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Bill Summary · HB 400

Summary — HB 400: "Bentley's Law"

Status: Withdrawn from committee (3/19/2025)
Introduced: March 6, 2025
Subject areas: Child support; courts; crimes; minors; victims’ rights; restitution; named law
Short title: Bentley’s Law

Purpose / Intent

Bentley’s Law would require courts to order restitution in the form of child support when a person is convicted of specified felony “death by vehicle” offenses and the deceased victim was the parent of a minor child. The bill is intended to assure ongoing financial support for children left parentless by certain vehicular homicides.

Key provisions

  • Adds a new statutory section (proposed G.S. 20‑141.4A) establishing restitution in the form of child support for specified felony death-by-vehicle convictions (those prosecuted under G.S. 20‑141.4 subsections (a1), (a5), or (a6)).
  • Mandatory restitution order: If convicted under those provisions and the victim was a parent of a minor child, the sentencing court shall order the defendant to pay child support to each of the victim’s children.
  • Duration: Payments continue until each child (a) reaches age 18 and (b) has graduated from high school (or until the class of which the child was a member at age 18 has graduated).
  • Amount: The court must set an amount “reasonable and necessary” for the child’s maintenance after considering listed factors, including:
    • The child’s needs and resources;
    • Financial resources/needs of the surviving parent/guardian (including the State if in custody);
    • Child’s accustomed standard of living; health/educational needs; custody arrangements; work‑related child care costs.
  • Payment mechanics: Payments are ordered to the clerk of court as trustee; clerks must remit received payments to the surviving parent/guardian within 10 working days and deposit them by the next working day.
  • Incarcerated defendants: If the defendant is incarcerated and cannot pay, they have up to one year after release to begin payments and may enter a payment plan for arrears. Payments that would otherwise terminate remain until any arrearage is paid in full.
  • Enforcement: A surviving parent/guardian may enforce the restitution order like a civil judgment.
  • Offset rule: Civil judgments obtained by the surviving parent/guardian (before or after sentencing) offset child support ordered under this statute to prevent duplicative recovery.
  • Effective date and applicability: The bill specifies an effective date of December 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

Who would be affected

  • Defendants convicted of the specified felony death‑by‑vehicle crimes where the victim was a parent of a minor child — subject to ordered child‑support restitution.
  • Surviving parents/guardians (and minor children) — would be eligible recipients of court-ordered restitution support.
  • Clerks of court — responsible for receipt, trustee duties, timely remittance, and deposit handling.
  • Courts — required to calculate and enter child‑support restitution orders and consider statutory factors at sentencing.
  • Potential interactions with civil tort plaintiffs — offsets can reduce restitution if civil damages already compensate survivors.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced March 6, 2025. Legislative status reported as “Withdrawn From Com” on March 19, 2025 (i.e., not advancing at that time).
  • If enacted as drafted, the law would take effect December 1, 2025 and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Provides a criminal‑justice mechanism to address long‑term financial needs of children bereaved by vehicle‑related felonies.
  • May raise practical enforcement issues (collection from incarcerated or indigent defendants) and require coordination between criminal sentencing, child‑support enforcement, and civil remedies.
  • The offset mechanism aims to avoid duplicative recovery when survivors obtain civil damages.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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