AN ACT to make various changes to the STATUTES governing collection and enforcement of tolls by THE North Carolina Turnpike AUTHORITY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑82.2  is repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 136‑89.211 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑89.211.  Tolls for use of Turnpike project.
In exercising its authority under G.S. 136‑89.183 to set tolls for the use of a Turnpike project, the Authority may not do any of the following:
(1)	Set open road tolls that vary for the same class of motor vehicle depending on the method by which the Authority identifies a motor vehicle that drives on the Turnpike project. This does not preclude the Authority from allowing a discount for a motor vehicle equipped with an electronic toll collection transponder or a motor vehicle that has prepaid its toll.
(2)	Exempt a motor vehicle that is not a law enforcement vehicle, an emergency fire or rescue vehicle, or an emergency medical services vehicle from the requirement of paying a toll for the use of a Turnpike project."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 136‑89.214(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Bill. – If a motor vehicle travels on a Turnpike project that uses an open road tolling system and a toll for traveling on the project is not paid prior to travel or at the time of travel, the Authority must send a bill by first‑class mail to the registered owner of the motor vehicle for the amount of the unpaid toll. The Authority must send the bill within 90 days after the travel occurs. If a bill is not sent within the required time, the Authority waives collection of the toll. The Authority must establish a billing period for unpaid open road tolls that is no shorter than 15 days. A bill for a billing period must include all unpaid tolls incurred by the same person during the billing period."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 136‑89.215 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑89.215.  Required action upon receiving bill for open road toll and processing fee for unpaid toll.
(a)	Action Required. – A person who receives a bill from the Authority for an unpaid open road toll must take one of the following actions within 30 days of the date of the bill:
(1)	Pay the bill.
(2)	Send a written request to the Authority for a review of the toll.
(b)	Fee. – If a person does not take one of the actions required under subsection (a) of this section within the required time, the Authority may add a processing fee to the amount the person owes. The processing fee may not exceed six dollars ($6.00). A person may not be charged more than forty‑eight dollars ($48.00) in processing fees in a  12‑month period.The Authority must set the processing fee at an amount that does not exceed the costs of identifying the owner of a motor vehicle that is subject to an unpaid toll and billing the owner for the unpaid toll. The fee is a receipt of the Authority and must be applied to these costs."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 136‑89.216 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑89.216.  Civil penalty for failure to pay open road toll.
(a)	Penalty. – A person who receives two or more bills for unpaid open road tolls and who has not paid the amount due on those bills within 30 days is subject to a civil penalty of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00). Only one penalty may be assessed in a six‑month period.(b)	Payment. – The Authority must send a notice by first‑class mail to a person who is assessed a civil penalty under this section. A person who is assessed a civil penalty must pay the unpaid toll for which the civil penalty was imposed, the amount of any processing fee due, and the civil penalty within 30 days of the date of the notice.
(c)	Penalty Proceeds. – A civil penalty imposed under this section is payable to the Authority. The clear proceeds of a civil penalty imposed under this section must be credited to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund established in G.S. 115C‑457.1. The guidelines used by the Office of State Budget and Management to determine an agency's actual costs of collecting a civil penalty and the clear proceeds of the civil penalty apply to the determination of the clear proceeds of a civil penalty imposed under this section."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 136‑89.217 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑89.217.  Vehicle registration renewal blocked for unpaid open road toll.
(a)	Registration Block. – Failure of a person to pay an open road toll billed to the person under G.S. 136‑89.214, any processing fee added under G.S. 136‑89.215, and any civil penalty imposed under G.S. 136‑89.216 is grounds under G.S. 20‑54 to withhold the registration renewal of a motor vehicle registered in that person's name. The Authority must notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of a person who owes a toll, a processing fee, or a civil penalty. When notified, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles must withhold the registration renewal of any motor vehicle registered in that person's name.
	"
SECTION 7.  G.S. 136‑89.218 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑89.218.  Procedures for contesting liability for unpaid open road toll.
(a)	Informal Review. – A person who receives a bill for an unpaid open road toll and who disputes liability for the toll may contest the toll by sending to the Authority a request for review of the toll. The person may include a sworn affidavit described in G.S. 136‑89.212 that establishes that someone else had the care, custody, and control of the motor vehicle subject to the toll when the toll was incurred. The person must send the request for review to the Authority within 30 days of the date of the bill sent by the Authority. A person who does not send a request for review to the Authority within this time limit waives the right to a review. If a person sends a timely request for review to the Authority, the Authority may not collect the disputed toll and any processing fee added to the bill for the toll until the conclusion of the review process in this section.
(b)	Administrative Hearing. – If the Authority conducts an informal review under subsection (a) of this section and determines that the person who requested the review is liable for the toll, the Authority must send the person a notice informing the person of the Authority's determination. The person may contest this determination by filing a petition for a contested case hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings in accordance with Article 3 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
(c)	Judicial Review. – Article 4 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes governs judicial review of a final decision made in a contested case authorized under subsection (b) of this section."
SECTION 8.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2010.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of July, 2010.

	_____________________________________
		 Walter H. Dalton
	 President of the Senate

	_____________________________________
		 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2010