House committee substitute deletes the content of the 1st edition and replaces it with the following.

Part I.

Titles the act as "The Highway Cleanup Act of 2021."

Part II.

Directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use $1 million of the funds appropriated in SL 2020-91 from the Highway Fund to DOT to establish the Detainees Clean NC grant program to award grant funds of up to $10,000 to sheriffs' offices to provide officers with overtime pay to oversee detainee litter cleanup efforts. Requires agreements between participating offices and DOT defining the scope of the work, and requires DOT to provide participating offices education materials. 

Appropriates $50,000 from the General Fund to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for 2021-22 for use by the Conference of District Attorneys in producing education, training materials, and resources for district attorneys across the State regarding the detriments of litter and the need for strengthened enforcement of litter laws. Effective July 1, 2021.

Directs DOT to coordinate with the Office of State Human Resources (OSHR) to establish a program for designating days for roadside litter cleanup by State employees and encouraging State employees to use available community service leave time to participate in the program.

Amends GS 136-18.05, adding dead animals obstructing the roadways and resulting in a safety hazard to the traveling public to hazards such as potholes that must be removed (or repaired) within two business days of the date the report is received. 

Amends GS 136-28.12, which directs DOT to schedule the removal of debris, trash, and litter from the highways and highway rights-of-way prior to the moving of highway rights-of way, to no longer condition the directive with the phrase "to the extent practicable." Makes identical changes to the required terms for contracted mowing. Effective July 1, 2021. 

Part II.

Enacts GS 115C-81.56, directing the State Board of Education to integrate into science and other courses education on litter prevention and awareness which emphasize the environmental detriments and personal responsibility in prevention. Directs the Department of Public Instruction to consult with specified State entities to provide educational resources to local boards of education on litter prevention and awareness, including a video for grades 6-8.

Directs DOT to use $250,000 of the funds appropriated in SL 2020-19 from the Highway Fund to DOT to raise awareness and program participation in six identified anti-litter programs, including Detainees Clean NC. 

Part III.

Directs DPS, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice to consult with DOT and study the feasibility of implementing a program similar to the former Inmate Litter Crews to assist in picking up litter throughout the State. Directs DPS to report to the specified NCGA committees by March 1, 2022.

Authorizes the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee to study the fines and penalties associated with violating the prohibition on littering set out in GS 14-399. Provides for consultation with specified entities, including the UNC School of Government. Requires the Committee to report to the 2022 Regular Session of the NCGA.

Directs DOT to report to the specified NCGA committee by November 1, 2021, on the effectiveness of DOT's Litter Management System website and interactive map.