A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the format of a DRIVERS license or special identification card being issued to a person less than twenty‑one years of age from a horizontal format to a vertical FORMAT to make recognition of UNDERAGE persons more easy for clerks dealing in restricted age sales of products such as alcoholic beverages and tobacco products as recommended by the child fatality task force.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑7(n) reads as rewritten:
"(n)	Format. – A drivers license issued by the Division must be tamperproof and must contain all of the following information:
(1)	An identification of this State as the issuer of the license.
(2)	The license holder's full name.
(3)	The license holder's residence address.
(4)	A color photograph of the license holder, taken by the Division.
(5)	A physical description of the license holder, including sex, height, eye color, and hair color.
(6)	The license holder's date of birth.
(7)	An identifying number for the license holder assigned by the Division. The identifying number may not be the license holder's social security number.
(8)	Each class of motor vehicle the license holder is authorized to drive and any endorsements or restrictions that apply.
(9)	The license holder's signature.
(10)	The date the license was issued and the date the license expires.
The Commissioner may waive the requirement of a color photograph on a license if the license holder proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that taking the photograph would violate the license holder's religious convictions. In taking photographs of license holders, the Division must distinguish between license holders who are less than 21 years old and license holders who are at least 21 years old by using different color backgrounds or borders for each group. The Division shall determine the different colors to be used. The Commissioner shall ensure that applicants 21 years old or older are issued drivers licenses and special identification cards that are printed in a horizontal format. The Commissioner shall ensure that applicants under the age of 21 are issued drivers licenses and special identification cards that are printed in a vertical format, that distinguishes them from the horizontal format, for ease of identification of individuals under age 21 by members of industries that regulate controlled products that are sale restricted by age and law enforcement officers enforcing these laws.
At the request of an applicant for a drivers license, a license issued to the applicant must contain the applicant's race."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20-7(f)(1) reads as rewritten:
"(1)	Duration of license for persons under age 21. – A drivers license issued to a person under the age of 21 expires on the person's twenty‑first birthday."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 20-7(f)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	Duration of original license for persons at least 21 years of age or older. – A drivers license issued to a person at least 21 years old but less than 54 years old expires on the birthday of the licensee in the eighth year after issuance. A drivers license issued to a person at least 54 years old expires on the birthday of the licensee in the fifth year after issuance. A commercial drivers license that has a vehicles carrying passengers (P) and school bus (S) endorsement issued pursuant to G.S. 20‑37.16 shall expire on the birth date of the licensee three years after the date of issuance, if the licensee is certified to drive a school bus in North Carolina."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20-7(f)(3) reads as rewritten:
"(2a)	Duration of renewed licenses. – A renewed drivers license that was issued by the Division to a person at least 21 years old but less than 54 years old expires eight years after the expiration date of the license that is renewed. A renewed drivers license that was issued by the Division to a person at least 54 years old expires five years after the expiration date of the license that is renewed."
SECTION 5.  The Office of State Controller, with the support of the Office of State Budget, shall identify and make all efforts to secure any matching funds or other resources to assist in funding this initiative.
SECTION 6.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2008, and applies to drivers licenses and special identification cards issued or renewed on or after that date.