NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1981 SESSION

CHAPTER 922
HOUSE BILL 823

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM AND TO STRENGTHEN THE LAWS AGAINST PERSONS WHO POSSESS CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES WHILE ALLOWING CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE AND EXPUNCTION OF RECORDS FOR FIRST OFFENSE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. Subsection (a) of G.S. 90‑96 is rewritten as follows:
"(a) Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted of any offense under this Article or under any statute of the United States or any state relating to those substances included in Article 5 or 5A of Chapter 90 or to that paraphernalia included in Article 5B of Chapter 90 pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a misdemeanor under this Article by possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, or by possessing drug paraphernalia as prohibited by G.S. 90‑113.16, the court may, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of such person, defer further proceedings and place him on probation upon such reasonable terms and conditions as it may require. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 15A‑1342(c) or any other statute or law, probation may be imposed under this section for an offense under this Article for which the prescribed punishment includes only a fine. To fulfill the terms and conditions of probation the court may allow the defendant to participate in a drug education program approved for this purpose by the Department of Human Resources. Upon violation of a term or condition, the court may enter an adjudication of guilt and proceed as otherwise provided. Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court shall discharge such person and dismiss the proceedings against him. Discharge and dismissal under this section shall be without court adjudication of guilt and shall not be deemed a conviction for purposes of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime including the additional penalties imposed for second or subsequent convictions under this Article. Discharge and dismissal under this section or G.S. 90‑113.14 may occur only once with respect to any person. Disposition of a case to determine discharge and dismissal under this section at the district court division of the General Court of Justice shall be final for the purpose of appeal. Prior to taking any action to discharge and dismiss under this section the court shall make a finding that the defendant has no record of previous convictions under the 'North Carolina Controlled Substances Act', Article 5, Chapter 90, the 'North Carolina Toxic Vapors Act', Article 5A, Chapter 90, or the 'Drug Paraphernalia Act', Article 5B, Chapter 90."
Sec. 2. G.S. 90‑96 is further amended by redesignating the present subsections (b), (c) and (d) as (c), (d) and (e) and inserting a new subsection (b) to read:
"(b) Upon the first conviction only of any offense included in G.S. 90‑95(a)(3) or G.S. 90‑113.16 and subject to the provisions of this subsection (b), the court may place defendant on probation under this section for an offense under this Article including an offense for which the prescribed punishment includes only a fine. The probation, if imposed, shall be for not less than one year and shall contain a minimum condition that the defendant who was found guilty or pleads guilty enroll in and successfully complete, within 150 days of the date of the imposition of said probation, the program of instruction at the Drug Education School approved by the Department of Human Resources pursuant to G.S. 90‑96A. The court may impose probation that does not contain a condition that defendant successfully complete the program of instruction at a Drug Education School if:
(1)	there is no Drug Education School within a reasonable distance of the defendant's residence; or
(2)	there are specific, extenuating circumstances which make it likely that defendant will not benefit from the program of instruction.
The court shall enter such specific findings in the record; provided that in the case of subdivision (2) above, such findings shall include the specific, extenuating circumstances which make it likely that the defendant will not benefit from the program of instruction.
For the purposes of determining whether the conviction is a first conviction or whether a person has already had discharge and dismissal, no prior offense occurring more than seven years before the date of the current offense shall be considered. In addition, convictions for violations of a provision of G.S. 90‑95(a)(l) or 90‑95(a)(2) or 90‑95(a)(3), or 90‑113.10, or 90‑113.11, or 90‑113.12, or 90‑113.16 shall be considered previous convictions.
Failure to complete successfully an approved program of instruction at a Drug Education School shall constitute grounds to revoke probation and deny application for expunction of all recordation of defendant's arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, and dismissal and discharge pursuant to this section. For purposes of this subsection, the phrase 'failure to complete successfully the prescribed program of instruction at a Drug Education School' includes failure to attend scheduled classes without a valid excuse, failure to complete the course within 150 days of imposition of probation, willful failure to pay the required fee for the course, or any other manner in which the person fails to complete the course successfully. The instructor of the course to which a person is assigned shall report any failure of a person to complete successfully the program of instruction to the court which imposed probation. Upon receipt of the instructor's report that the person failed to complete the program successfully, the court shall revoke probation and/or deny application for expunction of all recordation of defendant's arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, and dismissal and discharge pursuant to this section. A person may obtain a hearing before the court of original jurisdiction prior to revocation of probation or denial of application for expunction.
This subsection is supplemental and in addition to existing law and shall not be construed so as to repeal any existing provision contained in the General Statutes of North Carolina."
Sec. 3. G.S. 90‑96(d) is amended by deleting Roman numeral "III" in the first sentence and substituting Roman numeral "II".
