AN ACT to increase the restoration fee for drivers licenses revoked for certain offenses involving alcohol, to amend the criteria that must be met for a person's drivers license to be immediately revoked for an implied‑consent offense charge, and to increase the amount of the fee a person must pay if the person's drivers license is immediately revoked for an implied‑consent offense charge.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑7(i1) reads as rewritten:

(i1)     Restoration Fee. – Any person whose drivers license has been revoked pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, other than G.S. 20‑17(a)(2) subdivision (2), (12), (13), or (14) of subsection (a) of G.S. 20‑17, shall pay a restoration fee of seventy dollars ($70.00). A person whose drivers license has been revoked under G.S. 20‑17(a)(2) subdivision (2), (12), (13), or (14) of subsection (a) of G.S. 20‑17 shall pay a restoration fee of one two hundred forty fifty dollars and twenty‑five cents ($140.25). ($250.00). The fee shall be paid to the Division prior to the issuance to such person of a new drivers license or the restoration of the drivers license. The restoration fee shall be paid to the Division in addition to any and all fees which may be provided by law. This restoration fee shall not be required from any licensee whose license was revoked or voluntarily surrendered for medical or health reasons whether or not a medical evaluation was conducted pursuant to this Chapter. The seventy dollar ($70.00) fee, and the first one hundred five twenty dollars ($105.00) ($120.00) of the one two hundred forty fifty dollar and twenty‑five cent ($140.25) ($250.00) fee, shall be deposited in the Highway Fund. Twenty five Sixty‑five dollars ($25.00) ($65.00) of the one two hundred forty fifty dollar and twenty‑five cent ($140.25) ($250.00) fee shall be used to fund a statewide chemical alcohol testing program administered by the Forensic Tests for Alcohol Branch of the Chronic Disease and Injury Section of the Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining sixty‑five dollars ($65.00) of the two hundred fifty dollar ($250.00) fee shall be remitted to the county for the sole purpose of reimbursing the county for jail expenses incurred due to enforcement of the impaired driving laws. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a restoration fee assessed pursuant to this subsection may be waived by the Division when (i) the restoration fee remains unpaid for more than 10 years from the date of assessment and (ii) the person responsible for payment of the restoration fee has been issued a drivers license by the Division after the effective date of the revocation for which the restoration fee is owed. The Office of State Budget and Management shall annually report to the General Assembly the amount of fees deposited in the General Fund and transferred to the Forensic Tests for Alcohol Branch of the Chronic Disease and Injury Section of the Department of Health and Human Services under this subsection.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑16.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑16.2.  Implied consent to chemical analysis; mandatory revocation of license in event of refusal; right of driver to request analysis.

(a)        Basis for Officer to Require Chemical Analysis; Notification of Rights. – Any person who drives a vehicle on a highway or public vehicular area thereby gives consent to a chemical analysis if charged with an implied‑consent offense. Any law enforcement officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that the person charged has committed the implied‑consent offense may obtain a chemical analysis of the person.

Before any type of chemical analysis is administered the person charged shall be taken before a chemical analyst authorized to administer a test of a person's breath or a law enforcement officer who is authorized to administer chemical analysis of the breath, who shall inform the person orally and also give the person a notice in writing that:

(1)        You have been charged with an implied‑consent offense. Under the implied‑consent law, you can refuse any test, but your drivers license will be revoked for one year and could be revoked for a longer period of time under certain circumstances, and an officer can compel you to be tested under other laws.

(2)        Repealed by Session Laws 2006‑253, s. 15, effective December 1, 2006, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date.

(3)        The test results, or the fact of your refusal, will be admissible in evidence at trial.

(4)        Your driving privilege will be revoked immediately for at least 30 days if you refuse any test or the test result is 0.08 or more, 0.04 or more if you were driving a commercial vehicle, or 0.01 or more if you are under the age of 21.a judicial official determines there is probable cause for the charge.

(5)        After you are released, you may seek your own test in addition to this test.

