AN ACT to bring state law into compliance with the federal violence against women act of 2005.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 15A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 15A‑831.1. Polygraph examinations of victims of sexual assaults.
(a)	A criminal or juvenile justice agency shall not require a person claiming to be a victim of sexual assault or claiming to be a witness regarding the sexual assault of another person to submit to a polygraph or similar examination as a precondition to the agency conducting an investigation into the matter.
(b)	An agency wishing to perform a polygraph examination of a person claiming to be a victim or witness of sexual assault shall inform the person of the following:
(1)	That taking the polygraph examination is voluntary.
(2)	That the results of the examination are not admissible in court.
(3)	That the person's decision to submit to or refuse a polygraph examination will not be the sole basis for a decision by the agency not to investigate the matter.
(c)	An agency which declines to investigate an alleged case of sexual assault following a decision by a person claiming to be a victim not to submit to a polygraph examination shall provide to that person, in writing, the reasons why the agency did not pursue the investigation at the request of the person."
SECTION 2.  The Administrative Office of the Courts, in cooperation with the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the North Carolina Governor's Crime Commission, shall develop a form to comply with the criminal case firearm notification requirements of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005.  The form shall be available for use by the courts no later than December 31, 2007.  Effective January 1, 2008, all defendants convicted of crimes subject to the firearm notification requirements shall be provided a copy of the form by the court.

SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to sexual assault offenses alleged to have been committed on or after that date.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of July, 2007.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 11:40 a.m. this 28th day of July, 2007