A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the eligibility of charter schools for certain state funding to improve or maintain roads, driveways, entrances, and parking facilities used by school buses for transporting students and to make other changes to state law concerning requirements for road improvements adjacent to schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 136‑18(17) reads as rewritten:
"(17)	The Department of Transportation is hereby authorized and required to maintain and keep in repair, sufficient to accommodate the public school buses, roads leading from the state‑maintained public roads to all public schools and public school buildings to which children are transported on public school buses to and from their homes. Said Department of Transportation is further authorized to construct, pave, and maintain school bus driveways and sufficient parking facilities for the school buses at those schools. The Department of Transportation is further authorized to construct, pave, and maintain all other driveways and entrances to the public schools leading from public roads not required in the preceding portion of this subdivision. This subdivision applies to improvements located on the school site. For purposes of this subdivision, the Department shall have the power to grant final approval of any project design. For purposes of this subdivision, project cost shall not exceed sixty thousand dollars ($60,000). For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "public school" includes a public charter school subject to Article 14A of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "public charter school" shall include public charter schools opened on or after July 1, 2015, including expansion buildings. Nothing in this section shall preclude the Department from entering into an agreement with the school whereby the school installs the agreed upon improvements and the Department provides full reimbursement for the associated costs incurred by the school, including design fees and any costs of right‑of‑way or easements."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 136‑18(29a) reads as rewritten:
"(29a)	To coordinate with all public and private entities planning schools to provide written recommendations and evaluations of driveway access and traffic operational and safety impacts on the State highway system resulting from the development of the proposed sites. All public and private entities shall, upon acquiring land for a new school or prior to beginning construction of a new school, relocating a school, or expanding an existing school, request from the Department a written evaluation and written recommendations to ensure that all proposed access points comply with the criteria in the current North Carolina Department of Transportation "Policy on Street and Driveway Access". The Department shall provide the written evaluation and recommendations within a reasonable time, which shall not exceed 60 days. This subdivision applies to improvements that are not located on the school property. For purposes of this subdivision, the Department shall have the power to grant final approval of any project design. To facilitate completion of the evaluation and recommendations within the required 60 days, in lieu of the evaluation by the Department, schools may engage their own independent traffic engineer. The resulting evaluation and recommendations from the independent traffic engineer shall also fulfill any similar requirements imposed by a unit of local government. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the public or private entities planning schools to meet the recommendations made by the Department or the independent traffic engineer, except those highway improvements that are required for safe ingress and egress to the State highway system, pursuant to subdivision (29) of this section, and that are physically connected to a driveway on the school site. The total cost of any improvements to the State highway system provided by a school pursuant to this subdivision, including those improvements pursuant to subdivision (29) of this section, shall be reimbursed by the Department. Any agreement between a school and the Department to make improvements to the State highway system shall not include a requirement for acquisition of right‑of‑way by the school, unless the school is owned by an entity that has eminent domain power. Nothing in this subdivision shall preclude the Department from entering into an agreement with the school, providing that the school installs the agreed upon improvements and the Department provides full reimbursement for the associated costs incurred by the school, including design fees and any costs of right‑of‑way or easements. The term "school," as used in this subdivision, means any facility engaged in the educational instruction of children in any grade or combination of grades from kindergarten through the twelfth grade at which attendance satisfies the compulsory attendance law and includes charter schools authorized under G.S. 115C‑218.5. The term "improvements," as used in this subdivision, refers to all facilities within the right‑of‑way required to be installed to satisfy the road cross‑section requirements depicted upon the approved plans. These facilities shall include, but not be limited to, roadway construction, including pavement installation and medians; ditches and shoulders; storm drainage pipes, culverts, and related appurtenances; and, where required, curb and gutter; signals, including pedestrian safety signals; street lights; sidewalks; and design fees. Improvements shall not include any costs for public utilities."
SECTION 3.  Chapter 160A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 160A‑307.1.  Limitation on city requirements for street improvements related to schools.
A city may only require street improvements related to schools that are required for safe ingress and egress to the municipal street system and that are physically connected to a driveway on the school site. The required improvements shall not exceed those required pursuant to G.S. 136‑18(29). G.S. 160A‑307 shall not apply to schools. A city may only require street improvements related to schools as provided in G.S. 160A‑372. The cost of any improvements to the municipal street system shall be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation. For purposes of this section, the Department of Transportation shall have the power to grant final approval of any project design for which it provides reimbursement. Any agreement between a school and a city to make improvements to the municipal street system shall not include a requirement for acquisition of right‑of‑way by the school, unless the school is owned by an entity that has eminent domain power. Any right‑of‑way costs incurred by a school for required improvements pursuant to this section shall be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation. The term "school," as used in this section, means any facility engaged in the educational instruction of children in any grade or combination of grades from kindergarten through the twelfth grade at which attendance satisfies the compulsory attendance law and includes charter schools authorized under G.S. 115C‑218.5."
SECTION 4.  Any rule or policy adopted by the Department of Transportation that does not comply with the provisions of this act shall be null, void, and without effect.
SECTION 5.  The Department of Transportation may adopt temporary rules to implement the provisions of this act. Any temporary rules adopted in accordance with this section shall remain in effect until permanent rules that replace the temporary rules become effective.
SECTION 6.  Sections 1, 4, 5, and 6 of this act become effective July 1, 2016. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.