Part I

Amends GS 115C-218.7(b), concerning material revisions of a charter, providing that enrollment growth of greater than 40% (was, 20%) is considered a material revision of the charter and requires approval of the State Board of Education. Makes conforming changes to subsection (b), and GS 115C-218.8. Applies to approvals for material changes on or after that date.

Part II

Amends GS 115C-218.45(f) to add students who were enrolled in another NC charter school in the preceding year to the students to which a charter school can give enrollment priority.

Part III

Amends GS 115C-218.110(b), which details information the State Board of Education is required to annually report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. Adds to the required information the student performance data based on the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) for charter school students disaggregated by years of student enrollment based on race, sex, grade level, ethnicity, free or reduced lunch status, and disability status in the charter school for charter schools, virtual charter schools, and dropout prevention and recovery program charter schools. Prohibits the report from including any personally identifiable student data, as defined in GS 115C-402.5. Applies to reports submitted on or after January 1, 2018.

Part IV

Amends GS 115C-218.100(b), concerning the distribution of assets upon the dissolution of a charter school, to provide that capital funds provided to a charter school by one or more counties pursuant to GS 115C-218.105(b1) and all net assets purchased or improved with the capital funds, up to the total amount of the funds provided, are deemed the property of the county or counties providing the funding, and if applicable, divided between the counties in proportion to the funds provided. Makes conforming changes. 

Amends GS 115C-218.105, State and local funds for a charter school, by adding two new subsections. New subsection (b1) permits counties to provide funds from the Public School Building Capital Fund to charter schools by direct appropriations set forth in GS 115C-546.2(d) (as amended by this act below). Limits the use of these funds to (1) the acquisition of real property for school purposes and (2) the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, enlargement, renovation, or replacement of buildings and other structures. New subsection (b2) requires that when funds are used to acquire or improve property for a charter school pursuant to subsection (b1), the amount provided by the county must be evidenced by a promissory note and secured by a deed of trust on the property acquired or improved by the funds. Provides for the county to subordinate the deed and for the county to release the deed upon satisfaction.

Amends GS 115C-546.2(d), authorizing a county to use monies in the Public School Building Capital Fund appropriated from the Education Lottery Fund to make direct appropriations to charter schools as provided in GS 115C-218.105(b1), as enacted.

Part V

Further amends GS 115C-218.105 to add a new provision to subsection (c) requiring the local school administrative unit where a student attends a charter school that is not located within a low-wealth county to transfer an amount equal to the per pupil share of any low-wealth supplemental funding provided to the local school administrative unit for the fiscal year. Adds that the per pupil share of any low-wealth supplemental funding provided to the local school administrative unit must be transferred to the charter school within 30 days of receipt of those monies by the local school administrative unit. Makes conforming changes to provide that the local school administrative unit and the charter school can use the process for mediation of differences between the State Board of Education and a charter school provided in GS 115C-218.95(d) to resolve difference on calculation and transference of the per pupil share of any low-wealth supplemental funding provided to the local school administrative unit. Makes conforming changes to GS 115C-218.105(d) to make those provisions pertaining to transfers to charter schools by local school administrative units applicable to a per pupil share of any low-wealth supplemental funding provided to the local school administrative unit, and adds the related information to that which must be reported annually to the State Board of Education, as described.

Part VI

Amends GS 115C-218(c)(3), describing the powers and duties of the Office of Charter Schools, to add the duty to assist certain charter schools seeking to participate in the NC prekindergarten program in accordance with GS 115C-218.115, as enacted by this act.

Further amends GS 115C-218.45(f) to add a student who was enrolled in a preschool program operated by the charter school in the preceding year to the students to which a charter school can give enrollment priority.

Enacts GS 115C-218.115, Operation of NC Pre-K Programs, to permit a charter school to apply to a local contracting agency to participate in the NC prekindergarten (NC  Pre-K) program as a local program site offering families a high-quality prekindergarten experience. Allows a charter school seeking to operate as an NC Pre-K program site to request administrative and technical assistance from the Office of Charter Schools with its application to the local contracting agency so long as the charter school meets the following four qualifications: (1) the charter school has operated as a charter school for at least three years; (2) the charter school is not currently identified as low-performing; (3) the charter school meets generally accepted standards of fiscal management; and (4) the charter school is substantially in compliance with State law, federal law, the charter school's own bylaws, and the provisions set forth in its charter granted by the State Board. Provides for the Office of Charter Schools' assistance in determining whether the charter school's proposed program meets building and other state standards, and the standards required to be selected as a site under the NC Pre-K program. Sets forth qualifications that must be met for a charter school otherwise meeting all of the requirements for a child care facility license to be able to use an existing or newly constructed classroom in the charter school for three- and four-year-old preschool students without further modifications. 

Part VII

Amends GS 115C-426(c), setting forth the uniform budget format, to require each source and amount of funds be identified in the annual audit required by GS 115C-447(a) not accounted for by the State Public School Fund, the local current expense fund, or the capital outlay fund. Further requires that if the source is a gift or grant restricted as to use, the restriction imposed by the donor or grantor must also be stated in the audit. Applies to audits conducted after July 1, 2017.

Part VIII

Adds new subdivision (49) to GS 105-275 to create a property tax exemption for personal property owned or leased by a charter school and wholly and exclusively used for educational purposes as defined in GS 105-278.4(f) regardless of the ownership of the property. Effective July 1, 2017.

Enacts new Article 23B, End of Life Option Act (Act), in GS Chapter 90, providing as follows. 

Sets out terms and definitions used in the Act.

Gives an individual suffering from an incurable, terminal disease a right to be informed of all available end-of-life options and to receive answers on questions about the foreseeable risks and benefits of medication without the physician withholding any requested information, regardless of the purpose of the inquiry or the nature of the information. Specifies that a physician who engages in such discussions is not construed as assisting in or contributing to a patient's independent decision to self-administer a lethal dose of medication, and prohibits the discussions from being used to establish civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action. The act defines terminal disease as an incurable and irreversible disease that has been medically confirmed by the attending and consulting physicians and will, within reasonable medical judgment, result in death within six months. Medically confirmed means that the medical diagnosis and prognosis of the attending physician has been confirmed by a consulting physician who has examined the individual and the individual's relevant medical records and communicated his or her findings to the attending physician.

Allows an adult with the capacity to make medical decisions who is suffering from an incurable, terminal disease to request a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug (defined as a controlled substance determined and prescribed by a physician licensed in this state for a qualified individual with the purpose of hastening the qualified individual's death due to a terminal disease) if: (1) the individual's attending physician has diagnosed the individual to be suffering from an incurable, terminal disease; (2) the individual has voluntarily expressed verbally and in writing the wish to receive a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug; (3) the individual is a state resident and is able to establish residency through the specified means; (4) the individual documents his or her request pursuant to the requirements of new GS 90‑326.3 and on the form specified in new GS 90‑326.3A; and (5) the individual has the physical and mental ability to self‑administer the aid‑in‑dying drug. Specifies that a person must not be considered a qualified individual under the provisions of this Act solely because of age or disability. Requires that a request for a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug be made solely and directly by the individual diagnosed with the terminal disease. The act defines a qualified individual as an adult who has the capacity to make medical decisions, is a resident of North Carolina, and has satisfied the requirements of this Act in order to obtain a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug to hasten death.

Requires an individual seeking to obtain a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug to submit two verbal requests, at least 15 days apart, followed by a written request that meets the specified requirements directly to his or her attending physician and not to a designee of the physician. Requires the attending physician to directly, and not through a designee, receive all three required requests, and keep records of the requests in the individual's medical file that document the date and time of the request as well as a summary of the request. Specifies items that must be included in order for a written request to be considered valid, including that the request be in the form specified in GS 90‑326.3A.

Requires that an Attending Witness Completion Form, as specified in the act, be given by the attending physician to the qualified individual at the time the attending physician writes the prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug. An attending witness is an individual named by the qualified individual to be present if and when the qualified individual self‑administers the aid‑in‑dying drug and who undertakes to: (1) complete the Attending Witness Completion Form confirming ingestion of the aid‑in‑dying drug and the death of the qualified individual and (2) return the Attending Witness Completion Form to the attending physician within 48 hours after the death of the qualified individual. The attending witness may, but need not be (1) related to the qualified individual by blood, adoption, or marriage or (2) a health care provider. Allows, at the discretion of the qualified individual, the attending witness to be the attending physician or consulting physician.

Allows a qualified individual to discontinue, withdraw, or rescind his or her request for an aid‑in‑dying drug or decide not to ingest an aid‑in‑dying drug once obtained, at any time.

Prohibits any person other than the attending physician from writing a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug. Sets out 12 things the attending physician must be before prescribing an aid‑in‑dying drug, including: determining that the requesting adult has the capacity to make medical decisions, has a terminal disease, has voluntarily made the request for an aid‑in‑dying drug on the specified form, and is a qualified individual, and verify, immediately prior to writing the prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug, that the qualified individual is making an informed decision and is in no way acting under undue pressure or coercion. Once the 12 specified tasks have been completed, allows the attending physician to deliver the aid‑in‑dying drug in any of the specified ways.

