North Carolina § 164-43 - Priority of duties; reports; continuing duties.

§ 164-43. Priority of duties; reports; continuing duties.

The Commission shall have two primary duties, and other secondary duties essential to accomplishing the primary ones. The Commission may establish subcommittees or advisory committees composed of Commission members to accomplish duties imposed by this Article. The classification of criminal offenses as described in G.S. 164-41 and the formulation of sentencing structures as described in G.S. 164-42; and The formulation of proposals and recommendations as described in G.S. 164-42.1 and G.S. 164-42.2. The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the 1991 General Assembly, 1991 Regular Session. The report shall describe the status of the Commission's work, and shall include any completed policy recommendations. The Commission shall report on its progress in formulating recommendations for the classification and ranges of punishment for felonies and misdemeanors, required by G.S. 164-41, and sentencing structures, established under G.S. 164-42, to the 1991 General Assembly, 1992 Regular Session, and shall make a final report on these recommendations no later than 30 days after the convening of the 1993 Session of the General Assembly. Once the primary duties of the Commission have been accomplished, it shall have the continuing duty to monitor and review the criminal justice and corrections systems and the juvenile justice system in this State to ensure that sentences and dispositions remain uniform and consistent, and that the goals and policies established by the State are being implemented by sentencing and dispositional practices, and it shall recommend methods by which this ongoing work may be accomplished and by which the correctional population simulation model and the Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety facilities population simulation model developed under G.S. 164-40 shall continue to be used by the State. Upon adoption of a system for the classification of offenses formulated under G.S. 164-41, the Commission or its successor shall review all proposed legislation which creates a new criminal offense, changes the classification of an offense, or changes the range of punishment or dispositional level for a particular classification, and shall make recommendations to the General Assembly. In the case of a new criminal offense, the Commission or its successor shall determine whether the proposal places the offense in the correct classification, based upon the considerations and principles set out in G.S. 164-41. If the proposal does not assign the offense to a classification, it shall be the duty of the Commission or its successor to recommend the proper classification placement. In the case of proposed changes in the classification of an offense or changes in the range of punishment or dispositional level for a classification, the Commission or its successor shall determine whether such a proposed change is consistent with the considerations and principles set out in G.S. 164-41, and shall report its findings to the General Assembly. The Commission or its successor shall meet within 10 days after the last day for filing general bills in the General Assembly for the purpose of reviewing bills as described in subsections (e), (f), and (g). The Commission or its successor shall include in its report on a bill an analysis based on an application of the correctional population simulation model or the Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety facilities population simulation model to the provisions of the bill. It is the legislative intent that the Commission attach priority to accomplish the following primary duties: History (1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1076, s. 1; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 812, s. 12; c. 816, ss. 1, 4; 1993, c. 253, s. 5.1; c. 321, s. 200.1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 591, s. 6(a); 1995, c. 236, s. 1; 1997-256, s. 6; 1997-347, s. 2; 1997-401, s. 2; 1997-418, s. 2; 1997-443, s. 18.6(a); 1998-202, s. 10(d); 2000-137, s. 4(jj); 2011-145, s. 19.1( l ); 2017-186, s. 2(ooooooooo).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 816, which amended this section, in s. 6, provides: "Nothing in this act shall be construed to obligate the General Assembly to appropriate funds to implement the provisions of this act." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 16.5, provides: "Pursuant to G.S. 164-42.1 and G.S. 164-43, the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission shall prepare biennial reports on juvenile recidivism in North Carolina. The Commission shall consult with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [now the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] and the Fiscal Research Division of the Legislative Services Office of the General Assembly in developing a methodology for measuring juvenile recidivism in North Carolina. The Commission shall report the proposed methodology to the 2005 General Assembly by March 1, 2005. The Commission's report shall also include a timeline for completing the initial analysis and recidivism report and any proposed legislation regarding juvenile recidivism. The report shall also include recommendations for other outcome measures that are appropriate for evaluating juvenile program effectiveness." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2004'." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 33.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2004-2005 fiscal year." Session Laws 2004-124, s. 33.5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-145, s. 19.1( l ), effective January 1, 2012, substituted "Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety" for "Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention" in subsections (d) and (h). Session Laws 2017-186, s. 2(ooooooooo), effective December 1, 2017, substituted "Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and" for "Division of" in subsections (d) and (h).