A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to reflect the independence of the judicial department in state budget operations, to authorize the judicial department to conduct position management to allow for the most effective and efficient overall operation of the courts, and to ensure the fiscal integrity and accountability of the judicial branch of government.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 143C‑1‑2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Reversions. – Unless otherwise provided by law, at the end of the fiscal year the unexpended, unencumbered balance of an appropriation reverts to the fund from which the appropriation was made; except that (i) an appropriation to the General Assembly shall not revert unless otherwise provided by the Legislative Services Commission, (ii) an appropriation to the Judicial Department shall not revert unless otherwise provided by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts or the Director of Indigent Defense Services, as applicable (iii) an appropriation for a capital improvement project shall revert as provided by G.S. 143C‑8‑11, and  (iv) an appropriation for the implementation of information technology (IT) projects shall not revert until the project is implemented or abandoned."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143C‑6‑4 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e1)	Overexpenditures in the Judicial Department Budget. – The Chief Justice may approve expenditures for more than was authorized in the enacted budget for objects or line items in the budget of the Judicial Department."
SECTION 3.  Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 29B.
"Position Management.
"§ 7A‑360.  Position management.
After consultation with, and upon the advice of, the State Judicial Council, the Director may establish and abolish, and allocate and reallocate, all personnel positions within the Judicial Department so as best to meet the personnel needs of all Judicial Department hiring authorities and of the Administrative Office of the Courts and to assure the most effective and efficient overall operation of the Judicial Department. This authority is subject to the following limitations:
(1)	The authority does not apply to the following positions:
a.	Justices and judges of the General Court of Justice;
b.	The Assistant Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts provided for in G.S. 7A‑340 and G.S. 7A‑342;
c.	Clerks of superior court provided for in G.S. 7A‑100;
d.	District attorneys provided for in G.S. 7A‑60;
e.	The Clerk of the Supreme Court, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court Librarian, the Supreme Court Marshall, the Appellate Reporters, and the Assistant Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts;
f.	The executive directors of the Judicial Standards Commission, the Conference of District Attorneys, and the Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission; or
g.	Positions provided for in Article 39B of this Chapter (Indigent Defense) or otherwise funded from the Indigent Persons' Attorneys' Fees Fund;
(2)	Positions for assistant and deputy clerks of superior court, magistrates, judicial support staff, assistant district attorneys, and prosecutorial support staff shall be allocated among the counties of the State according to the formula developed under G.S. 7A‑343(2a);
(3)	The magistrate positions for each county shall not be fewer than the minimum number specified for the county in G.S. 7A‑133(c); and
(4)	The assistant district attorney positions for a prosecutorial district shall not be fewer than the minimum number specified for the district in G.S. 7A‑60.
"§ 7A‑361.  Report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations.
On or before October 1 of each calendar year, the Director shall submit to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations a detailed report of all expenditures made and other actions taken under this Article for the fiscal year ending June 30 of that year."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 7A‑343 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑343.  Duties of Director.
The Director is the Administrative Officer of the Courts, and his duties include the following:
(1)	Collect and compile statistical data and other information on the judicial and financial operation of the courts and on the operation of other offices directly related to and serving the courts;
(2)	Determine the state of the dockets and evaluate the practices and procedures of the courts, and make recommendations concerning the number of judges and district attorneys required for the efficient administration of justice;
(2a)	After consultation with, and on the advice of, the State Judicial Council, develop a workload‑based methodology for the allocation of assistant and deputy clerks of superior court and magistrates among the counties of the State, for the allocation of assistant district attorneys among the prosecutorial districts of the State, and for the allocation of judicial support staff and prosecutorial support staff. In developing this methodology, the Director may take into consideration, among other things, prior personnel levels, growth in caseload volume and composition, population, the effect of technology on personnel needs, recommendations of appropriate State and national organizations and agencies specializing in determining the personnel needs of courts, and other relevant factors;
(2b)	Establish and abolish, and allocate and reallocate, personnel positions within the Judicial Department;
(3)	Prescribe uniform administrative and business methods, systems, forms and records to be used in the offices of the clerks of superior court;
(4)	Prepare and submit budget estimates of State appropriations necessary for the maintenance and operation of the Judicial Department, and authorize expenditures from funds appropriated for these purposes;
(4a)	After consultation with, and on the advice of, the State Judicial Council, authorize expenditures from funds appropriated for the maintenance and operation of the Judicial Department, including specifying the uses, within the Judicial Department budget, of funds that remain available for expenditure at the end of each fiscal year under G.S. 143C‑1‑2(b), or revert such funds under G.S. 143C‑1‑2(b).
