GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1991 SESSION

CHAPTER 274
HOUSE BILL 421

AN ACT TO CLARIFY G.S. 13-1, TO RESTORE THE CITIZENSHIP OF PERSONS CONVICTED IN ANOTHER STATE ON THE SAME BASIS AS PERSONS CONVICTED IN THIS STATE OR IN FEDERAL COURT, AND TO SIMPLIFY THE PROCEDURE FOR FILING THE CERTIFICATE OF RESTORATION AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 13-1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 13-1.  Restoration of citizenship.
Any person convicted of a crime, whereby the rights of citizenship are forfeited, shall have such rights automatically restored upon the occurrence of any one of the following conditions:
(1)	The unconditional discharge of an inmate by the State Department of Correction or the North Carolina Department of Correction, of a probationer by the State Department of Correction, or of a parolee by the Department of Correction; or of a defendant under a suspended sentence by the court.
(2)	The unconditional pardon of the offender.
(3)	The satisfaction by the offender of all conditions of a conditional pardon.
(4)	With regard to any person convicted of a crime against the United States, the unconditional discharge of such person by the agency of the United States having jurisdiction of such person, the unconditional pardon of such person or the satisfaction by such person of a conditional pardon.
(5)	With regard to any person convicted of a crime in another state, the unconditional discharge of such person by the agency of that state having jurisdiction of such person, the unconditional pardon of such person or the satisfaction by such person of a conditional pardon."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 13-2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 13-2.  Issuance and filing of certificate or order of restoration.
(a)	The agency, department, or court having jurisdiction over the inmate, probationer, parolee or defendant at the time his rights of citizenship are restored under the provisions of G.S. 13-1(1) shall immediately issue a certificate or order in duplicate evidencing the offender's unconditional discharge and specifying the restoration of his rights of citizenship.
The original of such certificate or order shall be promptly transmitted to the clerk of the General Court of Justice in the county where the official record of the case from which the conviction arose is filed.  The clerk shall then file the certificate or order without charge with the official record of the case.
(b)	In the case of a person convicted of a crime against another state or the United States, whose rights to citizenship have been restored according to G.S. 13-1, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)	It shall be the duty of the clerk of the court in the county where such person resides, upon a showing by such person or his representative that the conditions of G.S. 13-1 have been met, to issue the certificate evidencing the offender's unconditional discharge and specifying the restoration of his rights of citizenship. For purposes of this subsection, the fulfillment of the conditions of G.S. 13-1 shall be considered met upon the presentation to the clerk of any paper writing from the agency of any other state or of the United States which had jurisdiction over such person, which shows that the conditions of G.S. 13-1 have been met.
(2)	The certificate described in subdivision (b)(1) shall be filed by the clerk of the General Court of Justice in the county in which such person resides.
The provisions of this subsection apply equally to conditional and unconditional pardons by the governor of any other state or by the President of the United States, as well as unconditional discharges by the agency of another state or of the United States having jurisdiction over said person."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 12th day of June, 1991.

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James C. Gardner
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives