GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION
CHAPTER 402
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 143-341(8)i.7a. reads as rewritten:
"7a. To adopt with the approval of the Governor and to enforce rules and to coordinate State policy regarding (i) the permanent assignment of state-owned passenger motor vehicles and (ii) the use of and reimbursement for those vehicles for the limited commuting permitted by this subdivision. For the purpose of this subdivision 7a, "state-owned passenger motor vehicle" includes any state-owned passenger motor vehicle, whether or not owned, maintained or controlled by the Department of Administration, and regardless of the source of the funds used to purchase it. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 20-190 or any other provisions of law, all state-owned passenger motor vehicles are subject to the provisions of this subdivision 7a; no permanent assignment shall be made and no one shall be exempt from payment of reimbursement for commuting or from the other provisions of this subdivision 7a except as provided by this subdivision 7a. Commuting, as defined and regulated by this subdivision, is limited to those specific cases in which the Secretary has received and accepted written justification, verified by historical data. The Department shall not assign any state-owned motor vehicle that may be used for commuting other than those authorized by the procedure prescribed in this subdivision.
A State-owned passenger motor
vehicle shall not be permanently assigned to an individual who is likely to
drive it on official business at a rate of less than 3,150 miles per quarter
unless (i) the individual's duties are routinely related to public safety or
(ii) the individual's duties are likely to expose him the individual routinely
to life-threatening situations. A State-owned passenger motor vehicle
shall also not be permanently assigned to an agency that is likely to drive it
on official business at a rate of less than 3,150 miles per quarter unless the
agency can justify to the Division of Motor Fleet Management the need for
permanent assignment because of the unique use of the vehicle. Each agency,
other than the Department of Transportation, that has a vehicle assigned to it
or has an employee to whom a vehicle is assigned shall submit a quarterly
report to the Division of Motor Fleet Management on the miles driven during the
quarter by the assigned vehicle. The Department of Administration Division
of Motor Fleet Management shall verify, on a quarterly basis, review
the report to verify that each motor vehicle has been driven at the minimum
allowable rate. If it has not and if the department by whom the individual to
which the car is assigned is employed or the agency to which the car is
assigned cannot justify the lower mileage for the quarter in view of the
minimum annual rate, quarter, the permanent assignment shall be
revoked immediately. The Department of Transportation shall submit an annual
report to the Division of Motor Fleet Management on the miles driven during the
year by vehicles assigned to the Department or to employees of the
Department. If a vehicle included in this report has not been driven at
least 12,600 miles during the year, the Department of Transportation shall
review the reasons for the lower mileage and decide whether to terminate the
assignment. The Division of Motor Fleet Management may not revoke the
assignment of a vehicle to the Department of Transportation or an employee of
that Department for failure to meet the minimum mileage requirement unless the
Department of Transportation consents to the revocation.
Every individual who uses a
State-owned passenger motor vehicle, pickup truck, or van to drive between his
the individual's official work station and his or her home,
shall reimburse the State for these trips at a rate computed by the Department.
This rate shall approximate the benefit derived from the use of the vehicle as
prescribed by federal law. Reimbursement shall be for 20 days per month
regardless of how many days the individual uses the vehicle to commute during
the month. Reimbursement shall be made by payroll deduction. Funds derived from
reimbursement on vehicles owned by the Motor Fleet Management Division shall be
deposited to the credit of the Division; funds derived from reimbursements on
vehicles initially purchased with appropriations from the Highway Fund and not
owned by the Division shall be deposited in a Special Depository Account in the
Department of Transportation, which shall revert to the Highway Fund; funds
derived from reimbursement on all other vehicles shall be deposited in a
Special Depository Account in the Department of Administration which shall
revert to the General Fund. Commuting, for purposes of this paragraph, does not
include those individuals whose office is in their home, as determined by the
Department of Administration, Division of Motor Fleet Management. Also, this
paragraph does not apply to the following vehicles: (i) clearly marked police
and fire vehicles, (ii) delivery trucks with seating only for the driver, (iii)
flatbed trucks, (iv) cargo carriers with over a 14,000 pound capacity, (v)
school and passenger buses with over 20 person capacities, (vi) ambulances,
(vii) hearses, (viii) bucket trucks, (ix) cranes and derricks, (x) forklifts,
(xi) cement mixers, (xii) dump trucks, (xiii) garbage trucks, (xiv) specialized
utility repair trucks (except vans and pickup trucks), (xv) tractors, (xvi)
unmarked law-enforcement vehicles that are used in undercover work and are
operated by full-time, fully sworn law-enforcement officers whose primary
duties include carrying a firearm, executing search warrants, and making
arrests, and (xvii) any other vehicle exempted under Section 274(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and Federal Internal Revenue Services
regulations based thereon. The Department of Administration, Division of Motor
Fleet Management, shall report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Commission on
Governmental Operations and to the Fiscal Research Division of the Legislative
Services Office on individuals who use State-owned passenger motor vehicles,
pickup trucks, or vans between their official work stations and their homes,
who are not required to reimburse the State for these trips.
The Department of Administration shall revoke the assignment or require the Department owning the vehicle to revoke the assignment of a State-owned passenger motor vehicle, pickup truck or van to any individual who:
I. Uses the vehicle for other than official business except in accordance with the commuting rules;
II. Fails to supply required reports to the Department of Administration, or supplies incomplete reports, or supplies reports in a form unacceptable to the Department of Administration and does not cure the deficiency within 30 days of receiving a request to do so;
III. Knowingly and willfully supplies false information to the Department of Administration on applications for permanent assignments, commuting reimbursement forms, or other required reports or forms;
IV. Does not personally sign all reports on forms submitted for vehicles permanently assigned to him or her and does not cure the deficiency within 30 days of receiving a request to do so;
V. Abuses the vehicle; or
VI. Violates other rules or policy promulgated by the Department of Administration not in conflict with this act.
A new requisition shall not be honored until the Secretary of the Department of Administration is assured that the violation for which a vehicle was previously revoked will not recur.
The Department of Administration, with the approval of the Governor, may delegate, or conditionally delegate, to the respective heads of agencies which own passenger motor vehicles or to which passenger motor vehicles are permanently assigned by the Department, the duty of enforcing all or part of the rules adopted by the Department of Administration pursuant to this subdivision 7a. The Department of Administration, with the approval of the Governor, may revoke this delegation of authority.
Prior to adopting rules under this paragraph, the Secretary of Administration may consult with the Advisory Budget Commission."
Sec. 2. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 10th day of July, 1995.
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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives