GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 263

Short Title:  Motor Fleet Management Amendments.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representative Nesbitt.
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Referred to:  State Government.
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February 25, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE STATUTES REGULATING CENTRALIZED MOTOR FLEET MANAGEMENT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-341(8)i. reads as rewritten:
"i.	To establish and operate a central motor pool and such subsidiary related facilities as the Secretary may deem necessary, and to that end:
1.	To establish and operate central facilities for the maintenance, repair, and storage of state-owned passenger motor vehicles for the use of State agencies; to utilize any available State facilities for that purpose; and to establish such subsidiary facilities as the Secretary may deem necessary.  The definition of 'passenger-carrying vehicle' shall be set forth in rules adopted by the Department, and shall be consistent, so far as is practicable, with definitions applied by the United States Internal Revenue Service to classify vehicles likely to be used more than a de minimis amount for personal purposes.
2.	To acquire passenger motor vehicles by transfer from other State agencies and by purchase. All motor vehicles transferred to or purchased by the Department shall become part of a central motor pool.
3.	To require on a schedule determined by the Department all State agencies to transfer ownership, custody or control of any or all passenger motor vehicles within the ownership, custody or control of that agency to the Department, except those motor vehicles under the ownership, custody or control of the Highway Patrol or the State Bureau of Investigation which are used primarily for law-enforcement purposes, and except those motor vehicles under the ownership, custody or control of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety for Butner Public Safety which are used primarily for law-enforcement, fire, or emergency purposes.  After January 1, 1993, subject to the exceptions set forth in this sub-subdivision, no agency other than the Department of Administration shall own or control any passenger-carrying vehicle.
4.	To maintain, store, repair, dispose of, and replace state-owned motor vehicles under the control of the Department.  The Department shall ensure that state-owned vehicles are not normally replaced until they have been driven for 90,000 miles or more.
5.	Upon proper requisition, proper showing of need for use on State business only, and proper showing of proof that all persons who will be driving the motor vehicle have valid drivers' licenses, to assign suitable transportation, either on a temporary or permanent basis, to any State employee or agency. An agency assigned a motor vehicle may not allow a person to operate that motor vehicle unless that person displays to the agency and allows the agency to copy that person's valid driver's license.  Notwithstanding G.S. 20-30(6), persons or agencies requesting assignment of motor vehicles may photostat or otherwise reproduce drivers' licenses for purposes of complying with this subpart.
   As used in this subpart, 'suitable transportation' means the standard vehicle in the State motor fleet, unless special towing provisions are required by the employee or agency. The Department may not assign any employee or agency a motor vehicle that is not suitable.  The Department shall not approve requests for vehicle assignment or reassignment when the purpose of that assignment or reassignment is to provide any employee with a newer or lower mileage vehicle because of his or her rank, management authority, or length of service or because of any non-job-related reason.  The Department shall not assign 'special use' vehicles, such as four-wheel drive vehicles or law enforcement vehicles, to any agency or individual except upon written justification, verified by historical data, and accepted by the Secretary.
6.	To allocate and charge against each State agency to which transportation is furnished, on a basis of mileage or of rental, its proportionate part of the cost of maintenance and operation of the motor pool.
The amount allocated and charged by the Department of Administration to  State agencies to which transportation is furnished shall be at least as follows:
I.	Pursuit vehicles and full size four-wheel drive vehicles – $.24/mile.
II.	Vans and compact four-wheel drive vehicles – $.22/mile.
III.	All other vehicles – $.20/mile.
7.	To adopt, with the approval of the Governor, reasonable rules for the efficient and economical operation, maintenance, repair, and replacement, as limited in paragraph 4. of this subdivision, of all state-owned motor vehicles under the control of the Department, and to enforce those rules; and to adopt, with the approval of the Governor, reasonable rules regulating the use of private motor vehicles upon State business by the officers and employees of State agencies, and to enforce those rules.  The Department, with the approval of the Governor, may delegate to the respective heads of the agencies to which motor vehicles are permanently assigned by the Department the duty of enforcing the rules adopted by the Department pursuant to this paragraph. Any person who violates a rule adopted by the Department and approved by the Governor is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction is punishable in the discretion of the court.
7a.	To adopt with the approval of the Governor and to enforce rules and to coordinate State policy regarding (i) the permanent assignment of state-owned passenger motor vehicles and (ii) the use of and reimbursement for those vehicles for the limited commuting permitted by this subdivision.  For the purpose of this subdivision 7a, 'state-owned passenger motor vehicle' includes any state-owned passenger motor vehicle, whether or not owned, maintained or controlled by the Department of Administration, and regardless of the source of the funds used to purchase it. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 20-190 or any other provisions of law, all state-owned passenger motor vehicles are subject to the provisions of this subdivision 7a; no permanent assignment shall be made and no one shall be exempt from payment of reimbursement for commuting or from the other provisions of this subdivision 7a except as provided by this subdivision 7a.  Commuting, as defined and regulated by this subdivision, is limited to those specific cases in which the Secretary has received and accepted written justification, verified by historical data.  The Department shall not assign any state-owned motor vehicle that may be used for commuting other than those authorized by the procedure prescribed in this subdivision.
