Bill Text: NC H10 | 2016 | 4th Special Session | Amended
Bill Title: Clarify Funding Eligibility/Charter Schools
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-12-16 - Special Message Sent To Senate [H10 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2016-H10-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
FOURTH EXTRA SESSION 2016
H 1
HOUSE BILL 10
Short Title: Clarify Funding Eligibility/Charter Schools. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
Representatives Torbett and Stam (Primary Sponsors). |
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Referred to: |
Transportation, if favorable, Appropriations |
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December 14, 2016
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify the eligibility of charter schools for certain state funding to improve or maintain roads, driveways, entrances, and parking facilities used by school buses for transporting students and to make other changes to state law concerning requirements for road improvements adjacent to schools.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 136‑18(17) reads as rewritten:
"(17) The Department of
Transportation is hereby authorized and required to maintain and keep in
repair, sufficient to accommodate the public school buses, roadsroads,
including roads owned or leased by charter schools, leading from the state‑maintained
public roads to all public schools andschools, public school buildingsbuildings,
and charter school expansion buildings, to which children are transported
on public school buses to and from their homes. SaidThe
Department of Transportation is further authorized and required to
construct, pave, and maintain school bus driveways and sufficient parking facilitiesfacilities,
including school bus driveways and parking facilities owned or leased by
charter schools, for the school buses at those schools. The Department of
Transportation is further authorized and required to construct, pave,
and maintain all other driveways and entrances to the public schoolsschools,
including driveways and entrances owned or leased by charter schools,
leading from public roads not required in the preceding portion of this
subdivision. Notwithstanding any provision of this subdivision to the
contrary, driveways, entrances, and parking facilities covered by this
subdivision do not include driveways, entrances, and parking facilities, used
by a charter school located in a multitenant facility, such as a shopping
center or office building, where the driveways, entrances, and parking
facilities are shared. All requests for reimbursement under this subdivision
shall include a copy of the invoice from the contractor that has performed the
work. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "charter school"
means a charter school authorized under G.S. 115C‑218.5 and opened or
expanded on or after July 1, 2015."
SECTION 2. G.S. 136‑18(29a) reads as rewritten:
"(29a) To coordinate with all
public and private entities planning schools to provide written recommendations
and evaluations of driveway access and traffic operational and safety impacts
on the State highway system resulting from the development of the proposed
sites. All public and private entities shall, upon acquiring land for a new
school or prior to beginning construction of a new school, relocating a school,
or expanding an existing school, request from the Department a written
evaluation and written recommendations to ensure that all proposed access
points comply with the criteria in the current North Carolina Department of
Transportation "Policy on Street and Driveway Access". The Department
shall provide the written evaluation and recommendations within a reasonable
time, which shall not exceed 60 days. This subdivision applies to
improvements that are not located on the school property. For purposes of this
subdivision, the Department shall have the power to grant final approval of any
project design. To facilitate completion of the evaluation and recommendations
within the required 60 days, in lieu of the evaluation by the Department, schools
may engage their own independent traffic engineer. The resulting evaluation and
recommendations from the independent traffic engineer shall also fulfill any
similar requirements imposed by a unit of local government. This
subdivision shall not be construed to require the public or private entities
planning schools to meet the recommendations made by the Department, Department
or the independent traffic engineer, except those highway improvements that
are required for safe ingress and egress to the State highway system.system,
pursuant to subdivision (29) of this section, and that are physically connected
to a driveway on the school site. The total cost of any improvements to the
State highway system provided by a school pursuant to this subdivision,
including those improvements pursuant to subdivision (29) of this section,
shall be reimbursed by the Department. Any agreement between a school and the
Department to make improvements to the State highway system shall not include a
requirement for acquisition of right‑of‑way by the school, unless
the school is owned by an entity that has eminent domain power. Nothing in this
subdivision shall preclude the Department from entering into an agreement with
the school, providing that the school installs the agreed upon improvements and
the Department provides full reimbursement for the associated costs incurred by
the school, including design fees and any costs of right‑of‑way or
easements. The term "school," as used in this subdivision, means any
facility engaged in the educational instruction of children in any grade or
combination of grades from kindergarten through the twelfth grade at which
attendance satisfies the compulsory attendance law and includes charter schools
authorized under G.S. 115C‑218.5. The term "improvements"
as used in this subdivision refers to all facilities within the right‑of‑way
required to be installed to satisfy the road cross‑section requirements
depicted upon the approved plans. These facilities shall include, but not be
limited to, roadway construction, including pavement installation and medians;
ditches and shoulders; storm drainage pipes, culverts, and related
appurtenances; and, where required, curb and gutter; signals, including
pedestrian safety signals; street lights; sidewalks; and design fees.
Improvements shall not include any costs for public utilities."
SECTION 3. Chapter 160A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 160A‑307.1. Limitation on city requirements for street improvements related to schools.
A city may only require street improvements related to schools that are required for safe ingress and egress to the municipal street system and that are physically connected to a driveway on the school site. The required improvements shall not exceed those required pursuant to G.S. 136‑18(29). G.S. 160A‑307 shall not apply to schools. A city may only require street improvements related to schools as provided in G.S. 160A‑372. The cost of any improvements to the municipal street system shall be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation. For purposes of this section, the Department of Transportation shall have the power to grant final approval of any project design for which it provides reimbursement. Any agreement between a school and a city to make improvements to the municipal street system shall not include a requirement for acquisition of right‑of‑way by the school, unless the school is owned by an entity that has eminent domain power. Any right‑of‑way costs incurred by a school for required improvements pursuant to this section shall be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation. The term "school," as used in this section, means any facility engaged in the educational instruction of children in any grade or combination of grades from kindergarten through the twelfth grade at which attendance satisfies the compulsory attendance law, and includes charter schools authorized under G.S. 115C‑218.5."
SECTION 4. Any rule or policy adopted by the Department of Transportation that does not comply with the provisions of this act shall be null, void, and without effect.
SECTION 5. The Department of Transportation may adopt temporary rules to implement the provisions of this act. Any temporary rules adopted in accordance with this section shall remain in effect until permanent rules that replace the temporary rules become effective.
SECTION 6. Sections 1, 4, 5, and 6 of this act become effective July 1, 2016. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.