A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to divide superior court, district court, and prosecutorial districts 29 into districts 29A and 29B.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 7A‑41(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The counties of the State are organized into judicial divisions and superior court districts, and each superior court district has the counties, and the number of regular resident superior court judges set forth in the following table, and for districts of less than a whole county, as set out in subsection (b) of this section:
		Superior
Judicial	Court							No. of Resident
Division	District		Counties				Judges
______________________________________________________________________
First		1			Camden, Chowan,			2
Currituck, Dare, Gates,
Pasquotank, Perquimans
First		2			Beaufort, Hyde,			1
Martin, Tyrrell, Washington
First		3A			Pitt					2
Second	3B			Carteret, Craven,			3
Pamlico
Second	4A			Duplin, Jones,			1
Sampson 				1
Second	4B			Onslow 				1
Second	5A			(part of New Hanover,		1
part of Pender see subsection (b))
5B			(part of New Hanover,		1
part of Pender see subsection (b)) 
5C			(part of New Hanover,		1
see subsection (b))
First		6A			Halifax 				1
First		6B			Bertie, Hertford,			1
Northampton	
First		7A			Nash					1
First		7B			(part of Wilson,			1
part of Edgecombe, 
see subsection (b)) 
First		7C			(part of Wilson,			1
part of Edgecombe, see
subsection (b))
Second	8A			Lenoir and Greene			1
Second	8B			Wayne				1
Third		9			Franklin, Granville,			2
Vance, Warren
Third		9A			Person, Caswell			1
Third		10A			(part of Wake,			2
see subsection (b))
Third		10B 			(part of Wake,			2
see subsection (b))
Third		10C			(part of Wake,			1
see subsection (b))
Third		10D			(part of Wake,			1
see subsection (b))
Fourth 	11A			Harnett, Lee				1
Fourth 	11B			Johnston				1
Fourth		12A			(part of Cumberland,		1
see subsection (b))
Fourth 	12B			(part of Cumberland,		1
see subsection (b))
Fourth 	12C			(part of Cumberland,		2
see subsection (b))
Fourth 	13			Bladen, Brunswick,			2
Columbus 
Third		14A			(part of Durham,			1
see subsection (b))
Third		14B			(part of Durham, 			3
see subsection (b))
Third		15A			Alamance				2
Third		15B			Orange, Chatham			2
Fourth 	16A			Scotland, Hoke			1
Fourth		16B			Robeson				2
Fifth		17A			Rockingham				2
Fifth		17B			Stokes, Surry 			2
Fifth		18A			(part of Guilford,			1
see subsection (b))
Fifth 		18B			(part of Guilford, 			1
see subsection (b)) 
Fifth 		18C			(part of Guilford,			1
see subsection (b)) 
Fifth		18D			(part of Guilford, 			1
see subsection (b)) 
Fifth		18E			(part of Guilford,			1
see subsection (b))
Sixth		19A			Cabarrus 				1
Fifth		19B			Montgomery, Randolph		1
Sixth		19C			Rowan 				1
Fifth		19D			Moore 				1
Sixth		20A			Anson,				1
Richmond
Sixth		20B			Stanly, Union			2
Fifth		21A			(part of Forsyth,			1
see subsection (b))
Fifth 		21B			(part of Forsyth,			1
see subsection (b))
Fifth 		21C			(part of Forsyth,			1
see subsection (b))
Fifth 		21D			(part of Forsyth,			1
see subsection (b))
Sixth 		22			Alexander, Davidson,		3
Davie, Iredell
Fifth 		23			Alleghany, Ashe,			1
Wilkes, Yadkin
Eighth 	24			Avery, Madison,			2
Mitchell, Watauga, Yancey
Seventh	25A			Burke, Caldwell			2
Seventh	25B			Catawba				2
Seventh	26A			(part of Mecklenburg,		2
see subsection (b))
Seventh	26B			(part of Mecklenburg,		3
see subsection (b))
Seventh	26C			(part of Mecklenburg,		2
see subsection (b))
Seventh	27A			Gaston				2
Seventh	27B			Cleveland, Lincoln			2
Eighth 	28			Buncombe				2
Eighth 								
		29A			McDowell, Rutherford		1
		29B			Henderson, Polk, Transylvania	1
Eighth 	30A			Cherokee, Clay,			1
Graham, Macon, Swain
Eighth 	30B			Haywood, Jackson			1."
