A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACt to create a public service alert system to aid in the apprehension of suspects who kill or inflict serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer; to PROVIDE THAT THE HEAD OR CHIEF OF A LAW ENFORCEMENt AGENCY MAY DESIGNATE A PERSON TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR A DEADLY WEAPON TO BE TURNED OVER TO A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY; TO amend the silver alert system to expand the class of citizens it PROTECTS; TO prevent motor carriers from avoiding civil penalties owed to the state by TRANSFERRING title prior to payment; to make minor changes to the definition of emergency in the north carolina emergency management act; to provide that the samarcand training academy is specifically exempted from the umstead act; to provide an exemption to the department of public safety and the State Bureau of Investigation; TO CREATE AN EXCEPTION TO THE LENGTH OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS FOR FORENSIC SCIENTISTS TO BECOME CAREER STATE EMPLOYEES; and to expand the list of crimes for which an investigative grand jury may be convened.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Subpart B of Part 5 of Article 13 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143B‑1023.  North Carolina Blue Alert System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the Blue Alert System. The purpose of the Blue Alert System is to aid in the apprehension of a suspect who kills or inflicts serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer by providing a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding the suspect. The term "serious bodily injury" is as defined in G.S. 14‑32.4(a).
(b)	The Center shall make every effort to rapidly disseminate information on a suspect when the following criteria are met:
(1)	A law enforcement officer is killed or suffers serious bodily injury.
(2)	A law enforcement agency with jurisdiction (i) determines that the suspect poses a threat to the public and other law enforcement personnel and (ii) possesses information that may assist in locating the suspect, including information regarding the suspect's vehicle, complete or partial license plate information, and a detailed description of the suspect, or that a law enforcement officer is missing while on duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law enforcement officer's safety.
(3)	The head of a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction recommends the issuance of a blue alert to the Center.
(c)	The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures for the statewide implementation of the Blue Alert System and shall provide education and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters to participate in the alert.
(d)	The Center shall consult with the Department of Transportation and develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanent changeable message signs to provide information on a suspect when the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section are met. The Center and the Department of Transportation shall develop guidelines for the content, length, and frequency of any message to be placed on the overhead permanent changeable message sign pursuant to the issuance of a blue alert.
(e)	The Center shall consult with the Division of Emergency Management in the Department of Public Safety to develop a procedure for the use of the Blue Alert System to provide information on a suspect when the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section are met."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑269.1(4b) reads as rewritten:
"(4b)	By ordering the weapon turned over to a law enforcement agency in the county of trial for (i) the official use of the agency or (ii) sale, trade, or exchange by the agency to a federally licensed firearm dealer in accordance with all applicable  State and federal firearm laws. The court may order a disposition of the firearm pursuant to this subdivision only upon the written request of the head or chief of the law enforcement agency or a designee of the head or chief of the law enforcement agency and only if the firearm has a legible, unique identification number. If the law enforcement agency sells the firearm, then the proceeds of the sale shall be remitted to the appropriate county finance officer as provided by G.S. 115C‑452 to be used to maintain free public schools. The receiving law enforcement agency shall maintain a record and inventory of all firearms received pursuant to this subdivision."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143B‑1022 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑1022.  North Carolina Silver Alert System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the Silver Alert System. The purpose of the Silver Alert System is to provide a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding a missing person or missing child who is believed to be suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or a disability that requires them to be protected from potential abuse or other physical harm, neglect, or exploitation.
(b)	If the Center receives a request that involves a missing person or missing child as described in subsection (a) of this section, the Center shall issue an alert providing for rapid dissemination of information statewide regarding the missing person or missing child. The Center shall make every effort to disseminate the information as quickly as possible when the person's or child's status as missing has been reported to a law enforcement agency.
(c)	The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures for issuing an alert for missing persons and missing children as described in subsection (a) of this section and shall provide education and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters to participate in the alert. The guidelines and procedures shall ensure that specific health information about the missing person or missing child is not made public through the alert or otherwise.
...."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑54 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑54.  Authority for refusing registration or certificate of title.
The Division shall refuse registration or issuance of a certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of the following grounds:
...
