A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the department of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention to study the advisability of enacting a youthful offender code.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, in consultation with the Department of Correction, the Department of Public Instruction, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, shall study issues related to the conviction and sentencing of persons who are between the ages of 16 and 21 years, or youthful offenders, to determine whether the State should enact a youthful offender code that would provide services and treatment that have been proven effective for persons who are not yet adults.  The Department shall review the youthful offender acts of other states, including New York and Georgia, and the relevant North Carolina laws and programs, including the law regarding conditional discharge and expunction of records for first offenses under G.S. 90‑96, deferred prosecution under G.S. 15A‑1341, the first offenders programs, and other programs for youthful offenders, including pretrial intervention programs, which have been proven effective.
The Department of Correction, the Department of Public Instruction, and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall cooperate with the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in conducting the study.
SECTION 2.  The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall report the results of this study, including any recommended legislation, to the Joint Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee by March 1, 2006.
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.