Requires the consulting physician (a physician who is independent from the attending physician, not part of the same practice group as the attending physician, and qualified by specialty or experience to make a professional diagnosis and prognosis regarding an individual's terminal disease) to do all of the following before a qualified individual obtains a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug from the attending physician: (1) examine the qualified individual and his or her relevant medical records; (2) confirm the attending physician's diagnosis and prognosis in writing; (3) determine that the qualified individual has the capacity to make medical decisions, is acting voluntarily, and has made an informed decision; (4) if there are indications of a mental disorder or disease, refer the individual for assessment by a mental health specialist; (5) fulfill the documentation requirements; and (6) submit in a timely manner to the attending physician the Consulting Physician Compliance Form.

Sets out requirements of a mental health specialist, upon referral from the attending or consulting physician. 

Specifies eight items that must be documented in the qualified individual's medical record.

Requires the attending physician to submit a copy of the prescription to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) within 48 hours after writing a prescription for an aid‑in‑dying drug. Requires the pharmacist to submit a copy of the Pharmacist Compliance Form to DHHS within 48 hours after dispensing an aid-in-dying drug. Requires the attending physician to submit a written summary of the individual's request for an aid‑in‑dying drug and the reasons for concluding that the individual is not a qualified individual to DHHS within 15 calendar days after a determination by the attending physician, the consulting physician, or the mental health specialist that an individual is not a qualified individual. Requires the attending physician to submit to DHHS a copy of the qualifying patient's written request, the Attending Physician Checklist and Compliance Form, and the Consulting Physician Compliance Form within 30 days after writing a prescription for an aid-in-dying drug. Requires the attending physician, within 30 calendar days after the later of (1) the qualified individual's death from ingesting the aid‑in‑dying drug or from any other cause or (2) the date on which the attending physician receives actual notice of the qualified individual's death from the Attending Witness Completion Form to submit to DHHS an Attending Physician Follow‑Up Form.

Allows the attending physician to sign the qualified individual's death certificate and requires the cause of death to be recorded as the underlying terminal disease.

Prohibits the sale, procurement, or issuance of any life, health, or annuity policy, health care service plan contract, or health benefit plan or the rate charged for any policy, plan contract, or benefit plan from being conditioned upon or affected by the making or rescinding of a person's request for an aid‑in‑dying drug. Prohibits denying coverage under a life, health, or annuity policy from being denied, curtailed, or exempted on the basis of death resulting from the self‑administration of an aid‑in‑dying drug. Specifies that a qualified individual's act of self‑administering an aid‑in‑dying drug does not have any effect upon a life, health, or annuity policy other than that of a natural death from the underlying disease. Prohibits an insurance carrier from providing any information in communications to a qualified individual about the availability of aid‑in‑dying drugs absent a request by the qualified individual or the qualified individual's attending physician at the behest of the qualified individual.

Protects a person from civil or criminal liability or professional disciplinary action for participating in good faith compliance with the activities authorized under this Act or for being present when a qualified individual self‑administers an aid‑in‑dying drug. Prohibits from considering an individual with a terminal disease who self‑administers a lethal dose of medication as a person exposed to grave physical harm under any Good Samaritan law, and specifies that no person is subject to civil or criminal liability solely for being present when an individual with a terminal disease self‑administers a lethal dose of medication or for failing to act to prevent the patient from self‑administering a lethal dose of medication. Allows a person who is present when an individual with a terminal disease self‑administers an aid‑in‑dying drug, without civil or criminal liability, to assist the qualified individual at his or her request by preparing the aid‑in‑dying drug as long as the person does not directly assist the qualified person in ingesting or self‑administering the aid‑in‑dying drug. Protects a health care provider, pharmacist, licensing board, or professional organization or association from censure, discipline, suspension, adverse action on a license, loss of privileges, loss of membership, or other penalty for participating in good faith compliance with the activities authorized under this Act or for refusing to participate in activities authorized under this Act. Also protects a health care provider or pharmacist from civil, criminal, administrative, disciplinary, employment, credentialing, professional discipline, contractual liability, or medical staff action, sanction, penalty, or other liability for participating in the activities authorized under this Act, including determining the diagnosis or prognosis of an individual, determining the capacity of an individual for the purpose of determining if he or she is a qualified individual under this Act, providing information about this Act to an individual, and providing a referral to a physician licensed in this state who participates in the activities authorized under this Act.

