Senate passes 'Marsy's Law' for crime victim notifications

It heads back to the House for more votes. Similar legislation has already passed that chamber, making it likely final approval will come this week, setting up a November statewide referendum required to change the state constitution.

The measure picked up a couple of amendments Monday meant to allay procedural concerns, including concerns about access to confidential juvenile criminal records. With that, the bill won support from the state Administrative Office of the Courts.

AOC Director Marion Warren said it would "ensure rights, I believe, on both sides of the spectrum."

The measure requires notification of all court proceedings if victims request it. It expands existing rights for victims to include more crimes, including all felony property crimes and crimes against a person, a broad category that covers threats. It would cost an estimated $11.2 million a year to implement, according to a fiscal note released Monday, as state dollars are used to cover salaries for some 150 victim services coordinators around the state.

The changes may bring other unknown costs as well, the fiscal analysis states. A previous fiscal note put the cost above $30 million a year, but that was based on an earlier draft of the proposal, sponsoring Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, said Monday.

Some Democrats expressed concerns that the changes would bog down criminal courts, but there was little willingness to vote against the bill. Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, stood up on the Senate floor to tell lawmakers that voting "against victims ... wouldn't be a good mark to have on your record."

The measure cleared the Senate 44-1, with only Sen. Milton F. "Toby" Fitch, a former judge, voting against it. He called the bill "a political propaganda situation" and said he always made sure victims were notified of proceedings and asked to speak if they wanted to during trial.

"I see nothing that this bill does," said Fitch, D-Wilson.

Barringer responded by ticking off crimes not currently covered by the existing victim's rights section of the state constitution. The list included incest, breaking and entering, identity fraud, witness intimidation, secret peeping and larceny.

"This is not a ploy," Barringer said. "This is a reality."

The measure, in House Bill 551, is called Marsy's Law after a woman in California whose family ran into her killer in a grocery store after he was let out on bond. Its movement in North Carolina is part of a national effort to expand victim protections across the country.

Victims and victim advocates, including Kit Gruelle, asked for the change here. Gruelle said that, in her 32 years working in this area, she's seen "gaps in the system" when it comes to victim notification.

"It's a bit of a crap shoot," she said.