ACLU-NC 2009 Legislative Report

2008-09 ACLU-NC House and Senate Legislative Report Card [PDF]

INDEX
Introduction
Key Terms
Education
Juvenile Justice
Criminal Justice
Capital Punishment
Fourth Amendment - Privacy
Racial Justice
Due Process
Sixth Amendment - Right to Confrontation
Sixth Amendment - Right to Counsel
Reproductive Freedom
Freedom of Speech

INTRODUCTION
The North Carolina 2009 Legislative Session began on January 28th and officially adjourned on August 11th. 2,767 bills were introduced this session, of which approximately 700 made the Crossover deadline. During the session the ACLU-NC monitored approximately 100 bills and actively worked on 35 pieces of legislation. The ACLU-NC had seven legislative priority bills introduced at the beginning of session and all but one of them is now law. The one bill that has not been signed in to law is eligible for consideration during the 2010 session, having passed the Senate in 2009. On April 1st, the ACLU-NC held its second annual Member and Supporter Lobby Day, during which members and supporters of the ACLU-NC came to the NC General Assembly and lobbied on these priority agenda items. The ACLU-NC also successfully prevented a number of bills that negatively affect civil liberties from being considered, or if they were considered, from passing. The ACLU-NC worked tirelessly to amend other bills that negatively affect civil liberties but that had too much momentum to stop so that they would have a lesser affect on individual liberties. The ACLU-NC also supported a number of bills that were not legislative priorities, but that had an important positive impact on civil liberties. The following report does not include every bill that the ACLU-NC took a position on; however, the report aims to include the pieces of legislation introduced in 2009 that most affect civil liberties.

KEY TERMS

HB: House Bill – a bill that originated in the House.

SB: Senate Bill – a bill that originated in the Senate.

ACLU-NC legislative priority: The ACLU-NC either led lobbying efforts to pass the bill or took a lead role in a coalition supporting the bill. The ACLU-NC staff may have helped build the coalition, draft the legislation, find and support the bill sponsors, crafted fact sheets, and testified in support of the bill.

Active Support: The ACLU-NC actively lobbied, created fact sheets, and/or testified in favor of the bill.

Support: The ACLU-NC supported the bill but did not testify or create fact sheets in support of the bill.

Active Oppose: The ACLU-NC actively lobbied, created fact sheets, and/or testified against the passage of the bill.

Oppose: The ACLU-NC opposed the bill but did not create fact sheets, or testify against the bill.

Monitor: The bill did not have a clear impact on civil liberties, but had the potential to affect them so the ACLU-NC monitored the progress of the bill.

Crossover: The date set by the legislature by which a bill must pass one chamber in order to be eligible for consideration for the remainder of the session (2009 and 2010). This year, any bill that was passed by one chamber before May 14th, or any bill that affects the budget or includes a fee, but that did not pass the second chamber before adjournment is still eligible during the 2010 session.


EDUCATION

HB 88 Healthy Youth Act
Originally required that North Carolina schools offer two tracks of sexuality education in grades seven through nine; abstinence until marriage as currently mandated or comprehensive sexuality education. Parents would then be able to select which class they would like their child to participate in. However, the bill was amended and now requires that schools in North Carolina teach both abstinence until marriage and comprehensive sexuality education as part of the healthful living curricula in all public schools teaching grades seven through nine. Both the abstinence and comprehensive programs must be accurate, science based, and approved by credentialed experts in the field of sexuality education. The bill directs schools to create a mechanism by which parents may remove their child from the abstinence-based comprehensive sexuality education part of the program. Under current law, parents may remove their child from any part of or the entire sexuality education curriculum.

Position: This was an ACLU-NC legislative priority. The ACLU-NC has worked for the last several years to encourage the use of accurate sexuality education programs that do not improperly include religious proselytizing, gender bias, and discrimination against LGBTQ students. Many of the programs that include these unconstitutional elements should not be used according to the language of the new law.

