GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2019

SESSION LAW 2019-168

SENATE BILL 493

AN ACT to add procedural efficiencies when a defendant is ordered to attend an abuser treatment program, to clarify the specific time that a domestic violence protection order expires on the last day that the order is valid, and To provide that subsequent court orders supersede similar provisions in orders issued under the domestic violence laws.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 50B‑3 reads as rewritten:

"§ 50B‑3.  Relief.

…

(a2) If the court orders that the defendant attend an abuser treatment program pursuant to G.S. 50B‑3(a)(12), the defendant shall begin regular attendance of the program within 60 days of the entry of the order. When ordering a defendant to attend an abuser treatment program, the court shall also specify a date and time for a review hearing with the court to assess whether the defendant has complied with that part of the order. The review hearing shall be held as soon as practicable after 60 days from the entry of the original order. The date of the review shall be set at the same time as the entry of the original order, and the clerk shall issue a Notice of Hearing for the compliance review to be given to the defendant and filed with the court on the same day as the entry of the order. If a defendant is not present in court at the time the order to attend an abuser treatment program is entered and the Notice of Hearing for review is filed, the clerk shall serve a copy of the Notice of Hearing together with the service of the order. The plaintiff may, but is not required to, attend the 60‑day review hearing.

(a3) At any time prior to the 60‑day review hearing set forth in subsection (a2) of this section, a defendant who is ordered to attend an abuser treatment program may present to the clerk a written statement from an abuser treatment program showing that the defendant has enrolled in and begun regular attendance in an abuser treatment program. Upon receipt of the written statement, the clerk shall remove the 60‑day review hearing from the court docket, and the defendant shall not be required to appear for the 60‑day review hearing. The clerk shall also notify the plaintiff that the defendant has complied with the order and that no 60‑day review hearing will occur.

(b)        Protective orders entered pursuant to this Chapter shall be for a fixed period of time not to exceed one year. The court may renew a protective order for a fixed period of time not to exceed two years, including an order that previously has been renewed, upon a motion by the aggrieved party filed before the expiration of the current order; provided, however, that a temporary award of custody entered as part of a protective order may not be renewed to extend a temporary award of custody beyond the maximum one‑year period. The court may renew a protective order for good cause. The commission of an act as defined in G.S. 50B‑1(a) by the defendant after entry of the current order is not required for an order to be renewed. Protective orders entered, including consent orders, shall not be mutual in nature except where both parties file a claim and the court makes detailed findings of fact indicating that both parties acted as aggressors, that neither party acted primarily in self‑defense, and that the right of each party to due process is preserved. Protective orders entered pursuant to this Chapter expire at 11:59 P.M. on the indicated expiration date, unless specifically stated otherwise in the order.

…."

SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 50B‑7 reads as rewritten:

"§ 50B‑7.  Remedies not exclusive.

(a)        The remedies provided by this Chapter are not exclusive but are additional to remedies provided under Chapter 50 and elsewhere in the General Statutes.

(b) Any subsequent court order entered supersedes similar provisions in protective orders issued pursuant to this Chapter."

SECTION 2.(b)  G.S. 50B‑3(a1)(4) reads as rewritten:

"(a1)    Upon the request of either party at a hearing after notice or service of process, the court shall consider and may award temporary custody of minor children and establish temporary visitation rights as follows:

…

(4)        A temporary custody order entered pursuant to this Chapter shall be without prejudice and shall be for a fixed period of time not to exceed one year. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the right of the parties to a de novo hearing under Chapter 50 of the General Statutes. Any subsequent custody order entered under Chapter 50 of the General Statutes supersedes a temporary order issued pursuant to this Chapter."

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to orders in effect on or after that date.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16^th day of July, 2019.

                                                                    s/  Ralph E. Hise

                                                                         Presiding Officer of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Tim Moore

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/  Roy Cooper

                                                                         Governor

Approved 12:07 p.m. this 26^th day of July, 2019