Bill Text: NC H1002 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Ferry System Stabilization Act
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-11 - Re-ref Com On Appropriations [H1002 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2015-H1002-Amended.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2015
H 2
HOUSE BILL 1002
Committee Substitute Favorable 5/11/16
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Short Title: Ferry System Stabilization Act. |
(Public) |
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Sponsors: |
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Referred to: |
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April 28, 2016
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide stability and predictability within the state ferry system by restoring state control to the setting of ferry tolls and providing state funds for improvements to the State ferry system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 136‑82 reads as rewritten:
"§ 136‑82. Department of Transportation to establish and maintain ferries.
(a) Powers of Department. –
The Department of Transportation is vested with authority to provide for the
establishment and maintenance of ferries connecting the parts of the State
highway system, whenever in its discretion the public good may require, and
shall prescribe and collect tolls on the ferry routes as established by the
Board of Transportation following the procedures set forth in this section.require.
To accomplish the purpose of this section, the Department is authorized to
acquire, own, lease, charter, or otherwise control all necessary vessels,
boats, terminals, or other facilities required for the proper operation of the
ferries or to enter into contracts with persons, firms, or corporations for the
operation thereof and to pay the reasonable sums that in the opinion of the
Department represent the fair value of the public service rendered.
(b) Establishment of Tolling. – The Board of
Transportation may establish tolls on any untolled ferry route as set forth in
this subsection. Prior to establishing tolls on an untolled ferry route, the
Board of Transportation must receive a resolution approved by the Transportation
Advisory Committee of each affected local transportation planning organization
requesting tolls on that route. No later than March 1, 2014, the Department
shall hold a separate public hearing in the geographic area of each untolled
ferry route and invite each affected local transportation planning
organization. At the public hearing, the Department shall present an
explanation of the toll setting methodology, the impact of tolling on the
availability of funding for other local transportation priorities, and the
minimum and maximum toll rates. After the public hearing, an affected local
transportation planning organization may consider and adopt a ferry tolling
resolution. The Board of Transportation shall adopt the toll at its next
regularly scheduled meeting after receipt of the ferry tolling resolutions
required by this subsection. The Department shall collect the toll as soon as
is feasible following its adoption, but in no case more than 180 days after
adoption of the toll. The establishment of tolls by the Board of Transportation
pursuant to the authority granted in this section shall be exempt from the
provisions of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes. For purposes of this
section, "affected local transportation planning organization" means
any Metropolitan Planning Organization or Rural Transportation Planning
Organization with geographic jurisdiction over any part of an untolled ferry
route, and "untolled ferry route" means any ferry route for which no
tolls were in effect as of June 30, 2013.
(c) Revisions of Tolls. – The Department of
Transportation shall report to the Fiscal Research Division, the Joint
Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, and all affected local
transportation planning organizations 30 days prior to any change in toll rates
or change in the toll setting methodology by the Board of Transportation.
(d) Use of Toll Proceeds. – The Department of
Transportation shall credit the proceeds from tolls collected on North Carolina
Ferry System routes and certain receipts generated under subsection (f) of this
section to reserve accounts within the Highway Fund for each of the Highway
Divisions in which system terminals are located and fares are earned. For the
purposes of this subsection, fares are earned based on the terminals from which
a passenger trip originates and terminates. Commuter pass receipts shall be
credited proportionately to each reserve account based on the distribution of
trips originating and terminating in each Highway Division. The proceeds
credited to each reserve account shall be used exclusively for prioritized
North Carolina Ferry System ferry passenger vessel replacement projects in the
Division in which the proceeds are earned. Proceeds may be used to fund ferry
passenger vessel replacement projects or supplement funds allocated for ferry
passenger vessel replacement projects approved in the Transportation
Improvement Program.
(e) Powers of Department. – To accomplish the
purpose of this section, the Department of Transportation is authorized to
acquire, own, lease, charter or otherwise control all necessary vessels, boats,
terminals or other facilities required for the proper operation of the ferries
or to enter into contracts with persons, firms or corporations for the
operation thereof and to pay the reasonable sums that in the opinion of the
Department of Transportation represent the fair value of the public service
rendered.
(f) Authority to Generate
Certain Receipts. – The Department of Transportation, Department, notwithstanding
any other provision of law, may operate or contract for the following receipt‑generating
activities and, except as otherwise provided in subsection (f1) (f2) of
this section, use credit the proceeds for ferry passenger
vessel replacement projects in the manner set forth in subsection (d) of this
section:to a reserve account within the Highway Fund for the State Ferry
System:
(1) Operation of, concessions on the ferries and at ferry facilities to provide to passengers on the ferries food, drink, and other refreshments, personal comfort items, Internet access, and souvenirs publicizing the ferry system.
(2) Sponsorships, including, but not limited to, the sale of naming rights to any ferry vessel, ferry route, or ferry facility.
