Our Jon Guze has written extensively about the need to reform North Carolina’s growing criminal code. Earlier this year, we held a discussion among experts in the field who talked about various aspects of the issue. Now the Daily Signal is showcasing our problem — and the opportunity — in this extensive piece about North Carolina’s criminal code.
Like in many states, North Carolina’s criminal codes are overburdened by an excessive number of crimes, thereby feeding into the problem of overcriminalization. The state also suffers from an extremely powerful and overly prohibitive occupational licensing system.
Both of those problems, however, can be addressed this session.
North Carolina State Rep. Dennis Riddell introduced a new provision to a proposed tax reform bill—SB 114—called “Create the Criminal Code Recodification Commission,” or Section 10. As the name suggests, this provision gives SB 114 a second purpose that goes beyond tax reform—updating and reforming the state’s onerous criminal code.
Read the full story here.
