AN ACT to give probation officers the authority to allow offenders to report remotely, to allow judges to delegate to probation officers a limited amount of authority to reduce terms of supervised probation, and to appropriate funds.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

PROBATION OFFICERS MAY ALLOW REMOTE REPORTING

SECTION 1.(a)  Article 82 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 15A‑1343.4.  Remote reporting.

(a)        In any instance under this Article that an offender is required to report to the offender's probation officer, the probation officer shall have the authority to allow the offender to report remotely if doing so will either (i) avoid conflicts with the offender's work schedule, (ii) avoid conflicts with the offender's class schedule, or (iii) allow an offender to report that otherwise may fail or struggle to report in person due to unreliable transportation, illness, physical disability, or emergency. The probation officer shall determine the appropriateness of remote reporting in each instance that an offender is required to report to the probation officer and shall notify the offender in writing of that determination. Absent the receipt of this written notification, it shall be presumed that any requirement that the offender report to the probation officer shall be a requirement that the offender report in person.

(b)        Remote reporting pursuant to this section shall at a minimum involve simultaneous, real‑time communication by audio and video transmission in which the offender and probation officer can see and hear each other.

SECTION 1.(b)  This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to offender reporting noticed on or after that date.

 

COURTS MAY DELEGATE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF AUTHORITY TO PROBATION OFFICERS TO REDUCE AN OFFENDER'S TERM OF SUPERVISED PROBATION

SECTION 2.(a)  Article 82 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, as amended by Section 1 of this act, is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 15A‑1344.2.  Delegation of authority to reduce a term of supervised probation.

(a)        In any instance under this Article that the court may reduce a term of supervised probation, the court may delegate, by written order filed with the clerk of superior court, the court's authority to reduce a term of supervised probation when a probation officer finds that an offender (i) is currently in compliance with the terms of the offender's probation and (ii) has made diligent progress regarding the offender's probation. The delegation of the court's authority may be revoked by the court at any time, a fact which the court shall reduce to a written order and file with the clerk of superior court as soon as practicable following the revocation. The clerk of superior court shall notify the probation officer of this revocation of delegated authority as soon as practicably possible.

(b)        For the purpose of this section, proof of any one or more of the following, demonstrated to the satisfaction of the probation officer, shall constitute diligent progress:

(1)        The successful completion of a validated drug or mental health treatment program, evidenced‑based program, or any other promising practice, vocational, or life skills program.

(2)        The successful completion of at least six months of active enrollment in an education program in which the offender is seeking a trade certification, high school diploma, General Educational Development (GED) degree, associate degree, bachelor's degree, or graduate degree.

(3)        The successful completion of at least six months of employment, demonstrated by proof of wages.

(c)        A probation officer may not reduce an offender's term of supervised probation pursuant to this section by more than one‑fourth the amount of time the offender was originally required to serve on supervised probation. If a probation officer reduces an offender's term of supervised probation pursuant to this section on more than one occasion, the total reduction of the offender's term of supervised probation may not exceed one‑fourth the amount of time the offender was originally required to serve on supervised probation.

(d)       Any exercise of a probation officer's delegated authority to reduce a term of supervised probation pursuant to this section shall be reduced to a written affidavit and effectuated by the filing of that affidavit with the clerk of superior court. The clerk of superior court shall provide a copy of the affidavit to the probation officer and shall mail a copy of the affidavit to the address of the offender, which shall be provided by the probation officer upon the filing of the affidavit.

SECTION 2.(b)  This section becomes effective December 1, 2022, and applies to delegations of court authority effected on or after that date.

 

APPROPRIATION TO EDUCATE PROBATION OFFICERS, JUDGES, AND OTHERS REGARDING STATUTORY CHANGES

SECTION 3.(a)  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, Section of Community Corrections, the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in nonrecurring funds for the 2022‑2023 fiscal year to be used to educate probation officers, judges, and other affected stakeholders of the statutory changes made in this act.

SECTION 3.(b)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2022.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.