AN ACT to amend the qualifications for persons nominated As magistrates and TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM IN TWELFTH judicial district TO ADDRESS CONFLICTING CHILD CUSTODY ORDERS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 7A‑171.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	To be eligible for nomination as a magistrate, an individual shall have at least eight years' experience as the clerk of superior court in a county of this State or shall have a four‑year degree from an accredited senior institution of higher education or shall have a two‑year associate degree and four years of work experience in a related field, including teaching, social services, law enforcement, arbitration or mediation, the court system, or counseling. The Administrative Officer of the Courts may determine whether the work experience is sufficiently related to the duties of the office of magistrate for the purposes of this subsection. In determining whether an individual's work experience is in a related field, the Administrative Officer of the Courts shall consider the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for the office of magistrate.
The eligibility requirements prescribed by this subsection do not apply to individuals holding the office of magistrate on June 30, 1994, and do not apply to individuals who have been nominated by June 30, 1994, but who have not been appointed or taken the oath of office by that date."
SECTION 2.(a)  The Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services, shall establish a pilot program in the Twelfth Judicial District that addresses the issue of conflicting child custody orders.  To the extent that this act or the program established pursuant to it conflicts with any State law, the program supersedes that law.  However, the Department of Health and Human Services shall ensure that federal funding is not jeopardized.
SECTION 2.(b)  Under this program, when a court obtains jurisdiction over a juvenile as the result of a petition alleging that the juvenile is abused, neglected, or dependent:
(1)	The court in the juvenile proceeding may stay any other civil action in this State in which the custody of the juvenile is an issue.
(2)	If an order entered in the juvenile proceeding and an order entered in another civil custody action conflict, the order in the juvenile proceeding controls as long as the court continues to retain jurisdiction in the juvenile proceeding.
(3)	The court in the juvenile proceeding may order that any civil action or claim for custody filed in the pilot judicial district be consolidated with the juvenile proceeding.
(4)	If a civil action or claim for custody has been filed in a district other than the pilot judicial district, then the court in the juvenile proceeding may, after consulting with the court in the other district, order that the civil action or claim for custody be transferred to the pilot judicial district or may order a change of venue in the juvenile proceeding and transfer the juvenile proceeding to the other district.
(5)	The court may establish a mechanism for determining the legal status of a juvenile after jurisdiction of the juvenile court terminates, including a determination as to who has custody of the juvenile and under what circumstances custody may subsequently be changed. 
SECTION 2.(c)  The Administrative Office of the Courts shall evaluate the pilot program and report its findings and recommendations to the 2005 General Assembly prior to its convening.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law. Section 2 of this act expires June 30, 2005.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of July, 2003.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Richard T. Morgan
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 11:21 a.m. this 1st day of August, 2003