Status: The bill as amended passed both chambers and was signed by Governor Perdue on June 30, 2009. It becomes effective statewide for the 2010-2011 school year.

HB 218 Parent & Student Educational Involvement Act
This bill clarifies existing law requiring that parents be informed in writing of their rights and the rights of their child when their child is recommended for long-term suspension (more than ten days) or expulsion. The written notification must be provided for parents within one business day of the recommendation of expulsion. The bill clarifies what information parents and guardians should receive and how they can go about appealing a long-term suspension. Further, the law will require that parents be given basic information about how the appeals process works.

Position: This was a 2009 legislative priority for the ACLU-NC. The ACLU-NC has prioritized efforts to help parents and students exercise their rights. The first element of that effort is educating everyone as to what rights parents and students actually do have. This bill enumerates the specific due process rights of parents and students and requires that they be notified of those rights, helping them be better able to exercise them.

Status: This bill was passed by both chambers and signed in to law by Governor Perdue on June 5th, 2009 and is effective beginning in the 2009-2010 school year.

SB 526 School Violence Prevention Act
This bill, commonly referred to as the “bullying bill,” is designed to protect students from bullying and harassing behavior by school employees and other students. Every school would be required to implement an anti-bullying policy and a bullying prevention strategy. The bill would also specifically prohibit harassment based on certain enumerated personal characteristics, including race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity and require that teachers and administrators be informed of the policy and, where possible, trained to appropriately identify and respond to bullying. The passage of this bill marked the first time that equal rights for LGBTQ students – or any rights for LGBTQ persons -- are recognized in North Carolina law.

Position: This was an ACLU-NC legislative priority in 2009. The ACLU-NC supported this bill after negotiating safeguards to protect student speech in 2007. The ACLU-NC particularly saw the need for this legislation due to our legal work with LGBTQ students around the state, often involving school administrators who did not want to recognize the equal rights of LGBTQ students and their allies in forming clubs, who refused to enforce policies against bullying of certain students, and who otherwise prevented students from taking full advantage of their educational rights. The ACLU-NC believed that efforts to prevent bullying of all students, including LGBTQ students, will help protect other educational rights of LGBTQ students and their allies through raised awareness and protection of those rights.

Status: The bill was passed by both chambers and signed by Governor Perdue on June 30th, 2009 and is effective for the 2009-2010 school year.

HB 538 Charlotte/Mecklenburg School Board Police
This bill would transfer authority over school resource officers from the Charlotte Police Department to the School Board, but the officers would still maintain all of the powers of law enforcement officers generally.

Position: Active oppose - it limits the ways in which students can report violations of their rights such as excessive force, improper questing, and searches and removes another level of oversight over school resource officers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Status: The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Perdue on June 10th, 2009 and went into immediate effect.

HB 1054/SB 1023 Safer Schools
This bill added to the list of offenses that a school principal has to report to law enforcement if committed by a student on a school campus. In particular, the bill would have required that any assault on school personnel be reported, even if it did not result in injury and assault was not defined. The bill also required that any use or consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors be reported.

Position: Active oppose - the additional mandatory reporting of any assault to law enforcement because “assault” has different meanings to a school principal and a law enforcement officer. By requiring that all assaults be referred to the school resource officer or other law enforcement officer, it is more likely that charges will be laid and more students will be funneled out of school and in to the juvenile justice or adult criminal justice system.

Status: Neither the House nor Senate bill ever received a committee hearing because the bill sponsors agreed not to run the bill.

HB 442 Parental Involvement in School Discipline
The bill as originally drafted required that a parent sign and return a permission slip to allow his or her child to be subjected to corporal punishment. The bill also had various reporting requirements to help determine the grade, age, race, and gender of those being subjected to corporal punishment. The bill was amended before it passed the House so that it would require that a parent notify the school in writing if she or he did not want his or her child subject to corporal punishment. The amendment also required that the school attempt to notify the parent before subjecting his or her child to corporal punishment. The reporting requirements were also amended to require that an annual total of all those receiving corporal punishment be reported with a breakdown by race and how many of the students had disabilities.

