A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide stability and predictability within the state ferry system by restoring state control to the setting of ferry tolls and providing state funds for improvements to the State ferry system.
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.
(a)	Powers of Department. – 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 require. To accomplish the purpose of this section, the Department is authorized to acquire, own, lease, charter, or otherwise control all necessary vessels, boats, terminals, or other facilities required for the proper operation of the ferries or to enter into contracts with persons, firms, or corporations for the operation thereof and to pay the reasonable sums that in the opinion of the Department represent the fair value of the public service rendered.

	
	
(f)	Authority to Generate Certain Receipts. – The Department, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may operate or contract for the following receipt‑generating activities and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (f2) of this section, credit the proceeds to a reserve account within the Highway Fund for the State Ferry System:
(1)	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, Internet access, and souvenirs publicizing the ferry system.
(2)	Sponsorships, including, but not limited to, the sale of naming rights to any ferry vessel, ferry route, or ferry facility.
(3)	Advertising on or within any ferry vessel or at any ferry facility, including, but not limited to, display advertising and advertising delivered to passengers through the use of video monitors, public address systems installed in passenger areas, and other electronic media.
(4)	Any other receipt‑generating activity not otherwise forbidden by applicable law pertaining to public health or safety.

(f1)	Use of Funds. – Proceeds and other funds credited to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of this section shall be used exclusively for improvements to the State Ferry System, which includes the following:
(1)	The acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of marine vessels used for support and the transport of persons or vehicles between Ferry System terminals. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "marine vessels" means tugs, barges, dredges, and ferries other than passenger‑only vessels.
(2)	Replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure allowing connection to Ferry System terminals, including ramps, gantries, and bulkheads.
(f2)	Use of Receipts Generated From Shipyard. – The Department shall credit the proceeds from receipts generated under subsection (f) of this section from activities performed by the North Carolina State Shipyard to a reserve account within the Highway Fund to be used exclusively for improvements to the Shipyard, including equipment and associated infrastructure.
(f3)	Disposition of Marine Vessels. – It is the intent of the General Assembly to modernize the Ferry System fleet of marine vessels. Once a marine vessel reaches the end of its useful life, as determined by the Department, the Department shall dispose of the vessel in a timely fashion. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any proceeds received from the disposition of a marine vessel under this subsection shall be credited to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of this section.
(g)	Confidentiality of Personal Information. – Identifying information obtained by the Department related to operation of the ferry system is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes and is subject to the disclosure limitations in 18 U.S.C. § 2721 of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act. The Department shall maintain the confidentiality of all information required to be kept confidential under 18 U.S.C. § 2721(a), as well as any financial information, transaction history, and information related to the collection of a user fee from a person, including, but not limited to, photographs or other recorded images or automatic vehicle identification or driver account information generated by radio‑frequency identification or other electronic means. The Department may use identifying information only for purposes of collecting and enforcing user fees. Nothing in this section is intended to limit the right of any person to examine that person's own account information, or the right of any party, by authority of a proper court order, to inspect and examine identifying information.
(h)	Report Prior to Acquisition or Construction of Marine Vessel. – Prior to the acquisition or construction of a marine vessel pursuant to subsection (f1) of this section, the Department shall report to the chairs of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation Appropriations and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Department of Transportation. The report shall provide an estimate of the capital costs of acquiring or constructing the vessel, the costs of operating the vessel, the vessel that will be decommissioned, the timing of the disposition of the decommissioned vessel, and an estimate of the net proceeds that will be received from the disposition. If the General Assembly is not in session at the time the report is to be submitted, the Department shall instead report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.
(i)	Quarterly Report. – Beginning October 1, 2016, the Ferry Division of the Department of Transportation shall provide a quarterly report to the following on any updates to its capital improvement plan, any actions taken in deviation from its current capital improvement plan, the status of authorized projects, and any obligations and expenses for the reserve accounts described in subsections (f) and (f2) of this section:
(1)	When the General Assembly is in session, to the chairs of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation Appropriations and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Department of Transportation.
(2)	When the General Assembly is not in session, to the chairs of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.
(3)	To the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 143B‑350(f2) reads as rewritten:
"(f2)	Approval of aircraft purposes. – Before approving the purchase of an aircraft from the Equipment Fund, the Board of Transportation shall prepare an estimate of the operational costs and capital costs associated with the addition of the aircraft and shall report those additional costs to the General Assembly pursuant to G.S. 136‑12(b), and to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 7A‑312(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A juror in the General Court of Justice including a petit juror, or a coroner's juror, but excluding a grand juror, shall receive twelve dollars ($12.00) for the first day of service and twenty dollars ($20.00) per day afterwards, except that if any person serves as a juror for more than five days in any 24‑month period, the juror shall receive forty dollars ($40.00) per day for each day of service in excess of five days. A grand juror shall receive twenty dollars ($20.00) per day. A juror required to remain overnight at the site of the trial shall be furnished adequate accommodations and subsistence. If required by the presiding judge to remain in a body during the trial of a case, meals shall be furnished the jurors during the period of sequestration. Jurors from out of the county summoned to sit on a special venire shall receive mileage at the same rate as State employees."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 136‑189.11(b)(8) is repealed.
SECTION 5.  G.S. 136‑189.10(2)h. is repealed.
SECTION 6.  The Board of Transportation shall cease collecting ferry tolls on the effective date of this act and shall take action as expeditiously as possible to repeal its regulations implementing ferry tolls. Prepaid tolls or commuter pass payments received by the Department of Transportation for ferry trips on or after the effective date of this act shall be refunded or, in the case of prepaid commuter passes, partially refunded based on the proportion of the time period covered by the commuter pass for which tolls were in effect. Any funds remaining in the reserve accounts described in G.S. 136‑82(d) as of the effective date of this act shall be used for any costs associated with the initiation of passenger‑only ferry service on the Hatteras‑Ocracoke ferry route.
SECTION 7.  Notwithstanding G.S. 150B‑21.1(a), the Department of Transportation may adopt temporary rules to administer this act.
SECTION 8.  There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of Transportation, the sum of thirteen million three hundred seventy‑six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($13,376,250) in recurring funds for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year to be allocated to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of G.S. 136‑82, as amended by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 9.  G.S. 136‑82(f3), as enacted by Section 1 of this act, becomes effective July 1, 2016, and applies to dispositions on or after that date. The remainder of this act becomes effective July 1, 2016.