AN ACT to AMEND THE MOTOR VEHICLE LAWS OF THE STATE governing headlight brightness.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑131 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑131.  Requirements as to headlamps and auxiliary driving lamps.

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(b1)      Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the headlamp brightness of a motor vehicle operated in this State shall not exceed the current federal standards in 49 C.F.R. § 571.108 (Standard No. 108).

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(d1)     A person found in violation of this section shall be ordered to pay a fine of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00).

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SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑181 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑181.  Penalty for failure to dim, etc., beams of headlamps.

Any person operating a motor vehicle on the highways of this State, who shall fail to shift, depress, deflect, tilt or dim the beams of the headlamps thereon whenever another vehicle is met on such highways or when following another vehicle at a distance of less than 200 feet, except when engaged in the act of overtaking and passing may, upon a determination of responsibility for the offense, be required to pay a penalty of not more than ten dollars ($10.00).twenty‑five dollars ($25.00).

SECTION 3.  Of the funds appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of Transportation for the 2023‑2024 fiscal year, the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in nonrecurring funds shall be used to fund a public awareness campaign regarding headlight brightness.

SECTION 4.  Section 3 of this act is effective July 1, 2023. The remainder of this act becomes effective December 1, 2023, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.