Position: Support – recent reports co-authored by the national ACLU indicate a disproportionate use of corporal punishment on students of color and students with disabilities in violation of the equal protection when schools administer disciplinary procedures that students deserve.

Status: The amended bill passed the House, but was defeated on the Senate floor by a vote of 21 yes votes to 25 no votes. The bill will not be eligible for consideration in its current form until 2011.

JUVENILE JUSTICE

HB 1414 Youth Accountability Act
North Carolina has a separate system for juveniles than for adults who commit criminal offenses. However, North Carolina is one of only two states left in the nation that automatically treats 16- and 17-year-olds as adult offenders and treats them the same as adult offenders. HB 1414 would gradually raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to age 18 over a five-year period, allowing more young people access to the services available in the juvenile system that are specifically designed for the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.

Position: Support - it would help students already in the school-to-prison pipeline. The juvenile system is designed to provide more support and services to rehabilitate rather than incarcerate young people. Young people who encounter the juvenile justice system are less likely to be incarcerated and are more likely to receive community support services, helping them to avoid recidivism and finish school, accessing their right to an education under the North Carolina constitution.

Status: The bill passed two House committees and is currently eligible for consideration by the House Appropriations committee. The bill could be considered in the 2010 short session.

HB 656 MH (Mental Health) Proceeding/No Restraint
Prevents minor children from being shackled during transport or during hearings for involuntary committal mental health unless a judge makes a finding that shackling is necessary to protect the safety of the child, prevent the child from fleeing, or maintain order.

Position: Support. The ACLU-NC opposes the shackling of children without proper due process procedures and finding of cause to support the shackling.

Status: The bill died in House committee and will not be eligible for consideration in its current form during the 2010 session.

SB 23 Restraint/ Juvenile in Custody/ Court’s Discretion
Would remove requirement that the court make a finding that a juvenile is a flight risk or risk to the safety of himself or others before ordering that the juvenile be shackled in juvenile court. Instead, the ability to order shackling would be purely within the judge’s discretion.

Position: Oppose - at the very least, due process demands the court make a finding before ordering that a child be shackled.

Status: The bill never received a hearing.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

HB 1317 Sex Offender Registry Changes
Creates an extensive list of places where registered sex offenders may not be present, including the gym or fitness facility, movie theaters if any theater on site is showing a G rated film, and the state or any county or local fairs. The bill also requires registered sex offenders to register any temporary address at which they plan to stay for 5 days or less whether in state or not.

Position: Oppose – the bill impedes ex-offenders’ intrastate travel and treats sex offenders differently from all other criminal offenders in violation of due process.

Status: Passed the House and awaiting a hearing in the Senate. The bill is eligible for the 2010 session.

HB 209 Sex Offender/ Liberties w/ Student
Makes the offense of taking liberties with a student an offense for which someone must register on the sex offender registry.

Position: Monitor. The electronic sex offender database appears to be overused, which could prevent it being a useful tool to address the legitimate governmental interest of public safety while violating the privacy rights of sex offenders who have served their time.

Status: Passed the House and Senate and signed by Governor Perdue on June 30th. The bill goes in to effect on December 1, 2009

HB 1317 Sex Offenders Can’t Be EMS Personnel
Prohibits registered sex offenders from being certified emergency medical services personnel.

Position: Monitor.

Status: Passed the House and referred to Senate Judiciary I committee. The bill is eligible in the 2010 session.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

SB 461 North Carolina Racial Justice Act
Allows capital defendants to challenge their sentence of death or the decision to charge them capitally if they can show that race played a substantial role in the prosecutor’s decision to seek death or the jury’s decision to sentence to death. The defendant can use statistical evidence to show racial bias which was previously prohibited. If the defendant can make the showing that race played a substantial role in his or her sentence, the sentence can be reduced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Position: This is an ACLU-NC legislative priority which brings North Carolina one step closer to a color-blind criminal justice system and provides an extra layer of due process to NC’s faulty death penalty system. The ACLU-NC objects the use of capital punishment because of the inherent due process violations that could occur within the system, including racial bias, because the strictest due process protections ought to be afforded to a person who may have his or her life taken by the state pending the results of that process.