Provides that a request by a qualified individual to an attending physician to provide an aid‑in‑dying drug in good faith compliance with the provisions of this Act does not provide the basis for the appointment of a guardian or conservator. Specifies that no actions taken in compliance with the provisions of this Act constitute or provide the basis for any claim of neglect or elder abuse.

Specifies that participation in activities authorized by the Act is strictly voluntary and sets out permissible activities that run contrary to the Act.

Prohibits sanctioning a health care provider for: (1) making an initial determination pursuant to the standard of care that an individual has a terminal disease and informing him or her of the medical prognosis; (2) providing information about the End of Life Options Act to an individual upon inquiry; or (3) providing an individual, upon request, with a referral to another physician.

Specifies that the following are punishable as felonies: (1) knowingly altering or forging a request for an aid‑in‑dying drug to hasten an individual's death without that individual's authorization, concealing or destroying a withdrawal or rescission of a request for an aid‑in‑dying drug, destroying or concealing an individual's written request for an aid‑in‑dying drug, or concealing or destroying an individual's prescribed aid‑in‑dying drug, if the act is done with the intent or effect of causing, interfering with, or preventing the individual's death against his or her wishes; (2) knowingly coercing or exerting undue influence on an individual to request or ingest an aid‑in‑dying drug for the purpose of ending his or her life, knowingly destroying a withdrawal or rescission of a request, or administering an aid‑in‑dying drug to an individual without his or her knowledge or consent; (3) knowingly coercing or exerting undue influence to interfere with an individual's expressed desire to hasten his or her death by ingestion of a prescribed aid‑in‑dying drug.

Requires DHHS to collect and review the information required to be submitted to DHHS, which is considered confidential and not a public record. Requires DHHS to annually, by March 15, make available to the public on the DHHS website a report based on the collected information. Specifies information that the report must contain, including the number of known individuals who died each year for whom an aid‑in‑dying drug was prescribed and the cause of death for each of these individuals, the number of physicians licensed in this state who wrote prescriptions for aid‑in‑dying drugs, and the names and dosages of prescribed aid‑in‑dying drugs.

Requires DHHS to develop, update, and publish the forms required under the Act.

Specifies the manner of disposing of aid-in-dying drugs after a qualified individual's death.

Includes a severability clause.

The above provisions are effective December 1, 2017.

Requires DHHS, by December 31, 2017, to develop and publish on its website downloadable versions of the required forms. Requires DHHS to publish the first required report on its website by March 15, 2019. Effective when the act becomes law.

Contains whereas clauses.

Enacts new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A (Protect North Carolina's Children From Lead Exposure Act) as follows.

New GS 130A-332.2 defines 10 terms as they are used in the Article.

New GS 130A-332.3 requires water suppliers to test drinking water for the presence of lead at drinking water outlets in each school or child care facility to which the supplier provides treated drinking water, except where the school or child care facility is itself the supplier of water and already subject to monitoring for lead under GS Chapter 130A, Article 10. Requires the labs performing the test to be certified to analyze for lead by the North Carolina State Laboratory for Public Health.

New GS 130A-332.4 requires suppliers to use the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) "3Ts" technical guidance (as defined) to establish water sampling collection criteria and protocols.

New GS 130A-332.5 requires suppliers under new GS 130A-332.3 to prepare and submit a drinking water sampling, collection, and analysis plan to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) at least 90 days prior to the date on which the supplier implements the plan. Provides requirements for the contents of the plan. Requires suppliers to perform two rounds of a minimum of five first-draw samples to be collected and analyzed at each school and child care facility, in locations as specified (selected considering amount and frequency of use, and locations to which children are exposed, and requiring tests from certain locations in each facility), according to a specified timetable based on when the school or child care facility was constructed. Requires a minimum of 30 days between the dates of the first and second rounds of samplings. Authorizes schools or child care facilities whose first round of sampling shows elevated lead levels, who are undertaking corrective actions, to submit a written request to the DEQ for a deferral for the second round of sampling until the corrective actions are completed. Requires the supplier to conduct flush testing in accordance with the 3Ts technical guidance for any school or child care facility that reveals a drinking water outlet with elevated lead levels. Provides that suppliers are not responsible or liable for correcting or resolving any drinking water or drinking water infrastructure with lead concentration above the lead trigger level within the premises or on the property of a school or child care center. Provides that samples under this statute may not be used for calculations required by the federal Lead and Copper Rule (as defined) unless they meet the site and sample requirements in that Rule. If a lead action level exceedance pursuant to the federal Lead and Copper Rule occurs, then the supplier must sample and analyze drinking water from drinking water outlets in all schools and child care facilities within the service area of the supplier, notify the schools and child care facilities of the results of the sampling and analysis, and comply with any additional requirements as deemed necessary to protect public health by either the DEQ or the Division of Public Health (Division). Requires the supplier to provide certification of the delivery of all monitoring results to each school and child care facility to the DEQ.

