A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO increase the number of persons subject to an ignition interlock requirement and to make other revisions to the impaired driving laws.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 20‑16.2(c1) reads as rewritten:
"(c1)	Procedure for Reporting Results and Refusal to Division. – Whenever a person refuses to submit to a chemical analysis, a person has an alcohol concentration of 0.13 or more, or a person's drivers license has an alcohol concentration restriction and the results of the chemical analysis establish a violation of the restriction, the law enforcement officer and the chemical analyst shall without unnecessary delay go before an official authorized to administer oaths and execute an affidavit(s) stating all of the following:
(1)	The person was charged with an implied‑consent offense or had an alcohol concentration restriction on the drivers license.
(2)	A law enforcement officer had reasonable grounds to believe that the person had committed an implied‑consent offense or violated the alcohol concentration restriction on the drivers license.
(3)	Whether the implied‑consent offense charged involved death or critical injury to another person, if the person willfully refused to submit to chemical analysis.
(4)	The person was notified of the rights in subsection (a).
(5)	The results of any tests given or that the person willfully refused to submit to a chemical analysis.
If the person's drivers license has an alcohol concentration restriction, pursuant to G.S. 20‑19(c3), and an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person has violated a provision of that restriction other than violation of the alcohol concentration level, the officer and chemical analyst shall complete the applicable sections of the affidavit and indicate the restriction which was violated. The officer shall immediately mail the affidavit(s) to the Division. If the officer is also the chemical analyst who has notified the person of the rights under subsection (a), the officer may perform alone the duties of this subsection."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 20‑17.8 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑17.8.  Restoration of a license after certain driving while impaired convictions; ignition interlock.
(a)	Scope. – This section applies to a person whose license was revoked as a result of a conviction of driving while impaired, G.S. 20‑138.1, and:
(1)	The person had an alcohol concentration of 0.13 or more;
(2)	The person has been convicted of another offense involving impaired driving, which offense occurred within seven years immediately preceding the date of the offense for which the person's license has been revoked; or
(3)	The person was sentenced pursuant to G.S. 20‑179(f3).	
For purposes of subdivision (1) of this subsection, the results of a chemical analysis, as shown by an affidavit or affidavits executed pursuant to G.S. 20‑16.2(c1), shall be used by the Division to determine that person's alcohol concentration.
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(e1)	Disabling or Removing of Ignition Interlock System. – If an ignition interlock system is disabled or removed from a vehicle in which it is required to be installed pursuant to subsection (c1) of this section, the Division shall revoke the drivers license of the person subject to the provisions of this section and shall provide notice in accordance with G.S. 20‑48.
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(j)	Right to Hearing Before Division; Issues. – If the person's license is revoked pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, before the effective date of the order issued under subsection (i) of this section, the person may request in writing a hearing before the Division. Except for the time referred to in G.S. 20‑16.5, if the person shows to the satisfaction of the Division that the person's license was surrendered to the court and remained in the court's possession, then the Division shall credit the amount of time for which the license was in the possession of the court against the revocation period required by subsection (g) of this section. If the person properly requests a hearing, the person retains the person's license, unless it is revoked under some other provision of law, until the hearing is held, the person withdraws the request, or the person fails to appear at a scheduled hearing. The hearing officer may subpoena any witnesses or documents that the hearing officer deems necessary. The person may request the hearing officer to subpoena the charging officer, the chemical analyst, or both to appear at the hearing if the person makes the request in writing at least three days before the hearing. The person may subpoena any other witness whom the person deems necessary, and the provisions of G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 45, apply to the issuance and service of all subpoenas issued under the authority of this section. The hearing officer is authorized to administer oaths to witnesses appearing at the hearing. The hearing must be conducted in the county where the charge was brought, except when the evidence of the violation is an alcohol concentration report from an ignition interlock system, the hearing may be conducted in the county where the person resides. The hearing must be limited to consideration of whether:
(1)	The drivers license of the person had an ignition interlock requirement; and
(2)	The person:
a.	Was driving a vehicle that was not equipped with a functioning ignition interlock system.
b.	Did not personally activate the ignition interlock system before driving the vehicle.
c.	Drove the vehicle in violation of an applicable alcohol concentration restriction prescribed by subdivision (b)(3) of this section.
d.	Allowed an ignition interlock system required by this section to be disabled or removed.
