GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	1
SENATE BILL 68

 
 
Short Title:	Criminal Justice Standards Commission Change.	()	
Sponsors:	Senators Jordan; and Ballance.	
Referred to:	Judiciary I.	
February 6, 2001

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE NORTH CAROLINA CRIMINAL JUSTICE EDUCATION AND TRAINING STANDARDS COMMISSION, TO CLARIFY THE ENFORCEMENT POWERS OF THE COMMISSION, AND TO REPEAL THE REMOVAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE CORRECTIONS AND CRIME CONTROL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 17C‑2(3) reads as rewritten:
"(3)	Criminal justice officers. – The administrative and subordinate personnel of all the departments, agencies, units or entities comprising the criminal justice agencies who are sworn law‑enforcement officers, both State and local, with the power of arrest; State correctional officers; State probation/parole officers; State probation/parole officers-surveillance;  officers, supervisory and administrative personnel of local confinement facilities; and State juvenile justice officers and juvenile court counselors."
 SECTION 2. G.S. 17C‑3 reads as rewritten:
"(a)	There is established the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, hereinafter called 'the Commission.'  The Commission shall be composed of  31 members as follows:
(1)	Police Chiefs. – Three police chiefs selected by the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police and one police chief appointed by the Governor.
(2)	Police Officers. – Three police officials appointed by the North Carolina Police Executives Association and two criminal justice officers certified by the Commission as selected by the North Carolina Law‑Enforcement Officers' Association.
(3)	Departments. – The Attorney General of the State of North Carolina; the Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety; the Secretary of the Department of Correction; the President of the North Carolina Community Colleges System; the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
	
(4)	At‑large Groups. – One individual representing and appointed by each of the following organizations: one mayor selected by the League of Municipalities; one law‑enforcement training officer selected by the North Carolina Law‑Enforcement Training Officers' Association; one criminal justice professional selected by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association; one sworn law‑enforcement officer selected by the North State Law‑Enforcement Officers' Association; one member selected by the North Carolina Law‑Enforcement Women's Association; and one District Attorney selected by the North Carolina Association of District Attorneys.
(5)	Citizens and Others. – The President of The University of North Carolina; the Director of the Institute of Government; and two citizens, one of whom shall be selected by the Governor and one of whom shall be selected by the Attorney General. The General Assembly shall appoint two persons, one upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Appointments by the General Assembly shall be made in accordance with G.S. 120‑122. Appointments by the General Assembly shall serve two‑year terms to conclude on June 30th in odd‑numbered years.
(6)	Correctional Officers. – Two correctional officers in management positions employed by the Department of Correction shall be appointed, one from the Division of Community Corrections upon the recommendation of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one from the Division of Prisons upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Appointments by the General Assembly shall be made in accordance with G.S. 120-122. Appointments by the General Assembly shall serve two-year terms to conclude on June 30th in odd-numbered years. Two correctional officers in management positions employed by the Department of Correction, one assigned to the Division of Community Corrections and the other assigned to the Division of Prisons, shall be selected by the Governor. One correctional officer employed by the Department of Correction and assigned to the Office of Staff Development and Training shall be appointed by the Secretary of Correction. These appointments by the Governor and the Secretary of Correction shall serve three-year terms.
(b)	The members shall be appointed for staggered terms. The initial appointments shall be made prior to September 1, 1983, and the appointees shall hold office until July 1 of the year in which their respective terms expire and until their successors are appointed and qualified as provided hereafter:
For the terms of one year: one member from subdivision (1) of subsection (a), serving as a police chief; three members from subdivision (2) of subsection (a), one serving as a police official, and two criminal justice officers; one member from subdivision (4) of subsection (a), appointed by the North Carolina Law‑Enforcement Training Officers' Association; and two members from subdivision (5) of subsection (a), one appointed by the Governor and one appointed by the Attorney General.
For the terms of two years: one member from subdivision (1) of subsection (a), serving as a police chief; one member from subdivision (2) of subsection (a), serving as a police official; and two members from subdivision (4) of subsection (a), one appointed by the League of Municipalities and one appointed by the North Carolina Association of District Attorneys.
For the terms of three years: two members from subdivision (1) of subsection (a), one police chief appointed by the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police and one police chief appointed by the Governor; one member from subdivision (2) of subsection (a), serving as a police official; and three members from subdivision (4) of subsection (a), one appointed by the North Carolina Law‑Enforcement Women's Association, one appointed by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association, and one appointed by the North State Law‑Enforcement Officers' Association.
Thereafter, as the term of each member expires, his successor shall be appointed for a term of three years. Notwithstanding the appointments for a term of years, each member shall serve at the will of the appointing authority.
The Attorney General, the Secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, the Secretary of the Department of Correction, the President of The University of North Carolina, the Director of the Institute of Government, the President of the North Carolina Community Colleges System, and the Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall be continuing members of the Commission during their tenure. These members of the Commission shall serve ex officio and shall perform their duties on the Commission in addition to the other duties of their offices. The ex officio members may elect to serve personally at any or all meetings of the Commission or may designate, in writing, one member of their respective office, department, university or agency to represent and vote for them on the Commission at all meetings the ex officio members are unable to attend.
Vacancies in the Commission occurring for any reason shall be filled, for the unexpired term, by the authority making the original appointment of the person causing the vacancy. A vacancy may be created by removal of a Commission member by majority vote of the Commission for misconduct, incompetence, or neglect of duty. A Commission member may be removed only pursuant to a hearing, after notice, at which the member subject to removal has an opportunity to be heard."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 17C‑11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 17C‑11.  Compliance; enforcement.
(a) Any criminal justice officer who does not comply with the provisions of this Chapter shall not be authorized to exercise the powers of a criminal justice officer and shall not be authorized to exercise the power of arrest unless such certification or deficiency has been waived by the Commission. The Commission shall enforce the provisions of this section by the entry of appropriate orders.
(b) Any person who desires to appeal the proposed denial, suspension, or revocation of any certification authorized to be issued by the Commission shall file a written appeal with the Commission not later than 30 days following notice of denial, suspension, or revocation.
(c) The Commission may appear in its own name and apply to courts having jurisdiction for injunctions to prevent violations of this Chapter or of rules issued pursuant thereto; specifically, the performance of criminal justice officer functions by officers or individuals who are not in compliance with the standards and requirements of G.S. 17C‑6(a) and G.S. 17C‑10. A single act of performance of a criminal justice officer function by an officer or individual who is performing such function in violation of this Chapter is sufficient, if shown, to invoke the injunctive relief of this section."SECTION 4.  Section 17.3 of S.L. 2000‑67 is repealed.
SECTION 5.  This act is effective June 30, 2001.