AN ACT TO waivE various deadlines, fees, and penalties for deployed military personnel.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Deployed Military Personnel Defined. – As used in this act, the term 'deployed military personnel' includes both of the following:
(1)	A member of the armed forces or the armed forces reserves of the United States on active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on or after January 1, 2003. 
(2)	A member of the North Carolina Army National Guard or the North Carolina Air National Guard called to active duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on or after January 1, 2003.
SECTION 2.  Proof. – Verification by the military member's command specifying deployment is conclusive evidence of the military member's deployment.
SECTION 3.  Waiver of Deadlines, Fees, and Penalties. – Except as prohibited by the Constitution, the Governor may extend deadlines and waive penalties or fees as is necessary to alleviate hardship created for deployed military personnel serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. This authority includes the authority to do all of the following:
(1)	Extend for up to 90 days from the end of deployment the validity of a permanent or temporary drivers license issued under G.S. 20‑7 to deployed military personnel.
(2)	Waive civil penalties and restoration fees under G.S. 20‑309 for any deployed military personnel whose motor vehicle liability insurance lapsed during the period of deployment or within 90 days after the military member returned to North Carolina if the military member certifies to the Division of Motor Vehicles that the motor vehicle was not driven on the highway by anyone during the period in which the motor vehicle was uninsured and that the owner now has liability insurance on the motor vehicle.
(3)	Allow up to 90 days from the end of deployment for any deployed military personnel to renew a license as defined in G.S. 93B‑1. During the period of deployment or active duty and until the expiration of the 90‑day period provided for in this subdivision, expired licenses that are within the scope of this act remain valid, as if they had not expired.
(4)	Require that any renewal fee applicable to the renewal of a license under subdivision (3) of this section be prorated over the period covered by the license and reduced in proportion to the period of time that the licensee was deployed outside the State.
SECTION 4.(a)  Property Taxes. – Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑360 or G.S. 105‑330.4, deployed military personnel are allowed 90 days after the end of their deployment to pay property taxes at par, for any property taxes that became due or delinquent during the term of the deployment. For these individuals, the taxes for the relevant tax year do not become delinquent until after the end of the 90‑day period provided in this section, and an individual who pays the property taxes before the end of the 90‑day period is not liable for interest on the taxes for the relevant tax year. If the individual does not pay the taxes before the end of the 90‑day period, interest accrues on the taxes according to the schedule provided in G.S. 105‑360 or G.S. 105‑330.4, as applicable, as though the taxes were unpaid as of the date the taxes would have become delinquent if not for this section. 
SECTION 4.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑307, deployed military personnel required to list property for taxation while deployed are allowed 90 days after the end of the deployment to list the property. For these individuals, the listing period for the relevant tax year is extended until the end of the 90‑day period provided in this act, and an individual who lists the property before the end of the 90‑day period is not subject to civil or criminal penalties for failure to list the property required to be listed during deployment.
SECTION 5.(a)  Community College Refunds. – Upon request of the student, each community college shall:
(1)	Grant a full refund of curriculum tuition and fees to military reserve and national guard personnel called to active duty or active personnel who have received temporary or permanent reassignments as a result of military operations that make it impossible for them to complete their course requirements; and
(2)	Buy back textbooks through the colleges' bookstore operations to the extent possible. Colleges shall use distance‑learning technologies and other educational methodologies to help these students, under the guidance of faculty and administrative staff, complete their course requirements.
SECTION 5.(b)  Upon request of the student, each community college shall:
(1)	Grant a full refund of extension registration fees to military reserve and national guard personnel called to active duty or active personnel who have received temporary or permanent reassignments as a result of military operations that make it impossible for them to complete their course requirements; and
(2)	Buy back textbooks through the colleges' bookstore operations to the extent possible. Colleges shall use distance‑learning technologies and other educational methodologies to help these students, under the guidance of faculty and administrative staff, complete their course requirements.
SECTION 5.(c)  This section applies to the 2002‑2003 and 2003‑2004 academic years only.
SECTION 6.(a)  UNC System Refunds. – This section is intended to assist the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina in situations in which students request refunds of tuition or fees because of involuntary or voluntary service in the military or because of circumstances related to national emergencies.
Upon request of the student, all constituent institutions may issue a full refund of tuition and required fees to students who are involuntarily called to active duty in the military after a semester or term begins.
All constituent institutions should have a process for determining on a case‑by‑case basis whether to grant a full refund of tuition and required fees to students who volunteer for military service or who request to withdraw because of circumstances related to a national emergency.
Constituent institutions should determine under what circumstances students who withdraw because of military service or circumstances related to national emergencies should be given the option of receiving incompletes in their courses instead of receiving tuition and fee refunds.
Constituent institutions should determine whether or not to give full or pro rata refunds of housing, parking, and other optional fees to students to whom they give tuition and required fee refunds.
Constituent institutions that offer courses on military bases should defer to their contracts with the military in making determinations concerning withdrawal from courses due to changes in assignments of military personnel.
It is recommended that every campus review its policy on tuition refunds and make modifications necessary to cover the circumstances described in this section.
SECTION 6.(b)  Legislative Tuition Grants. – Students who are receiving the North Carolina Legislative Tuition Grant who lose their full‑time student status due to a call to active military duty or circumstances related to national emergencies shall not be required to repay the Legislative Tuition Grant for that semester.  The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority shall implement this subsection.
SECTION 6.(c)  This section applies to the 2002‑2003 and 2003‑2004 academic years only.
SECTION 7.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of June, 2003.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Richard T. Morgan
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 4:45 p.m. this 4th day of July, 2003