If the Division finds that the conditions specified in this subsection are met, it must order the revocation sustained. If the Division finds that the condition of subdivision (1) is not met, or that none of the conditions of subdivision (2) are met, it must rescind the revocation. If the revocation is sustained, the person must surrender the person's license immediately upon notification by the Division. If the revocation is sustained, the person may appeal the decision of the Division pursuant to G.S. 20‑25.
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SECTION 3.  G.S. 20‑179.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 20‑179.3.  Limited driving privilege.
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(b)	Eligibility. –
(1)	A person convicted of the offense of impaired driving under G.S. 20‑138.1 is eligible for a limited driving privilege if all of the following requirements are met:
a.	At the time of the offense, the person held either a valid driver's license or a license that had been expired for less than one year.
b.	At the time of the offense, the person had not within the preceding seven years been convicted of an offense involving impaired driving.
c.	Punishment Level Three, Four, or Five was imposed for the offense of impaired driving.
d.	Subsequent to the offense, the person has not been convicted of, or had an unresolved charge lodged against him or her for, an offense involving impaired driving.
e.	The person has obtained and filed with the court a substance abuse assessment of the type required by G.S. 20‑17.6 for the restoration of a drivers license.
A person whose North Carolina driver's license is revoked because of a conviction in another jurisdiction substantially similar to impaired driving under G.S. 20‑138.1 is eligible for a limited driving privilege if he would be eligible for it had the conviction occurred in North Carolina. Eligibility for a limited driving privilege following a revocation under G.S. 20‑16.2(d) is governed by G.S. 20‑16.2(e1).
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(c1)	Privilege Restrictions for High‑Risk Drivers. – Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any limited driving privilege issued to a person convicted of an impaired driving offense with an alcohol concentration of 0.13 or more at the time of the offense shall include all of the following:
	
(2)	Require the applicant to comply with the ignition interlock requirements of subsection (g5) of this section.
(3)	Restrict the applicant to driving only to and from the applicant's place of employment, the place the applicant is enrolled in school, any court ordered treatment or substance abuse education, and any ignition interlock service facility.
For purposes of this subsection, the results of a chemical analysis presented at trial or sentencing shall be sufficient to prove a person's alcohol concentration, shall be conclusive, and shall not be subject to modification by any party, with or without approval by the court.
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(f1)	Definition of "Standard Working Hours". – Under this section, "standard working hours" are 6:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Monday through Sunday.
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(g5)	Ignition Interlock Required. – If a person's drivers license is revoked for a conviction of G.S. 20‑138.1, and the person had an alcohol concentration of 0.13 or more, a judge shall include all of the following in a limited driving privilege order:
(1)	A restriction that the applicant may operate only a designated motor vehicle.
(2)	A requirement that the designated motor vehicle be equipped with a functioning ignition interlock system of a type approved by the Commissioner, which is set to prohibit driving with an alcohol concentration of greater than 0.00. The Commissioner shall not unreasonably withhold approval of an ignition interlock system and shall consult with the Division of Purchase and Contract in the Department of Administration to ensure that potential vendors are not discriminated against.
(3)	A requirement that the applicant personally activate the ignition interlock system before driving the motor vehicle.
For purposes of this subsection, the results of a chemical analysis presented at trial or sentencing shall be sufficient to prove a person's alcohol concentration, shall be conclusive, and shall not be subject to modification by any party, with or without approval by the court.
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SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2015, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date and restorations for offenses committed on or after that date. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions.