A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow a one‑time expunction of multiple criminal offenses.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 15A‑145.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑145.5.  Expunction of certain misdemeanors and felonies; no age limitation.
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(c)	A person may file a petition, in the court of the county where the person was most recently convicted, for expunction of nonviolent misdemeanor and nonviolent felony convictions from the person's criminal record if the person has no other misdemeanor or felony convictions that are excluded from expunction pursuant to this section, other than a traffic violation. The petition shall not be filed earlier than 10 years after the date of the most recent conviction for a nonviolent felony or five years for a nonviolent misdemeanor or when all active sentences, periods of probation, and post‑release supervision have been served, whichever occurs later. The petition shall contain, but not be limited to, the following:
(1)	An affidavit by the petitioner that the petitioner has been of good moral character since the most recent date of conviction for a nonviolent misdemeanor or nonviolent felony and has not been convicted of any other felony or misdemeanor that is excluded from expunction pursuant to this section, other than a traffic violation, under the laws of the United States or the laws of this State or any other state.
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(3)	A statement that the petition is a motion in the cause in the case wherein the petitioner was most recently convicted.
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Upon filing of the petition, the petition shall be served upon the district attorney of the court wherein the most recent case was tried resulting in conviction. The district attorney shall have 30 days thereafter in which to file any objection thereto and shall be duly notified as to the date of the hearing of the petition. Upon good cause shown, the court may grant the district attorney an additional 30 days to file objection to the petition. The district attorney shall make his or her best efforts to contact the victim, if any, to notify the victim of the request for expunction prior to the date of the hearing.
The presiding judge is authorized to call upon a probation officer for any additional investigation or verification of the petitioner's conduct since the most recent conviction. The court shall review any other information the court deems relevant, including, but not limited to, affidavits or other testimony provided by law enforcement officers, district attorneys, and victims of crimes committed by the petitioner.
If the court, after hearing, finds that the petitioner has not previously been granted an expunction under this section, G.S. 15A‑145, 15A‑145.1, 15A‑145.2, 15A‑145.3, or 15A‑145.4, or that any previous expunction received under any of those sections occurred prior to December 1, 2019; the petitioner has remained of good moral character; the petitioner has no outstanding warrants or pending criminal cases; the petitioner has no other felony or misdemeanor convictions that are excluded from expunction pursuant to this section other than a traffic violation; the petitioner has no outstanding restitution orders or civil judgments representing amounts ordered for restitution entered against the petitioner; and the petitioner was convicted of offenses eligible for expunction under this section and was convicted of, and completed any sentence received for, the nonviolent felonies at least 10 years prior to the filing of the petition and the nonviolent misdemeanors at least five years prior to the filing of the petition, it may order that such person be restored, in the contemplation of the law, to the status the person occupied before those arrests, indictments, or informations, except as provided in G.S. 15A‑151.5. If the court denies the petition, the order shall include a finding as to the reason for the denial.
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(e)	The court shall also order that the convictions be expunged from the records of the court and direct all law enforcement agencies bearing record of the same to expunge their records of the convictions. The clerk shall notify State and local agencies of the court's order, as provided in G.S. 15A‑150.
(f)	Any other applicable State or local government agency shall expunge from its records entries made as a result of the convictions ordered expunged under this section upon receipt from the petitioner of an order entered pursuant to this section. The agency shall also vacate any administrative actions taken against a person whose record is expunged under this section as a result of the charges or convictions expunged. A person whose administrative action has been vacated by an occupational licensing board pursuant to an expunction under this section may then reapply for licensure and must satisfy the board's then current education and preliminary licensing requirements in order to obtain licensure. This subsection shall not apply to the Department of Justice for DNA records and samples stored in the State DNA Database and the State DNA Databank.
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SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to petitions filed on or after that date.