A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to make clarifying changes to the sex offender registration process, as recommended by the Joint Legislative oversight Committee on justice and public safety.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑208.9A(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The information in the county registry shall be verified semiannually for each registrant as follows:
(1)	Every year on the anniversary of a person's initial registration date, and again six months after that date, the Department of Public Safety shall mail a nonforwardable verification form to the last reported address of the person. If the person is serving a sentence of more than 24 months in the custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Correction, the Department of Public Safety may deliver the verification form to the Division of Adult Correction in lieu of nonforwardable mail.
…."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑208.12A(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Ten years from the date of initial county registration, a person required to register under this Part may petition the superior court to terminate the 30‑year registration requirement if the person has not been convicted of a subsequent offense requiring registration under this Article.
If the reportable conviction is for an offense that occurred in North Carolina, the petition shall be filed in the district where the person was convicted of the offense.
If the petitioner currently resides out of State, the petition shall be filed in the county where the person last registered in North Carolina.
If the reportable conviction is for an offense that occurred in another state, the petition shall be filed in the district where the person resides. A person who petitions to terminate the registration requirement for a reportable conviction that is an out‑of‑state offense shall also do the following: (i) provide written notice to the sheriff of the county where the person was convicted that the person is petitioning the court to terminate the registration requirement and (ii) include with the petition at the time of its filing, an affidavit, signed by the petitioner, that verifies that the petitioner has notified the sheriff of the county where the person was convicted of the petition and that provides the mailing address and contact information for that sheriff.
Regardless of where the offense occurred, if the defendant was convicted of a reportable offense in any federal court, the conviction will be treated as an out‑of‑state offense for the purposes of this section."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2022, and applies to verification forms sent and petitions filed on or after that date.