AN ACT TO CREATE A PERSISTENT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDER REGISTRation program.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

Article 8A.

Persistent Domestic Violence Offender Registration Program.

§ 14‑34.60.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)        Bureau. – The State Bureau of Investigation.

(2)        Conviction. – An adjudication of guilt or a plea of guilty or no contest. The term does not include an adjudication of juvenile delinquency pursuant to Subchapter II of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes.

(3)        Domestic violence offense. – Any of the following:

a.         A violation of G.S. 14‑32.5, 14‑32.6, 14‑134.3, or 50B‑4.1.

b.         Any offense requiring the judge to indicate in the judgment of conviction that the case involved domestic violence in accordance with G.S. 15A‑1382.1(a).

(4)        Persistent domestic violence offender. – A person required to register as a persistent domestic violence offender in accordance with this Article.

(5)        Persistent domestic violence offender registry. – A registry of individuals required to register as persistent domestic violence offenders in accordance with this Article.

(6)        Prior conviction of a domestic violence offense. – A domestic violence offense conviction that occurred before the commission of the most recent domestic violence offense. If a person was previously convicted of more than one domestic violence offense in a single session of district court or in a single week of superior court, only one of the convictions of a domestic violence offense may be counted as a prior conviction of a domestic violence offense.

§ 14‑34.61.  Registration requirements; fees.

(a)        The court shall order a person to register as a persistent domestic violence offender upon conviction of a domestic violence offense if the person has at least one prior conviction of a domestic violence offense. A prior conviction of a domestic violence offense may be proved by stipulation of the parties or by the original or a certified copy of the court record of the prior conviction of a domestic violence offense.

(b)        A court order requiring a person to register as a persistent domestic violence offender shall be in writing and shall state the expiration date of the registration requirement. Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the expiration date of the registration requirement is as follows:

(1)        Two years after the date of the most recent conviction of a domestic violence offense if the person required to register has one prior conviction of a domestic violence offense.

(2)        Five years after the date of the most recent conviction of a domestic violence offense if the person required to register has two prior convictions of a domestic violence offense.

(3)        Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction of a domestic violence offense if the person required to register has three or more prior convictions of a domestic violence offense.

(c)        If a domestic violence offense conviction is reversed, vacated, or set aside, or if the person has been granted an unconditional pardon of innocence for a domestic violence offense conviction, the court that previously ordered registration shall issue an order determining the expiration date of the registration requirement in accordance with subsection (b) of this section without consideration of the domestic violence offense conviction that was reversed, vacated, set aside, or pardoned. If a person would no longer be required to register as a persistent domestic violence offender after the reversal, vacatur, setting aside, or pardon of a domestic violence offense conviction, the court shall order the registration requirement discontinued.

(d)       Within seven calendar days of a court order requiring a person to register as a persistent domestic violence offender, the clerk of superior court shall send the following to the Bureau:

(1)        A certified copy of the order requiring the person to register as a persistent domestic violence offender.

(2)        The person's date of birth, a current photograph of the person, and a copy of the person's drivers license or other State or federal identification documentation, if that information is available to the clerk of superior court.

(e)        In addition to any other punishment that may be imposed for a conviction of a domestic violence offense, the court shall order any person required to register under this Article to pay a registration fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) to the clerk of superior court. The fee is payable to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The clerk of superior court shall remit one hundred dollars ($100.00) of the fee to the Bureau for the costs of compiling and maintaining the persistent domestic violence offender registry. The remaining fifty dollars ($50.00) of the fee shall be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts to be used for the costs of providing records to the Bureau under this section.

§ 14‑34.62.  State Bureau of Investigation designated custodian of persistent domestic violence offender registry.

(a)        The Bureau shall compile and maintain the persistent domestic violence offender registry. As custodian of the registry, the Bureau has the following responsibilities:

(1)        To receive from the clerks of superior court all information and documentation sent to the Bureau pursuant to G.S. 14‑34.61.

(2)        To make the registry available for public inquiry on the internet in accordance with this section.

(3)        To remove from the registry the names and identifying information of persistent domestic violence offenders upon expiration of the registration requirement or order of the court in accordance with G.S. 14‑34.61.

(4)        To include the registration information in the Criminal Information Network as set forth in G.S. 143B‑905.

(b)        The registry shall consist only of the persistent domestic violence offender's name, date of birth, domestic violence offense conviction date, county of conviction, and a current photograph of the persistent domestic violence offender.

(c)        The Bureau may use a persistent domestic violence offender's address, social security number, drivers license number, or any other State or federal identification documentation for identity verification. However, the identifying information listed in this subsection shall not be published on the registry.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2026, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date; provided, however, that a prior conviction of a domestic violence offense need not occur on or after December 1, 2026.