Status: This bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on August 11th and took immediate effect.

HB 137 Capital Procedure/Severe Mental Disability
Creates a pre- and post-conviction proceeding through which a capital defendant can prove that s/he had a severe mental disability or illness at the time of commission of the crime. If s/he can make such a showing, he or she cannot be executed, but will instead be subject to life in prison without the possibility of parole upon conviction.

Position: Active support - it would prevent those who should be considered less culpable due to mental illness or disability from being disproportionately punished. The ACLU-NC’s supports this bill because the inherent due process problems within the capital punishment system demand that every opportunity that can be given to capital defendant to show inequality or unfair application should be granted.

Status: This bill was passed by one committee in the House and is still eligible for consideration in 2010.

SB 161/HB 784 Execution/Physician Assistance Authorized
This bill was intended to override the decision of the state Medical Board that doctors may not participate in executions. The Medical Board had determined that doctors’ participation in executions was unethical and any doctor who does participate would be subject to disciplinary action.

Position: Active oppose – the ACLU-NC does not believe the capital punishment system can be completely free of bias and therefore opposes measures to restart executions in North Carolina.

Status: HB 784 was scheduled to be heard in committee in April, but due to opposition from the ACLU-NC and other groups, the bill was pulled and neither bill received a hearing in the House or Senate. Caveat: In May, the NC Supreme Court ruled that the state Medical Board does not have the power to sanction doctors for participating in executions.

FOURTH AMENDMENT - PRIVACY

SB 920 Probation Reform
As originally drafted, this bill made warrantless searches of probationers by probation officers a regular condition of probation instead of a special condition requiring a court order to make the probationer subject to warrantless searches. The bill also granted probation officers the ability to look at sealed juvenile records of probationers without a court order. The bill sponsor later proposed making the probationer subject to warrantless searches by all law enforcement officers, but because of objections, this provision was limited to allowing searches of the probationer’s person and vehicle, but only if the law enforcement officer suspects that the probationer has a weapon, explosive device or is involved in criminal activity. After passing the Senate, the House Juvenile Justice Committee amended the provision allowing access to juvenile records so that probation officers would only receive notice of an existing juvenile record if the probationer has a felony on his or her juvenile record. The probation officer would then have to obtain a court order if he or she would like to obtain access to the entire record. The House committee also adopted an amendment prohibiting probationers from using illegal drugs or controlled substances without a prescription and from associating with known or convicted drug users, possessors or sellers.

Position: Active oppose - the warrantless search provisions as well as the juvenile records provision violate the Fourth Amendment which requires a warrant to search people’s property, papers or persons. The House amendment prohibiting association with known drug users, possessors, or sellers also violates the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of association and could cause serious problems finding available accommodations for probationers who won’t be able to live with any relative or friend who may have any drug conviction on their record.

Status: This bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Perdue on July 30th, 2009. It becomes effective on December 1, 2009.

HB 859 Amend Conditions of Probation
This bill was similar to SB 920 and would have made warrantless searches by probation officers a regular condition of probation instead of a special condition of probation.

Position: Active oppose for the reasons stated above.

Status: Passed the House, but was held by the Senate meaning it was never referred to committee or heard in the Senate.

SB 1082 Juvenile Records/Probation Risk Assessment
Similar to a provision in SB 920, this bill would have allowed probation officers access to an adult offender’s entire sealed juvenile record for the purposes of determining the risk of the adult offender.

Position: Active Oppose – the bill did not differentiate between the seriousness or types of crimes committed by the adult offender or the juvenile, instead allowing access to the juvenile records of all adult offenders. Juvenile records contain a great deal of private information about the juvenile offender and his or her family.

