Signed by Governor Roy Cooper III

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes judges to sentence nonviolent drug offenders beneath the minimum sentence and/or fines.

Highlights:

• Requires judges to impose the applicable minimum prison term (Sec. 2). 

• Authorizes judges to reduce the fine and sentence the person consistent with the applicable offense classification and prior record level (Sec. 2). 

• Requires judges, beginning on December 1, 2020, to record and ensure that the following findings are met if they are to reduce a fine or sentence (Sec. 2):

• The defendant has accepted responsibility for their criminal conduct;

• The defendant has not previously been convicted of a felony;

• The defendant did not use violence or a credible threat of violence, or possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon, in the commission for which the defendant is being sentenced;

• The defendant did not use any of the aforementioned violent means, in the commission of any other violation of law;

• The defendant admits they have a substance abuse disorder and has successfully completed a court-approved treatment program;

• The imposition of the mandatory minimum prison term would result in substantial injustice or not necessary for protection of the public;

• The defendant is solely being sentenced for trafficking or conspiring to commit trafficking as a result of possessing a controlled substance;

• There is no substantial evidence that the defendant ever engaged in the transportation for the sale, manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance, or having the intention of doing so;

• The defendant, to the best of their knowledge, has provided all reasonable help in the identification, arrest or conviction of any accomplices; and 

• The defendant is being sentenced for trafficking or conspiring to commit trafficking, for possession of a controlled substance that is not of a quantity greater than the lowest category for which a defendant may be convicted.

• Requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to publish a report on the number of sentences modified beginning December 1, 2021 (Sec. 3).

• Requires that beginning on December 1, 2020, the Department of Information Technology’s Government Data Analytics Center shall conduct a statewide study to identify the criminal justice data elements related to individuals who have been charged with infractions or criminal offenses that are currently collected and maintained (Sec. 5).

Full Bill Text