GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 361

Short Title:  No Drugs at School Bus Stops.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Jeralds; Bowman, H. Hunter, Hurley, Jeffus, Justus, Mercer, Privette, Smith, and Warner.
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Referred to:  Judiciary III.
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March 28, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN DRUG OFFENSES COMMITTED AT LOCATIONS DESIGNATED AS SCHOOL BUS STOPS SHALL BE PUNISHABLE AS CLASS E FELONIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 90-95(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	The prescribed punishment and degree of any offense under this Article shall be subject to the following conditions, but the punishment for an offense may be increased only by the maximum authorized under any one of the applicable conditions:
(1),(2)	Repealed by Session Laws 1979, c. 760, s. 5.
(3)	If any person commits an offense under this Article for which the prescribed punishment includes imprisonment for not more than two years, and if he has previously been convicted for one or more offenses under any law of North Carolina or any law of the United States or any other state, which offenses are punishable under any provision of this Article, he shall be punished as a Class I felon;
(4)	If any person commits an offense under this Article for which the prescribed punishment includes imprisonment for not more than six months, and if he has previously been convicted for one or more offenses under any law of North Carolina or any law of the United States or any other state, which offenses are punishable under any provision of this Article, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than two years or fined not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or both in the discretion of the court;
(5)	Any person 18 years of age or over who violates G.S. 90-95(a)(1) by selling or delivering a controlled substance to a person under 16 years of age or a pregnant female shall be punished as a Class E felon.  Mistake of age is not a defense to a prosecution under this section. It shall not be a defense that the defendant did not know that the recipient was pregnant;
(6)	For the purpose of increasing punishment, previous convictions for offenses shall be counted by the number of separate trials at which final convictions were obtained and not by the number of charges at a single trial;
(7)	If any person commits an offense under this Article for which the prescribed punishment requires that any sentence of imprisonment be suspended, and if he has previously been convicted for one or more offenses under any law of North Carolina or any law of the United States or any other state, which offenses are punishable under any provision of this Article, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than six months or fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or both in the discretion of the court;
(8)	Any person 21 years of age or older who commits an offense under G.S. 90-95(a)(1) on property used for an elementary or secondary school or within 300 feet of the boundary of real property used for an elementary or secondary school shall be punished as a Class E felon.  Any person 21 years of age or older who, on property designated as a school bus stop for receiving and discharging pupils in accordance with G.S. 115C-246, commits an offense under G.S. 90-95(a)(1) shall be punished as a Class E felon.  For purposes of this subdivision, the transfer of less than five grams of marijuana for no remuneration shall not constitute a delivery in violation of G.S. 90-95(a)(1).  A person sentenced under this subdivision must serve a mandatory term of imprisonment of no less than two years, notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 90-95(h)(5) or any other law.  The sentencing judge may not suspend the mandatory two-year term of imprisonment or place the person on probation for the mandatory two-year term of imprisonment.  During that time the prisoner is not eligible for early parole or early release."
Sec. 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1991, and applies to offenses occurring on or after that date.