Status: Passed the Senate, but was pulled from House Juvenile Justice Committee due to the work of the ACLU-NC and other opposition.

SB 984 Access Juvenile Records/Violent Offenders
Originally, this bill would have allowed magistrates and law enforcement officers access to information in an adult offender’s juvenile record without a warrant through a “juvenile record sheet.” The bill created the juvenile record sheet and required that the sheet be included with every juvenile record of an offender who committed and offense that would be a felony or A1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult. The sheet would then be available to magistrates and police officers for pre-trial release, plea negotiating, and plea acceptance decisions. The bill was amended in the House to allow prosecutors, who already have access to juvenile records, to share information with magistrates and law enforcement officers, but that the information may not be copied, must be kept confidential, and not become part of the adult offender’s adult record.

Position: Actively opposed as originally drafted - juvenile records are sealed and contain a great deal of private information that should remain confidential unless a warrant or court order is obtained. As amended the ACLU-NC monitored the bill.

Status: Passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on August 28th and goes in to effect on December 1, 2009.

HB 1403 Collect DNA Sample on Arrest
This bill requires DNA samples to be taken from anyone charged with, but not convicted of, a felony without a warrant. The DNA would be stored in the State Bureau of Investigation’s database and sent to the FBI. Under current law, DNA is taken from those convicted of a felony automatically. Otherwise, a warrant must be obtained to take DNA as it is considered a search of the person.

Position: Oppose - violates the Fourth Amendment prohibition against warrantless searches. DNA contains a great deal of personal information that would be taken from the individual during a period while our system continues to presume them innocent. The DNA and the information about the defendant and his or her family contained within would be kept in a government database subject to repeated searches indefinitely. If the person was found innocent or the charges otherwise dropped, the DNA and the information contained would not be automatically purged.

Status: This bill did not receive a hearing in the 2009 session, but is still eligible during the 2010 session. It is expected that this bill or something similar to it will be heard in 2010.

RACIAL JUSTICE

HB 464 Prevent Racial Profiling
As introduced this bill would have strengthened North Carolina's current driving while black statute which requires that law enforcement agencies report information on race, gender, approximate age, etc. of people subject to traffic stops by removing an exception that prevents the law from applying to checkpoints. However, the bill was amended in the Senate to remove this provision. The bill still amends the current law to require reporting within 30 days of the close of each month and making it easier to identify if one bad officer is profiling or if there is another explanation for stops that seem to target people of color. It also contains a provision clearly delineating what an officer should do if he or she arrests someone who is supervising minor children. The provision requires that the children be left with a responsible adult approved by the parent or, if this cannot be accomplished in a reasonable period of time, that the county department of social services be called.

Position: This was an ACLU-NC 2009 legislative priority bill. The ACLU-NC Legal Foundation is investigating a number of law enforcement agencies through public records due to increase reports of racial profiling, particularly through the use of checkpoints targeting the Latino and African American communities in North Carolina. Racial or ethnic profiling – police stopping people and subjecting them to searches or additional questioning because of the color of their skin – is prohibited by the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment which requires that all people be treated equally under the law.

Status: The bill was passed by the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on August 28th and goes into effect on January 1, 2010.

SB 759 Modify DWI Checking Station Requirements
Clarifies the law regulating checking stations, requiring that not only the overall guidelines for conducting a checkpoint be in writing, but also that the pattern of stop that law enforcement officers will use must also be in writing before the checking station begins operation.

Position: This was an ACLU-NC legislative priority bill because the bill would help identify racial profiling through the use of checkpoints.
Status: The bill passed the Senate and one House committee. The bill is eligible for the 2010 short session.

SB 32 Employer Must Use Federal E-Verify
Requires that all North Carolina employers use the federal E-verify system. E-verify is a federal web-based program that allows U.S. employers to attempt to verify the work authorization of new hires using social security numbers in the Social Security Administration’s database.