Sec. 4. G.S. 90‑96 is amended by adding at the end thereof a new subsection (e) to read as follows:
"(e) Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted of an offense under this Article or under any statute of the United States or any state relating to controlled substances included in any schedule of this Article or to that paraphernalia included in Article 5B of Chapter 90 pleads guilty to or has been found guilty of a misdemeanor under this Article by possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, or by possessing drug paraphernalia as prohibited by G.S. 90‑113.16, the court may, upon application of the person not sooner than 12 months after conviction, order cancellation of the judgment of conviction and expunction of the records of his arrest, indictment, or information, trial and conviction. A conviction in which the judgment of conviction has been cancelled and the records expunged pursuant to this section shall not be thereafter deemed a conviction for purposes of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or liabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime including the additional penalties imposed for second or subsequent convictions of this Article. Cancellation and expunction under this section may occur only once with respect to any person. Disposition of a case under this section at the district court division of the General Court of Justice shall be final for the purpose of appeal.
The granting of an application filed under this section shall cause the issue of an order to expunge from all official records (other than the confidential file to be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts under subsection (c)) all recordation relating to the petitioner's arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, judgment of conviction, cancellation of the judgment, and expunction of records pursuant to this section.
The judge to whom the petition is presented is authorized to call upon a probation officer for additional investigation or verification of the petitioner's conduct since conviction. If the court determines that the petitioner was convicted of a misdemeanor under this Article for possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, or for possessing drug paraphernalia as prohibited in G.S. 90‑113.16, that he was not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense, that he has been of good behavior since his conviction, that he has successfully completed a drug education program approved for this purpose by the Department of Human Resources, and that he has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than a traffic violation under the laws of this State at any time prior to or since the conviction for the misdemeanor in question, it shall enter an order of expunction of the petitioner's court record. The effect of such order shall be to restore the petitioner in the contemplation of the law to the status he occupied before arrest or indictment or information or conviction. No person as to whom such order was entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his failures to recite or acknowledge such arrest, or indictment or information; or conviction, or trial in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose. The judge may waive the condition that the petitioner attend the drug education school if the judge makes a specific finding that there was no drug education school within a reasonable distance of the defendant's residence or that there were specific extenuating circumstances which made it likely that the petitioner would not benefit from the program of instruction.
The court shall also order that all law enforcement agencies bearing records of the conviction and records relating thereto to expunge their records of the conviction. The clerk shall forward a certified copy of the order to the sheriff, chief of police, or other arresting agency, as appropriate, and the arresting agency shall forward the order to the State Bureau of Investigation with a form supplied by the State Bureau of Investigation. The State Bureau of Investigation shall forward the court order in like manner to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The clerk of superior court in each county in North Carolina shall, as soon as practicable after each term of court in his county, file with the Administrative Office of the Courts the names of those persons whose judgments of convictions have been cancelled and expunged under the provisions of this Article, and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall maintain a confidential file containing the names of persons whose judgments of convictions have been cancelled and expunged. The information contained in the file shall be disclosed only to judges of the General Court of Justice of North Carolina for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person charged with an offense under this Article has been previously granted cancellation and expunction of a judgment of conviction pursuant to the terms of this Article."
Sec. 5. Subsection (a) of 90‑113.14 is rewritten as follows:
"(a) Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted of any offense under this Article or under any statute of the United States or any state relating to those substances included in Article 5 or 5A or 5B of Chapter 90 pleads guilty to or is found guilty of inhaling or possessing any substance having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes in violation of Article 5A of Chapter 90, the court may, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of such person, defer further proceedings and place him on probation upon such reasonable terms and conditions as it may require. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 15A‑1342(c) or any other statute or law, probation may be imposed under this section for an offense under this Article for which the prescribed punishment includes only a fine. To fulfill the terms and conditions of probation the court may allow the defendant to participate in a drug education program approved for this purpose by the Department of Human Resources. Upon violation of a term or condition, the court may enter an adjudication of guilt and proceed as otherwise provided. Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court shall discharge such person and dismiss the proceedings against him. Discharge and dismissal under this section shall be without court adjudication of guilt and shall not be deemed a conviction for purposes of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime including the additional penalties imposed for second or subsequent convictions. Discharge and dismissal under this section or G.S. 90‑96 may occur only once with respect to any person. Disposition of a case to determine discharge and dimissal under this section at the district court division of the General Court of Justice shall be final for the purpose of appeal. Prior to taking any action to discharge or dismiss under this section the court shall make a finding that the defendant has no record of previous convictions under the 'North Carolina Toxic Vapors Act', Article 5A, Chapter 90, the 'North Carolina Controlled Substances Act', Article 5, Chapter 90, or the 'Drug Paraphernalia Act', Article 5B, Chapter 90."
