Justice Improvements.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 862

Short Title: Justice Improvements. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Echevarria.
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
April 10, 2025
*H862-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE VIDEO RECORDING OF DISTRICT COURT PROCEEDINGS AND 2
THE PUBLISHING OF RE PORTS OF HOW IMPAIRE D DRIVING CASES ARE 3
RESOLVED. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 7A-191.1 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 7A-191.1. Recording of proceeding in which defendant pleads guilty or no contest to 7
felony in district court. 8
(a) The trial judge shall require that a true, complete, and accurate record be made of the 9
proceeding in which a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a Class H or I felony pursuant to 10
G.S. 7A-272.(i) any hearing on an infraction conducted pursuant to Article 66 of Chapter 15A of 11
the General Statutes and (ii) any criminal trial proceeding, including pretrial motions, pleas, plea 12
bargains, an explanation required under G.S. 20-138.4, taking of evidence, sentencing hearings, 13
posttrial motions, and requests for limited driving privileges . A proceeding described in this 14
subsection shall be recorded, both video and audio, using electronic or other mechanical devices 15
provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts. 16
(b) It is the duty of the clerk of superior court, or another person designated by the clerk, 17
to (i) operate the recording device described in subsection (a) of this section and (ii) preserve any 18
recording produced by the device. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, making 19
a recording produced in accordance with this section available online in a format that allows a 20
person to view the recording and download or save the recording to his or her device is allowed 21
and sufficient to comply with any provision of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes requiring 22
access to public records. A proceeding described in subsection (a) of this section may be deleted 23
in accordance with a retention schedule adopted and implemented by the Administrative Office 24
of the Courts." 25
SECTION 2. G.S. 7A-109.2 reads as rewritten: 26
"§ 7A-109.2. Records of dispositions in criminal cases; impaired driving integrated data 27
system. 28
(a) Each clerk of superior court shall ensure that all records of dispositions in criminal 29
cases, including those records filed electronically, contain all the essential information about the 30
case, including the the name of the presiding judge and the attorneys representing the State and 31
the defendant. 32
(b) In addition to the information required by subsection (a) of this section for all offenses 33
involving impaired driving a s defined by G.S. 20-4.01, all charges of driving while license 34
revoked for an impaired driving license revocation as defined by G.S. 20-28.2, and any other 35
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 862-First Edition
violation of the motor vehicle code involving the operation of a vehicle and the possession, 1
consumption, use, or transportation of alcoholic beverages, the clerk shall include in the 2
electronic records the following information: 3
(1) The reasons for any pretrial dismissal by the court. 4
(2) The alcohol concentration reported by the charging officer or ch emical 5
analyst, if any. 6
(3) The reasons for any suppression of evidence. 7
(4) The disposition of the charge. 8
(c) In addition to the information required under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, 9
for defendants sentenced pursuant to G.S. 20-179, the clerk shall include in the electronic records 10
(i) each grossly aggravating factor, aggravating factor, and mitigating factor found by the court 11
and (ii) the level of punishment imposed by the court. 12
(d) The Administrative Office of the Courts shal l publish an annual report no later than 13
September 1 of each year on its website that includes the information required by this section for 14
the fiscal year immediately preceding the date of the report. The report shall include statewide 15
and countywide summaries of the number of charges, dispositions, sentencing factors, and 16
sentencing levels. Additionally, for each county, the report shall include each type of charge filed 17
and all of the information required by this section for each charge." 18
SECTION 3. Section 33 of S.L. 2006 -253, as amended by Section 5 of S.L. 19
2007-493, reads as rewritten: 20
"SECTION 33. Section 6 becomes effective August 21, 2006, and applies to hearings held 21
on or after that date. Sections 20.1, 20.2, and the requirement that the Ad ministrative Office of 22
the Courts electronically record certain data contained in subsection (c) of G.S. 20-138.4, as 23
amended by Section 19 of this act, become effective after the next rewrite of the superior court 24
clerks system by the Administrative Offic e of the Courts. April 1, 2026. Section 22.4 becomes 25
effective December 1, 2006. The remainder of this act becomes effective December 1, 2006, and 26
applies to offenses committed on or after that date." 27
SECTION 4. The first report required under G.S. 7A-109.2(d), as enacted by Section 28
2 of this act, shall include information from December 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and shall 29
be published no later than September 1, 2026. 30
SECTION 5. Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective December 1, 2025, and 31
apply to any hearing, trial, or disposition of charges occurring on or after that date. The remainder 32
of this act is effective when it becomes law. 33