House committee substitute makes the following changes to 1st edition.
Amends proposed Part 30, Eugenics Asexualization and Sterilization Compensation Program, to clarify that the $50,000 compensation paid to qualified recipients will be lump-sum. Adds that Industrial Commission decisions that are favorable to the claimant are final and not subject to appeal by the state. Makes amendment to GS 105-134.6(b), which makes the compensation payment tax deductible, effective for taxes imposed in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2012 (was, effective July 1, 2012). Modifies various fund distributions to provide that the funds are coming from funds appropriated to the Eugenics Reserve Fund. Makes additional clarifying changes.

Amends GS 20-7 to add a new subsection regarding requirements for the issuance of a driver's license, a limited learner's permit, or a provisional driver's license to applicants who use bioptic telescopic lenses. Places the following restrictions on regular driver's licenses, limited learner's permits, and provisional driver's licenses issued to applicants using bioptic telescopic lenses on the eye test: the license or permit holder (1) is not eligible for any endorsements and (2) is only allowed to drive from one-half hour after sunrise until one-half hour before sunset. Applicants issued a driver's license after using bioptic lenses for the eye test may drive at night if specified conditions are met. Provides details on license issuance by Division of Motor Vehicles locations.

Appropriates $150,000 for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Community Colleges System Office to provide as title indicates. Effective July 1, 2012.

Adds new Article 43, Behavior Analysis Practice Act, to GS Chapter 90. Subjects the practice of behavior analysis in North Carolina to regulation by the North Carolina Psychology Board (Board). Defines behavior analysis as “the design, implementation, and evaluation of systematic instructional and environmental modifications to produce significant personal or interpersonal improvements in human behavior.” Requires that persons with qualifying educational credentials must apply for licensure and review to the Board and be licensed as behavior analysts before working in behavioral analysis in this state. Requires that a licensed behavior analyst be under face-to-face supervision by a (1) qualified licensed psychologist or (2) a licensed psychological associate. Prohibits a licensed behavior analyst from engaging in the practice of psychology and expressly lists additional areas of practice excluded from the practice of behavioral analysis.

Provides exemptions to the licensure requirements of proposed Article 43. Specifies that the licensure requirements do not prevent the practice of behavior analysis by a North Carolina licensed psychologist or licensed psychological associate.

Charges the Board with administration of the licensing program. Authorizes the Board to carry out the provisions of proposed Article 43 and specifies the powers of the Board in addition to those under GS 90-270.9 (created the North Carolina Psychology Board). Designates the responsibilities of the Board to include providing information on all licensed behavior analysts in its annual report and issuing a behavior analysts license for an application fee. Sets requirements for license renewal or replacement and rules governing disciplinary and remedial actions for violations of the code of conduct, including criteria for denial, suspension, or revocation of license.

Prohibits the practice of behavior analysis or identification as a behavior analyst by any person not licensed under proposed Article 43. Makes violation of proposed GS 90-726.13 (prohibited acts) a Class 2 misdemeanor.

Sets a fee schedule and provides that all fees required under proposed Article 43 are nonrefundable. Confers injunctive authority on the Board. Permits criminal record checks for applicants and licensed behavior analysts.

Effective October 1, 2012.

Appropriates $2,376,007 for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety, Division of Law Enforcement as the title indicates. Effective July 1, 2012.

Enacts new subsection (a1) to GS 62-111 (concerning public utilities mergers) to prohibit the NC Utilities Commission from approving a merger of a public utility owning an electric generation facility in which a municipal power agency owns an interest until (1) the debt incurred by the municipal power agency to purchase the interest is retired or (2) the sale of the interest, whichever occurs first. Enacts new subsection (b2) to GS 62-302 to impose an additional fee of 25% of the regulatory fee imposed under GS 62-302(a) for the first two years after the merger of two public utilities is approved.

Appropriates $478,690 in recurring funds for 2012-13 and $60,499 in nonrecurring funds for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Department of Justice as the title indicates. Effective July 1, 2012.

Amends GS 105-164.4(a)(1b) (addressing aircraft and boats) and GS 105-187.3(a) (addressing recreational vehicles) to provide as title indicates. Applies to sales made on or after July 1, 2012.

As title indicates; extends the sunset date from 2013 to 2016.

Enacts new subsection (a1) to GS 15A-1345, authorizing the court to suspend any public assistance benefits received by a probationer who is absconding or willfully avoiding arrest, after the court issues an order for arrest for violating probation conditions, until the probationer surrenders to the court. Directs specified entities to adopt rules to assist local law enforcement to implement this provision.

Enacts new GS 116-143.3A to waive the 12-month residency requirement for in-state tuition purposes if a veteran, defined as any person honorably discharged on or after July 1, 2011, meets the following conditions: (1) lives in North Carolina, (2) was last stationed in North Carolina, (3) satisfies all other domicile requirements, and (4) enrolls in school within five years after discharge. Applies to academic semesters beginning on or after July 1, 2012.

Appropriates $350,000 for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the UNC Board of Governors as title indicates. Effective July 1, 2012.