Sec. 6. G.S. 90‑113.14 is further amended by redesignating the present subsections (b) and (c) as (c) and (d) and inserting a new subsection (b) to read:
"(b) Upon the first conviction only of any offense included in G.S. 90‑113.10 or G.S. 90‑113.11 and subject to the provisions of this subsection (b), the court may place defendant on probation under this section for an offense under this Article including an offense for which the prescribed punishment includes only a fine. The probation, if imposed, shall be for not less than one year and shall contain a minimum condition that the defendant who was found guilty or pleads guilty enroll in and successfully complete, within 150 days of the date of the imposition of said probation, the program of instruction at the Drug Education School approved by the Department of Human Resources pursuant to G.S. 90‑96A. The court may impose probation that does not contain a condition that defendant successfully complete the program of instruction at a Drug Education School if:
(1)	there is no Drug Education School within a reasonable distance of the defendant's residence; or
(2)	there are specific, extenuating circumstances which make it likely that defendant will not benefit from the program of instruction.
The court shall enter such specific findings in the record; provided that in the case of subsection (2) above, such findings shall include the specific, extenuating circumstances which make it likely that the defendant will not benefit from the program of instruction.
For the purpose of determining whether the conviction is a first conviction or whether a person has already had discharge and dismissal, no prior offense occurring more than seven years before the date of the current offense shall be considered. In addition, convictions for violations of a provision of G.S. 90‑95(a)(1) or 90‑95(a)(2) or 90‑95(a)(3), or 90‑113.10, or 90‑113.11, or 90‑113.12, or 90‑113.16 shall be considered previous convictions.
Failure to complete successfully an approved program of instruction at a Drug Education School shall constitute grounds to revoke probation and deny application for expunction of all recordation of defendant's arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, and dismissal and discharge pursuant to this section. For purposes of this subsection, the phrase 'failure to complete successfully the prescribed program of instruction at a Drug Education School' includes failure to attend scheduled classes without a valid excuse, failure to complete the course within 150 days of imposition of probation, willful failure to pay the required fee for the course, or any other manner in which the person fails to complete the course successfully. The instructor of the course to which a person is assigned shall report any failure of a person to complete successfully the program of instruction to the court which imposed probation. Upon receipt of the instructor's report that the person failed to complete the program successfully, the court shall revoke probation and/or deny application for expunction of all recordation of defendant's arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, and dismissal and discharge pursuant to this section. A person may obtain a hearing before the court of original jurisdiction prior to revocation of probation or denial of application for expunction.
This subsection is supplemental and in addition to existing law and shall not be construed so as to repeal any existing provision contained in the General Statutes of North Carolina."
Sec. 7. G.S. 90‑13.14 is amended by adding two new subsections (d) and (e) to read:
"(d) Whenever any person is charged with a misdemeanor under this Article by possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, or by possessing drug paraphernalia as prohibited by G.S. 90‑113.16 upon dismissal by the State of the charges against him or upon entry of a nolle prosequi or upon a finding of not guilty or other adjudication of innocence, such person may apply to the court for an order to expunge from all official records all recordation relating to his arrest, indictment, or information, and trial. If the court determines, after hearing that such person was not over 21 years of age at the time any of the proceedings against him occurred, it shall enter such order. No person as to whom such order has been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his failures to recite or acknowledge such arrest, or indictment, or information, or trial in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose.
(e)	Whenever any person who has not previously been convicted of an offense under this Article or under any statute of the United States or any state relating to controlled substances included in any schedule of this Article or to that paraphernalia included in Article 5B of Chapter 90 pleads guilty to or has been found guilty of a misdemeanor under this Article by possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, the court may, upon application of the person not sooner than 12 months after conviction, order cancellation of the judgment of conviction and expunction of the records of his arrest, indictment, or information, trial and conviction. A conviction in which the judgment of conviction has been cancelled and the records expunged pursuant to this section shall not be thereafter deemed a conviction for purposes of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or liabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime including the additional penalties imposed for second or subsequent convictions of this Article. Cancellation and expunction under this section may occur only once with respect to any person. Disposition of a case under this section at the district court division of the General Court of Justice shall be final for the purpose of appeal.
The granting of an application filed under this section shall cause the issue of an order to expunge from all official records (other than the confidential file to be retained by the Administrative Office of the Courts under subsection (c)) all recordation relating to his arrest, indictment, or information, trial, finding of guilty, judgment of conviction, cancellation of the judgment, and expunction of records pursuant to this section.
