Overview

• The Senate approved HB 307 by a 28–8 vote after Democrats walked out over a late amendment on executions, and the House scheduled a final vote for Sept. 23.
• Cashless bail would be barred in many cases, with a new “violent offenses” category that requires secured bond, GPS monitoring or house arrest for release.
• The measure expands oversight of magistrates by empowering the state’s chief justice to initiate suspensions and by making missing required written findings grounds for removal.
• Judicial officials would have to order mental‑health evaluations in specified cases and start involuntary commitment proceedings when examiners recommend it, with a broader study commissioned on mental health and the justice system.
• Death‑penalty provisions add public‑transit murders as an aggravating factor, set stricter appeal timelines and direct adoption of an alternative method if lethal injection is unavailable, while funding is limited to 10 new prosecutors in Mecklenburg County.