AN ACT to increase access to identification cards for juveniles in the custody of a department of social services.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.(a)  Article 5 of Subchapter I of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 7B‑505.2.  Identification card issuance for juvenile placed in nonsecure custody of a department of social services.

(a)        When a juvenile is placed in the nonsecure custody of a county department of social services, the director shall inquire to the juvenile if the juvenile possesses any type of identification card issued by this State or any other state. If the juvenile does not have any type of identification card, the director shall do all of the following:

(1)        Provide information to the juvenile about types of identification cards that the juvenile is eligible to possess.

(2)        Provide an approved form to the juvenile for the application for an identification card.

(3)        Assist the juvenile in obtaining needed information required by the application for an identification card.

(b)        If a juvenile cannot provide the information required by an identification card form, the director shall provide the juvenile an affidavit on a form provided by the department for the juvenile to complete and be sworn to in the presence of the director or his or her designee. An affidavit sworn to under this subsection may satisfy any information or requirement that the juvenile is unable to produce or the department is unable to obtain for the juvenile.

SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 20‑37.7 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑37.7.  Special identification card.

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(d)       Expiration and Fee. – A special identification card issued to a person for the first time under this section expires when a drivers license issued on the same day to that person would expire. A special identification card renewed under this section expires when a drivers license renewed by the card holder on the same day would expire. The Division shall offer renewal of a special identification card in person and online on the Division's Web site.

The fee for a special identification card is the same as the fee set in G.S. 20‑14 for a duplicate license. The fee does not apply to a special identification card issued to a resident of this State as follows:

(1)        The applicant is legally blind.

(2)        The applicant is at least 17 years old.

(3)        The applicant has been issued a drivers license but the drivers license is cancelled under G.S. 20‑15, in accordance with G.S. 20‑9(e) and (g), as a result of a physical or mental disability or disease.

(4)        The applicant is homeless. To obtain a special identification card without paying a fee, a homeless person must present a letter to the Division from the director of a facility that provides care or shelter to homeless persons verifying that the person is homeless.

(5),       (6) Repealed by Session Laws 2018‑144, s. 1.3(a), effective December 19, 2018.

(7)        The applicant has a developmental disability. To obtain a special identification card without paying a fee pursuant to this subdivision, an applicant must present a letter from his or her primary care provider certifying that the applicant has a developmental disability. For purposes of this subdivision, the term developmental disability has the same meaning as in G.S. 122C‑3.

(8)        The applicant is a juvenile who, at the time of application, is in temporary or nonsecure custody of a department of social services in accordance with Article 5 of Subchapter I of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes.

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SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2021.