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HB 308NORTH CAROLINASession 2025State Billdead
Did Not Advance

North Carolina Bill Increases Strangulation Penalties, Restricts Expunctions, and Mandates Consecutive Sentences

Original title: 2026 Criminal Law Changes.

Last action · August 6, 2026: Conf Com Appointed (Senate action)Sponsors: Stevens and 3 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Proposed

North Carolina House Bill 308 alters criminal penalties by upgrading certain offenses to higher felony classes, prohibits criminal record s for individuals with pending charges or outstanding warrants, and requires multiple prison sentences to run consecutively by default if the court does not specify otherwise.

Why it matters

The measure directly alters criminal sentencing rules and record-clearing eligibility across the state, ensuring that unaddressed pending charges block s and that unspecified multiple prison terms default to consecutive rather than concurrent service.

Background
  • North Carolina General Assembly sessions convene annually to review and enact statutory changes governing criminal law, court procedures, and corrections. context

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Individuals with criminal records seeking expunctions

Petitioners seeking to clear criminal records face additional statutory bars if they have pending charges, active warrants, or unresolved indictments.

Directly affected

Defendants facing multiple prison sentences

Multiple prison sentences imposed simultaneously or added to an undischarged term default to consecutive service instead of concurrent service when the sentencing court is silent.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the bill change sentences when a judge does not specify whether multiple prison terms run together or separately?
Under the bill, if the court does not specify, multiple prison sentences must run consecutively rather than concurrently.
Can a person with pending criminal charges obtain an expunction of their criminal record?
No. The bill prohibits courts from issuing orders if the petitioner has outstanding warrants, pending criminal cases, is under indictment, or has an active probable cause finding for a felony.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Failed in the House.

Procedural history

50 actions
  1. Aug 6, 2026Senate
    Conf Com Appointed
  2. Jul 1, 2026House
    Conf Com Appointed
  3. Jun 30, 2026House
    Failed Concur In S Com Sub
  4. Jun 29, 2026House
    Placed On Cal For 06/30/2026
  5. Jun 29, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Com
  6. Jun 18, 2026House
    Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
Show 44 earlier actions
  1. Jun 18, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Cal
  2. Jun 15, 2026House
    Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
  3. Jun 15, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Com
  4. Jun 15, 2026House
    Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  5. Jun 15, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Cal
  6. Jun 9, 2026House
    Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
  7. Jun 9, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Cal
  8. Jun 9, 2026House
    Added to Calendar
  9. Jun 9, 2026House
    Withdrawn From Com
  10. Jun 4, 2026House
    Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  11. Jun 3, 2026House
    Regular Message Received For Concurrence in S Com Sub
  12. Jun 3, 2026Senate
    Regular Message Sent To House
  13. Jun 2, 2026Senate
    Engrossed
  14. Jun 2, 2026Senate
    Passed 3rd Reading
  15. Jun 2, 2026Senate
    Passed 2nd Reading
  16. Jun 2, 2026Senate
    Amend Tabled A2
  17. Jun 2, 2026Senate
    Amend Adopted A1
  18. Jun 1, 2026Senate
    Reptd Fav
  19. May 20, 2026Senate
    Re-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
  20. May 20, 2026Senate
    Com Substitute Adopted
  21. May 20, 2026Senate
    Reptd Fav Com Substitute
  22. May 7, 2026Senate
    Re-ref to Judiciary. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate
  23. May 7, 2026Senate
    Withdrawn From Com
  24. Apr 10, 2025Senate
    Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
  25. Apr 10, 2025Senate
    Passed 1st Reading
  26. Apr 10, 2025Senate
    Regular Message Received From House
  27. Apr 10, 2025House
    Regular Message Sent To Senate
  28. Apr 9, 2025House
    Passed 3rd Reading
  29. Apr 9, 2025House
    Passed 2nd Reading
  30. Apr 3, 2025House
    Placed On Cal For 04/09/2025
  31. Apr 3, 2025House
    Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
  32. Apr 3, 2025House
    Reptd Fav
  33. Apr 1, 2025House
    Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  34. Apr 1, 2025House
    Reptd Fav Com Sub 2
  35. Mar 25, 2025House
    Re-ref Com On Judiciary 2
  36. Mar 25, 2025House
    Withdrawn From Cal
  37. Mar 24, 2025House
    Placed On Cal For 03/25/2025
  38. Mar 24, 2025House
    Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
  39. Mar 24, 2025House
    Reptd Fav
  40. Mar 18, 2025House
    Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  41. Mar 18, 2025House
    Reptd Fav Com Substitute
  42. Mar 6, 2025House
    Ref to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  43. Mar 6, 2025House
    Passed 1st Reading
  44. Mar 5, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Filed

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Sponsors

StevensHousePrimary sponsorNo profile match
William BrissonHouse · District 22RepublicanCosponsor
Keith KidwellHouse · District 79RepublicanCosponsor
Bill WardHouse · District 5RepublicanCosponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift98% confidence

Default Sentencing Shift

The legislation shifts the baseline assumption for unspecified multiple sentences from concurrent to consecutive service.

Connected Entities

Administrative Office of the Courts, Division of Community Supervision and Reentry of the Department of Adult Correction, North Carolina Center for Missing Persons and 2 more
OrganizationAdministrative Office of the Courts“Maintains confidential records of expunctions and receives expunction petition f”Map →
OrganizationDivision of Community Supervision and Reentry of the Department of Adult Correction“Approves continuous alcohol monitoring systems used as pretrial release conditio”Map →
OrganizationNorth Carolina Center for Missing Persons“Houses the Blue Alert System.”Map →
OrganizationDivision of Motor Vehicles“Required to expunge records of convictions upon court order.”Map →
OrganizationDepartment of Adult Correction“Required to expunge records of convictions upon court order.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.ncleg.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance20
    Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
  • Controversy60
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz30
    Current news / social attention level

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