(6)        You may call an attorney for advice and select a witness to view the testing procedures remaining after the witness arrives, but the testing may not be delayed for these purposes longer than 30 minutes from the time you are notified of these rights. You must take the test at the end of 30 minutes even if you have not contacted an attorney or your witness has not arrived.

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(i)         Right to Chemical Analysis before Arrest or Charge. – A person stopped or questioned by a law enforcement officer who is investigating whether the person may have committed an implied consent offense may request the administration of a chemical analysis before any arrest or other charge is made for the offense. Upon this request, the officer shall afford the person the opportunity to have a chemical analysis of his or her breath, if available, in accordance with the procedures required by G.S. 20‑139.1(b). The request constitutes the person's consent to be transported by the law enforcement officer to the place where the chemical analysis is to be administered. Before the chemical analysis is made, the person shall confirm the request in writing and shall be notified:notified of all of the following:

(1)        That the test results will be admissible in evidence and may be used against you in any implied consent offense that may arise;arise.

(2)        Your driving privilege will be revoked immediately for at least 30 days if the test result is 0.08 or more, 0.04 or more if you were driving a commercial vehicle, or 0.01 or more if you are under the age of 21.you are charged with an implied‑consent offense and a judicial official determines there is probable cause for the charge.

(3)        That if you fail to comply fully with the test procedures, the officer may charge you with any offense for which the officer has probable cause, and if you are charged with an implied consent offense, your refusal to submit to the testing required as a result of that charge would result in revocation of your driving privilege. The results of the chemical analysis are admissible in evidence in any proceeding in which they are relevant.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑16.5 reads as rewritten:

§ 20‑16.5.  Immediate civil license revocation for certain persons charged with implied‑consent offenses.

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(b)        Revocations for Persons Who Refuse Chemical Analyses or Who Are Charged With Certain Implied‑Consent Offenses. – A person's driver's license is subject to revocation under this section if:if all of the following criteria are met:

(1)        A law enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has committed an offense subject to the implied‑consent provisions of G.S. 20‑16.2;G.S. 20‑16.2.

(2)        The person is charged with that offense as provided in G.S. 20‑16.2(a);G.S. 20‑16.2(a).

(3)        The law enforcement officer and the chemical analyst comply with the procedures of G.S. 20‑16.2 and G.S. 20‑139.1 in requiring the person's submission to or procuring a chemical analysis; andanalysis.

(4)        The person:Either of the following criteria is met:

a.         Willfully The person willfully refuses to submit to the chemical analysis;analysis.

b.         Has an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within a relevant time after the driving;

c.         Has an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more at any relevant time after the driving of a commercial motor vehicle; or

d.         Has any alcohol concentration at any relevant time after the driving and the person is under 21 years of age.

e.         A judicial official determines there is probable cause for the charge.

(b1)      Precharge Test Results as Basis for Revocation. – Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), a person's driver's license is subject to revocation under this section if:if all of the following criteria are met:

(1)        The person requests a precharge chemical analysis pursuant to G.S. 20‑16.2(i); andG.S. 20‑16.2(i).

(2)        The person has:

a.         An alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more at any relevant time after driving;

b.         An alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more at any relevant time after driving a commercial motor vehicle; or

c.         Any alcohol concentration at any relevant time after driving and the person is under 21 years of age; and

(3)        The person is charged with an implied‑consent offense.

(4)        A judicial official determines there is probable cause for the charge.

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(j)         Costs. – Unless the magistrate or judge orders the revocation rescinded, a person whose license is revoked under this section must pay a fee of one two hundred fifty dollars ($100.00) ($250.00) as costs for the action before the person's license may be returned under subsection (h) of this section. Fifty percent (50%) of the costs collected under this section shall be credited to the General Fund. Twenty‑five percent (25%) of the costs collected under this section shall be used to fund a statewide chemical alcohol testing program administered by the Injury Control Section of the Department of Health and Human Services. The remaining twenty‑five percent (25%) of the costs collected under this section shall be remitted to the county for the sole purpose of reimbursing the county for jail expenses incurred due to enforcement of the impaired driving laws.

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SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2023, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.