New GS 130A-332.6 directs the certified laboratory to report the test results of the drinking water samples to the water supplier, the DEQ, and to each school or child care facility within five business days of completing the analysis, and if the results show elevated lead levels, to the Division and the DEQ within 48 hours of analysis.

New GS 130A-332.7 requires schools and child care facilities, upon receipt of test results, to notify teachers, other school or facility personnel, and the parents or guardians of children attending the school or child care facility, of the results of the sampling and analysis within 10 days if the lead concentration is at or below the lead trigger level, or within 48 hours if the lead concentration is above lead trigger level. Provides requirements for the method and contents of both types of notification.

New GS 130A-332.8 requires schools and child care facilities with drinking water outlets revealing an elevated lead level to (1) immediately restrict access to any such drinking water outlet and similar drinking water outlets on the same wing or floor of the building; (2) immediately take remedial action to ensure that all students and children have access to free, fresh, clean drinking water in the school or facility, and are not exposed to drinking water with elevated lead levels, until the drinking water is further analyzed and lead levels are found to be below the trigger level, and the Division determines and provides written documentation to the school or child care facility, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), or the Division of Child Development and Early Education that the elevated lead levels have been mitigated and the drinking water is safe for human consumption; and (3) with the assistance of the Division, DEQ, DPI, and Division of Child Development and Early Education, determine the source of lead and identify necessary corrective action to address the lead contamination.

New GS 130A-332.9 directs the Division, in consultation with DEQ, DPI, and the Division of Child Development and Early Education, to report to the chairs of the House Appropriations Committees on Education, Health and Human Services, and Natural and Economic Resources; the chairs of the Senate Appropriations Committees on Education/Higher Education, Health and Human Services, and Natural and Economic Resources; and the Fiscal Research Division on the implementation of this Article and the results of sampling and analysis, annually by May 1, beginning in 2019. Provides requirements for the contents of the report.

New GS 130A-332.10 authorizes DEQ to enforce the requirements of this Article applicable to water suppliers, and authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to enforce the requirements of this Article applicable to certified laboratories, schools, and child care facilities, as specified.

New GS 130A-332.11 authorizes the Commission for Public Health to adopt rules to implement this Article.

Amends GS 115C-12 to direct the State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement the requirements of new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A.

Requires the Commission, if it adopts rules under new GS 130A-332.11, to make those rules substantively identical to new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A. Authorizes the Commission to make organizational changes to its rules. Exempts rules under this statute from listed statutes within the Administrative Procedure Act, and provides that these rules become effective as though 10 or more written objections had been received.

Directs DEQ and the Division to develop and provide specific EPA documents and general guidance on water line flushing, and any other appropriate information, to DPI and the Division of Child Development and Early Education by July 1, 2017.

Directs DPI and the Division of Child Development and Early Education to distribute the information provided to each school and child care facility by August 1, 2017.

Authorizes a supplier to charge an additional fee to any school or child care facility for which the supplier performs sampling, analysis, and reporting under new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A. Requires those fees to be itemized on the billing statement, and to reflect actual costs.

Amends GS 130A-22(b) to authorize the Secretary of Environmental Quality to impose an administrative penalty of up to $25,000 per day on water suppliers violating requirements of new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A.

Enacts new GS 115C-532.1 to Require local boards of education to provide for the sampling of the widest variety of drinking water outlets and locations in a proposed site or property to be used as a schoolhouse or other school facility. Provides requirements for sample locations. Directs the local board of education to sample, analyze, and report the results in accordance with new GS Chapter 130A, Article 10A.

Amends GS 115C-218.1 to require charter school applications to include documentation of drinking water sampling and analysis as under GS 115C-218.35(e) and new GS chapter 130A, Article 10A.

Amends GS 115C-218.35 to require charter schools that change location to sample the widest variety of drinking water outlets and locations in the proposed location or space. Provides requirements for sample locations.

