A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish a registration fee for the authorization of a private facility to serve dwi offenders and to increase the fee for a substance abuse assessment conducted by an assessing agency.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 122C‑142.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Services. – An area authority shall provide, directly or by contract, the substance abuse services needed by a person to obtain a certificate of completion required under G.S. 20‑17.6 as a condition for the restoration of a drivers license. A person may obtain the required services from an area facility, from a private facility authorized by the Department to provide this service, or, with the approval of the Department, from an agency that is located in another state. "
SECTION 2.  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 seventy-five dollars ($75.00). 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 3.  G.S. 122C‑142.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a1)	Authorization of a Private Facility Provider. – The Department shall authorize a private facility located in this State to provide substance abuse services needed by a person to obtain a certificate of completion if the private facility complies with all of the requirements of this subsection:
(1)	Notifies both the designated area facility for the catchment area in which it is located and the Department of its intent to provide the services.
(2)	Agrees to comply with the laws and rules concerning these services that apply to area facilities.
(3)	Pays the Department the applicable fee for authorizing and monitoring the services of the facility. The initial fee is payable at the time the facility notifies the Department of its intent to provide the services and by July 1 of each year thereafter. Collected fees shall be used by the Division for program monitoring and quality assurance. The applicable fee is based upon the number of assessments completed during the prior fiscal year as set forth below:
Number of Assessments	Fee Amount
0-24	$250.00
25-99	$500.00
100 or more	$750.00."
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2003. Section 2 of this act applies to assessing agencies conducting substance abuse assessments on or after that date. Section 3 of this act applies to private facilities providing substance abuse services on or after that date.