Bill Text: NC H924 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Highway Safety/Other Changes
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 6-3)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-20 - Ch. SL 2015-276 [H924 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2015-H924-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2015
H 3
HOUSE BILL 924
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/15
Senate Judiciary I Committee Substitute Adopted 7/23/15
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Short Title: Highway Safety/Salary Changes. |
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Sponsors: |
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Referred to: |
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April 20, 2015
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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, to clarify the meaning of the term "salary" for certain state law enforcement officers, to allow certain employees to be separated from employment due to unavailability, AND TO MAKE OTHER CLARIFYING CHANGES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 20‑139.1(b5) reads as rewritten:
"(b5) Subsequent Tests Allowed. – A person may be
requested, pursuant to G.S. 20‑16.2, to submit to a chemical
analysis of the person's blood or other bodily fluid or substance in addition
to or in lieu of a chemical analysis of the breath, in the discretion of a law
enforcement officer; except that a person charged with a violation of G.S. 20‑141.4
shall be requested requested, at any relevant time after the driving,
to provide a blood sample in addition to or in lieu of a chemical analysis
of the breath. However, if a breath sample shows an alcohol concentration of
.08 or more, then requesting a blood sample shall be in the discretion of a law
enforcement officer. If a subsequent chemical analysis is requested pursuant to
this subsection, the person shall again be advised of the implied consent
rights in accordance with G.S. 20‑16.2(a). A person's willful
refusal to submit to a chemical analysis of the blood or other bodily fluid or
substance is a willful refusal under G.S. 20‑16.2. If a person
willfully refuses to provide a blood sample under this subsection, and the
person is charged with a violation of G.S. 20‑141.4, then a law
enforcement officer with probable cause to believe that the offense involved
impaired driving or was an alcohol‑related offense made subject to the
procedures of G.S. 20‑16.2 shall seek a warrant to obtain a blood
sample. The failure to obtain a blood sample pursuant to this subsection shall
not be grounds for the dismissal of a charge and is not an appealable issue."
SECTION 2. G.S. 20‑130.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑130.1. Use of red or blue lights on vehicles prohibited; exceptions.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to install or
activate or operate a red light in or on any vehicle in this State. As used in
this subsection, unless the context requires otherwise, "red light"
means an operable red light not sealed in the manufacturer's original package
which: (i) is designed for use by an emergency vehicle or is similar in
appearance to a red light designed for use by an emergency vehicle; and (ii)
can be operated by use of the vehicle's battery, vehicle's electrical system,
or a dry cell battery. As used in this subsection, the term "red light"
shall also mean any forward facing red light installed on a vehicle
after initial manufacture of the vehicle.
…
(c) It is unlawful for any person to possess a blue
light or to install, activate, or operate a blue light in or on any vehicle in
this State, except for a publicly owned vehicle used for law enforcement
purposes or any other vehicle when used by law enforcement officers in the
performance of their official duties. As used in this subsection, unless the
context requires otherwise, "blue light" means any forward facing blue
light installed on a vehicle after initial manufacture of the vehicle; or an
operable blue light which:
(1) Is not (i) being installed on, held in inventory for the purpose of being installed on, or held in inventory for the purpose of sale for installation on a vehicle on which it may be lawfully operated or (ii) installed on a vehicle which is used solely for the purpose of demonstrating the blue light for sale to law enforcement personnel;
(1a) Is designed for use by an emergency vehicle, or is similar in appearance to a blue light designed for use by an emergency vehicle; and
(2) Can be operated by use of the vehicle's battery, the vehicle's electrical system, or a dry cell battery.
…."
SECTION 3. G.S. 143‑166.14 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑166.14. Payment of salary notwithstanding incapacity; Workers' Compensation Act applicable after two years; duration of payment.
The salary of any eligible person shall be paid as long as
the person's employment in that position continues, notwithstanding the person's
total or partial incapacity to perform any duties to which the person may be
lawfully assigned, if that incapacity is the result of an injury or injuries proximately
caused by the heightened risk and special hazards directly related to the
violent nature resulting from or arising out of an episode of violence,
resistance, or due to other special hazards which occur while of the
eligible person's person is performing official duties, except if
that incapacity continues for more than two years from its inception, the
person shall, during the further continuance of that incapacity, be subject to
the provisions of Chapter 97 of the General Statutes pertaining to workers'
compensation. The time period for which an eligible person receives benefits
pursuant to this section shall be deducted from the eligible person's total
eligibility for benefits pursuant to G.S. 97‑29 and G.S. 97‑30.
