GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 8

Short Title:  Amend Struc. Sent. Prior Record Calculation.        (Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Cooper; Albertson, Dalton, Dannelly, Gulley, Hoyle, Jordan, Kerr, Lee, Lucas, Martin of Guilford, Miller, Odom, Plyler, Rand, Reeves, Shaw of Cumberland, Warren, Weinstein, Wellons, and Winner.

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Referred to:  Judiciary.

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February 3, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT THE NORTH CAROLINA SENTENCING AND POLICY ADVISORY COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATION TO AMEND THE STRUCTURED SENTENCING PROVISIONS REGARDING THE CALCULATION OF PRIOR RECORD LEVELS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 15A-1340.14(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Multiple Prior Convictions Obtained in One Court Week. – For purposes of determining the prior record level, if an offender is convicted of more than one offense in a single superior court during one calendar week, or in a single session of district court, only the conviction for the offense with the highest point total is used.  However, if at the time of sentencing for those convictions that court found that the offenses were not transactionally related pursuant to G.S. 15A-1340.15(c) or G.S. 15A-1340.22(c), each conviction is used for purposes of determining the prior record level."
Section 2.  G.S. 15A-1340.15 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c)	Transactionally Related Convictions. – Unless otherwise specified by the court, if an offender is convicted of more than one offense in a single superior court during one calendar week, or in a single session of district court, those offenses are transactionally related.  At the time of conviction, the State may move the court to find that the current offenses are not transactionally related.  The State must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the current offenses are not transactionally related.  In determining whether offenses are not transactionally related, the following factors are relevant but not dispositive: whether the offenses were of the same or similar character, based on the same act or transaction, based on two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan, or whether the offenses were committed at a single time or in temporally continuous actions.  An offense that threatens or results in bodily injury or death is not transactionally related.  For purposes of this subsection, the offenses of first-degree rape (G.S. 14-27.2), second-degree rape (G.S. 14-27.3), first-degree sexual offense (G.S. 14-27.4), second-degree sexual offense (G.S. 14-27.5), and intercourse and sexual offenses with certain victims (G.S. 14-27.7) are deemed to result in bodily injury.  The judgment shall contain the finding."
Section 3.  G.S. 15A-1340.21(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Multiple Prior Convictions Obtained in One Court Week. – For purposes of this section, if an offender is convicted of more than one offense in a single session of district court, or in a single week of superior court or of a court in another jurisdiction, only one of the convictions may be used to determine the prior conviction level.  However, if at the time of sentencing for those convictions that court found that the offenses were not transactionally related pursuant to G.S. 15A-1340.15(c) or G.S. 15A-1340.22(c), each conviction is used for purposes of determining the prior conviction level."
Section 4.  G.S. 15A-1340.22 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( c)	Transactionally Related Convictions. – Unless otherwise specified by the court, if an offender is convicted of more than one offense in a single session of district court, or in a single week of superior court or of a court in another jurisdiction, those offenses are transactionally related.  At the time of conviction, the State may move the court to find that the current offenses are not transactionally related.  The State must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the current offenses are not transactionally related.  In determining whether offenses are not transactionally related, the following factors are relevant but not dispositive: whether the offenses were of the same or similar character, based on the same act or transaction, based on two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan, or whether the offenses were committed at a single time or in temporally continuous actions.  An offense that threatens or results in bodily injury or death is not transactionally related.  For purposes of this subsection, the offenses of first-degree rape (G.S. 14-27.2), second-degree rape (G.S. 14-27.3), first-degree sexual offense (G.S. 14-27.4), second-degree sexual offense (G.S. 14-27.5), and intercourse and sexual offenses with certain victims (G.S. 14-27.7) are deemed to result in bodily injury.  The judgment shall contain the finding."
Section 5.  G.S. 15A-1340.14 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( a1)	Conviction-Free Period. – If, within the 10 years immediately preceding the date of the commission of the current offense, an offender:
(1)	Has not been convicted of any felony, and
(2)	Has not been convicted of any misdemeanor as that term is defined in this subsection, and
(3)	Has not been incarcerated as a result of a conviction of any felony or misdemeanor,
then prior Class H and I felony convictions and Class A1 and 1 misdemeanor convictions are not assigned points.  For purposes of this subsection, misdemeanor is defined as any nontraffic misdemeanor offense, impaired driving (G.S. 20-138.1), impaired driving in a commercial vehicle (G.S. 20-138.2), misdemeanor death by vehicle (G.S. 20-141.4(a2)), and driving while license revoked (G.S. 20-28(a)), but not any other misdemeanor traffic offense under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes."
Section 6.  G.S. 15A-1340.21 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( a1)	Conviction-Free Period. – If, within the 10 years immediately preceding the date of the commission of the current offense, an offender:
(1)	Has not been convicted of any felony, and
(2)	Has not been convicted of any misdemeanor as that term is defined in this subsection, and
(3)	Has not been incarcerated as a result of a conviction of any felony or misdemeanor,
then prior Class H and I felony convictions and misdemeanor convictions are not counted.  For purposes of this subsection, misdemeanor is defined as any nontraffic misdemeanor offense, impaired driving (G.S. 20-138.1), impaired driving in a commercial vehicle (G.S. 20-138.2), misdemeanor death by vehicle (G.S. 20-141.4(a2)), and driving while license revoked (G.S. 20-28(a)), but not any other misdemeanor traffic offense under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes."
Section 7.  G.S. 15A-1340.14(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Points. – Points are assigned as follows:
(1)	For each prior felony Class A conviction, 10 points.
(1a)	For each prior felony Class B1 conviction, 9 points.
(2)	For each prior felony Class B2, C, or D conviction, 6 points.
(3)	For each prior felony Class E, F, or G conviction, 4 points.
(4)	For each prior felony Class H or I conviction, 2 points.
(5)	For each prior misdemeanor conviction as defined in this subsection, 1 point.  For purposes of this subsection, misdemeanor is defined as any Class A1 and Class 1 nontraffic misdemeanor offense, impaired driving (G.S. 20-138.1), impaired driving in a commercial vehicle (G.S. 20-138.2), and misdemeanor death by vehicle (G.S. 20-141.4(a2)), but not any other misdemeanor traffic offense under Chapter 20 of the General Statutes.
(6)	If all the elements of the present offense are included in the prior offense, 1 point.
(7)	If the offense was committed while the offender was on probation or parole, or while the offender was serving a sentence of imprisonment, or while the offender was on escape from a correctional institution while serving a sentence of imprisonment, 1 point.
For purposes of determining prior record points under this subsection, a conviction for a first degree rape or a first degree sexual offense committed prior to the effective date of this subsection shall be treated as a felony Class B1 conviction, and a conviction for any other felony Class B offense committed prior to the effective date of this subsection shall be treated as a felony Class B2 conviction."
Section 8.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1997, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.