| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO MODIFY LAWS AFFECTING BAIL BONDS. 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | SECTION 1.(a) Article 26 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes reads as rewritten: 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | "Article 26. 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | "Bail. 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | "Part 1. General Provisions. 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | "§ 15A-531. Definitions. 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | As used in this Article the following definitions apply unless the context clearly requires 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | otherwise: 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | … 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | (2) "Address of record" means: 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | a. For a defendant or an accommodation bondsman, the address entered 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | on the bail bond under G.S. 15A-544.2, or any later address filed by 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | that person with the clerk of superior court. 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | … 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | e. For a defendant, any of the following: 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | a. The address entered on the bail bond under G.S. 15A-544.2. 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | b. The defendant's permanent or temporary address. 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | c. An address shown on court records. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | d. An address provided to the bondsman by the defendant. 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | e. An address provided by anyone with actual or constructive 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | knowledge of the defendant's residence. 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | … 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | "§ 15A-534. Procedure for determining conditions of pretrial release. 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | … 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | (h) A bail bond posted pursuant to this section is valid for a period of not more than three 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | years in any case in which a pending forfeiture has not been issued and is effective and binding 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | upon the obligor throughout all stages of the proceeding in the trial division of the General Court 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | of Justice until the entry of judgment in the district court from which no appeal is taken or the 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | entry of judgment in the superior court. In order to be relieved of the bail bond obligation, the 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | surety must notify the district attorney 30 days prior to the date the bond is set to expire. At any 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | time within 30 days prior to the date the bond is set to expire, or if the district attorney receives 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | notification after the bond has expired, the surety is released from the bond. The obligation of an 34 |
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| 48 | 53 | | (1) A judge authorized to do so releases the obligor from his bond; orthe obligor's 1 |
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| 49 | 54 | | bond. 2 |
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| 50 | 55 | | (2) The principal is surrendered by a surety in accordance with G.S. 15A-540; 3 |
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| 51 | 56 | | or15A-540. 4 |
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| 52 | 57 | | (3) The proceeding is terminated by voluntary dismissal by the State before 5 |
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| 53 | 58 | | forfeiture is ordered under G.S. 15A-544.3; or15A-544.3. 6 |
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| 54 | 59 | | (4) Prayer for judgment has been continued indefinitely in the district court; 7 |
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| 55 | 60 | | orcourt. 8 |
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| 56 | 61 | | … 9 |
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| 57 | 62 | | (6) The prosecutor enters a dismissal with leave pursuant to G.S. 15A-932(a1). 10 |
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| 58 | 63 | | (7) The court grants a motion to set aside the bond forfeiture pursuant to any 11 |
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| 59 | 64 | | subdivision of G.S. 15A-544.5(b)(2) through (b)(7). 12 |
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| 60 | 65 | | … 13 |
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| 61 | 66 | | "Part 2. Bail Bond Forfeiture. 14 |
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| 62 | 67 | | … 15 |
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| 63 | 68 | | "§ 15A-544.3. Entry of forfeiture. 16 |
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| 64 | 69 | | … 17 |
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| 65 | 70 | | (b) The forfeiture shall contain the following information: 18 |
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| 66 | 71 | | … 19 |
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| 67 | 72 | | (9) The following notice: "TO THE DEFENDANT AND EACH SURETY 20 |
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| 68 | 73 | | NAMED ABOVE: The defendant named above has failed to appear as 21 |
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| 69 | 74 | | required before the court in the case identified above. A forfeiture for the 22 |
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| 70 | 75 | | amount of the bail bond shown above was entered in favor of the State against 23 |
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| 71 | 76 | | the defendant and each surety named above on the date of forfeiture shown 24 |
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| 72 | 77 | | above. This forfeiture will be set aside if, on or before the final judgment date 25 |
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| 73 | 78 | | shown above, satisfactory evidence is presented to the court that one of the 26 |
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| 74 | 79 | | following events has occurred: 27 |
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| 75 | 80 | | (i) thea. The defendant's failure to appear has been stricken by the court in 28 |
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| 76 | 81 | | which the defendant was required to appear and any order for arrest 29 |
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| 77 | 82 | | that was issued for that failure to appear is recalled,recalled. 30 |
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| 78 | 83 | | (ii) allb. All charges for which the defendant was bonded to appear have 31 |
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| 79 | 84 | | been finally disposed by the court other than by the State's taking a 32 |
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| 80 | 85 | | voluntary dismissal with leave,leave. 33 |
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| 81 | 86 | | (iii) thec. The defendant has been surrendered by a surety or bail agent to a 34 |
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| 82 | 87 | | sheriff of this State as provided by law,law. 35 |
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| 83 | 88 | | (iv) thed. The defendant has been served with an Order for Arrest for the 36 |
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| 84 | 89 | | Failure to Appear on the criminal charge in the case in question as 37 |