The judge to whom the petition is presented is authorized to call upon a probation officer for additional investigation or verification of the petitioner's conduct since conviction. If the court determines that the petitioner was convicted of a misdemeanor under this Article for possessing a controlled substance included within Schedules II through VI of this Article, or for possessing drug paraphernalia as prohibited by G.S. 90‑113.16, that he was not over 21 years of age at the time of the offense, that he has been of good behavior since his conviction, that he has successfully completed a drug education program approved for this purpose by the Department of Human Resources, and that he has not been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than a traffic violation under the laws of this State at any time prior to or since the conviction for the misdemeanor in question, it shall enter an order of expunction of the petitioner's court record. The effect of such order shall be to restore the petitioner in the contemplation of the law to the status he occupied before such arrest or indictment or information or conviction. No person as to whom such order was entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of any law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his failures to recite or acknowledge such arrest, or indictment or information, or conviction, or trial in response to any inquiry made of him for any purpose. The judge may waive the condition that the petitioner attend the drug education school if the judge makes a specific finding that there was no drug education school within a reasonable distance of the defendant's residence or that there were specific extenuating circumstances which made it likely that the petitioner would not benefit from the program of instruction.
The court shall also order that all law enforcement agencies bearing records of the conviction and records relating thereto to expunge their records of the conviction. The clerk shall forward a certified copy of the order to the sheriff, chief of police, or other arresting agency, as appropriate, and the arresting agency shall forward the order to the State Bureau of Investigation with a form supplied by the State Bureau of Investigation. The State Bureau of Investigation shall forward the court order in like manner to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The clerk of superior court in each county in North Carolina shall, as soon as practicable after each term of court in his county, file with the Administrative Office of the Courts the names of those persons whose judgments of convictions have been cancelled and expunged under the provisions of this Article, and the Administrative Office of the Courts shall maintain a confidential file containing the names of persons whose judgments of convictions have been cancelled and expunged. The information contained in the file shall be disclosed only to judges of the General Court of Justice of North Carolina for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person charged with an offense under this Article has been previously granted cancellation and expunction of a judgment of conviction pursuant to the terms of this Article."
Sec. 8. G.S. Chapter 90 is amended by adding a new section numbered G.S. 90‑96A between G.S. 90‑96 and G.S. 90‑96.1 to read as follows:
"§ 90‑96A. Drug education schools; responsibilities of the Department of Human Resources; fees. — (a) The Commission for Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services shall establish standards and guidelines for the curriculum and operation of local drug education programs. The Department of Human Resources shall oversee the development of a statewide system of schools and shall insure that schools are available in all localities of the State as soon as is practicable.
(1)	A fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be paid by all persons enrolling in an accredited Drug Education School established pursuant to this section. That fee must be paid to an official designated for that purpose and at a time and place specified by the Area Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Authority providing the course of instruction in which the person is enrolled. If the clerk of court in the county in which the person is convicted agrees to collect the fees, the clerk shall collect all fees for persons convicted in that county. The clerk shall pay the fees collected to the area mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse authority for the catchment area where the clerk is located regardless of the location where the defendant attends the Drug Education School and that authority shall distribute the funds in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department. The fee must be paid in full within two weeks of the date the person is convicted and before he attends any classes, unless the court, upon a showing of reasonable hardship, allows the person additional time to pay the fee or allows him to begin the course of instruction without paying the fee. If the person enrolling in the school demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that ordered him to enroll in the school that he is unable to pay and his inability to pay is not willful, the court may excuse him from paying the fee. Parents or guardians of persons attending Drug Education School shall be allowed to audit the Drug Education School along with their children or wards at no extra expense.
(2)	The Department of Human Resources shall have the authority to approve programs to be implemented by area mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse authorities. Area mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse authorities may subcontract for the delivery of drug education program services. The Department shall have the authority to approve budgets and contracts with public and private governmental and nongovernmental bodies for the operation of such schools.
(3)	Fees collected under this section and retained by the Area Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Authority shall be placed in a nonreverting fund. That fund must be used, as necessary, for the operation, evaluation and administration of the Drug Education Schools; excess funds may only be used to fund other drug or alcohol programs. The Area Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Authority shall remit five percent (5%) of each fee collected to the Department of Human Resources on a monthly basis. Fees received by the Department as required by this section may only be used in supporting, evaluating, and administering Drug Education Schools, and any excess funds will revert to the General Fund.
(4)	All fees collected by any area mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse authority under the authority of this section may not be used in any manner to match other State funds or be included in any computation for State formula‑funded allocations.
(b)	Willful failure to pay the fee is one ground for a finding that a person placed on probation or who may make application for expunction of all recordation of his arrest or conviction has not successfully completed the course. If the court determines the person is unable to pay, he shall not be deemed guilty of a willful failure to pay the fee."
Sec. 9. This program and the provisions of this act shall be implemented to the extent appropriations are provided by the General Assembly but nothing herein contained shall be construed to obligate the General Assembly to appropriate additional funds.
Sec. 10. The Department of Human Resources shall prepare an evaluation of the effectiveness of the course of instruction at Drug Education Schools, and the result of that evaluation shall be made available to the 1985 Session of the General Assembly.
Sec. 11. This act shall become effective October 1, 1981, except that Sections 3, 4 and 7 shall become effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 10th day of July, 1981.