GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

H                                                                                                                                                    2

HOUSE BILL 29

Committee Substitute Favorable 4/11/17

 

Short Title:      Record of Excusals From Jury Duty.

(Public)

Sponsors:

 

Referred to:

 

February 1, 2017

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to provide that the names and addresses of persons REQUESTING TO BE EXCUSED from jury duty BASED ON DISQUALIFICATION shall be retained by the clerk of superior court for THE REMAINDER OF THE BIENNIUM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 1 of Chapter 9 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 9‑6.2.  Records of excusals from jury duty based on disqualification.

(a)        The name and address of each person who requests to be excused from jury duty on the basis that the person is not qualified to serve as a juror under G.S. 9‑3, along with the reason for that request, shall be retained by the clerk of superior court for the remainder of the biennium. The records retained by the clerk are not public records under G.S. 132‑1.

(b)        If a person is excused from jury duty for any reason relating to qualifications under G.S. 163‑55, the record of the person's name, address provided, reason for excusal, and the date of excusal shall be a public record under G.S. 132‑1 and shall be provided by the clerk of superior court electronically to the local board of elections and the State Board of Elections quarterly for the purposes listed in G.S. 163‑82.14. The State Board of Elections shall retain the electronic record for two years. The clerk of superior court may destroy the records at the end of each biennium."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 9‑6(e) reads as rewritten:

"(e)      The judge shall inform the clerk of superior court of persons excused under this section, and the clerk shall keep a record of excuses separate from the master jury list.list in accordance with G.S. 9‑6.2."

SECTION 3.  The Administrative Office of the Courts shall amend the Rules of Recordkeeping to include procedures to implement the provisions of G.S. 9‑6.2, as enacted by Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2018.