Rep. Stevens files bill in North Carolina House to revise judicial system rules

A new bill filed by State Rep. Sarah Stevens seeks to revise and streamline various aspects of North Carolina’s judicial framework to improve court operations and administration, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 620 on March 31 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘AOC Agency Requests.-AB’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill aims to revise various legal and administrative stipulations concerning North Carolina’s judicial system. It includes adding High Point University School of Law to the list of institutions receiving state appellate division reports, effective August 1, 2025. It revises procedures for judicially managed accountability and recovery courts, adjusts regulations on form modifications, and changes requirements for public notice of name changes, effective December 1, 2025. It addresses guardianship and estate management provisions, alters juvenile custody regulations, and mandates clerks to send inpatient commitment orders to specific parties. It restructures jurisdiction rules for superior court judges assigned to special cases, modifies the authority and designation process for business court judges, and clarifies the role of judicial branch emblems. It increases the number of magistrates above the minimum in consultation with district judges, offers new procedures for paying judicial expenses, and includes a severability clause ensuring parts of the law remain effective if others are invalidated. The bill, with most sections effective upon becoming law, seeks to streamline operations within North Carolina’s judicial framework.

A related bill, SB 648, was also filed in the North Carolina Senate, introduced by Sen. Buck Newton (and two others) on March 25, 2025.

Stevens proposed another 18 bills during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Stevens graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1981 with a BS and again in 1986 from Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law with a JD.

Stevens, a Republican, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2009 to represent the state’s 90th House district, replacing previous state representative Jim Harrell.