AN ACT to eliminate appeals for infractions, to modify appeals to the superior court in probation revocations in which the DEFENDANT HAS WAIVED A HEARING, TO AMEND THE LAW PERTAINING TO RESENTENCING UPON THE REVERSAL OF A SENTENCE ON APPELLATE REVIEW, TO MAKE CHANGES REGARDING THE PROCEDURES FOR A MOTION FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF, and To reclassify certain misdemeanors as infractions.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 15A‑1115 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑1115.  Review of infractions originally disposed of in superior court.
	(b)	Review of Infractions Originally Disposed of in Superior Court. – If the superior court disposes of an infraction pursuant to its jurisdiction in G.S. 7A‑271(d), appeal from that judgment is as provided for criminal actions in the superior court."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 15A‑1347 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑1347.  Appeal from revocation of probation or imposition of special probation upon violation; consequences of waiver of hearing.(a)	Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, when a district court judge, as a result of a finding of a violation of probation, activates a sentence or imposes special probation, the defendant may appeal to the superior court for a de novo revocation hearing. At the hearing the probationer has all rights and the court has all authority they have in a revocation hearing held before the superior court in the first instance. Appeals from lower courts to the superior courts from judgments revoking probation may be heard in term or out of term, in the county or out of the county by the resident superior court judge of the district or the superior court judge assigned to hold the courts of the district, or a judge of the superior court commissioned to hold court in the district, or a special superior court judge residing in the district. When the defendant appeals to the superior court because a district court has found he violated probation and has activated his sentence or imposed special probation, and the superior court, after a de novo revocation hearing, orders that the defendant continue on probation under the same or modified conditions, the superior court is considered the court that originally imposed probation with regard to future revocation proceedings and other purposes of this Article. When a superior court judge, as a result of a finding of a violation of probation, activates a sentence or imposes special probation, either in the first instance or upon a de novo hearing after appeal from a district court, the defendant may appeal under G.S. 7A‑27.
(b)	If a defendant waives a revocation hearing, the finding of a violation of probation, activation of sentence, or imposition of special probation may not be appealed to the superior court."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 15A‑1335 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑1335.  Resentencing after appellate review.
When a conviction or sentence imposed in superior court has been set aside on direct review or collateral attack, the court may not impose a new sentence for the same offense, or for a different offense based on the same conduct, which is more severe than the prior sentence less the portion of the prior sentence previously served. This section shall not apply when a defendant, on direct review or collateral attack, succeeds in having a plea of guilty vacated."
SECTION 3.1.  G.S. 15A-1420 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑1420.  Motion for appropriate relief; procedure.
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SECTION 4.  If Senate Bill 402, 2013 Regular Session, becomes law, then G.S. 20‑35, as amended by Section 18B.14(g) of that bill, reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑35.  Penalties for violating Article; defense to driving without a license.
(a)	Penalty. – Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a1) or (a2) of this section, a violation of this Article is a Class 2 misdemeanor unless a statute in the Article sets a different punishment for the violation. If a statute in this Article sets a different punishment for a violation of the Article, the different punishment applies.
(a1)	The following offenses are Class 3 misdemeanors:
(1)	Failure to obtain a license before driving a motor vehicle, in violation of G.S. 20‑7(a).
	(2)	Failure to comply with license restrictions, in violation of G.S. 20‑7(e).
		(3)	Permitting a motor vehicle owned by the person to be operated by an unlicensed person, in violation of G.S. 20‑34.
(a2)	A person who does any of the following is responsible for an infraction:
(1)	Fails to carry a valid license while driving a motor vehicle, in violation of G.S. 20‑7(a).
(2)	Operates a motor vehicle with an expired license, in violation of G.S. 20‑7(f).
(3)	Fails to notify the Division of an address change for a drivers license within 60 days after the change occurs, in violation of G.S. 20‑7.1.
(b)	Repealed by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 761, s. 4.
(c)	Defenses. – A person may not be found responsible for failing to carry a regular drivers license if, when tried for that offense, the person produces in court a regular drivers license issued to the person that was valid when the person was charged with the offense. A person may not be found responsible for driving a motor vehicle with an expired drivers license if, when tried for that offense, the person shows all the following:
(1)	That, at the time of the offense, the person had an expired license.
(2)	The person renewed the expired license within 30 days after it expired and now has a drivers license.
(3)	The person could not have been charged with driving without a license if the person had the renewed license when charged with the offense."
SECTION 5.  If Senate Bill 402, 2013 Regular Session, becomes law, then G.S. 20‑176, as amended by Section 18B‑14(h) of that bill, reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑176.  Penalty for misdemeanor or infraction.
(a)	Violation of a provision of Part 9, 10, 10A, or 11 of this Article is an infraction unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be a misdemeanor or felony. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (a1) of this section, violation of the remaining Parts of this Article is a misdemeanor unless the violation is specifically declared by law to be an infraction or a felony.
(a1)	A person who does any of the following is responsible for an infraction:
(1)	Fails to carry the registration card in the vehicle, in violation of G.S. 20‑57(c).
(2)	Fails to sign the vehicle registration card, in violation of G.S. 20‑57(c).
(3)	Fails to notify the Division of an address change for a vehicle registration card within 60 days after the change occurs, in violation of G.S. 20‑67.
(b)	Unless a specific penalty is otherwise provided by law, a person found responsible for an infraction contained in this Article may be ordered to pay a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(c)	Unless a specific penalty is otherwise provided by law, a person convicted of a misdemeanor contained in this Article is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. A punishment is specific for purposes of this subsection if it contains a quantitative limit on the term of imprisonment or the amount of fine a judge can impose.
(c1)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person convicted of a misdemeanor for the violation of any provision of this Chapter except G.S. 20‑28(a) and (b), G.S. 20‑141(j), G.S. 20‑141.3(b) and (c), G.S. 20‑141.4, or a second or subsequent conviction of G.S. 20‑138.1 shall be imprisoned in the State prison system unless the person previously has been imprisoned in a local confinement facility, as defined by G.S. 153A‑217(5), for a violation of this Chapter.
				(d)	For purposes of determining whether a violation of an offense contained in this Chapter constitutes negligence per se, crimes and infractions shall be treated identically."
SECTION 6.  If Senate Bill 402, 2013 Regular Session, becomes law, then G.S. 113‑135(a), as amended by Section 18B‑14(m) of that bill, reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Any person who violates any provision of this Subchapter or any rule adopted by the Marine Fisheries Commission or the Wildlife Resources Commission, as appropriate, pursuant to the authority of this Subchapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor except that punishment for violation of the rules of the Wildlife Resources Commission is limited as set forth in G.S. 113‑135.1. Fishing without a license in violation of G.S. 113‑174.1(a) or G.S. 113‑270.1B(a) is punishable as an infraction. Otherwise, unless a different level of punishment is elsewhere set out, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor under this section is punishable as follows:
(1)	For a first conviction, as a Class 3 misdemeanor.
(2)	For a second or subsequent conviction within three years, as a Class 2 misdemeanor."

SECTION 7.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2013, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date, probation violations occurring on or after that date, motions filed on or after that date, and resentencing hearings held on or after that date. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this section are not abated or affected by this section, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this section remain applicable to those prosecutions.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of July, 2013.

	s/	 Philip E. Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Thom Tillis
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Pat McCrory
	 Governor

Approved 10:45 a.m. this 23rd day of August, 2013