(13)	The Division has been notified by the State Highway Patrol that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay any civil penalty and fees imposed by the State Highway Patrol for a violation of Part 9 of Article 3 of this Chapter."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 166A‑19.3(6) reads as rewritten:
"(6)	Emergency. – An occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man‑made accidental, military, paramilitary, terrorism, weather‑related, public health, explosion‑related, riot‑related cause, or technological failure or accident, including, but not limited to, a cyber incident, an explosion, a transportation accident, a radiological accident, or a chemical or other hazardous material incident."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 66‑58(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(28)	Samarcand Training Academy."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 126‑1.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 126‑1.1.  Career State employee defined.
(a)	For the purposes of this Chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "career State employee" means a State employee or an employee of a local entity who is covered by this Chapter pursuant to G.S. 126‑5(a)(2) who:
(1)	Is in a permanent position with a permanent appointment, and
(2)	Has been continuously employed by the State of North Carolina or a local entity as provided in G.S. 126‑5(a)(2) in a position subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act for the immediate 12 preceding months.
(b)	As used in this Chapter, "probationary State employee" means a State employee who is in a probationary appointment and is exempt from the provisions of the North Carolina Human Resources Act only because the employee has not been continuously employed by the State for the time period required by subsection (a) or (c) of this section.
(c)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, employees who are hired by a State agency, department or university in a sworn law enforcement position or forensic scientist position and who are required to complete a formal training program prior to assuming law enforcement or forensic scientist duties with the hiring agency, department or university shall become career State employees only after being employed by the agency, department or university for 24 continuous months."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 15A‑622 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑622.  Formation and organization of grand juries; other preliminary matters.
…
(h)	A written petition for convening of grand jury under this section may be filed by the district attorney, the district attorney's designated assistant, or a special prosecutor requested pursuant to G.S. 114‑11.6, with the approval of a committee of at least three members of the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys, and with the concurrence of the Attorney General, with the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court. The Chief Justice shall appoint a panel of three judges to determine whether to order the grand jury convened. A grand jury under this section may be convened if the three‑judge panel determines that:
(1)	The petition alleges the commission of or a conspiracy to commit any of the crimes listed in subsection (i) of this section, any part of which violation or conspiracy occurred in the county where the grand jury sits, and that persons named in the petition have knowledge related to the identity of the perpetrators of those crimes but will not divulge that knowledge voluntarily or that such persons request that they be allowed to testify before the grand jury; and
(2)	The affidavit sets forth facts that establish probable cause to believe that the crimes specified in the petition have been committed and reasonable grounds to suspect that the persons named in the petition have knowledge related to the identity of the perpetrators of those crimes.
The affidavit shall be based upon personal knowledge or, if the source of the information and basis for the belief are stated, upon information and belief. The panel's order convening the grand jury as an investigative grand jury shall direct the grand jury to investigate the crimes and persons named in the petition, and shall be filed with the Clerk of the North Carolina Supreme Court. A grand jury so convened retains all powers, duties, and responsibilities of a grand jury under this Article. The contents of the petition and the affidavit shall not be disclosed. Upon receiving a petition under this subsection, the Chief Justice shall appoint a panel to determine whether the grand jury should be convened as an investigative grand jury.
A grand jury authorized by this subsection may be convened from an existing grand jury or grand juries authorized by subsection (b) of this section or may be convened as an additional grand jury to an existing grand jury or grand juries. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, grand jurors impaneled pursuant to this subsection shall serve for a period of 12 months, and, if an additional grand jury is convened, 18 persons shall be selected to constitute that grand jury. At any time for cause shown, the presiding superior court judge may excuse a juror temporarily or permanently, and in the latter event the court may impanel another person in place of the juror excused.
(i)	An investigative grand jury may be convened pursuant to subsection (h) of this section if the petition alleges the commission of, attempt to commit or solicitation to commit, or a conspiracy to commit any of the following:
(1)	A violation of G.S. 90‑95(h) or G.S. 90‑95.1.
(2)	A violation of Article 29 or 30 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes (relating to bribery and obstructing justice), G.S. 14‑228 (buying and selling of offices), or G.S. 14‑234 (public officers or employees benefiting from public contracts).
(3)	A violation of G.S. 14‑43.11 (human trafficking), G.S. 14‑43.12 (involuntary servitude), or G.S. 14‑43.13 (sexual servitude).
(j)	Any grand juror who serves the full term of service under subsection (b) or subsection (h) of this section shall not be required to serve again as a grand juror or as a juror for a period of six years."
SECTION 9.  Section 4 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2016, and applies to violations committed on or after that date. Section 8 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2016. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.