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| 85 | 90 | | evidenced by a copy of an official court record, including an electronic 38 |
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| 86 | 91 | | record,records. 39 |
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| 87 | 92 | | (v) thee. The defendant died before or within the period between the 40 |
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| 88 | 93 | | forfeiture and the final judgment as demonstrated by the presentation 41 |
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| 89 | 94 | | of a death certificate,certificate. 42 |
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| 90 | 95 | | (vi) thef. The defendant was incarcerated in a unit of the Division of Prisons 43 |
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| 91 | 96 | | of the Department of Adult Correction and is serving a sentence or in 44 |
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| 92 | 97 | | a unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons located within the borders of 45 |
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| 93 | 98 | | the State at the time of the failure to appear as evidenced by a copy of 46 |
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| 94 | 99 | | an official court record or a copy of a document from the Division of 47 |
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| 95 | 100 | | Prisons of the Department of Adult Correction or Federal Bureau of 48 |
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| 96 | 101 | | Prisons,Prisons. 49 |
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| 97 | 102 | | (vii) theg. The defendant was incarcerated in a local, state, or federal 50 |
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| 98 | 103 | | detention center, jail, or prison located anywhere within the borders of 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 100 | 105 | | the United States at the time of the failure to appear, or between the 1 |
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| 101 | 106 | | failure to appear and the final judgment date, and the district attorney 2 |
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| 102 | 107 | | for the county in which the charges are pending was notified of the 3 |
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| 103 | 108 | | defendant's incarceration while the defendant was still incarcerated 4 |
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| 104 | 109 | | and the defendant remains incarcerated for a period of 10 days 5 |
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| 105 | 110 | | following the district attorney's receipt of notice, as evidenced by a 6 |
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| 106 | 111 | | copy of the written notice served on the district attorney via hand 7 |
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| 107 | 112 | | deliverydelivery, electronic delivery using a court's electronic filing or 8 |
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| 108 | 113 | | case management system, or certified mail and written documentation 9 |
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| 109 | 114 | | of date upon which the defendant was released from incarceration, if 10 |
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| 110 | 115 | | the defendant was released prior to the time the motion to set aside was 11 |
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| 111 | 116 | | filed,filed. 12 |
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| 112 | 117 | | (viii) noticeh. Notice of forfeiture was not provided pursuant to 13 |
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| 113 | 118 | | G.S. 15A-544.4(e), or15A-544.4(e). 14 |
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| 114 | 119 | | (ix) thei. The court refused to issue an order for arrest for the defendant's 15 |
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| 115 | 120 | | failure to appear, as evidenced by a copy of an official court record, 16 |
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| 116 | 121 | | including an electronic record. 17 |
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| 117 | 122 | | The forfeiture will not be set aside for any other reason. If this forfeiture is not 18 |
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| 118 | 123 | | set aside on or before the final judgment date shown above, and if no 19 |
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| 119 | 124 | | motion to set it aside is pending on that date, the forfeiture will become 20 |
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| 120 | 125 | | a final judgment on that date. The final judgment will be enforceable 21 |
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| 121 | 126 | | by execution against the defendant and any accommodation bondsman 22 |
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| 122 | 127 | | and professional bondsman on the bond. The final judgment will also 23 |
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| 123 | 128 | | be reported to the Department of Insurance. Further, no surety will be 24 |
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| 124 | 129 | | allowed to execute any bail bond in the above county until the final 25 |
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| 125 | 130 | | judgment is satisfied in full." 26 |
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| 126 | 131 | | … 27 |
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| 127 | 132 | | "§ 15A-544.5. Setting aside forfeiture. 28 |
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| 128 | 133 | | … 29 |
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| 129 | 134 | | (b) Reasons for Set Aside. – Except as provided by subsection (f) of this section, a 30 |
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| 130 | 135 | | forfeiture shall be set aside for any one of the following reasons, and none other: 31 |
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| 131 | 136 | | … 32 |
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| 132 | 137 | | (7) The defendant was incarcerated in a local, state, or federal detention center, 33 |
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| 133 | 138 | | jail, or prison located anywhere within the borders of the United States at the 34 |
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| 134 | 139 | | time of the failure to appear, or any time between the failure to appear and the 35 |
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| 135 | 140 | | final judgment date, and the district attorney for the county in which the 36 |
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| 136 | 141 | | charges are pending was notified of the defendant's incarceration while the 37 |
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| 137 | 142 | | defendant was still incarcerated and the defendant remains incarcerated for a 38 |
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| 138 | 143 | | period of 10 days following the district attorney's receipt of notice, as 39 |
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| 139 | 144 | | evidenced by a copy of the written notice served on the district attorney via 40 |
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| 140 | 145 | | hand deliverydelivery, electronic delivery using a court's electronic filing or 41 |
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| 141 | 146 | | case management system, or certified mail and written documentation of date 42 |
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| 142 | 147 | | upon which the defendant was released from incarceration, if the defendant 43 |
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| 143 | 148 | | was released prior to the time the motion to set aside was filed. 44 |
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| 144 | 149 | | … 45 |
