A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for the use of CONTINUOUS alcohol monitoring systems to be used to monitor individuals who have been sentenced for DWI convictions or as necessary by the courts to ensure COMPLIANCE with conditions of release, probation, or parole.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 20‑19(d)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	He is not currently an excessive user of alcohol, drugs, or prescription drugs, or unlawfully using any controlled substance."
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 20‑19(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	When a person's license is revoked under G.S. 20‑17(a)(2) and the person has two or more previous offenses involving impaired driving for which he has been convicted, and the most recent offense occurred within the five years immediately preceding the date of the offense for which his license is being revoked, the revocation is permanent. The Division may, however, conditionally restore the person's license after it has been revoked for at least three years under this subsection if he provides the Division with satisfactory proof that:
(1)	In the three years immediately preceding the person's application for a restored license, he has not been convicted in North Carolina or in any other state or federal court of a motor vehicle offense, an alcohol beverage control law offense, a drug law offense, or any criminal offense involving the consumption of alcohol or drugs; and
(2)	He is not currently an excessive user of alcohol, drugs, or prescription drugs, or unlawfully using any controlled substance.
The Division may conditionally restore the person's license after it has been revoked for at least 24 months under G.S. 20‑17(a)(2) if the person provides the Division with satisfactory proof that:
(1)	He has not consumed any alcohol for 12 months while being monitored by continuous alcohol monitoring device of a type approved by the Secretary of the Department of Correction. The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a continuous alcohol monitoring system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against.
(2)	He has not in the period of revocation been convicted in North Carolina or any other state or federal jurisdiction of a motor vehicle offense, an alcoholic beverage control law offense, a drug law offense, or any other criminal offense involving the possession or consumption of alcohol or drugs.
(3)	He is not currently an excessive user of drugs or prescription drugs.
(4)	He is not unlawfully using any controlled substance.
If the Division restores the person's license, it may place reasonable conditions or restrictions on the person for any period up to three years from the date of restoration."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑179(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Mitigating Factors to Be Weighed. – The judge shall also determine before sentencing under subsection (f) whether any of the mitigating factors listed below apply to the defendant. The judge shall weigh the degree of mitigation of each factor in light of the particular circumstances of the case. The factors are:
…
(6a)	Completion of a substance abuse assessment, compliance with its recommendations, and simultaneously maintaining 60 days of continuous abstinence from alcohol consumption, as proven by a continuous alcohol monitoring system. The continuous alcohol monitoring system shall be of a type approved by the Secretary of the Department of Correction. The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a continuous alcohol monitoring system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against.
(7)	Any other factor that mitigates the seriousness of the offense.
Except for the factors in subdivisions (4), (6), (6a), and (7), the conduct constituting the mitigating factor shall occur during the same transaction or occurrence as the impaired driving offense."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑179 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(h1)	The judge may impose, as a condition of probation for offenders subject to Level One or Level Two punishments, that the offender abstain from alcohol consumption for a minimum of 30 days, to a maximum of 60 days, as verified by a continuous alcohol monitoring system. The total cost for the continuous alcohol monitoring system may not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). The offender's abstinence from alcohol shall be verified by a continuous alcohol monitoring system of a type approved by the Secretary of the Department of Correction. The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a continuous alcohol monitoring system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 15A‑1343 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(b4)	The court shall not impose, as a condition of probation pursuant to G.S. 20‑179(h1), the use of a continuous alcohol monitoring system, unless:
(1)	The court waives, upon good cause shown, an offender's payment of any costs associated with the system; and
(2)	The local governmental entity, responsible for the incarceration of the offender in the local confinement facility, agrees to pay the costs associated with the system due to the waiver." 
SECTION 5.  G.S. 15A‑1374(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(8b)	Remain alcohol free, and prove such abstinence through evaluation by a continuous alcohol monitoring system of a type approved by the Secretary of the Department of Correction. The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a continuous alcohol monitoring system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against."
SECTION 6.  The Department of Correction shall establish regulations for continuous alcohol monitoring systems that are authorized for use by the courts as evidence that an offender on probation has abstained from the use of alcohol for a specified period of time. A "continuous alcohol monitoring system" is a device that is worn by a person that can detect, monitor, record, and report the amount of alcohol within the wearer's system over a continuous 24-hour daily basis. The regulations shall include the procedures for wearing of the monitoring device, supervision of the offender, collection and monitoring of the results, and the reporting to the judge ordering or accepting the use of the system as evidence of alcohol abstinence. The Secretary shall approve any continuous alcohol monitoring system prior to its use by a court as evidence of alcohol abstinence, or prior to ordering the use of a continuous alcohol monitoring system as a condition of probation. The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold approval of a continuous alcohol monitoring system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against.
SECTION 7.  The Department of Correction shall issue a Request for Proposal for continuous alcohol monitoring equipment and monitoring services to develop a pilot program by the Division of Community Corrections' alcohol monitoring programs. The RFP shall require separate bids: one for equipment, maintenance, and technical support, and one for the aforementioned items plus monitoring services. The Department shall design the RFP to use the most recent, cost‑effective technology available; the Department shall not restrict vendors to the specifications of any equipment currently accepted by the courts as evidence of abstinence from alcohol by an offender.  The Department shall also issue a separate RFP for continuous alcohol monitoring as an intermediate sanction. The RFP shall require separate bids: one for equipment, maintenance, and technical support, and one for the aforementioned items plus monitoring services.  The RFPs shall be issued by January 1, 2008.
The Department of Correction shall report by March 1, 2008, to the Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Chairs of the House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety on the responses to the RFPs.
SECTION 8.  The Department of Correction shall report to the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee by March 1, 2008, on the following:
(1)	The Department's evaluation of continuous alcohol monitoring systems as evidence of an offender's abstinence from alcohol.
(2)	The results of the Requests for Proposal issued in the 2007‑2008 fiscal year for continuous alcohol monitoring of offenders supervised by the Division of Community Corrections.
(3)	The Department's recommendations for implementing continuous alcohol monitoring, including:
a.	An evaluation of the costs and benefits of alcohol monitoring technology.
b.	The size and characteristics of the offender population and the proposed number of offenders to be monitored.
c.	The contractual and internal costs of the monitoring program.
d.	The proposed caseloads for probation officers who would supervise offenders using continuous alcohol monitoring technology.
e.	Whether the State should conduct a pilot program for continuous alcohol monitoring in limited jurisdictions or statewide.
The Department shall also explore funding options through grants and other sources, including the possibility of charging a fee to offenders to partially offset the costs of the program. The Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee on any funds identified.
SECTION 9.  Sections 1 through 5 of this act become effective October 1, 2007, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.  Nothing in this act shall be construed to prohibit a court from either continuing or allowing the use of continuous alcohol monitoring systems as evidence of alcohol abstinence prior to the effective date of Sections 1 through 5.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.