Q. Can you tell me if House Bill 1360, which was in the April 2009 General Assembly Session, passed? -- S.G.
A. The status of a bill can easily be checked at the General Assembly's Web site, www.ncleg.net.
Click the link to "Legislation/Bills."
There are several options to search for information on bills. In this case, since you know the bill number, you can use the "Bill Look-Up" link. If you do not know the bill number, but know what the bill is about, you can use the "Full Text Search" or "Bills by Keyword" options.
House Bill 1360, whose short title is "Amend Habitual Felon Law," did not pass this year. It was referred to a committee. Rep. Phil Haire, D-Jackson, is the bill's primary sponsor.
A Journal editorial published July 7 explains what the bill would do:
"The habitual-felons law kicks in after someone has been convicted of three felonies. That third felony means a person can be prosecuted for the crime of habitual felon and get extra time. The sentence can be very long.
"Haire has proposed that the two least serious classes of felonies, which include such crimes as minor drug possession, not count toward habitual-felon status.
"The seven other classes would continue to do so.
"Furthermore, he proposes that the extra sentence be proportionate to the sentence for the fourth offense, which in most cases would be shorter than current sentencing standards provide."
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