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RALEIGH (MCT) — A bill aimed at reducing racial disparities in the imposition of the death penalty advanced another step in the N.C. General Assembly yesterday.

Supporters of the bill, which is known as the "North Carolina Racial Justice Act," say that it would combat racial bias by giving defendants and death-row inmates clear legal procedures to argue that race played a significant role in decisions to impose the death penalty.

But the bill is controversial because of the way it would allow defendants and inmates to use statistics to try to show racial bias.

The bill would allow them to use data from other death-penalty trials within the same county, prosecutorial district, judicial division or the state at large. For instance, a black defendant might argue to a judge that, statistically, blacks are much more likely than whites to receive the death penalty in one or more of those jurisdictions. The statistical evidence alone would be enough for a judge to throw out the death penalty for that defendant -- regardless of the particular facts of the defendant's case.

Supporters say that the bill is necessary to overcome a legacy of systemic bias in the criminal-justice system that has been especially pronounced in the realm of capital punishment. Murders involving black defendants, or white victims, or both, are more likely to result in death sentences.

The bill's sponsors also said that defendants would have to meet high standards before a judge would rule that race played a significant role in decisions to impose the death penalty.

''I just want to re-emphasize that the burden of proof in this act is with the defendant," said state Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Forsyth. She and Rep. Larry Womble, also D-Forsyth, are two of the bill's biggest advocates.

''This is a bill for fair sentencing," Parmon added. "And it's been around a long time, and it's time for us to move forward on it."

The legislature is doing just that, but the bill is far from a sure bet to pass into law. Yesterday, the bill was approved by a key judiciary committee in the N.C. House. The committee's vote was 7-6.

It must go through one more committee before coming up in the full House, where Republicans plan to oppose it aggressively, and some conservative Democrats may be unenthusiastic about the bill.

''I think it will be close," said Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam, R-Wake and the House minority leader. "We will fight it hard."

Another test for the bill is in the N.C. Senate. That chamber previously approved a version of it, but the bill has undergone significant changes since then that may make it less palatable to some senators.

The bill's opponents argue that it would, in effect, create racial quotas for the death penalty. The bill's supporters dispute that claim.

Under the bill, a defendant charged with first-degree murder could use the bill's procedures to challenge either a prosecutor's decision to seek the death penalty or a jury's decision to issue a death sentence. It also would give all current death-row inmates one year to challenge the death sentences in their cases on the basis of race.

If a death sentence were thrown out, it would be automatically converted to a sentence of life in prison without parole.

The General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division estimates that the bill could cost the state $2 million to $6 million in new expenses based on the additional appeals that would likely arise in death-penalty cases.