A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to make changes to the laws GOVERNING VEHICLE REGISTRATION and inspection, as recommended by the joint LEGISLATIVE transportation oversight committee.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑66 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑66.  Renewal of vehicle registration.
(a)	Annual Renewal. – The registration of a vehicle must be renewed annually. To renew the registration of a vehicle, the owner of the vehicle must file an application with the Division and pay the required registration fee. The Division may receive and grant an application for renewal of registration at any time before the registration expires.
(b)	Method of Renewal. – When the Division renews the registration of a vehicle, it must issue a new registration card for the vehicle and either a new registration plate or a registration renewal sticker. The Division may renew a registration plate for any type of vehicle by means of a renewal sticker.
(b1)	Repealed by Session Laws 1993, c. 467, s. 2.
(c)	Renewal Stickers. – A registration renewal sticker issued by the Division must be displayed on the registration plate that it renews in the place prescribed by the Commissioner and must indicate the period for which it and the registration plate on which it is displayed are valid. Except where physical differences between a registration renewal sticker and a registration plate render a provision of this Chapter inapplicable, the provisions of this Chapter relating to registration plates apply to registration renewal stickers.
(d)	(e) Repealed by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 761, § 5.
(f)	Repealed by Session Laws 1993, c. 467, s. 2.
(g)	When Renewal Sticker Expires. – The registration of a vehicle that is renewed by means of a registration renewal sticker expires at midnight on the last day of the month designated on the sticker. It is lawful, however, to operate the vehicle on a highway until midnight on the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the sticker expired.
The Division may vary the expiration dates of registration renewal stickers issued for a type of vehicle so that an approximately equal number expires at the end of each month, quarter, or other period consisting of one or more months. When the Division implements registration renewal for a type of vehicle by means of a renewal sticker, it may issue a registration renewal sticker that expires at the end of any monthly interval.
(h)	Repealed by Session Laws 2004‑167, s. 3, as amended by Session Laws 2004‑199, s. 59, effective January 1, 2006.
(i)	Property Tax Consolidation. – When the Division receives an application under subsection (a) for the renewal of registration before the current registration expires, the Division shall grant the application if it is made for the purpose of consolidating the property taxes payable by the applicant on classified motor vehicles, as defined in G.S. 105‑330. The registration fee for a motor vehicle whose registration cycle is changed under this subsection shall be reduced by a prorated amount. The prorated amount is one‑twelfth of the registration fee in effect when the motor vehicle's registration was last renewed multiplied by the number of full months remaining in the motor vehicle's current registration cycle, rounded to the nearest multiple of twenty‑five cents (25¢).
(j)	(Effective October 1, 2008) Inspection Prior to Renewal of Registration. – The Division shall not renew the registration of a vehicle unless it has a current safety or emissions inspection.
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SECTION 2. G.S. 20‑183.4 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑183.4.  License required to perform safety inspection; qualifications for license.
(a)	License Required. – A safety inspection must be performed by one of the following methods:
(1)	At a station that has a safety inspection station license issued by the Division and by a mechanic who is employed by the station and has a safety inspection mechanic license issued by the Division.
(2)	At a place of business of a person who has a safety self‑inspector license issued by the Division and by an individual who has a safety inspection mechanic license issued by the Division.
(b)	Station Qualifications. – An applicant for a license as a safety inspection station must meet all of the following requirements:
(1)	Have a place of business that has adequate facilities, space, and equipment to conduct a safety inspection. A place of business designated in a station license that has been suspended or revoked cannot be the designated place for any other license applicant during the period of the suspension or revocation, unless the Division finds that operation of the place of business as an inspection station during this period by the license applicant would not defeat the purpose of the suspension or revocation because the license applicant has no connection with the person whose license was suspended or revoked or because of another reason. A finding made by the Division under this subdivision must be set out in a written statement that includes the finding and the reason for the finding.
(2)	Regularly employ at least one mechanic who has a safety inspection mechanic license.
(3)	Designate the individual who will be responsible for the day‑to‑day operation of the station. The individual designated must be of good character and have a reputation for honesty.
(4)	(Effective October 1, 2008) Have equipment and software approved by the Division to transfer information on safety inspections to the Division by electronic means. During the initial implementation of the electronic inspection process, the vendor selected by the Division shall provide the equipment and software at no cost to a station that holds a license on October 1, 2008.
