AN ACT to enact the recommendations of the joint legislative oversight committee on mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services to increase the qualifications of persons who will be eligible to administer substance abuse assessments, to increase the fee paid by DWI offenders for substance abuse assessments, to study the minimum qualifications of individuals conducting alcohol and drug education traffic schoolS, and to study the fee paid by DWI offenders for education or treatment services.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 122C‑142.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(b1)	Persons Authorized to Conduct Assessments. – The following individuals are authorized to conduct a substance abuse assessment under subsection (b) of this section:
(1)	A Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), as defined by the Commission.
(2)	A Certified Clinical Addiction Specialist (CCAS), as defined by the Commission.
(3)	A Substance Abuse Counselor Intern who is supervised by a Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS), as defined by the Commission, and who meets the minimum qualifications established by the Commission for individuals performing substance abuse assessments.
(4)	A person licensed by the North Carolina Medical Board or the North Carolina Psychology Board. 
(5)	A physician certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 122C‑142.1(b1), as enacted in Section 1 of this act, reads as rewritten:
"(b1)	Persons Authorized to Conduct Assessments. – The following individuals are authorized to conduct a substance abuse assessment under subsection (b) of this section:
(1)	A Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), as defined by the Commission.
(2)	A Certified Clinical Addiction Specialist (CCAS), as defined by the Commission.
	(4)	A person licensed by the North Carolina Medical Board or the North Carolina Psychology Board. 
(5)	A physician certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 122C‑142.1(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Fees. – A person who has a substance abuse assessment conducted for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of completion shall pay to the assessing agency a fee of one hundred dollars ($100). A person shall pay to a treatment facility or school a fee of seventy‑five dollars ($75.00). If the defendant is treated by an area mental health facility, G.S. 122C‑146 applies after receipt of the seventy‑five dollar ($75.00) fee.
A facility that provides to a person who is required to obtain a certificate of completion a substance abuse assessment, an ADET school, or a substance abuse treatment program may require the person to pay a fee required by this subsection before it issues a certificate of completion. As stated in G.S. 122C‑146, however, an area facility may not deny a service to a person because the person is unable to pay.
An area facility shall remit to the Department five percent (5%) of each fee paid to the area facility under this subsection by a person who attends an ADET school conducted by the area facility. The Department may use amounts remitted to it under this subsection only to support, evaluate, and administer ADET schools."
SECTION 4.  Section 2 of S.L. 2003‑396 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 2.  The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services shall study the programs offered by assessing agencies to clients who must obtain a substance abuse assessment and a certification of completion of a substance abuse program.  The study should include information on the type of testing provided by an agency, the certification requirements for persons conducting alcohol and drug education traffic schools, the treatment offered by an agency, the average duration of a program, the average cost of treatment, the rates of recidivism, the adequacy of the fee paid to the assessing agency by a client for a required substance abuse assessment and the adequacy of the fee paid to the treatment facility or school by a client for receiving treatment or education.  The Committee must report its findings and any recommended legislation to the 2005 General Assembly."
SECTION 5.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2005, and applies to substance abuse assessments conducted on or after that date.  Section 2 becomes effective October 1, 2008, and applies to substance abuse assessments conducted on or after that date.  Section 3 becomes effective October 1, 2004, and applies to substance abuse assessments administered on or after that date.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of July, 2004.

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		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

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		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

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		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2004