(5)	Investigate, make recommendations concerning, and assist in the securing of adequate physical accommodations for the General Court of Justice;
(6)	Procure, distribute, exchange, transfer, assign and reassign such equipment, books, forms and supplies as are to be acquired with State funds for the General Court of Justice;
(7)	Make recommendations for the improvement of the operations of the Judicial Department;
(8)	Prepare and submit an annual report on the work of the Judicial Department to the Chief Justice, and transmit a copy to each member of the General Assembly;
(9)	Assist the Chief Justice in performing his duties relating to the transfer of district court judges for temporary or specialized duty;
(9a)	Establish and operate systems and services that provide for electronic filing in the court system and further provide electronic transaction processing and access to court information systems pursuant to G.S. 7A‑343.2; and
(9b)	Enter into contracts with one or more private vendors to provide for the payment of fines, fees, and costs due to the court by credit, charge, or debit cards; such contracts may provide for the assessment of a convenience or transaction fee by the vendor to cover the costs of providing this service;
(9c)	Prescribe policies and procedures for the appointment and payment of foreign language interpreters in those cases specified in G.S. 7A‑314(f). These policies and procedures shall be applied uniformly throughout the General Court of Justice. After consultation with the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Director may also convert contractual foreign language interpreter positions to permanent State positions when the Director determines that it is more cost‑effective to do so; [and]
(10)	Perform such additional duties and exercise such additional powers as may be prescribed by statute or assigned by the Chief Justice."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 7A‑409.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑409.1.  Duties of the State Judicial Council.
(a)	The State Judicial Council shall:
(1)	Study the judicial system and report periodically to the Chief Justice on its findings;
(2)	Advise the Chief Justice on priorities for funding;
(3)	Review and advise the Chief Justice on the budget prepared by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts for submission to the General Assembly;
(4)	Study and recommend to the General Assembly the salaries of justices and judges;
(5)	Recommend to the General Assembly changes in the expense allowances, benefits, and other compensation for judicial officials; bills to implement such recommendations shall have the same status for introduction in the General Assembly as bills recommended by the Courts Commission;
(6)	Recommend the creation of judgeships;
(6a)	Consult with the Director on, and advise the Director in, the performance of the Director's duties under G.S. 7A‑343(2a) and G.S. 7A‑343(4a); and
(7)	Advise or assist the Chief Justice, as requested, on any other matter concerning the operation of the courts."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 7A‑7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑7.  Law clerks; secretaries and stenographers.
(a)	Each justice and judge of the appellate division is entitled to the services of  research assistants, who must be graduates of an accredited law school. (b)	The Administrative Officer of the Courts shall determine the number and salaries of all secretaries, research assistants, and stenographers in the appellate division, as provided in Article 29A of this Chapter, and subject to the approval of the Supreme Court."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 7A‑44.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Senior resident superior court judges may employ judicial secretaries when positions for them are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The Director shall determine the number and compensation of the judicial secretaries for each district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A‑41.1(a)."
SECTION 8.  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 at least the number of full‑time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table. The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts may establish additional assistant district attorney positions for a prosecutorial district, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter.

		No. of Full‑Time
		Prosecutorial		Asst. District
		District	Counties	Attorneys
	1	Camden, Chowan, Currituck,	11
		Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
		Perquimans
	2	Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,	7
		Tyrrell, Washington
	3A	Pitt	11
	3B	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	11
	4	Duplin, Jones, Onslow,	16
		Sampson
	5	New Hanover, Pender	16
	6A	Halifax	5
	6B	Bertie, Hertford,	5
		Northampton
	7	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	18
	8	Greene, Lenoir, Wayne	13
	9	Franklin, Granville,	12
		Vance, Warren	
	9A	Person, Caswell	5
	10	Wake	38
	11	Harnett, Johnston, Lee	16
	12	Cumberland	21
	13	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus	12
	14	Durham	15
	15A	Alamance	10
	15B	Orange, Chatham	9
	16A	Scotland, Hoke	6
	16B	Robeson	13
	17A	Rockingham	6
	17B	Stokes, Surry	7
	18	Guilford	30
	19A	Cabarrus	8
	19B	Montgomery, Randolph	8
	19C	Rowan	7
	19D	Moore	4
	20A	Anson, Richmond,	10
		Stanly
	20B	Union	8
	21	Forsyth	20
	22	Alexander, Davidson, Davie,	20
		Iredell 
	23	Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes,	7
		Yadkin 
	24	Avery, Madison, Mitchell,	6
		Watauga, Yancey
	25	Burke, Caldwell, Catawba	18
	26	Mecklenburg	49
	27A	Gaston	14
	27B	Cleveland,	10
		Lincoln
	28	Buncombe	13
	29A	McDowell, Rutherford	6
	29B	Henderson, Polk, Transylvania	7
	30	Cherokee, Clay, Graham,	11
		Haywood, Jackson, Macon,
		Swain."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 7A‑68(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Each district attorney shall be entitled to at least one administrative assistant to be appointed by the district attorney and to serve at his pleasure. The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts shall determine the number and salaries of the administrative assistants for each district attorney, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. An administrative assistant need not be an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of North Carolina."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 7A‑69 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑69.  Investigatorial assistants.