Position: Active oppose - the database is error-ridden and sweeps up lawful permanent residents along with citizens, preventing them from starting work until they rectify problems with SSA. The system also encourages profiling by employers who believe that it is easier to hire people who look and sound “American” and can cause employers to unlawfully take advantage of employees who are initially identified as unable to work in North Carolina.

Status: The bill passed the Senate Commerce committee and was defeated in the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee.

Senate Bill 202 Appropriations Act of 2009
The Appropriations Act of 2009 creates North Carolina’s operating budget for the 2009-2011 fiscal years. This year, the Act included an appropriation of $150,000 which will be granted through the Governor’s Crime Commission to the NC Sheriffs’ Association (NCSA) for the purpose of local enforcement of immigration law.

Position: Active oppose - local enforcement programs seem to be encouraging racial profiling, particularly of the Latino community.

Status: The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on August 7th and took immediate effect.

DUE PROCESS

SB 794 Sex Offender Incapacity to Proceed
Creates a civil proceeding by which a defendant who is charged with certain sex crimes can be found guilty of his crime even when s/he is found incompetent to proceed to trial. The defendant can then be committed to the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and DHHS can contract with the Department of Corrections for the keeping of the defendant. If the defendant is ever released from “commitment” s/he will register as a sex offender in the same manner as any person convicted of the crime with which he or she is charged.

Position: Active oppose - would create a civil process by which an accused could be convicted even though s/he was found incompetent and unable to stand trial. If a person is found incapable to stand trial, it is understood that s/he cannot effectively assist his or her counsel and is otherwise unable to exercise his or her right to a fair and impartial trial under the Sixth Amendment.

Status: Passed the Senate and awaits hearing in the House. The bill is eligible for the 2010 session.

SIXTH AMENDMENT - RIGHT TO CONFRONTATION

HB 192 Child Witness Testimony/Codify Criminal Law
Allows minor children to testify in criminal proceedings not in the presence of the defendant if the judge determines that testifying in the defendant’s presence would cause the child emotional distress and affect the child’s ability to communicate with the judge or jury.

Position: Monitor. The ACLU-NC monitored this bill to assure that the defendant’s rights to face his accuser were appropriately safeguarded by the legislation.

Status: Passed the House and Senate, signed by the Governor on July 27th and becomes effective December 1, 2009.

HB 775/SB 241 Alternative Testimony / Children & Adults with Disabilities
As originally drafted, allowed people with disabilities and minor children to testify outside of the courtroom or presence of the defendant in both civil and criminal cases if the court determines that testifying in the courtroom would cause emotional distress to the witness. HB 775 was amended in the Senate to remove the provisions regarding children and to require that the judge determine that the witness would suffer serious emotional distress from testifying in the presence of the defendant and that the witness’s ability to communicate with the judge or jury would be impaired.

Position: Opposed as originally drafted. This bill did not create an appropriate nexus between testifying in the presence of the defendant and the emotional distress caused to the witness and therefore could violate a defendant’s right to face his accuser. The U.S. Supreme Court in Maryland v. Craig ruled that if a witness against a defendant in a criminal case is going to testify out of the presence of the defendant, the judge must determine that testifying in the presence of the defendant would impede the witness’ ability to communicate with the trier of fact and would cause the witness substantial emotional distress. Therefore, as amended, the ACLU-NC has no position on the bill.

Status: HB 775 passed the House and Senate and was signed by Governor Perdue on August 26th, 2009. The bill goes into effect December 1, 2009.

SIXTH AMENDMENT - RIGHT TO COUNSEL

HB 1438 Videoconference Tech. in Court Proceedings
Authorizes the Department of Corrections and Administrative Office of the Court to create a pilot program to test the use of videoconference technology for initial appearance, first appearance, and arraignment without informed consent, meaning that the defendant would not be in the courtroom and would not be in the presence of his or her attorney during these proceedings. Current NC law allows the use of videoconference with informed consent for these proceedings. The bill also allows the taking of guilty pleas through videoconference technology with the informed consent of the defendant.