Amends GS 115C-218.5 to prohibit the State Board of Education from granting final approval of a charter school application if it finds that the drinking water in the location or space intended for the school reveals lead in concentrations above the lead trigger level. Provides for the applicant to implement necessary corrective action to remove the source of lead.

Amends GS 115C-218.6 to prohibit the State Board of Education from renewing a charter for a school that elects to move to a new location or space without conducting the required sampling, analysis, and reporting.

Makes technical and conforming changes.

Contains several whereas clauses.

Amends GS 115C-105.25(b), prohibiting any funds from being transferred into or out of (currently, only into) the driver education allotment category. Adds new provision to allow funds to be transferred out of the driver education allotment category for the purpose of supporting driver education in other local school administrative units. 

Amends GS 115C-215, clarifying that the purpose of the driver education program is reducing student driver traffic accidents by making available public education to all students on driver safety and training. Adds new subsection (a1) establishing an Office of Driver Education Services (Office) within the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Provides that the Office is to be staffed by a full-time director and other necessary personnel to assist the Office in carrying out its powers and duties. Details nine powers and duties of the Office, including leading the statewide driver education program and developing a three-year strategic plan for the program, implementing of a standard curriculum for the driver education program and the periodic update and revision of the standard curriculum, and developing a web-based system to allow local administrative units to report required data and for the Office to make data and reports available to the public. Makes conforming changes to eliminate subsection (c).

Adds new subsection (c1), directing the State Board of Education to review the strategic plan developed by the Office for the driver education program. Lists four components that must be included in the strategic plan, including the goals, strengths, and accomplishments; measurable indicators used for tracking the success of the driver education program; and action steps planned for each year of the three-year period of the plan.

Adds new subsection (c2) requiring local school administrative units to report to the Office each year on driver training offered in the unit in accordance with GS 115C-116. Details information that must be included in the report, including local assessments and evaluations used to determine quality and success of the driver education program. Adds new subsection (c3) authorizing DPI to withhold up to 5% of the state funds allocated to a local school administrative unit for driver education until the unit reports the information required by new subsection (c2).

Amends subsection (e) to require the Office to provide local boards of education with technical assistance to develop and implement a competitive selection process for contracting with other public or private entities to include requests for proposals and a model contract with necessary terms and conditions.

Amends subsection (f), authorizing the DPI to use up to 2% of the funds appropriated under the subsection each fiscal year for the direct costs of statewide program administration. 

Makes conforming changes. 

Amends GS 20-88.1 to direct the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to provide the Office any data on student drivers to the extent allowable under state and federal law, as part of the evaluation requirement under GS 115C-215.

Directs the Office and the DMV, by January 15, 2018, to develop an implementation plan to provide for the transfer and collection of data on student drivers through the DMV as part of the evaluation requirements under GS 115C-215.

Directs the Office to submit a report electronically to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Program Evaluation Division by October 15, 2017, describing any actions taken by the Office in response to the requirements of the act, as well as the findings included in the Program Evaluation Division's specified report to the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee on March 19, 2014, and the recommendations from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Technical Assessment of the Driver Education Program for the state from May 2015.

Effective July 1, 2017.

Sets out General Assembly findings related to cardiac arrest and defibrillators.

Establishes the 14-member Chain of Survival Public-Private Task Force (Task Force), with specified membership qualifications, to identify, pursue, and obtain funding for the placement of AEDs and training of State employees and public school personnel to take lifesaving actions for those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, heart attack, and stroke, in buildings that house State agencies, services, and institutions, and public schools. The Task Force expires on June 30, 2019.

Requires the Department of Administration (Department), subject to the receipt of funds, and in consultation with OEMS, AHA, and a qualified vendor or provider of AEDs and training services, to develop and adopt policies and procedures relative to the placement and use of automated external defibrillators in State‑owned and State‑leased buildings. Also requires the Department to developed a medical emergency response plan for all State buildings, facilities, and institutions to facilitate: (1) effective and efficient communication throughout the State‑owned and State‑leased buildings, (2) coordinated and practiced response plans, (3) training and equipment for first aid and CPR, and (4) implementation of a lay rescuer AED program. Requires the Department to develop and update, for each State building, facility, or institution, a maintenance plan that takes into account: (1) implementation of an appropriate training course in the use of AEDs, (2) proper maintenance and testing of the devices, (3) ensuring coordination with appropriate licensed professionals in the oversight of training on the devices, and (4) ensuring coordination with local emergency medical systems on the placement of AEDs.

Requires the State Board of Education to review the maintenance plan for AEDs developed by the Department and adopt guidelines to be used by local school administrative units for public schools, including athletic facilities.

