NC lawmakers send criminal justice reforms to Gov. Cooper; more could be on the way
As protests over police brutality and racial injustice have rocked cities across the country over the last two weeks, North Carolina lawmakers are dusting off criminal justice reform proposals that had appeared to be dead.
Last year, the Republican-led N.C. Senate passed two such reform bills with unanimous support. But then both bills went to the Republican-controlled N.C. House, where they spent months without ever coming up for a vote.
But that changed on Wednesday.
One of the bills, H511, proposes sentencing reforms for nonviolent drug crimes that would let judges go around “mandatory minimum” laws for drug users who get treatment for substance abuse and meet other requirements.
The other, S562, is aimed at letting people expunge their criminal records in certain cases. Having a criminal record can often make it difficult, if not impossible, to find a job or be approved for a lease or a loan.
On Wednesday, the House passed the expunction bill unanimously, 10 months after the Senate also unanimously passed it. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will now decide whether to approve or veto it.
“This is a bill that keeps people in our communities able to contribute to their communities,” said Republican Sen. Danny Britt, a criminal defense attorney from Lumberton who sponsored the bill. “This is a bill that changes lives.”
One part of the bill would apply to people who were charged with a crime but then had their charges dropped or were found not guilty in court. Another part would allow people who have been convicted of nonviolent crimes ask to have the record of their conviction cleared, but only after going for years without getting in trouble with the law again. There are also separate rules for people who committed crimes as teenagers.
“This is going to help hundreds of thousands of people,” said Durham Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey just before voting for the bill Wednesday. Morey was a judge before joining the legislature.
First Step Act next
Also Wednesday, Republican Rep. David Lewis, chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee, said the committee would take up the other bill on drug laws and sentencing reform, called the First Step Act, next week. That bill passed the Senate unanimously last October but has stalled in Lewis’ committee since then.
Britt, who also co-sponsored that bill last year, said Wednesday that under current law someone caught with just 6 illicit pain pills could potentially be charged with drug trafficking and given a lengthy prison sentence, even if they had no intent of selling the drugs. In this case, the reform would help people get addiction treatment instead of being charged as a drug dealer.
Former Democratic Sen. Floyd McKissick of Durham returned to the legislature Wednesday. A longtime lawyer and the son of a prominent 1960s civil rights activist, McKissick also co-sponsored the Second Chance Act.
McKissick said he would like to see his former colleagues at the legislature take up some other reforms that are focused on policing, like extra training on topics like racial bias or de-escalating potentially violent situations.
“Right now if you want to become a law enforcement officer, your training hours take about half the time it would take if you were a barber,” McKissick said.
Bipartisan support for reform
The vote on the Second Chance Act on Wednesday brought together numerous liberal and conservative groups who are normally at odds with one another. The conservative group Americans For Prosperity sent employees to voice their support, as did the liberal N.C. Justice Center.
Several noted that in addition to helping with racial inequalities and other issues stemming from mass incarceration, it could also be seen as a pro-jobs bill.
Tarrah Callahan, executive director of Conservatives for Criminal Justice Reform, said if Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signs the bill into law, then North Carolina will have the most comprehensive expunction reforms in the entire country.
When the House voted on the bill Wednesday, it was mostly Democrats who spoke up. Many invoked the recent protests over racial inequality and the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
But Republican Rep. Craig Horn of Union County spoke up to urge his fellow Republicans to support the bill, too. Horn said he doesn’t like most criminal justice reform ideas but does think people who have served their time deserve a shot at getting their lives back on track without all the hurdles they currently face.
“I’ve seen a lot of these kinds of bills come through in the 10 years I’ve been here, and most of the time I oppose these bills,” Horn said, calling most reforms soft on crime.
“But I also know we have to give people hope for an opportunity,” he said. “Not a free pass. These are people who have done the deed and paid for it .... and I want to give them that shot.”
The bill passed the House 119-0 Wednesday, adding to last year’s 44-0 vote in the Senate. It now goes to Cooper to veto or approve.
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This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 5:30 PM.
