Bill Summaries: H924 HIGHWAY SAFETY/OTHER CHANGES.

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  • Summary date: Oct 26 2015 - View Summary

    AN ACT TO CLARIFY WHEN A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER IS REQUIRED TO REQUEST A BLOOD SAMPLE WHEN CHARGING THE OFFENSE OF MISDEMEANOR DEATH BY VEHICLE, CLARIFY THE LAW GOVERNING PROHIBITED USE OF RED AND BLUE LIGHTS, REPEAL CERTAIN MANDATORY REPORTING REGARDING PSEUDOEPHEDRINE PRODUCTS, CLARIFY THE SUBPOENA AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE SBI, PROVIDE FOR UPSET BIDS FOR LEASES OF MINERAL DEPOSITS ON STATE LANDS, INCREASE THE COST LIMIT ON WORK THAT CAN BE PERFORMED BY GOVERNMENTAL FORCE ACCOUNT LABOR, AND REPEAL THE DONATE LIFE NC MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT. Enacted October 20, 2015. Sections 1 and 2 are effective December 1, 2015. The remainder is effective October 20, 2015.


  • Summary date: Sep 29 2015 - View Summary

    Conference report makes the following changes to the 5th edition. 

    Retains the exclusion in current law of GS 143-135, governing force account labor for public contracts, for construction or repair work undertaken by the State of North Carolina that does not exceed a total cost of $125,000 or a labor cost of $50,000. 

    Raises the exclusion levels to $500,000 (total cost) or $200,000 (labor cost) for construction or repair work undertaken by a subdivision of the state. 

    Makes technical changes. 


  • Summary date: Sep 24 2015 - View Summary

    Senate amendment makes the following changes to the 4th edition.

    Makes a technical correction to GS 146-9(b)(6).


  • Summary date: Sep 23 2015 - View Summary

    Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 3rd edition. 

    Deletes the amendments to GS 143-166.14 and GS 143-166.15 concerning salary continuation and benefits for certain state personnel, including state law enforcement officers.

    Removes the amendment to GS 143B-927, concerning the personnel of the State Bureau of Investigation.

    Deletes proposed GS 20-185(j), which authorized the State Highway Patrol to appoint retired members as volunteer reserve officers.

    Deletes the amendment to GS 126-35, which allowed the separation of an employee that (1) is on workers' compensation or salary continuation and is unable to return to his or her previous position at full duty or (2) that is unable to perform all of his or her job duties due to a court order, due to loss of required credentials or other certification, even if the employee's vacation, sick, bonus, or compensatory leave is not exhausted. 

    Includes a new amendment to GS 146-9, Disposition of mineral deposits in State lands not under water. The new subsection allows the Department of Administration (Department) to solicit competitive bids for lease of mineral deposits using upset bids. Upset bids are inreased or raised bids whereby a person offers an amount exceeding the highest bid received in the initial solicitation, or the last upset bid, by a minimum of 5%. Sets forth provisions governing the competitive bidding process using upset bids, including notice, procedure, deposits, deadlines, and cash bonds. The Department may adopt rules to implement the amendment. 

    Amends GS 143-135 to increase the cost limit on work that can be performed by governmental force account labor. The new limits are a total project cost of $500,000 (was, $125,000) or a total labor cost of $200,000 (was, $50,000). 

    Repeals section 27.8 of SL 2015-241, which rewrites GS 20-7.4(b) to require that grants from the License to Give Trust Fund be matching grants that match, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, nongrant funds provided by the grantee. 

    Changes the act's short and long titles. 


  • Summary date: Jul 23 2015 - View Summary

    Senate committee substitute makes the following changes to the 2nd edition.

    Amends the act's long title. 

    Amends GS 20-139.1(b5), making a technical change. 

    Deletes proposed changes made to GS 20-129(g) concerning the prohibition on the operation of motor vehicles or motorcycles without the specified number of brake lights.

    Deletes proposed changes made to GS 20-129.1 concerning requirements for additional lighting on certain vehicles. 

    Amends GS 143-166.14 concerning salary continuation for certain state personnel, including state law enforcement officers, now requiring that a qualifying injury must result or arise out of an episode of violence, resistance, or other special hazards in the course of official duties (previously, injury had to be proximately caused by heightened risk and special hazards related to the violent nature of the official duties). Further provides that such benefits are deducted from the person's total eligibility under worker's compensation as well as requiring such salary to be ceased or equitably reduced when the person has returned to work for the same or different employer. Also provides that for the purposes of payment under this section, salary excludes overtime, shift premium, holiday pay, or other such enhancements. 

