GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 709
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/29/91

Short Title:  DWI Test Changes.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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April 11, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STATEWIDE, AUTOMATED PROGRAM FOR CHEMICAL TESTS FOR ALCOHOL IN IMPAIRED DRIVERS, TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR THE PROGRAM, AND TO ALLOW CERTAIN OFFICERS TO GIVE PERSONS CHARGED WITH IMPAIRED DRIVING THE REQUIRED NOTIFICATION OF RIGHTS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-16.5(j) reads as rewritten:
"(j)	Costs. – Unless the magistrate or judge orders the revocation rescinded, a person whose license is revoked under this section must pay a fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) as costs for the action before the person's license may be returned under subsection (h).  The costs collected under this section shall be credited to the General Fund.  Fifty percent (50%) of the costs collected shall be used to fund a statewide chemical alcohol testing program administered by the Injury Control Section of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 20-139.1(b1) reads as rewritten:
"(b1)	When Officer May Perform Chemical Analysis. –  Except as provided in this subsection, a chemical analysis is not valid in any case in which it is performed by an arresting officer or by a charging officer under the terms of G.S. 20-16.2.  A chemical analysis of the breath may be performed by an arresting officer or by a charging officer when both of the following apply:
(1)	The officer possesses a current permit issued by the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources for the type of chemical analysis.
(2)	The officer performs the chemical analysis by using an automated instrument that prints the results of the analysis."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 20-16.2(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Basis for Charging Officer to Require Chemical Analysis; Notification of Rights. – Any person who drives a vehicle on a highway or public vehicular area thereby gives consent to a chemical analysis if charged with an implied-consent offense.  The charging officer must designate the type of chemical analysis to be administered, and it may be administered when the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person charged has committed the implied-consent offense.
Except as provided in this subsection or subsection (b), before any type of chemical analysis is administered the person charged must be taken before a chemical analyst authorized to administer a test of a person's breath, who must inform the person orally and also give the person a notice in writing that:
(1)	He has a right to refuse to be tested.
(2)	Refusal to take any required test or tests will result in an immediate revocation of his driving privilege for at least 10 days and an additional 12-month revocation by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(3)	The test results, or the fact of his refusal, will be admissible in evidence at trial on the offense charged.
(4)	His driving privilege will be revoked immediately for at least 10 days if:
a.	The test reveals an alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more; or
b.	He was driving a commercial motor vehicle and the test reveals an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more.
(5)	He may have a qualified person of his own choosing administer a chemical test or tests in addition to any test administered at the direction of the charging officer.
(6)	He has the right to call an attorney and select a witness to view for him the testing procedures, but the testing may not be delayed for these purposes longer than 30 minutes from the time he is notified of his rights.
If the charging officer or an arresting officer is authorized to administer a chemical analysis of a person's breath and the charging officer designates a chemical analysis of the blood of the person charged, the charging officer or the arresting officer may give the person charged the oral and written notice of rights required by this subsection."
Sec. 4.  Amounts collected under G.S. 20-16.5(j) for fiscal years 1991-92 and 1992-93 and designated for the alcohol testing program of the Injury Control Section of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources shall not revert to the General Fund.  The amount of funds collected under G.S. 20-16.5(j) that are designated for this alcohol testing program and have not been spent or obligated as of June 30, 1994 shall revert to the Highway Fund.
Beginning with the 1994-95 fiscal year, any funds collected under G.S. 20-16.5(j) that are designated for the alcohol testing program of the Injury Control Section of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources and are not needed for that program shall be transferred quarterly to the Governor's Highway Safety Program for grants to local law enforcement agencies for training concerning enforcement of the laws on driving while impaired.  Except for amounts transferred during the fourth quarter of a fiscal year, the Governor's Highway Safety Program shall expend funds transferred to it under this section in the fiscal year in which they are received.  Amounts received by the Governor's Highway Safety Program during the fourth quarter of a fiscal year shall not revert and shall be expended by the following September 30.
Sec. 5.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 1991, and applies to revocation orders issued under G.S. 20-16.5 on or after that date.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective January 1, 1993, and applies to chemical analyses performed on or after that date.  The remaining sections of this act are effective upon ratification.