Enacts new Article 2E, Video Sweepstakes Entertainment Tax, to GS Chapter 105 to impose a licensing requirement and tax on video sweepstakes establishments, an excise tax on each video sweepstakes machine or device, and a tax on gross receipts. Requires a person operating a video sweepstakes establishment to pay an annual license tax of $2,000 for the privilege of operating the establishment. Sets out the requirements for license applicants and authorizes the Secretary of Revenue (Secretary) to deny issuance of a license for any of the detailed reasons. Authorizes the Secretary to cancel a license under certain circumstances and requires notice and an opportunity for a hearing when a license is summarily cancelled. Requires applicants to file a bond or an irrevocable letter of credit in an amount as specified. Imposes an annual excise tax of $1,000 on each video sweepstakes machine or device before such machine or device is put into operation. Imposes a 4% tax on the taxable gross receipts, as defined, from operating a video sweepstakes machine or device.
Allows the distribution of up to 6% of the tax proceeds from the license tax and the excise tax to be distributed to local law enforcement agencies on the following schedule: (1) 4% to county sheriff’s departments on a per capita basis and (2) 2% collected from video sweepstakes establishments to city police departments on a per capita basis. Requires the remaining tax proceeds to be credited to the General Fund and appropriated for public education. Authorizes a city or county to impose an annual license tax of $1,000 to a video sweepstakes establishment operating in that local government and to impose an annual excise tax of $500 per machine. States that the revenue distributed is local revenue and not a state expenditure. Makes a conforming change to add subsection (b1) to GS 160A-211.
Specifies that Article 9 (General Administration; penalties and remedies) applies to proposed Article 2E. States that the proposed article only authorizes the operation of video sweepstakes machines and devices that associate a prize with the entry of a sweepstakes, and (1) a person is eligible to win a prize without purchasing an item or service or the right to possess, use or obtain value from any item or service or (2) the person is eligible to win a prize due to purchasing (at fair market value) an item or service or the right to possess, use, or obtain value from any item or service.
Makes a conforming change to repeal GS 14-306.4. Applies to video sweepstakes establishments operated on or after January 1, 2013.

Appropriates $1 million in recurring funds for 2012-13 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction as the title indicates. Effective July 1, 2012.

Enacts new Article 4 to GS Chapter 22B to void any contact or lease agreement that conveys oil, gas, or mineral rights for natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing. Appropriates $25,000 to the Department of Justice to study the extent and nature of existing contracts that are declared void by the act. Applies to contracts or lease agreements recorded on or after October 1, 2012, and expires October 1, 2015.

Enacts new Article 24, NC Toxic-Free Kids Act, to GS Chapter 130A to prohibit, beginning July 1, 2014, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers from manufacturing, selling, or distributing a children’s product that contains (1) Bisphenol A, (2) Phthalates at more than .10 percent by weight, or (3) TRIS in amounts greater than 50 parts per million in a component. Exempts casual or isolated sales and sales by nonprofits from this prohibition. Defines children’s product, chemical, and additional terms used in the Article. Defines the term chemical of high concern and directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Division of Public Health (Division) in the Department of Health and Human Services to generate a list of such chemicals to be reviewed and revised every three years. Authorizes designation of priority chemicals, which are chemicals of high concern that meet one of the specified conditions, and requires DENR to publish by May 1, 2013, a list of priority chemicals in the North Carolina Register and on the DENR website. Requires a manufacturer of a children’s product that contains a priority chemical to file annual notice with DENR, beginning November 1, 2013. Defines alternative as a substitute process or product that serves a functionally equivalent purpose to a chemical in a children’s product. Provides that an alternatives assessment must identify alternatives that reduce or eliminate the use of and potential for exposure to the chemical and requires each assessment to include certain items and address specified requirements. Sets out a schedule, with various start dates based on the chemical, to require manufacturers to submit alternative assessments to DENR for children’s products. Exempts manufacturers with annual gross sales of less than $5 million from the assessment requirement. Makes the proposed Article 24 effective December 1, 2012.
Directs DENR and the Division to report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2015, on the required notices and alternatives assessments.
Appropriates $100,000 for 2012-13 from an unspecified source to DENR to fund the duties required by this act.

Enacts new GS 116D-32 as the title indicates. Applies only to the issuance by the UNC Board of Governors of special obligation bonds for which (1) the Board expressly and irrevocably declares in the bond resolution or authorizing trust agreement that the provisions of proposed GS 116D-32 apply and (2) the debt service for the bonds has been received by the Governor. Requires the Governor to forward necessary funds, with order of priority set for funding sources. Requires an audit of any institution needing the Governor to make payments. Effective for special obligation bonds issued on or after July 1, 2012

Enacts new GS 14-51.5 to provide that a lawful occupant within a home or residence is justified in using any degree of force that the occupant reasonably believes is necessary to prevent the forceable entry into the residence or to stop an intruder’s unlawful entry if the occupant reasonably (1) apprehends that the intruder may kill or inflict serious bodily harm on the resident or other occupants, or (2) believes that the intruder intends to commit a felony in the residence. Provides that an occupant does not have a duty to retreat. Repeals GS 14-51.2 (Home, workplace, and motor vehicle protection; presumption of fear of death or serious bodily harm), GS 14-51.3 (Use of force in defense of person; relief from criminal or civil liability), and GS 14-51.4 (Justification for defensive force not available). Effective for offenses committee on or after December 1, 2012.

Amends GS 130A-290(A)(2) to extend the definition of closure to include an 85% or greater reduction in the acceptance of waste during a continuous one-year period at a solid waste management facility. Amends GS 130A-294(a)(4)c. specifying a circumstance under which the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) must deny an application for a permit for a solid waste management facility. Amends GS 130A-294(a1) to set out guidelines to which DHHS must adhere before approving any transfer of a permit for solid waste management. Amends GS 130A-294(b1)(1) to expand the definition of substantial amendment to include an addition of substantial energy-producing activities to be conducted at the facility. Effective when the act becomes law and applies to any new or amended permits issued on or after that date.