AN ACT to make the program for the collection of worthless checks available statewide.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑107.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a1)	The Administrative Office of the Courts may authorize the establishment of a program for the collection of worthless checks in any prosecutorial district where economically feasible. The Administrative Office of the Courts may consider the following factors when making a feasibility determination:
(1)	The population of the district.
(2)	The number of worthless check prosecutions in the district.
(3)	The availability of personnel and equipment in the district."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑107.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Upon authorization by the Administrative Office of the Courts, a district attorney may establish a program for the collection of worthless checks in cases that may be prosecuted under G.S. 14‑107. The district attorney may establish a program for the collection of worthless checks in cases that would be punishable as misdemeanors, in cases that would be punishable as felonies, or both. The district attorney shall establish criteria for the types of worthless check cases that will be eligible under the program."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑107.2(e) is repealed.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 7A‑346.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The Administrative Office of the Courts shall report by April 1 of each odd‑numbered year to the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees and the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety on the economic viability of the worthless check collection programs established by district attorneys pursuant to G.S. 14-107.2, including an assessment of whether any adjustments need to be made to ensure that the programs, on a statewide basis, are self-supporting."
SECTION 4.  As soon as practicable, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall determine the economic feasibility of establishing a worthless check collection program in Prosecutorial Districts 1, 3A, 18, 25, 28, and 29.  The Administrative Office of the Courts shall authorize the establishment of a worthless check collection program in any or all of the prosecutorial districts identified in this section that are determined to be economically feasible before it authorizes a worthless check collection program in any other prosecutorial district.

SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of July, 2003.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Richard T. Morgan
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 11:17 a.m. this 1st day of August, 2003