A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to make technical, clarifying, and substantive changes relating to the department of public safety; and to authorize the secretary of administration to change certain benchmarks relating to purchases and contracts.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑196.3 is repealed.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143‑134 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑134.  Applicable to Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety; exceptions; all contracts subject to review by Attorney General and State Auditor.
(a)	This Article shall apply to the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety except in the construction of roads, bridges and their approaches; provided however, that whenever the Director of the Budget determines that the repair or construction of a building by the Department of Transportation or by the Department of Public Safety can be done more economically through use of employees of the Department of Transportation and/or prison inmates than by letting such repair or building construction to contract, the provisions of this Article shall not apply to such repair or construction.
(b)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety shall: (i) submit all proposed contracts for supplies, materials, printing, equipment, and contractual services that exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee for review as provided in G.S. 114‑8.3; and (ii) include in all contracts to be awarded by the Department of Transportation or the Department of Public Safety a standard clause which provides that the State Auditor and internal auditors of the Department of Transportation or the Department of Public Safety may audit the records of the contractor during and after the term of the contract to verify accounts and data affecting fees and performance. Neither the Department of Transportation nor the Department of Public Safety shall award a cost plus percentage of cost agreement or contract for any purpose."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143B‑600 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑600.  Organization.
(a)	There is established the Department of Public Safety. The head of the Department of Public Safety is the Secretary of Public Safety, who shall be known as the Secretary.
							(b)	The powers and duties of the deputy secretaries, directors, and the respective divisions of the Department shall be subject to the direction and control of the Secretary of Public Safety. The Secretary may assign a Commissioner to oversee the Divisions of Prisons, Community Corrections, and Juvenile Justice, as well as the following auxiliary services: alcoholism and chemical dependency treatment, offender records management, and extradition."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 143B‑602(8) is amended by adding a new sub-subdivision to read:
"(8)	Other powers and duties. – The Secretary shall have the following additional powers and duties:
…
h.	Being responsible for federal and State liaison activities, victim services, the Victim Services Warehouse, and the storage and management of evidence and other contents housed in the warehouse, and public affairs."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 143B‑710 is repealed.
SECTION 6.  G.S. 143B‑806 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑806.  Duties and powers of the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety.
	(b)	The Director of Juvenile Justice shall have the following powers and duties:
…."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 148‑132 reads as rewritten:
"§ 148‑132.  Distribution of products and services.
The Section of Correction Enterprises of the Division of Adult Correction is empowered and authorized to market and sell products and services produced by Correction Enterprises to any of the following entities:
(1)	Any public agency or institution owned, managed, or controlled by the State.
(2)	Any county, city, or town in this State.
(3)	Any federal, state, or local public agency or institution in any other state of the union.
(4)	An entity or organization that has tax‑exempt status pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(5)	Any current employee or retiree of the State of North Carolina or of a unit of local government of this State, verified through State‑issued identification, or through proof of retirement status, but purchases by a State or local governmental employee or retiree may not exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) during any calendar year. Products purchased by State and local governmental employees and retirees under this section may not be resold.
(6)	Private contractors when the goods purchased will be used to perform work under a contract with a public agency or a nonprofit organization."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 143‑53(a)(1) reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑53.  Rules.
(a)	The Secretary of Administration may adopt rules governing the following:
(1)	Prescribing the routine and procedures to be followed in canvassing bids and awarding contracts, and for reviewing decisions made pursuant thereto, and the decision of the reviewing body shall be the final administrative review. The Division of Purchase and Contract shall review and decide a protest on a contract valued above the benchmark established pursuant to G.S. 143‑53.1 for each agency. The Secretary shall adopt rules or criteria governing the review of and decision on a protest on a contract with a value of less than the agency's benchmark."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 143‑53.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143‑53.1.  Setting of benchmarks; increase by Secretary.
(a)	On and after July 1, 2014, the procedures prescribed by G.S. 143‑52 with respect to competitive bids and the bid value benchmark authorized by G.S. 143‑53(a)(2) with respect to rule making by the Secretary of Administration for competitive bidding shall be based on the agency's capacity to evaluate contracts below a certain benchmark value, as determined by the State Purchasing Officer and approved by the Secretary of Administration. When an agency's benchmark is raised, the new benchmark shall become effective at the beginning of the fiscal year after the Secretary approves it. For a special responsibility constituent institution of The University of North Carolina, the benchmark prescribed in this section shall be as provided in G.S. 116‑31.10. For community colleges, the benchmark prescribed in this section shall be as provided in G.S. 115D‑58.14.
(b)	Expired."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 166A‑19.11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 166A‑19.11.  Powers of the Secretary of Public Safety.
The Secretary shall be responsible to the Governor for State emergency management activities. The Secretary shall have the following powers and duties as delegated by the Governor:
(1)	To activate the State and local plans applicable to the areas in question and to authorize and direct the deployment and use of any personnel and forces to which the plan or plans apply, and the use or distribution of any supplies, equipment, materials, and facilities available pursuant to this Article or any other provision of law.
(2)	To adopt the rules to implement those provisions of this Article that deal with matters other than those that are exclusively local.
(3)	To develop a system to produce a preliminary damage assessment from which the Secretary will recommend the appropriate level of disaster declaration to the Governor. The system shall, at a minimum, consider whether the damage involved and its effects are of such a severity and magnitude as to be beyond the response capabilities of the local government or political subdivision.
(3a)	To authorize expenditures of up to two million dollars ($2,000,000) of funds available for response to an emergency prior to the declaration of a state of emergency. The Secretary shall report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations within 30 days of authorizing an expenditure pursuant to this subdivision.
(4)	Additional authority, duties, and responsibilities as may be prescribed by the Governor. The Secretary may subdelegate his authority to the appropriate member of the Secretary's department."
SECTION 11.  G.S. 20‑185 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(a1)	Applicants for employment as a State Trooper shall be at least 21 years of age and not more than 39 years of age as of the first day of patrol school. Highway Patrol enforcement personnel shall retire not later than the end of the month in which their 62nd birthday falls."
SECTION 12.  This act is effective when it becomes law.