164-43. Priority of duties; reports; continuing duties.

(a) The Commission shall have two primary duties, and other secondary duties essential to accomplishing the primary ones. The Commission may establish subcommittees or advisory committees composed of Commission members to accomplish duties imposed by this Article.

It is the legislative intent that the Commission attach priority to accomplish the following primary duties:

(1) The classification of criminal offenses as described in G.S. 164-41 and the formulation of sentencing structures as described in G.S. 164-42; and

(2) The formulation of proposals and recommendations as described in G.S. 164-42.1 and G.S. 164-42.2.

(b) The Commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the 1991 General Assembly, 1991 Regular Session. The report shall describe the status of the Commission's work, and shall include any completed policy recommendations.

(c) The Commission shall report on its progress in formulating recommendations for the classification and ranges of punishment for felonies and misdemeanors, required by G.S. 164-41, and sentencing structures, established under G.S. 164-42, to the 1991 General Assembly, 1992 Regular Session, and shall make a final report on these recommendations no later than 30 days after the convening of the 1993 Session of the General Assembly.

(d) Once the primary duties of the Commission have been accomplished, it shall have the continuing duty to monitor and review the criminal justice and corrections systems and the juvenile justice system in this State to ensure that sentences and dispositions remain uniform and consistent, and that the goals and policies established by the State are being implemented by sentencing and dispositional practices, and it shall recommend methods by which this ongoing work may be accomplished and by which the correctional population simulation model and the Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety facilities population simulation model developed under G.S. 164-40 shall continue to be used by the State.

(e) Upon adoption of a system for the classification of offenses formulated under G.S. 164-41, the Commission or its successor shall review all proposed legislation which creates a new criminal offense, changes the classification of an offense, or changes the range of punishment or dispositional level for a particular classification, and shall make recommendations to the General Assembly.

(f) In the case of a new criminal offense, the Commission or its successor shall determine whether the proposal places the offense in the correct classification, based upon the considerations and principles set out in G.S. 164-41. If the proposal does not assign the offense to a classification, it shall be the duty of the Commission or its successor to recommend the proper classification placement.

(g) In the case of proposed changes in the classification of an offense or changes in the range of punishment or dispositional level for a classification, the Commission or its successor shall determine whether such a proposed change is consistent with the considerations and principles set out in G.S. 164-41, and shall report its findings to the General Assembly.

(h) The Commission or its successor shall meet within 10 days after the last day for filing general bills in the General Assembly for the purpose of reviewing bills as described in subsections (e), (f), and (g). The Commission or its successor shall include in its report on a bill an analysis based on an application of the correctional population simulation model or the Juvenile Justice Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety facilities population simulation model to the provisions of the bill.