SECTION 1.(b)  The superior court judgeship established for District 29A by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by the superior court judge from current District 29 who resides in Rutherford County. That judge's term expires on December 31, 2012, and a successor shall be elected in the 2012 general election.
SECTION 1.(c)  The superior court judgeship established for District 29B by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by the superior court judge from current District 29 who resides in Henderson County. That judge's term expires on December 31, 2006, and a successor shall be elected in the 2006 general election.
SECTION 1.(d)  The trial court administrator serving current District 29 shall serve as trial court administrator for both District 29A and District 29B.
SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 7A‑133(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Each district court district shall have the numbers of judges as set forth in the following table:
District	Judges	County
1	5	Camden
		Chowan
		Currituck
		Dare
		Gates
		Pasquotank
		Perquimans
2	4	Martin
		Beaufort
		Tyrrell
		Hyde
		Washington
3A	5	Pitt
3B	5	Craven
		Pamlico 
		Carteret
4	8	Sampson
		Duplin
		Jones
		Onslow
5	8	New Hanover
		Pender
6A	2	Halifax
6B	3	Northampton
		Bertie
		Hertford
7	7	Nash 
		Edgecombe
		Wilson
8	6	Wayne 
		Greene
		Lenoir
9	4	Granville
		(part of Vance
		see subsection (b))
		Franklin
9A	2	Person 
		Caswell
9B	2	Warren
		(part of Vance
		see subsection (b))
10	15	Wake
11	8	Harnett
		Johnston
		Lee
12	9	Cumberland
13	6	Bladen
		Brunswick
		Columbus
14	6	Durham
15A	4	Alamance
15B	4	Orange 
		Chatham
16A	3	Scotland
		Hoke
16B	5	Robeson
17A	2	Rockingham
17B	4	Stokes 
		Surry
18	12	Guilford
19A	4	Cabarrus
19B	6	Montgomery 
		Moore
		Randolph
19C	4	Rowan
20	7	Stanly 
		Union
		Anson
		Richmond
21	9	Forsyth
22	9	Alexander
		Davidson
		Davie
		Iredell
23	4	Alleghany
		Ashe
		Wilkes
		Yadkin
24	4	Avery
		Madison
		Mitchell
		Watauga
		Yancey
25	8	Burke 
		Caldwell
		Catawba
26	17	Mecklenburg
27A	6	Gaston
27B	4	Cleveland
		Lincoln
28	6	Buncombe

				
29A	3	McDowell
		Rutherford
29B	4	Henderson
		Polk
		Transylvania
30	5	Cherokee 
		Clay
		Graham
		Haywood
		Jackson
		Macon
		Swain."
SECTION 2.(b)  The district court judgeships established for District 29A by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by the district court judges from current District 29 who reside in McDowell and Rutherford Counties and by the judge established for District 29 to be appointed by the Governor pursuant to Section 14.6 of S.L. 2004‑124, as amended by subsection (c) of this section. The term of the judge living in Rutherford County expires the first Monday in December 2006. That judge's successor shall be elected in the 2006 general election. The term of the judge living in McDowell County expires the first Monday in December 2006. That judge's successor shall be elected in the 2006 election.
SECTION 2.(c)  Section 14.6(f) of S.L. 2004‑124 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 14.6.(f)  The Governor shall appoint the additional district court judges for Districts 5, 21, and  29A authorized by subsection (e) of this section, and those judges' successors shall be elected in the 2006 general election for four‑year terms commencing on the first Monday in December 2006.
The district court judge for the additional judgeship in District 17B, as authorized by subsection (e) of this section, shall be elected in the 2004 general election in the same manner as provided for in G.S. 163‑329 to serve a four‑year term beginning the first Monday in December 2004, and no vacancy exists before that date."
