A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACt to create a public service alert system to aid in the apprehension of suspects who kill or inflict serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer; to PROVIDE THAT THE HEAD OR CHIEF OF A LAW ENFORCEMENt AGENCY MAY DESIGNATE A PERSON TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN REQUEST FOR A DEADLY WEAPON TO BE TURNED OVER TO A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY; TO amend the silver alert system to expand the class of citizens it PROTECTS; TO prevent motor carriers from avoiding civil penalties owed to the state by TRANSFERRING title prior to payment; to make minor changes to the definition of emergency in the north carolina emergency management act; to provide that the samarcand training academy is specifically exempted from the umstead act; and TO CREATE AN EXCEPTION TO THE LENGTH OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS FOR FORENSIC SCIENTISTS TO BECOME CAREER STATE EMPLOYEES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Subpart B of Part 5 of Article 13 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 143B‑1023.  North Carolina Blue Alert System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the Blue Alert System. The purpose of the Blue Alert System is to aid in the apprehension of a suspect who kills or inflicts serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer by providing a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding the suspect. The term "serious bodily injury" is as defined in G.S. 14‑32.4(a).
(b)	The Center shall make every effort to rapidly disseminate information on a suspect when the following criteria are met:
(1)	A law enforcement officer is killed or suffers serious bodily injury.
(2)	A law enforcement agency with jurisdiction (i) determines that the suspect poses a threat to the public and other law enforcement personnel and (ii) possesses information that may assist in locating the suspect, including information regarding the suspect's vehicle, complete or partial license plate information, and a detailed description of the suspect, or that a law enforcement officer is missing while on duty under circumstances warranting concern for the law enforcement officer's safety.
(3)	The head of a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction recommends the issuance of a blue alert to the Center.
(c)	The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures for the statewide implementation of the Blue Alert System and shall provide education and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters to participate in the alert.
(d)	The Center shall consult with the Department of Transportation and develop a procedure for the use of overhead permanent changeable message signs to provide information on a suspect when the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section are met. The Center and the Department of Transportation shall develop guidelines for the content, length, and frequency of any message to be placed on the overhead permanent changeable message sign pursuant to the issuance of a blue alert.
(e)	The Center shall consult with the Division of Emergency Management in the Department of Public Safety to develop a procedure for the use of the Blue Alert System to provide information on a suspect when the criteria established in subsection (b) of this section are met."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑269.1(4b) reads as rewritten:
"(4b)	By ordering the weapon turned over to a law enforcement agency in the county of trial for (i) the official use of the agency or (ii) sale, trade, or exchange by the agency to a federally licensed firearm dealer in accordance with all applicable  State and federal firearm laws. The court may order a disposition of the firearm pursuant to this subdivision only upon the written request of the head or chief of the law enforcement agency or a designee of the head or chief of the law enforcement agency and only if the firearm has a legible, unique identification number. If the law enforcement agency sells the firearm, then the proceeds of the sale shall be remitted to the appropriate county finance officer as provided by G.S. 115C‑452 to be used to maintain free public schools. The receiving law enforcement agency shall maintain a record and inventory of all firearms received pursuant to this subdivision."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 143B‑1022 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143B‑1022.  North Carolina Silver Alert System established.
(a)	There is established within the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons the Silver Alert System. The purpose of the Silver Alert System is to provide a statewide system for the rapid dissemination of information regarding a missing person or missing child who is believed to be suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or a disability that requires them to be protected from potential abuse or other physical harm, neglect, or exploitation.
(b)	If the Center receives a request that involves a missing person or missing child as described in subsection (a) of this section, the Center shall issue an alert providing for rapid dissemination of information statewide regarding the missing person or missing child. The Center shall make every effort to disseminate the information as quickly as possible when the person's or child's status as missing has been reported to a law enforcement agency.
(c)	The Center shall adopt guidelines and develop procedures for issuing an alert for missing persons and missing children as described in subsection (a) of this section and shall provide education and training to encourage radio and television broadcasters to participate in the alert. The guidelines and procedures shall ensure that specific health information about the missing person or missing child is not made public through the alert or otherwise.
...."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 20‑54 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑54.  Authority for refusing registration or certificate of title.
The Division shall refuse registration or issuance of a certificate of title or any transfer of registration upon any of the following grounds:
...
(13)	The Division has been notified by the State Highway Patrol that the owner of the vehicle has failed to pay any civil penalty and fees imposed by the State Highway Patrol for a violation of Part 9 of Article 3 of this Chapter."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 166A‑19.3(6) reads as rewritten:
"(6)	Emergency. – An occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from any natural or man‑made accidental, military, paramilitary, terrorism, weather‑related, public health, explosion‑related, riot‑related cause, or technological failure or accident, including, but not limited to, a cyber incident, an explosion, a transportation accident, a radiological accident, or a chemical or other hazardous material incident."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 66‑58(b) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(28)	Samarcand Training Academy."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 126‑1.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 126‑1.1.  Career State employee defined.
(a)	For the purposes of this Chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, "career State employee" means a State employee or an employee of a local entity who is covered by this Chapter pursuant to G.S. 126‑5(a)(2) who:
(1)	Is in a permanent position with a permanent appointment, and
(2)	Has been continuously employed by the State of North Carolina or a local entity as provided in G.S. 126‑5(a)(2) in a position subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act for the immediate 12 preceding months.
(b)	As used in this Chapter, "probationary State employee" means a State employee who is in a probationary appointment and is exempt from the provisions of the North Carolina Human Resources Act only because the employee has not been continuously employed by the State for the time period required by subsection (a) or (c) of this section.
(c)	Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) above, employees who are hired by a State agency, department or university in a sworn law enforcement position or forensic scientist position and who are required to complete a formal training program prior to assuming law enforcement or forensic scientist duties with the hiring agency, department or university shall become career State employees only after being employed by the agency, department or university for 24 continuous months."
SECTION 8.  Section 4 of this act becomes effective October 1, 2016, and applies to violations committed on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.