Position: Active oppose - could interfere with the defendant’s ability to communicate with counsel particularly during a critical stage of trial such as pleading guilty. By pleading guilty, the defendant effectively waives his or her right to a jury trial, to confront witnesses against him, and to present defenses. The defendant should be present with his attorney to make this decision.

Status: This bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on July 10th. The law goes into immediate effect.

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM

HB 168 “Choose Life” License Plate/ SB 210 “Choose Life” Special Plate
Creates a special “choose life” license plate, the proceeds from which would go to facilities that counsel women on pregnancy, but could not go to facilities that provides, promotes, or counsels on abortion.

Position: Oppose. Limiting the proceeds of such a license plate to facilities that do not offer women information on all of their health care choices or perform all services that women may need effectively burdens the ability of women to make health care choices for themselves.

Status: Neither of these bills received a hearing in either the House or Senate, but do involve a fee and are eligible for consideration in the 2010 session.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

HB 885 Targeted Picketing
As originally drafted, the bill made it a Class 2 misdemeanor to picket outside of a residence in a manner that disturbed the tranquility of that residence. The bill specifically exempted from its application any general picketing that proceeds through a residential neighborhood or past residences. The bill was amended in the House to prohibit picketing at a residence as defined in the bill that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her own personal safety or the safety of his or her family or close personal associates or picketing that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.

Position: Opposed as originally drafted because it would have burdened the ability of people to assemble for peaceful protests and could otherwise impede free speech. However, the ACLU-NC had no position on the bill as amended.

Status: The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on July 17th. The law goes into effect on December 1, 2009.

HB 1261 Protect Our Kids/Cyber-Bullying Misdemeanor
As originally drafted, created 11 Class 1 misdemeanors, including posting a real or doctored image of a minor, posting true or false personal, sexual, or private information about a minor, to repeatedly send insults to or about a minor, or to build a fake profile or use a false identity online with the intent to embarrass, intimidate, or torment a minor. The bill was amended in the Senate to remove the term “embarrass,” remove the provision prohibiting repeatedly sending insults to or about a minor, remove the provision criminalizing the use of a false identity, to change the class to a lower Class 2 misdemeanor, and to add a provision by which 16- and 17-year-olds can get their records expunged if convicted under the law.

Position: Active oppose. The ACLU-NC believes that much of what is criminalized by the bill is protected speech and should not be punished criminally. The terms “intimidate” and “torment” are too vague to provide individuals with notice of what is legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights and what is criminal activity.

Status: The bill was passed by the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on August 28th and goes into effect on December 1, 2009.

HB 120 Public Municipal Campaigns
Allows municipalities approved by the Board of Elections to establish a program for publicly supported campaign financing for municipal elections. The program must be non-discriminatory, voluntary, and include spending and fundraising limits and regulations.

Position: Monitor. The ACLU supports public finance as a way to diversify elections and make public office more attainable. However, public finance cannot be to the exclusion of donations from individuals, and the ACLU continues to monitor legislation in this area to make sure that it does not ban campaign contributions entirely.

Status: Passed the House and is awaiting consideration in the Senate. This bill is eligible in the 2010 session.

SB 763 Legal Services Clarification
Prior law arguably prohibited lawyers employed by non-profit corporations from practicing law on behalf of an individual if they are doing so in the name of the non-profit. This bill changed the law so that non-profits are permitted to practice law in NC.

Position: Active support. The Supreme Court has determined that individuals being able to join together to fight grievances, as the ACLU-NC Legal foundation or NAACP have done, is a First Amendment right because impact the freedom of associates and expression. The ability of non-profits to practice law has also been critical throughout the last 100 years to the defense of civil rights and liberties and the expansion of those rights.

Status: The bill passed the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor on June 30th and became effective immediately.