GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2017
SESSION LAW 2018-77
HOUSE BILL 223
AN ACT to authorize the division of motor vehicles to issue disabled veteran and partially disabled veteran special registration plates for motorcycles, to authorize the division to produce an "alpha phi alpha Fraternity" special registration plate, to reduce the number of applications required for collegiate insignia PLATES FOR PUBLIC MILITARY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, TO AUTHORIZE THE DIVISION TO PRODUCE AN "ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR PRINCE HALL AFFILIATED" SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATE, TO provide that medical certification is not required for renewal of a handicapped placard that expires after the person to whom it is issued is eighty years of age, and to authorize department secretaries to delegate certain budgetary decisions.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
AUTHORIZE THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO ISSUE DISABLED VETERAN AND PARTIALLY DISABLED VETERAN SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATES FOR MOTORCYCLES
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 20‑79.4(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) Types. – The Division shall issue the following types of special registration plates:
...
(64) Disabled Veteran. – Issuable to a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who suffered a 100% service‑connected disability. A person may obtain from the Division a special registration plate under this subdivision for the registered owner of a motor vehicle or a motorcycle.
...
(183) Partially Disabled Veteran. – Issuable to a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who suffered a service connected disability of less than 100%. A person may obtain from the Division a special registration plate under this subdivision for the registered owner of a motor vehicle or a motorcycle.
...."
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 20‑79.7(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) Free of Charge. –
Upon request, the and except for the special registration plate
listed in subdivision (2) of this subsection, the Division shall annually
provide and issue free of charge a single special registration plate listed in
this subsection to a person qualified to receive the plate in accordance with
G.S. 20‑79.4(a2). For the special registration plate listed in
subdivision (2) of this subsection, and upon request, the Division shall
annually provide and issue free of charge a single registration plate for both a
motor vehicle and a motorcycle to a person qualified to receive each plate in
accordance with G.S. 20‑79.4(a2). This subsection does not apply
to a special registration plate issued for a vehicle that has a registered
weight greater than 6,000 pounds. The regular motor vehicle registration fees
in G.S. 20‑88 apply if the registered weight of the vehicle is
greater than 6,000 pounds:
(1) A Legion of Valor registration plate to a recipient of the Legion of Valor award.
(2) A 100% Disabled Veteran registration plate to a 100% disabled veteran.
(3) An Ex‑Prisoner of War registration plate to an ex‑prisoner of war.
(4) A Bronze Star Valor registration plate to a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for valor in combat award.
(5) A Silver Star registration plate to a recipient of the Silver Star award."
AUTHORIZE THE DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO PRODUCE AN "ALPHA PHI ALPHA FRATERNITY" SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATE
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 20‑63(b1)(47) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal.
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 20‑79.4(b)(6) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal.
SECTION 2.(c) The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity special registration plate listed as expired in G.S. 20‑79.7(a1) and (b) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal.
SECTION 2.(d) The additional fee amount for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity special registration plate listed under G.S. 20‑79.7(a1), as reenacted by this section, is modified to thirty dollars ($30.00). The Revisor of Statutes shall reorganize the table accordingly.
SECTION 2.(e) The distribution of fees for the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity special registration plate listed under G.S. 20‑79.7(b), as reenacted by this section, is modified to ten dollars ($10.00) for the Special Registration Plate Account (SRPA) and twenty dollars ($20.00) for the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account (CCAPA). The Revisor of Statutes shall reorganize the table accordingly.
SECTION 2.(f) G.S. 20‑81.12(b39) is reenacted as it existed immediately before its repeal and reads as rewritten:
"(b39) Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity. – The Division must receive 300 or more applications for the
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity plate before the plate may be developed. The
Division shall transfer quarterly the money in the Collegiate and Cultural
Attraction Plate Account derived from the sale of the Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity plates to the Association of North Carolina Alphamen (ANCA)
Educational Foundation Education Consortium of North Carolina, Inc., for
scholarships for the benefit of African‑American males in ANCA attending
accredited North Carolina colleges and universities."
SECTION 2.(g) This section becomes effective February 1, 2019.
REDUCE THE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS REQUIRED FOR COLLEGIATE INSIGNIA PLATES FOR PUBLIC MILITARY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
SECTION 3. G.S. 20‑81.12(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) Collegiate Insignia
Plates. – The Except for a collegiate insignia plate for a public
military college or university, the Division must receive 300 or more
applications for a collegiate insignia license plate for a college or
university before a collegiate license plate may be developed. For a
collegiate insignia license plate for a public military college or university, the
Division must receive 100 or more applications before a collegiate license
plate may be developed. The color, design, and material for the plate must
be approved by both the Division and the alumni or alumnae association of the
appropriate college or university. The Division must transfer quarterly the
money in the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account derived from the
sale of in‑State collegiate insignia plates to the Board of Governors of
The University of North Carolina for in‑State, public colleges and
universities and to the respective board of trustees for in‑State,
private colleges and universities in proportion to the number of collegiate
plates sold representing that institution for use for academic
enhancement."