Salary paid to an eligible person pursuant to this Article shall cease upon
the resumption of the person's regularly assigned duties, retirement,
resignation, or death, whichever first occurs, or will cease or be equitably
reduced when the employee has returned for work for the same or different
employer, except that temporary return to duty shall not prohibit payment
of salary for a subsequent period of incapacity which can be shown to be
directly related to the original injury. For the purposes of this section,
the term "salary" means the total base pay of a person as reflected
on the person's salary statement and shall not include any overtime, shift
premium, holiday pay, or other salary enhancements which the person may have
earned prior to being injured."
SECTION 4. G.S. 143‑166.15 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑166.15. Application of § 97‑27; how payments made.
Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143‑166.14
of this Article, the persons entitled to benefits shall be subject to the
provisions of G.S. 97‑27 during the two‑year period of payment
of full salary.total base pay. All payments of salary shall
be made at the same time and in the same manner as other salaries are paidpayments
made to other persons in the same department."
SECTION 5. G.S. 143B‑927 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑927. Personnel of the State Bureau of Investigation.
The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation may appoint a sufficient number of assistants who shall be competent and qualified to do the work of the Bureau. The Director shall be responsible for making all hiring and personnel decisions of the Bureau. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, Chapter 143A, and Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, the Director may hire or fire personnel and transfer personnel within the Bureau. If the Director deems it appropriate to appoint reserve agents, those reserve agents shall be considered employees of the State Bureau of Investigation for purposes of any workers' compensation claim arising from acts occurring while the reserve agent is performing assigned duties."
SECTION 6. G.S. 106‑145.13 is repealed.
SECTION 7. G.S. 20‑185 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(j) The State Highway Patrol is authorized to appoint retired members as volunteer reserve members to serve in the Highway Patrol Reserve Unit. Such members, while performing duties assigned or approved by the commanding officer, shall be considered employees of the Highway Patrol for purposes of any workers' compensation claim arising from acts occurring while the retired member is performing assigned duties."
SECTION 8. G.S. 15A‑298 reads as rewritten:
"§ 15A‑298. Subpoena authority.
Pursuant to rules issued by the State Bureau of
Investigation, the The Director of the State Bureau of Investigation
or the Director's designee may issue an administrative subpoena to a
communications common carrier or an electronic communications service to compel
production of business records if the records:
(1) Disclose information concerning local or long‑distance toll records or subscriber information; and
(2) Are material to an active criminal investigation being conducted by the State Bureau of Investigation."
SECTION 9. G.S. 126‑35 reads as rewritten:
"§ 126‑35. Just cause; disciplinary actions for State employees.
(a) No career State employee subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act shall be discharged, suspended, or demoted for disciplinary reasons, except for just cause. In cases of such disciplinary action, the employee shall, before the action is taken, be furnished with a statement in writing setting forth the specific acts or omissions that are the reasons for the disciplinary action and the employee's appeal rights. The employee shall be permitted 15 days from the date the statement is delivered to appeal to the head of the agency through the agency grievance procedure for a final agency decision. However, an employee may be suspended without warning for causes relating to personal conduct detrimental to State service, pending the giving of written reasons, in order to avoid undue disruption of work or to protect the safety of persons or property or for other serious reasons. If the employee is not satisfied with the final agency decision or is unable, within a reasonable period of time, to obtain a final agency decision, the employee may appeal to the Office of Administrative Hearings. Such appeal shall be filed not later than 30 days after receipt of notice of the final agency decision. The State Human Resources Commission may adopt, subject to the approval of the Governor, rules that define just cause.
(b) through (d) Repealed by Session Laws 2013‑382, s. 6.1, effective August 21, 2013, and applicable to grievances filed on or after that date.
(e) Nothing in this Chapter shall preclude an employee on workers' compensation or salary continuation from being separated due to unavailability if the employee is unable to return to his or her previous position at full duty, even if the employee has not exhausted his or her vacation, sick, bonus, or compensatory leave.
(f) Nothing in this Chapter shall preclude the separation of an employee due to unavailability if that employee is unable to perform all the duties of his or her position due to a Court order, due to a loss of required credentials, or due to a loss of other required certification, even if the employee has not exhausted his or her vacation, sick, bonus, or compensatory leave."
SECTION 10. Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective December 1, 2015, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions.