District attorneys may employ investigative assistants, when positions for them are created by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The Director shall determine the number and salaries of the investigative assistants for each district attorney.
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 11.  G.S. 7A‑95(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Senior resident superior court judges may employ official court reporters when positions for them are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The Director shall determine the number and compensation of the official court reporters for each district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A‑41.1(a). Each official court reporter shall be appointed by the senior resident superior court judge and shall serve at the judge's pleasure. An official court reporter shall record and transcribe superior court proceedings in the district or set of districts for which appointed, may be assigned by the Director to record and transcribe proceedings in other districts or sets of districts, and shall perform other official duties assigned by the senior resident superior court judge."
SECTION 12.  G.S. 7A‑102(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The numbers and salaries of assistant clerks, deputy clerks, and other employees in the office of each clerk of superior court shall be determined by the Administrative Officer of the Courts as provided in Article 29 of this Chapter, after consultation with the clerk concerned. All personnel in the clerk's office are employees of the State. The clerk appoints the assistants, deputies, and other employees in the clerk's office to serve at his or her pleasure. Assistant and deputy clerks shall take the oath of office prescribed for clerks of superior court, conformed to the office of assistant or deputy clerk, as the case may be. Except as provided by subsection (c2) of this section, the job classifications and related salaries of each employee within the office of each superior court clerk shall be subject to the approval of the Administrative Officer of the Courts after consultation with each clerk concerned and shall be subject to the availability of funds appropriated for that purpose by the General Assembly."
SECTION 13.  G.S. 7A‑133(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Each county shall have at least the number of magistrates, and the additional seats of district court, as set forth in the following table. The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts may establish additional magistrate positions for a county, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter.

			Additional
	Magistrates	Seats of 
County	Min.		Court
Camden	3
Chowan	3
Currituck	4
Dare	6
Gates	2
Pasquotank	5
Perquimans	3
Martin	4
Beaufort	5.05
Tyrrell	3
Hyde	3.5
Washington	4
Pitt	10.5		Farmville
			Ayden
Craven	10		Havelock
Pamlico	3
Carteret	9
Sampson	7
Duplin	8
Jones	2
Onslow	11
New Hanover	11
Pender	4.8
Halifax	12		Roanoke
			Rapids,
			Scotland Neck
Northampton	5.25
Bertie	5
Hertford	6
Nash	9		Rocky Mount
Edgecombe	7		Rocky Mount
Wilson	7
Wayne	9		Mount Olive
Greene	4
Lenoir	7		La Grange
Granville	7
Vance	6
Warren	3.5
Franklin	7
Person	4
Caswell	4
Wake	18.5		Apex,
			Wendell, Fuquay‑
			Varina,
			Wake Forest
Harnett	10		Dunn
Johnston	11		Benson,
			Clayton,
			Selma
Lee	5.5
Cumberland	19
Bladen	5
Brunswick	9
Columbus	9.5		Tabor City
Durham	13
Alamance	12		Burlington
Orange	9		Chapel Hill
Chatham	6		Siler City
Scotland	5
Hoke	5
Robeson	15		Fairmont,
			Maxton,
			Pembroke,
			Red Springs,
			Rowland,
			St. Pauls
Rockingham	9		Reidsville,
			Eden,
			Madison
Stokes	5
Surry	9		Mt. Airy
Guilford	24.4		High Point
Cabarrus	9		Kannapolis
Montgomery	5
Randolph	10		Liberty
Rowan	9
Stanly	6
Union	7
Anson	5
Richmond	6		Hamlet 
Moore	6.5		Southern
			Pines
Forsyth	15		Kernersville
Alexander	4
Davidson	10		Thomasville
Davie	4
Iredell	9		Mooresville
Alleghany	2
Ashe	4
Wilkes	6
Yadkin	4
Avery	4
Madison	4
Mitchell	4
Watauga	5
Yancey	3
Burke	6.75
Caldwell	7
Catawba	10		Hickory
Mecklenburg	26.50
Gaston	17
Cleveland	8
Lincoln	6
Buncombe	15
Henderson	6.5
McDowell	4.5
Polk	4
Rutherford	7
Transylvania	4
Cherokee	4
Clay	2
Graham	2
Haywood	6.75		Canton
Jackson	5
Macon	3.5
Swain	3.75"
SECTION 14.  G.S. 7A‑146 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑146.  Administrative authority and duties of chief district judge.