		 	   A State-owned passenger motor vehicle shall not be permanently assigned to an individual who is likely to drive it on official business at a rate of less than 3,150 miles per quarter unless (i) the individual's duties are routinely related to public safety or (ii) the individual's duties are likely to expose him routinely to life-threatening situations. A State-owned passenger motor vehicle shall also not be permanently assigned to an agency that is likely to drive it on official business at a rate of less than 3,150 miles per quarter unless the agency can justify to the Division of Motor Fleet Management the need for permanent assignment because of the unique use of the vehicle. The Department of Administration shall verify, on a quarterly basis, that each motor vehicle has been driven at the minimum allowable rate. If an individually assigned vehicle is driven less than 3,150 miles per quarter for two successive quarters, the assignment shall be revoked immediately.
   Every individual who uses a State-owned passenger motor vehicle, pickup truck, or van to drive between his official work station and his home, shall reimburse the State for these trips at a rate computed by the Department. This rate shall approximate the benefit derived from the use of the vehicle as prescribed by federal law. Reimbursement shall be for 20 days per month regardless of how many days the individual uses the vehicle to commute during the month. Reimbursement shall be made by payroll deduction. Funds derived from reimbursement on vehicles owned by the Motor Fleet Management Division shall be deposited to the credit of the Division; funds derived from reimbursements on vehicles initially purchased with appropriations from the Highway Fund and not owned by the Division shall be deposited in a Special Depository Account in the Department of Transportation, which shall revert to the Highway Fund; funds derived from reimbursement on all other vehicles shall be deposited in a Special Depository Account in the Department of Administration which shall revert to the General Fund. Commuting, for purposes of this paragraph, does not include those individuals whose office is in their home.  To determine whether an employee has an office in their home, the Department of Administration shall apply the same criteria used by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code to determine that an individual income tax filer qualifies for a business use of home deduction.  Also, this paragraph does not apply to the following vehicles: (i) clearly marked police and fire vehicles, (ii) delivery trucks with seating only for the driver, (iii) flatbed trucks, (iv) cargo carriers with over a 14,000 pound capacity, (v) school and passenger buses with over 20 person capacities, (vi) ambulances, (vii) hearses, (viii) bucket trucks, (ix) cranes and derricks, (x) forklifts, (xi) cement mixers, (xii) dump trucks, (xiii) garbage trucks, (xiv) specialized utility repair trucks (except vans and pickup trucks), (xv) tractors, (xvi) unmarked law-enforcement vehicles that are used in undercover work and are operated by full-time, fully sworn law-enforcement officers whose primary duties include carrying a firearm, executing search warrants, and making arrests, and (xvii) any other vehicle exempted under Section 274(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and Federal Internal Revenue Services regulations based thereon. The Department of Administration, Division of Motor Fleet Management, shall report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and to the Fiscal Research Division of the Legislative Services Office on individuals who use State-owned passenger motor vehicles, pickup trucks, or vans between their official work stations and their homes, who are not required to reimburse the State for these trips.
		The Department of Administration shall revoke the assignment or require the Department owning the vehicle to revoke the assignment of a State-owned passenger motor vehicle, pickup truck or van to any individual who:
	I.	Uses the vehicle for other than official business except in accordance with the commuting rules;
	II.	Fails to supply required reports to the Department of Administration, or supplies incomplete reports, or supplies reports in a form unacceptable to the Department of Administration and does not cure the deficiency within 30 days of receiving a request to do so;
III.	Knowingly and willfully supplies false information to the Department of Administration on applications for permanent assignments, commuting reimbursement forms, or other required reports or forms;
IV.	Does not personally sign all reports on forms submitted for vehicles permanently assigned to him and does not cure the deficiency within 30 days of receiving a request to do so;
IVa.	While using a state-owned vehicle, commits more than one moving traffic violation within any three-year period;
IVb.	Within the time period required by ordinance, statute, or rule, fails to pay a fine for a parking violation committed while using a state-owned vehicle;
V.	Abuses the vehicle; or
VI.	Violates other rules or policy promulgated by the Department of Administration not in conflict with this act.
A new requisition shall not be honored until the Secretary of the Department of Administration is assured that the violation for which a vehicle was previously revoked will not recur.
	 	The Department of Administration, with the approval of the Governor, may delegate, or conditionally delegate, to the respective heads of agencies which own passenger motor vehicles or to which passenger motor vehicles are permanently assigned by the Department, the duty of enforcing all or part of the rules adopted by the Department of Administration pursuant to this subdivision 7a. The Department of Administration, with the approval of the Governor, may revoke this delegation of authority.
	Prior to adopting rules under this paragraph, the Secretary of Administration may consult with the Advisory Budget Commission.
	Copies of complaints received from citizens alleging the use of a State vehicle for other than official business, together with all responses  to those allegations and all other correspondence or records related thereto, shall be transmitted to the Department of State Auditor on a quarterly basis.  A summary of complaints received and remedial actions taken shall be included with the quarterly report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and the Fiscal Research Division required elsewhere in this sub-subdivision.
8.	To adopt and administer rules for the control of all state-owned passenger motor vehicles and to require State agencies to keep all records and make all reports regarding motor vehicle use as the Secretary deems necessary.
9.	To acquire motor vehicle liability insurance on all State-owned motor vehicles under the control of the Department.
10.	To contract with the appropriate State prison authorities for the furnishing, upon such conditions as may be agreed upon from time to time between such State prison authorities and the Secretary, of prison labor for use in connection with the operation of a central motor pool and related activities.
11.	To report annually to the General Assembly on any rules adopted, amended or repealed under paragraphs 3, 7, or 7a of this subdivision."
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.