AUTHORIZE THE DIVISION TO PRODUCE AN "ORDER OF THE EASTERN STAR PRINCE HALL AFFILIATED" SPECIAL REGISTRATION PLATE
SECTION 3.5.(a) G.S. 20‑79.4(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b) Types. – The Division shall issue the following types of special registration plates:
…
() Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated. – Issuable to an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated in accordance with G.S. 20‑81.12. The plate shall bear the Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated logo.
…."
SECTION 3.5.(b) G.S. 20‑79.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑79.7. Fees for special registration plates and distribution of the fees.
…
(a1) Fees. – All other special registration plates are subject to the regular motor vehicle registration fee in G.S. 20‑87 or G.S. 20‑88 plus an additional fee in the following amount:
Special Plate Additional Fee Amount
…
North Carolina Sheriffs' Association $30.00
Operation Coming Home
Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated $20.00
Outer Banks Preservation Association
…
(b) Distribution of Fees. – The Special Registration Plate Account and the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account are established within the Highway Fund. The Division must credit the additional fee imposed for the special registration plates listed in subsection (a) of this section among the Special Registration Plate Account (SRPA), the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account (CCAPA), the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (CWMTF), which is established under G.S. 113A‑253, and the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, which is established under G.S. 113‑44.15, as follows:
Special Plate SRPA CCAPA CWMTF PRTF
…
Operation Coming Home
Order of the Eastern Star Prince
Hall Affiliated $10 $10 $0 $0
Order of the Long Leaf Pine $10 $10 $0 $0
…."
SECTION 3.5.(c) G.S. 20‑81.12 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑81.12. Collegiate insignia plates and certain other special plates.
…
(b159) Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated. – The Division shall transfer quarterly the money in the Collegiate and Cultural Attraction Plate Account derived from the sale of "Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Affiliated" plates to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of North Carolina, PHA.
…."
SECTION 3.5.(d) The Revisor of Statutes is authorized to alphabetize, number, and renumber the special registration plates listed in G.S. 20‑79.4(b) to ensure that all the special registration plates are listed in alphabetical order and numbered accordingly.
SECTION 3.5.(e) This section becomes effective February 1, 2019.
RENEWAL NOT REQUIRED FOR HANDICAPPED PLACARD AFTER AGE 80
SECTION 4. G.S. 20‑37.6(c1) reads as rewritten:
"(c1) Application and
Renewal; Medical Certification. – The initial application for a distinguishing
license plate, removable windshield placard, or temporary removable windshield
placard shall be accompanied by a certification of a licensed physician, a
licensed ophthalmologist, a licensed optometrist, a licensed physician
assistant, a licensed nurse practitioner, or the Division of Services for the
Blind that the applicant is handicapped or by a disability determination by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs that the applicant is handicapped.
For an initial application for a temporary removable windshield placard only,
the certification that the applicant is handicapped may be made by a licensed
certified nurse midwife. The application for a temporary removable windshield
placard shall contain additional certification to include the period of time
the certifying authority determines the applicant will have the disability.
Distinguishing license plates shall be renewed annually, but subsequent
applications shall not require a medical certification that the applicant is
handicapped. Removable windshield placards shall be renewed every five years,
and, except for a person certified as totally and permanently disabled at the
time of the initial application or a prior renewal under this subsection, the
renewal shall require a medical recertification that the person is handicapped.handicapped;
provided that a medical certification shall not be required to renew any
placard that expires after the person to whom it is issued is 80 years of age.
Temporary removable windshield placards shall expire no later than six months
after issuance."
AUTHORIZE DEPARTMENT SECRETARIES TO DELEGATE CERTAIN BUDGETARY DECISIONS
SECTION 4.5.(a) G.S. 143B‑1325 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(f) Secretaries of Departments listed in subsection (c) of this section may delegate to the Chief Information Officer for that Department the authority for budgetary decisions that fall below a dollar threshold set by that Department."
SECTION 4.5.(b) This section becomes effective July 1, 2018.
EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 5. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 15th day of June, 2018.
s/ Bill Rabon
Presiding Officer of the Senate
s/ David R. Lewis
Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives
s/ Roy Cooper
Governor
Approved 10:42 a.m. this 25th day of June, 2018