    Enacts new GS 20-185(j) authorizing the State Highway Patrol to appoint retired members as volunteer reserve officers and that they are eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits for injuries incurred during service as such.

    Amends GS 15A-298 concerning the subpoena authority of the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, to no longer make it pursuant to Bureau rules. 

    Amends GS 126-35 to allow the separation of an employee that (1) is on workers' compensation or salary continuation and is unable to return to his or her previous position at full duty or (2) that is unable to perform all of his or her job duties due to a court order, due to loss of required credentials or other certification, even if the employee's vacation, sick, bonus, or compensatory leave is not exhausted. 

    Provides that Section 2, changes made to GS 20-130.1, is effective December 1, 2015, applying to offenses committed on or after that date. 

    Makes conforming changes. 


  • Summary date: Apr 29 2015 - View Summary

    House committee substitute makes the following changes to the 1st edition:

    Amends the long title.

    Deletes proposed changes made to GS 20-16.3(d) concerning the use of numeric results of an alcohol screening test.

    Amends GS 143B-927, concerning the personnel of the State Bureau of Investigation (Bureau), providing that any reserve agents hired by the Director will be considered employees of the Bureau for the purposes of any workers' compensation claim arising from the performance of the reserve agent's assigned duties. 

    Deletes language which provided for an appropriation from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety for 2015-16 for salary increases for specified members of the State Highway Patrol. 

    Repeals GS 106-145.13, Submittal of reports by wholesale distributors of transactions involving pseudoephedrine products.

    Makes conforming changes to the effective date provisions. 


  • Summary date: Apr 20 2015 - View Summary

    Amends GS 20-16.3(d) to clarify that a numeric result on an alcohol screening test or a driver's refusal to submit to the test may be used by a law enforcement officer, is admissible in court, or may be used by an administrative agency in determining if there are reasonable grounds or probable cause to believe either of the following: (1) the driver has committed an implied-consent offense under GS 20-16.2 or (2) the driver had consumed alcohol or had an alcohol concentration above 0.0. Effective December 1, 2015.

    Amends GS 20-139.1(b5) to require that a person charged with a violation of GS 20-141.4 must be requested to provide a blood sample in addition to or instead of a chemical analysis of the breath at any relevant time after the person charged with a violation was driving. Effective December 1, 2015.

    Amends GS 20-129(g) to prohibit anyone from selling or operating on the state's highways any motor vehicle manufactured after December 31, 1970 (was December 31, 1955) unless the motor vehicle is equipped with stop lamps, one on each side of the vehicle's rear. Prohibits a person from selling or operating on the state's highways any motor vehicle, moped, or motor-driven vehicle manufactured after December 31, 1970, unless it is equipped with a stop lamp on the rear. Includes specifications as to the display and visibility of the stop lamps, and references "stop lamps" in plural as opposed to previous references to a singular "stop lamp."

    Amends GS 20-129.1 to require additional lighting equipment on certain vehicles. Requires additional lighting on every bus or truck, regardless of its size, and on every bus or truck 80 inches or more in overall width. Also expands the stop lamp requirements for every trailer or semi-trailer with a gross weight of 4,000 pounds or more. Substitutes "stop lamps" and/or brake reflectors for brake lights. Provides that stop lamps on the rear of vehicles should be displayed as red but makes an exception to permit vehicles that were originally manufactured with amber stop lamps to display an amber light.

    Amends GS 20-130.1, which prohibits the use of red or blue lights in vehicles with a few exceptions. Clarifies that to be prohibited, the red or blue light does not have to be facing forward.

    Amends GS 143-166.14 to clarify that the term "salary" means the total base pay of a person as reflected on the person's salary statement.

    Amends GS 143-166.15 to provide that regardless of the provisions of GS 143-166.14, the persons entitled to benefits are subject to the provisions of GS 97-27 during the two-year period of payment of total base pay. Provides that all salary payments are to be made at the same time and in the same manner as other payments made to other persons in the same department.

    Appropriates an amount from the General Fund for the 2015-16 fiscal year that is sufficient to fund salary increases under GS 20-187.3 for members of the State Highway Patrol. Effective July 1, 2015.

    Except as otherwise indicated, the remainder of this act becomes effective when it becomes law.