SECTION 2.(d)  The district court judgeships established for District 29B by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by the district court judges from current district 29 who reside in Henderson and Transylvania Counties. The term of the three judges living in Henderson County expire the first Monday in December 2008. Those judges' successors shall be elected in the 2008 general election. The term of the judge living in Transylvania County expires the first Monday in December 2008. That judge's successor shall be elected in the 2008 general election.
SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 7A‑60(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1)	The counties of the State are organized into prosecutorial districts, and each district has the counties and the number of full‑time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table:
		No. of Full‑Time
		Prosecutorial		Asst. District
		District	Counties	Attorneys
	1	Camden, Chowan, Currituck,	10
		Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
		Perquimans
	2	Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,	6
		Tyrrell, Washington
	3A	Pitt	9
	3B	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	10
	4	Duplin, Jones, Onslow,	14
		Sampson
	5	New Hanover, Pender	14
	6A	Halifax	4
	6B	Bertie, Hertford,	4
		Northampton
	7	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	16
	8	Greene, Lenoir, Wayne	11
	9	Franklin, Granville,	11
		Vance, Warren
	9A	Person, Caswell	4
	10	Wake	31
	11	Harnett, Johnston, Lee	14
	12	Cumberland	18
	13	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus	11
	14	Durham	13
	15A	Alamance	8
	15B	Orange, Chatham	7
	16A	Scotland, Hoke	5
	16B	Robeson	10
	17A	Rockingham	5
	17B	Stokes, Surry	5
	18	Guilford	27
	19A	Cabarrus	6
	19B	Montgomery, Moore, Randolph	11
	19C	Rowan	5
	20	Anson, Richmond,	15
		Stanly, Union
	21	Forsyth	17
	22	Alexander, Davidson, Davie,	16
		Iredell
	23	Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,	5
		Yadkin
	24	Avery, Madison, Mitchell,	4
		Watauga, Yancey
	25	Burke, Caldwell, Catawba	15
	26	Mecklenburg	36
	27A	Gaston	12
	27B	Cleveland,	9
		Lincoln
	28	Buncombe	11
					
	29A	McDowell, Rutherford	5
	29B	Henderson, Polk, Transylvania	6
	30	Cherokee, Clay, Graham,	9
		Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
		Swain."
SECTION 3.(b)  The district attorneys established for Districts 29A and 29B by subsection (a) of this section shall be elected in the 2006 general election.
SECTION 3.(c)  The five assistant district attorney positions established for District 29A by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by five assistant district attorneys currently serving McDowell and Rutherford Counties in current District 29. The six district attorney positions established for District 29B by subsection (a) of this section shall be filled by six assistant district attorneys currently serving Henderson, Polk, and Transylvania Counties in current District 29.
SECTION 3.(d)  G.S. 7A‑69 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑69.  Investigatorial assistants.
The district attorney in prosecutorial districts 1, 3B, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15A, 15B, 16A, 18, 19B, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27A, 27B, 28,  29A, 29B, and 30 is entitled to one investigatorial assistant, and the district attorney in prosecutorial district 10 is entitled to two investigatorial assistants, to be appointed by the district attorney and to serve at his pleasure.
It shall be the duty of the investigatorial assistant to investigate cases preparatory to trial and to perform such other Duties as may be assigned by the district attorney. The investigatorial assistant is entitled to reimbursement for his subsistence and travel expenses to the same extent as State employees generally."
SECTION 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Judicial Department the sum of sixty‑six thousand two hundred thirty‑seven dollars ($66,237) for the 2005‑2006 fiscal year and the sum of two hundred forty‑eight thousand one hundred forty‑four dollars ($248,144) for the 2006‑2007 fiscal year to implement the provisions of this act.
SECTION 5.  Section 3 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2007, but the district attorneys for Prosecutorial Districts 29A and 29B shall be elected in the 2006 general election. The remainder of this act becomes effective December 1, 2005.