(a)	The chief district judge, subject to the general supervision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has administrative supervision and authority over the operation of the district courts and magistrates in his district. These powers and duties include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1)	Arranging schedules and assigning district judges for sessions of district courts;
(2)	Arranging or supervising the calendaring of noncriminal matters for trial or hearing;
(3)	Supervising the clerk of superior court in the discharge of the clerical functions of the district court;
(4)	Assigning matters to magistrates, and consistent with the salaries set by the Administrative Officer of the Courts, prescribing times and places at which magistrates shall be available for the performance of their duties; however, the chief district judge may in writing delegate his authority to prescribe times and places at which magistrates in a particular county shall be available for the performance of their duties to another district court judge or the clerk of the superior court, and the person to whom such authority is delegated shall make monthly reports to the chief district judge of the times and places actually served by each magistrate;
(5)	Making arrangements with proper authorities for the drawing of civil court jury panels and determining which sessions of district court shall be jury sessions;
(6)	Arranging for the reporting of civil cases by court reporters or other authorized means;
(7)	Arranging sessions, to the extent practicable for the trial of specialized cases, including traffic, domestic relations, and other types of cases, and assigning district judges to preside over these sessions so as to permit maximum practicable specialization by individual judges;
(8)	Repealed by Session Laws 1991 (Regular Session, 1992), c. 900, s. 118(b), effective July 15, 1992.
(9)	Assigning magistrates during an emergency to temporary duty outside the county of their residence but within that district; and, upon the request of a chief district judge of an adjoining district and upon the approval of the Administrative Officer of the Courts, to temporary duty in the district of the requesting chief district judge; and
(10)	Designating another district judge of his district as acting chief district judge, to act during the absence or disability of the chief district judge.
(b)	Chief district court judges may employ judicial secretaries when positions for them are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The Director shall determine the number and compensation of the judicial secretaries for each district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A‑133(b)."
SECTION 15.  G.S. 7A‑198(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Chief district court judges may employ official court reporters when such positions are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The Director shall determine the number and compensation of the official court reporters for each district or set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A‑41.1(a). Each official court reporter shall be appointed by the chief district court judge and shall serve at the judge's pleasure. An official court reporter shall record and transcribe district court proceedings in the district or set of districts for which appointed, may be assigned by the Director to record and transcribe proceedings in other districts or sets of districts, and shall perform other official duties assigned by the chief district court judge."
SECTION 16.  G.S. 7A‑347 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑347.  Assistants for administrative and victim and witness services.
Assistant for administrative and victim and witness services positions are established under the district attorneys' offices. Each prosecutorial district is allocated at least one assistant for administrative and victim and witness services to be employed by the district attorney. The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts shall determine the number of additional assistants for each prosecutorial district and shall determine the salaries of all assistants, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. Each district attorney may also use any volunteer or other personnel to assist the assistant. The assistant is responsible for coordinating efforts of the law‑enforcement and judicial systems to assure that each victim and witness is provided fair treatment under Article 45 of Chapter 15A, Fair Treatment for Victims and Witnesses and shall also provide administrative and legal support to the district attorney's office."
SECTION 17.  G.S. 7A‑355 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑355.  Trial court administrators.
The office of trial court administrator is established. The superior court districts and sets of districts as defined in G.S. 7A‑41.1(a) to be served by trial court administrators shall be determined by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. A trial court administrator may employ supporting staff to assist in carrying out the trial court administrator's duties when such positions are established by the Director pursuant to Article 29A of this Chapter. The salaries of the trial court administrators and support staff shall be determined by the Director."
SECTION 18.  G.S. 7A‑377 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e)	The Commission may employ supporting staff to assist it in carrying out its duties when such positions are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The salaries of the executive secretary and other supporting staff shall be determined by the Director."
SECTION 19.  G.S. 7A‑414 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑414.  Executive secretary; clerical support.
The Conference may employ an executive secretary. The Conference may employ supporting staff to assist it in carrying out its duties when such positions are established by the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as provided in Article 29B of this Chapter. The salaries of the executive secretary and other supporting staff shall be determined by the Director."
SECTION 20.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2007.