A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT adjusting the enrollment fee for accredited drug education schools to account for inflation; clarifying the responsibilities of the department of health and human services with respect to drug education schools; and making technical and other modifications to the statute.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 90‑96.01 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90‑96.01.  Drug education schools; responsibilities of the Department of Health and Human Services; fees.
(a)	The Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services shall establish standards and guidelines for the curriculum and operation of local drug education programs. The Department of Health and Human Services shall oversee the development of a statewide system of drug education schools and shall insure that these schools are available in all localities of the State as soon as is practicable.
(1)	Enrollment Fee. – Each person enrolling in an accredited drug education school established pursuant to this section shall pay a fee of two hundred seventy‑five dollars ($275.00) to an official designated for that purpose and at a time and place specified by the drug education school providing the course of instruction in which the person is enrolled. Beginning July 1, 2024, and every five years thereafter, the Commission for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services shall, by rule, increase the amount of the enrollment fee payable under this section to reflect the percentage increase, if any, for such five‑year period in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.
(1a)	Fee Collection. – If the clerk of court in the county in which the person is convicted agrees to collect drug education school enrollment fees, the clerk shall collect all such fees for persons convicted in that county. The clerk shall pay the fees collected under this section to the appropriate drug education schools, and the drug education schools shall comply with the provisions of this section regarding use of the fees.
The defendant shall pay this fee in full within two weeks of the date of conviction and before he or she attends any classes, unless the court, upon a showing of reasonable hardship, allows the defendant additional time to pay the fee or allows the defendant to begin the course of instruction without paying the fee. If the person enrolling in the school demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that ordered enrollment in the school that he or she is unable to pay and that inability to pay is not willful, the court may excuse the person from paying the fee. Drug education schools shall allow parents or guardians of enrollees who are minors to audit the drug education school curriculum along with their children or wards at no extra expense.
(2)	Program Implementation. – Subject to the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services, drug education schools may implement drug education programs. In implementing such programs, drug education schools may subcontract for the delivery of drug education program services, provided, however, that budgets and contracts with public and private governmental and nongovernmental bodies for the operation of drug education schools remain subject to the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(3)	Permissible Use of Fees Retained by Drug Education Schools. – Drug education schools shall use the fees collected and retained under this section as necessary, for the operation, evaluation, and administration of their respective drug education schools. Drug education schools shall not use excess funds for any purpose other than to fund other drug or alcohol programs.
(3a)	Permissible Use of Fees Remitted to the Department of Health and Human Services. – Each drug education school shall remit ten percent (10%) of each fee collected under this section to the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services of the Department of Health and Human Services on a monthly basis. The Department of Health and Human Services shall supply to each drug education school, at no additional charge, a manual and any other required curriculum for each fee collected and remitted to the Department by that drug education school. The Department of Health and Human Services shall not use any fees received under this section for any purpose other than (i) supplying manuals and any other required curriculum to the drug education schools as provided in this subdivision and (ii) supporting, evaluating, and administering drug education schools. Any excess funds remaining at the end of each fiscal year shall revert to the General Fund.
(4)	Prohibited Use of Fees. – No portion of any fees received under this section by the Department of Health and Human Services shall be used for any of the following:
a.	To match other State funds in any manner.
b.	To be included in any computation for State formula‑funded allocations.
(b)	Willful failure to pay the fee authorized by this section is one ground for a finding that a person placed on probation or who may make application for expunction of all recordation of his or her arrest or conviction has not successfully completed the course. If the court determines the person is unable to pay, he or she shall not be deemed guilty of a willful failure to pay the fee."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2019.