S171 - Department of Public Safety Agency Bill. (SL 2023-86)

Overview: S.L. 2023-86 does all of the following:

• Modifies the State Capitol Police's authority and territorial jurisdiction to arrest.
• Adds the definition of wood residual to Chapter 20 of the General Statutes (Motor Vehicles).
• Modifies the timeframe under which law enforcement is required to enter missing or unidentified person information into NamUs from 30 days to 90 days.
• Modifies the North Carolina Silver Alert System by renaming it; clarifying which missing persons fall under it; limiting required alerts to situations where no more than 72 hours have passed since the person or child went missing; and adding requirements for law enforcement action related to alerts.
• Grants the Adjutant General and National Guard Staff Judge Advocate access to certain criminal investigation records.
• Provides that no provision concerning special trial counsel in the Uniform Code of Military Justice and Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, must apply to courts-martial convened under Article 3 (National Guard) of Chapter 127A of the General Statutes.
• Expands the definition of reportable conviction under Article 27A (Sex Offender and Public Protection Regulation Programs) of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes to include convictions in State court-martial proceedings for offenses substantially similar to an offense against a minor or a sexually violent offense.
• Establishes the Samarcand Training Academy under the Department of Public Safety (DPS).
• Allows DPS to retain the net proceeds from the sale or lease of certain land or facilities.

The modifications to the North Carolina Silver Alert System and the expansion of the reportable convictions for sex-offender registration became effective October 1, 2023. The remainder of the act became effective July 10, 2023.