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Bill Summary · HB 385

HB 385 — “Competition Parity Act” (summary)

Note: multiple jurisdictions use the bill number “HB 385.” The materials provided include several different bills from different states. This summary focuses on the version titled the “Competition Parity Act” as filed in the North Carolina General Assembly (Session 2025), which is the version that carries that title in the available documents. Where helpful, I note procedural items from the record you provided.

Main purpose / intent

The bill’s stated purpose is narrow: to repeal Section 2 of Session Law 2024‑31. By repealing that section, HB 385 abates pending prosecutions brought under the repealed provision and requires dismissal of any charges already filed. The act, if enacted, is written to operate retroactively.

Key provisions

  • Repeal: Section 1 of HB 385 repeals Section 2 of S.L. 2024‑31 in its entirety.
  • Abatement and dismissal: Section 2 provides that prosecutions for offenses charged prior to enactment shall be abated and any such charges shall be dismissed without leave to reinstate.
  • Effective date / retroactivity: Section 3 states the act becomes effective when it becomes law and applies retroactively to December 1, 2024.

(If you need to know what legal conduct Section 2 of S.L. 2024‑31 criminalized, consult the text of S.L. 2024‑31—HB 385 does not itself restate those substantive elements.)

Who would be affected

  • Primary: defendants with pending criminal charges brought under the repealed Section 2 of S.L. 2024‑31 — their prosecutions would be abated and charges dismissed.
  • Secondary: prosecutors, public defenders, courts (docket and case-processing impacts), law enforcement (investigations), and crime victims (whose pending cases would not proceed under the repealed provision).
  • Broader policy stakeholders: legislators, criminal-justice reform advocates, victims’ advocacy groups, and the executive branch entities enforcing the law.

Procedural status and timeline (from provided record)

  • Introduced / filed: November 12, 2024 (per supplied metadata).
  • Read first time: February 28, 2025 (filed and referred to committee).
  • Referred to: Intergovernmental Affairs (per docket).
  • Later actions: Record shows the bill was “Passed 1st Reading” but also lists that on May 6, 2025 the bill was marked “Currently Indefinitely Postponed.” (If precise current status matters, check the legislature’s up-to-date docket.)
  • Effective upon enactment; retroactive application to Dec. 1, 2024 if enacted.

Potential impacts / considerations

  • Immediate legal effect (if enacted) would be dismissal of pending prosecutions under the repealed statutory provision, reducing caseloads for the courts and prosecutors in those matters.
  • Victims of offenses prosecuted under the repealed provision may be deprived of criminal remedies under that statute; alternative charges under other statutes might or might not be available depending on facts and prosecutorial decisions.
  • Retroactive dismissal raises typical separation-of-powers and fairness questions; it also may trigger collateral civil or administrative consequences for affected parties.
  • Fiscal effect is likely limited and case-specific (short‑term court and prosecutorial workload changes); no fiscal note was supplied in the materials provided.

Where to find the authoritative text and next steps

  • To understand the full effect, read: (a) the full text of HB 385 as introduced, and (b) Section 2 of S.L. 2024‑31 (the provision being repealed) to see the exact criminal conduct and penalties that would be removed.
  • For the bill’s current procedural status and any amendments, consult the North Carolina General Assembly website or the official legislative docket.

If you want, I can:
- Pull and summarize the text of Section 2 of S.L. 2024‑31 so you can see precisely what would be repealed;
- Prepare a short legal memo on likely prosecutorial and victim‑rights consequences; or
- Verify the bill’s final status with the most recent legislative database.

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

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