑150 reads as rewritten:

"§ 15A‑150.  Notification requirements.

…

(b)        Notification to Other State and Local Agencies. – Unless otherwise instructed by the Administrative Office of the Courts pursuant to an agreement entered into under subsection (e) of this section for the electronic or facsimile transmission of information, the clerk of superior court in each county in North Carolina shall send a certified copy of an order granting an expunction to a person named in subsection (a) of this section to (i) all of the agencies listed in this subsection and (ii) the person granted the expunction. Expunctions granted pursuant to G.S. 15A‑146(a4) are excluded from all clerk of superior court notice provisions of this subsection. An agency receiving an order under this subsection shall purge from its records all entries made as a result of the charge or conviction ordered expunged, except as provided in G.S. 15A‑151. The list of agencies is as follows:

(1)        The sheriff, chief of police, or other arresting agency.

(2)        When applicable, the Division of Motor Vehicles.

(3)        Any State or local agency identified by the petition as bearing record of the offense that has been expunged.

(4)        The Department of Adult Correction, Combined Records Section.

(5)        The State Bureau of Investigation.

…

(e)        The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts may enter into an agreement with any of the State agencies listed in subsection (b) of this section for electronic or facsimile transmission of any information that must be provided under this section. The Administrative Office of the Courts also may provide notice to State and local agencies, in a manner and format determined by the Administrative Office of the Courts, of expunctions granted pursuant to G.S. 15A‑146(a4)."

SECTION 2.(e)  Any expunctions granted pursuant to G.S. 15A‑146(a4) prior to the effective date of Sections 1 and 2 of S.L. 2022‑47 shall remain valid.

SECTION 2.(f)  Any records of dismissed charges, not guilty verdicts, or findings of not responsible maintained pursuant to Section 1 of S.L. 2022‑47 shall not be expunged by operation of law and shall be retained by the clerk of superior court unless otherwise expunged pursuant to G.S. 15A‑146 or other applicable provisions of law.

PART III. EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.