Appropriates $650,000 for 2017-18 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Instruction for use by REAL School Gardens to establish a three-year pilot program to create outdoor learning centers for elementary schools in the specified local school administrative units. Funds remain available for expenditure until the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Directs REAL School Gardens to report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Fiscal Research Division on the progress of the pilot program, an accounting of expenditures, and student outcome and teacher effectiveness data, annually from October 1, 2018 to Octoer 1, 2020.

Effective July 1, 2017.

Under current law, GS 115C-84.2(d) sets the parameters within which local boards of education must determine the opening and closing dates of public schools under subdivision (a)(1) of this statute. Adds new provision establishing that the required opening and closing dates under subdivision (d) do not apply to a local school administrative unit that has been identified by the State Board of Education as low-performing in each of the prior two school years. Applies beginning with the 2017-18 school year. 

Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to study the extent to which the SAT and ACT tests align with the English language arts and mathematics portion of the Standard Course of Study, and to report findings and recommendations by February 1, 2018, to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee.

Amends GS 115C-174.12 to revise the information required in local board of education reports to the State Board of Education on local testing, adding six more pieces of information to be included, including the time allotted to administer each test. Directs the Superintendent of Public Instruction to publish on the Department of Public Instruction website, by October 15 of each year, a uniform calendar that includes schedules for testing and reporting test results for at least the next two school years. The calendar must allow each local board of education to populate the calendar with, at minimum, the information required in the testing reports.

Enacts new GS 115C-174.15. Directs local boards of education to provide a student's results on tests required by the local board to the student's teachers within one week of the administration of the test, and the student's parents within 30 days of the administration of the test. Authorizes the local board of education to extend those timelines when the superintendent of the local school administrative unit finds, in writing, that extenuating circumstances exist, and reports them to the school board.

Enacts new GS 115C-174.16. Directs local boards of education to report a student's results on all statewide standardized tests in English and mathematics to the student's applicable teacher in a timely manner and in an easy-to-read and understandable format, and to the applicable teacher in the upcoming school year. Provides content requirements for the report.

Amends GS 115C-81 to require the Basic Education Program to provide standards for student performance and promotion that permit promotion based on mastery of competencies, at a minimum, in English for grades three through eight, and for mathematics for grades three through 10, in addition to the current requirements.

Applies beginning with the 2018-19 school year.

Amends GS 136-18 to grant the Department of Transportation (DOT) the authority and supervision over electronic traffic signals and other electronic traffic control devices on the public highways, roads, and streets of North Carolina. Directs DOT to develop and publish on its website standards that must be met when operating electronic traffic signals and other electronic traffic control devices. Provides that if DOT determines that a local government is not operating electronic traffic signals and other electronic traffic control devices in accordance with the standards established under this subdivision, the DOT must notify the local government in writing and specify what standard or standards are not being met. If the local government fails to take corrective action within 60 days of receiving the notice, the DOT is required to assume control over the operation of the electronic traffic signal or electronic traffic control device and maintain control over the operation until the local government demonstrates to DOT's satisfaction the ability to operate the electronic traffic signal or electronic traffic control device in accordance with the standards established under this subdivision. Requires the local government to reimburse DOT for any costs incurred by DOT during its control of the operation. Effective October 1, 2017.

Directs DOT to commence development of the standards required in new GS 136-18(46), effective when the act becomes law.

Enacts GS 153A-248.1, authorizing a county to adopt an ordinance to provide for the compensation of qualified recipients asexualized or sterilized under county authority. Requires the ordinance to include provisions to afford claimants with due process of law and prescribe the manner in which claims will be handled by the county. Establishes that any determination made by the county favorable to the claimant is final. Authorizes the county to appropriate funds for eugenics compensation if the funds are not otherwise limited as to use by law. Provides that records of all inquiries of eligibility, claims, and payments under the statute are confidential and not public record. Establishes that a payment made under the statute is not income or assets for purposes of determining eligibility for, or the amount of, any benefits or assistance under any state or local program financed in whole or in part with state funds. 

Requires, pursuant to GS 108A‑26.1, the Department of Health and Human Services to provide (1) income, resource, and asset disregard to an applicant for, or recipient of, public assistance who receives compensation under the statute equal to the total compensation paid to the individual and (2) resource protection by reducing any subsequent recovery by the state under GS 108A‑70.5 from a deceased recipient's estate for payment of Medicaid paid services by the amount of resource disregard.

