A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify that for a judge to grant postconviction dna testing the judge must determine that a favorable result from the requested dna test would SUPPORT THE DEFENDANT'S INNOCENCE CLAIM AND TO MODIFY WHICH JUDGE SHALL HEAR CERTAIN MOTIONS FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF AFTER A CLAIM OF INNOCENCE IS DENIED BY A THREE‑JUDGE PANEL.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 15A‑269(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The court shall grant the motion for DNA testing and, if testing complies with FBI requirements, the run of any profiles obtained from the testing, upon its determination that:
(1)	The conditions set forth in subdivisions (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a) of this section have been met.
(2)	If the DNA testing being requested had been conducted on the evidence with favorable results, those results would give support to the defendant's innocence claim.
(3)	The defendant has signed a sworn affidavit of innocence."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 15A‑1469(h) reads as rewritten:
"(h)	The three‑judge panel shall rule as to whether the convicted person has proved by clear and convincing evidence that the convicted person is innocent of the charges. Such a determination shall require a unanimous vote. If the vote is unanimous, the panel shall enter dismissal of all or any of the charges. If the vote is not unanimous, the panel shall deny relief. If the claimant files a motion for appropriate relief pursuant to Article 89 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes any time within a year of the denied relief, the motion shall be considered by the senior judge of the three‑judge panel."
SECTION 3.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective December 1, 2019, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.