AN ACT to amend various procedural requirements regarding bail bonds.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 15A‑531(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4)	"Bail bond" means an undertaking by the defendant to appear in court as required upon penalty of forfeiting bail to the State in a stated amount. Bail bonds include an unsecured appearance bond, an appearance bond secured by a cash deposit of the full amount of the bond, an appearance bond secured by a mortgage under G.S. 58‑74‑5, and an appearance bond secured by at least one solvent surety. A bail bond signed by any surety, as defined in G.S. 15A‑531(8)a. and b., is considered the same as a cash deposit for all purposes in this Article. Cash bonds set in child support contempt proceedings shall not be satisfied in any manner other than the deposit of cash."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 15A‑540(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Surrender After Breach of Condition. – After there has been a breach of the conditions of a bail bond, a surety may surrender the defendant as provided in this subsection. A surety may arrest the defendant for the purpose of returning the defendant to the sheriff. After arresting a defendant, the surety may surrender the defendant to the sheriff of the county in which the defendant is bonded to appear or to the sheriff where the defendant was bonded. Alternatively, a surety may surrender a defendant who is already in the custody of any sheriff by appearing in person and informing the sheriff that the surety wishes to surrender the defendant. Before surrendering a defendant to a sheriff, the surety must provide the sheriff with a copy of the bail bond, forfeiture, or release order. Upon surrender of the defendant, the sheriff shall provide a receipt to the surety."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 15A‑544.5(d)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Motion Procedure. – If a forfeiture is not set aside under subsection (c) of this section, the only procedure for setting it aside is as follows:
…
(2)	The motion shall be filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county in which the forfeiture was entered. The moving party shall, under G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 5, serve a copy of the motion on the district attorney for that county and on the attorney for the county board of education.
…."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 15A‑544.5(d)(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4)	If neither the district attorney nor the attorney for the board of education has filed a written objection to the motion by the twentieth day after a copy of the motion is served by the moving party pursuant to Rule 5 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, the clerk shall enter an order setting aside the forfeiture, regardless of the basis for relief asserted in the motion, the evidence attached, or the absence of either."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 15A‑544.8(c)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Procedure. – The procedure for obtaining relief from a final judgment under this section is as follows:
…
(2)	The motion shall be filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the county in which the final judgment was, entered. The moving party shall, under G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 5, serve a copy of the motion on the district attorney for that county and on the attorney for the county board of education.
…."
SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2013.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of June, 2013.

	s/	 Daniel J. Forest
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Thom Tillis
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Pat McCrory
	 Governor

Approved 4:24 p.m. this 19th day of June, 2013