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| 145 | 150 | | (d) Motion Procedure. – If a forfeiture is not set aside under subsection (c) of this section, 46 |
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| 146 | 151 | | the only procedure for setting it aside is as follows: 47 |
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| 147 | 152 | | … 48 |
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| 148 | 153 | | (2) The motion shall be filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the 49 |
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| 149 | 154 | | county in which the forfeiture was entered. The moving party shall, under 50 |
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| 150 | 155 | | G.S. 1A-1, Rule 5, serve a copy of the motion on the district attorney for that 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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| 152 | 157 | | county and on the attorney for the county board of education. In counties with 1 |
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| 153 | 158 | | an electronic filing or case management system, the moving party shall be 2 |
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| 154 | 159 | | allowed to serve the copies of the motion using that system and the district 3 |
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| 155 | 160 | | attorney and the attorney for the county board of education shall each be 4 |
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| 156 | 161 | | designated as parties pursuant to that electronic service. 5 |
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| 157 | 162 | | … 6 |
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| 158 | 163 | | (6) If at the hearing the court allows the motion,motion based upon one of the 7 |
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| 159 | 164 | | reasons set forth in subsection (b) of this section, the court shall enter an order 8 |
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| 160 | 165 | | setting aside the forfeiture.forfeiture and the surety shall be relieved of the bail 9 |
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| 161 | 166 | | bond obligation and no other forfeitures shall be issued for that bail bond. 10 |
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| 162 | 167 | | … 11 |
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| 163 | 168 | | "§ 15A-544.8. Relief from final judgment of forfeiture. 12 |
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| 164 | 169 | | … 13 |
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| 165 | 170 | | (c) Procedure. – The procedure for obtaining relief from a final judgment under this 14 |
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| 166 | 171 | | section is as follows: 15 |
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| 167 | 172 | | … 16 |
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| 168 | 173 | | (2) The motion shall be filed in the office of the clerk of superior court of the 17 |
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| 169 | 174 | | county in which the final judgment was, entered. The moving party shall, 18 |
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| 170 | 175 | | under G.S. 1A-1, Rule 5, serve a copy of the motion on the district attorney 19 |
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| 171 | 176 | | for that county and on the attorney for the county board of education. In 20 |
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| 172 | 177 | | counties with an electronic filing or case management system, the moving 21 |
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| 173 | 178 | | party shall be allowed to serve the copies of the motion using that system. 22 |
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| 174 | 179 | | … 23 |
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| 175 | 180 | | "§ 15A-545. District attorney submission of defendant information into nationwide 24 |
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| 176 | 181 | | database. 25 |
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| 177 | 182 | | For purposes of the effective implementation of this Article, each district attorney shall ensure 26 |
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| 178 | 183 | | that the information of a criminal defendant that fails to appear in court is provided to the National 27 |
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| 179 | 184 | | Crime Information Center within 10 days of the failure to appear in court so that this information 28 |
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| 180 | 185 | | may be available nationwide." 29 |
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| 181 | 186 | | SECTION 1.(b) For purposes of electronic filing pursuant to Article 26 of Chapter 30 |
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| 182 | 187 | | 15A of the General Statutes, the district attorney for each county and the attorney for each county 31 |
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| 183 | 188 | | board of education shall be listed in the county's electronic filing or case management system as 32 |
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| 184 | 189 | | parties and shall each have the burden of maintaining current contact information in that 33 |
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| 185 | 190 | | electronic filing or case management system. 34 |
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| 186 | 191 | | SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 58-71-1 reads as rewritten: 35 |
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| 187 | 192 | | "§ 58-71-1. Definitions. 36 |
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| 188 | 193 | | The following definitions apply in this Article: 37 |
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| 189 | 194 | | … 38 |
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| 190 | 195 | | (8b) Residential address. – The defendant's address of record or any other dwelling, 39 |
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| 191 | 196 | | home, building, or rental that the defendant may occupy as lodging. 40 |
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| 192 | 197 | | …." 41 |
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| 193 | 198 | | SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 58-71-40 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 42 |
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| 194 | 199 | | "(a1) No electronic system shall act in the capacity of a professional bondsman, surety 43 |
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| 195 | 200 | | bondsman, or runner or perform any of the functions, duties, or powers prescribed for 44 |
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| 196 | 201 | | professional bondsmen, surety bondsmen, or runners under this Article." 45 |
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| 197 | 202 | | SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 58-71-200(a) reads as rewritten: 46 |
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| 198 | 203 | | "(a) In order to assist licensed sureties and their agents in evaluating potential and current 47 |
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| 199 | 204 | | clients for the purposes of bail, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide any 48 |
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| 200 | 205 | | individual with a current license to act as professional bondsman, surety bondsman, or runner 49 |
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| 201 | 206 | | with access to search criminal records in the Administrative Office of the Courts' real-time 50 |
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| 202 | 207 | | criminal and civil information systems.systems, including its Odyssey systems." 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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