A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to exempt persons who have been lawfully summoned for jury service from paying ferry tolls to travel to and from their homes and the site of that service.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑82 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑82.  Department of Transportation to establish and maintain  ferries; exemption for jury service.
(a)	The Department of Transportation is vested with authority to provide for the establishment and maintenance of ferries connecting the parts of the State highway system, whenever in its discretion the public good may so require, and to prescribe and collect such tolls therefor as may, in the discretion of the Department of Transportation, be expedient. The Board of Transportation shall establish tolls for all ferry routes, except for the Ocracoke/Hatteras Ferry and the Knotts Island Ferry.
To accomplish the purpose of this section said Department of Transportation is authorized to acquire, own, lease, charter or otherwise control all necessary vessels, boats, terminals or other facilities required for the proper operation of such ferries or to enter into contracts with persons, firms or corporations for the operation thereof and to pay therefor such reasonable sums as may in the opinion of said Department of Transportation represent the fair value of the public service rendered.
The Department of Transportation, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may operate, or contract for the operation of, concessions on the ferries and at ferry facilities to provide to passengers on the ferries food, drink, and other refreshments, personal comfort items, and souvenirs publicizing the ferry system.
(b)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall not collect any toll established  under this section from a person who has been lawfully summoned for jury service under Chapter 9 of the General Statutes for that person's use of a ferry to travel to and from the person's residence and the site of that jury service. The Department shall adopt rules establishing a process by which a person traveling for jury service may demonstrate that the person is not required to pay a toll under this subsection."
SECTION 2.  Article 2 of Chapter 9 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 9‑18.1.  Ferry toll exemption. 
Any person summoned to jury service who uses a ferry to travel to and from the person's residence and the site of that jury service is exempt from the payment of any ferry tolls, as provided in G.S. 136‑82(b)."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.