(c)	Mechanic Qualifications. – An applicant for a license as a safety inspection mechanic must meet all of the following requirements:
(1)	(Effective until October 1, 2008) Have successfully completed an eight‑hour course approved by the Division that teaches students about the safety equipment a motor vehicle is required to have to pass a safety inspection and how to conduct a safety inspection.
(1)	(Effective October 1, 2008) Have successfully completed an eight‑hour course approved by the Division that teaches students about the safety equipment a motor vehicle is required to have to pass a safety inspection and how to conduct a safety inspection using equipment to electronically transmit the vehicle information and inspection results.
(2)	Have a drivers license.
(3)	Be of good character and have a reputation for honesty.
(d)	Self‑Inspector Qualifications. – An applicant for a license as a safety self‑inspector must meet all of the following requirements:
(1)	Operate a fleet of at least 10 vehicles that are subject to a safety inspection.
(2)	Regularly employ or contract with an individual who has a safety inspection mechanic license and who will perform a safety inspection on the vehicles that are part of the self‑inspector's fleet."
SECTION 3. G.S. 20‑183.4C reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑183.4C.  When a vehicle must be inspected; one‑way trip permit.
(a)	Inspection. – A vehicle that is subject to a safety inspection, an emissions inspection, or both must be inspected as follows:
(1)	A new vehicle must be inspected before it is sold at retail in this State. Upon purchase, a receipt approved by the Division must be provided to the new owner certifying compliance.
(1a)	A new motor vehicle dealer who is also licensed pursuant to this Article may, notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this section, examine the safety and emissions control devices on a new motor vehicle and perform such services necessary to ensure the motor vehicle conforms to the required specifications established by the manufacturer and contained in its predelivery check list. The completion of the predelivery inspection procedure required or recommended by the manufacturer on a new motor vehicle shall constitute the inspection required by subdivision (1) of this section. For the purposes of this subdivision, the date of inspection shall be deemed to be the date of the sale of the motor vehicle to a purchaser.
(2)	A used vehicle must be inspected before it is offered for sale at retail in this State by a dealer. Upon purchase, a receipt approved by the Division must be provided to the new owner certifying compliance.
(3)	Repealed by Session Law 2007‑503, s. 5, effective October 1, 2008.
(4)	A new or used vehicle acquired by a resident of this State from outside the State must be inspected before the vehicle is registered with the Division.
(5)	A vehicle owned by a new resident of this State who transfers the registration of the vehicle from the resident's former home state to this State must be inspected before the vehicle is registered with the Division.
(5a)	Repealed by Session Law 2007‑503, s. 5, effective October 1, 2008.
(6)	A vehicle that has been inspected in accordance with this Part must be inspected by the last day of the month in which the registration on the vehicle expires.
(7)	A vehicle that is required to be inspected in accordance with this Part may be inspected 90 days prior to midnight of the last day of the month as designated by the vehicle registration sticker.
(8)	A new or used vehicle acquired from a retailer in this State and registered with the Division with a new registration or a transferred registration must be inspected in accordance with this Part when the current registration expires.
(9)	A used vehicle acquired from a private sale in this State must be inspected in accordance with this Part before the vehicle is registered with the Division unless it has received a passing inspection within the previous 12 months.
(10)	An unregistered vehicle must be inspected before the vehicle is registered with the Division or before a transferred registration expires.
(11)	A person who owns a vehicle located outside of this State when its emissions inspection becomes due may obtain an emissions inspection in the jurisdiction where the vehicle is located, in lieu of a North Carolina emissions inspection, as long as the inspection meets the requirements of 40 C.F.R. § 51.
(b)	Permit. – The Division may issue a one‑way trip permit to a person that authorizes the person to drive to an inspection station a vehicle whose inspection sticker has expired. The permit must describe the vehicle whose inspection sticker has expired. The permit authorizes the person to drive the described vehicle only from the place the vehicle is parked to an inspection station.
The Division may issue a 10‑day temporary permit to a person that authorizes the person to drive a vehicle that failed to pass either the safety inspection or emissions inspection. The permit must describe the vehicle that failed to pass inspection and the date that it failed to pass inspection."
SECTION 4.      This act becomes effective October 1, 2008.