Limits the county's liability related to any asexualization or sterilization performed pursuant to an order by a county to compensation authorized by this act. Clarifies that the act does not revive or extend any statute of limitations. Establishes that an agreement for the acceptance of attorneys' fees from a compensation award from the county is null and void unless counsel has sought and received an opinion from the NC State Bar that the fee arrangement is reasonable under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Limits the application of the act to counties having a population greater than 500,000 and less than 900,000, according to the most recent federal decennial census.

As title indicates.

Amends GS 143B-437.02A, which sets out requirements for the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund, by creating the Small Production Account (Account) within the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund. Specifies that the existing provisions of the statute apply to the grants from the Account, with the following changes. Makes grants from the Small Production Account available only to individuals who are permanent state residents. Requires that provisions of the statute directed toward production companies be, for purposes of application in the Account, interpreted as being directed toward individuals. Reserves funds for feature‑length films on which the individual has qualifying expenses of at least $100,000 but not more than $500,000.

Creates the Film Festival Account in the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund. Specifies that of the unencumbered, unexpended funds in the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund, $500,000 is transferred to the Film Festival Account, with funds in the account to be used for grants for advertising and marketing film festivals held in the state. Provides that grants from the Film Festival Account must not exceed the lesser of $100,000 or 25% of the advertising and marketing costs incurred for the film festival (defined as an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues in a single city or region held over a period of not more than three days).

Requires, of the unencumbered, unexpended funds in the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund, $5 million to be transferred to the Small Production Account. 

Requires that of the unencumbered, unexpended funds in the Film and Entertainment Grant Fund, $500,000 be transferred to the Film Festival Account.

Part I:

Amends GS 39-13 (Spouse need not join in purchase-money mortgage). Provides that a mortgage or deed of trust given by the purchaser of real property to secure a loan, the proceeds of which were used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the encumbered real property, regardless of whether the secured party is the seller of the real property or a third-party lender, shall be good and effectual against the purchaser's spouse as well as the purchaser, without requiring the spouse to join in the execution of the mortgage or deed of trust.

Amends GS 161-10 (Uniform fees of registers of deeds). Provides that in all cases other than recording records of satisfaction or the cancellation of record by any other means, deeds of trust or mortgages, the fees in subdivision (a)(1) apply to the registration or filing of any subsequent instrument that relates to a previously recorded deed of trust or mortgage.

Amends GS 161-14.1 (Recording subsequent entries as separate instruments). Amends the definitions of original instrument and subsequent instrument to include reinstatements.

Part I applies to mortgages and deeds of trust entered into before, on, or after the date this act becomes law.

Part II:

Amends GS 47-17.1 (requiring deeds and deeds of trust to bear the name of the person or law firm that drafted the instrument). Provides that that statue does not apply to other instruments presented for registration, and allows the register of deeds to accept the verbal or written representation of the individual presenting the deed or deed of trust for registration, or any individual reasonably related to the transaction, that the individual or law firm listed on the first page is a validly licensed attorney or validly existing law firm.

Amends GS 47-18.3 (Execution of corporate instruments; authority and proof). Provides that contrary terms in an operating agreement or articles of organization do not supercede the requirements of that statute. Incorporates domestic and foreign limited liability companies in the types of organizations whose instruments to which this statute applies. Adds chief operations officers, general counsels, deputy or assistant general counsels, managers, members, directors, or persons with similar business titles to the list of persons authorized to execute an instrument on behalf of a business association under this statute. Makes technical and conforming changes.

Part II applies to instruments presented for registration on or after the date this act becomes law.

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education, beginning July 1, 2017, to increase the child care subsidy market rates to the rates recommended by the 2015 Child Care Market Rate Study for ages three through five years of age in three-, four-, and five‑star‑rated child care centers and homes in tier three counties. 

Appropriates from the General Fund to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education, $12.9 million in nonrecurring funds for 2017‑18 fiscal year to provide funds to increase the child care subsidy market rates recommended by the 2015 Child Care Market Rate Study for ages three through five years of age in three-, four-, and five‑star‑rated child care centers and homes in tier three counties.

Effective July 1, 2017.

Amends GS 15A-1340.16(d), which sets forth aggravated factors for purposes of sentencing.

New subsection (19c) establishes a new aggravating factor: the offense is an assault under Article 8 of GS Chapter 14 that is committed in the act of road rage. Provides that an assault is committed as an act of road rage if the assault (1) is committed by the operator of a motor vehicle against an operator or passenger of another motor vehicle, an operator of a bicycle, or a pedestrian, and (2) occurs on a highway.

Effective December 1, 2017, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.