(3) Advertising on or within any ferry vessel or at any ferry facility, including, but not limited to, display advertising and advertising delivered to passengers through the use of video monitors, public address systems installed in passenger areas, and other electronic media.
(4) Any other receipt‑generating activity not otherwise forbidden by applicable law pertaining to public health or safety.
The Department may issue rules
to implement this subsection.
(f1) Use of Funds. – Proceeds and other funds credited to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of this section shall be used exclusively for improvements to the State Ferry System, which includes the following:
(1) The acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of marine vessels used for support and the transport of persons or vehicles between Ferry System terminals. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "marine vessels" means tugs, barges, dredges, and ferries other than passenger‑only vessels.
(2) Replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure allowing connection to Ferry System terminals, including ramps, gantries, and bulkheads.
(f1)(f2) Use of
Receipts Generated From Shipyard. – The Department of Transportation shall
credit the proceeds from receipts generated under subsection (f) of this
section from activities performed by the North Carolina State Shipyard to a
reserve account within the Highway Fund to be used exclusively for improvements
to the Shipyard, including equipment and associated infrastructure. Notwithstanding
the restrictions on the use of proceeds set forth in subsections (d) and (f) of
this section, the Department may use a proportional amount of the proceeds
credited to each reserve account described in subsection (d) of this section to
replace or repair equipment in accordance with this subsection if there is an
insufficient amount of funds in the reserve account within the Highway Fund for
the Shipyard.
(f3) Disposition of Marine Vessels. – It is the intent of the General Assembly to modernize the Ferry System fleet of marine vessels. Once a marine vessel reaches the end of its useful life, as determined by the Department, the Department shall dispose of the vessel in a timely fashion. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any proceeds received from the disposition of a marine vessel under this subsection shall be credited to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of this section.
(g) Confidentiality of
Personal Information. – Identifying information obtained by the Department
related to operation of the ferry system is not a public record under Chapter
132 of the General Statutes and is subject to the disclosure limitations in 18
U.S.C. § 2721 of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act. The Department
shall maintain the confidentiality of all information required to be kept
confidential under 18 U.S.C. § 2721(a), as well as any financial information,
transaction history, and information related to the collection of a toll or user
fee from a person, including, but not limited to, photographs or other recorded
images or automatic vehicle identification or driver account information
generated by radio‑frequency identification or other electronic means.
The Department may use identifying information only for purposes of collecting
and enforcing tolls. user fees. Nothing in this section is
intended to limit the right of any person to examine that person's own account
information, or the right of any party, by authority of a proper court order,
to inspect and examine identifying information.
(h) Report Prior to Acquisition or Construction of Marine Vessel. – Prior to the acquisition or construction of a marine vessel pursuant to subsection (f1) of this section, the Department shall report to the chairs of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation Appropriations and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Department of Transportation. The report shall provide an estimate of the capital costs of acquiring or constructing the vessel, the costs of operating the vessel, the vessel that will be decommissioned, the timing of the disposition of the decommissioned vessel, and an estimate of the net proceeds that will be received from the disposition. If the General Assembly is not in session at the time the report is to be submitted, the Department shall instead report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.
(i) Quarterly Report. – Beginning October 1, 2016, the Ferry Division of the Department of Transportation shall provide a quarterly report to the following on any updates to its capital improvement plan, any actions taken in deviation from its current capital improvement plan, the status of authorized projects, and any obligations and expenses for the reserve accounts described in subsections (f) and (f2) of this section:
(1) When the General Assembly is in session, to the chairs of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation Appropriations and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Department of Transportation.
(2) When the General Assembly is not in session, to the chairs of the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.
(3) To the Fiscal Research Division of the General Assembly."
SECTION 2. G.S. 143B‑350(f2) reads as rewritten:
"(f2) Approval of aircraft
and ferry purposes. – Before approving the purchase of an aircraft from
the Equipment Fund or a ferry in a Transportation Improvement Program, Fund,
the Board of Transportation shall prepare an estimate of the operational
costs and capital costs associated with the addition of the aircraft or
ferry and shall report those additional costs to the General Assembly
pursuant to G.S. 136‑12(b), and to the Joint Legislative Commission
on Governmental Operations."
SECTION 3. G.S. 7A‑312(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) A juror in the
General Court of Justice including a petit juror, or a coroner's juror, but
excluding a grand juror, shall receive twelve dollars ($12.00) for the first
day of service and twenty dollars ($20.00) per day afterwards, except that if
any person serves as a juror for more than five days in any 24‑month
period, the juror shall receive forty dollars ($40.00) per day for each day of
service in excess of five days. A grand juror shall receive twenty dollars
($20.00) per day. A juror required to remain overnight at the site of the trial
shall be furnished adequate accommodations and subsistence. If required by the
presiding judge to remain in a body during the trial of a case, meals shall be
furnished the jurors during the period of sequestration. Jurors from out of the
county summoned to sit on a special venire shall receive mileage at the same
rate as State employees. Persons summoned as jurors shall be exempt during
their period of service from paying a ferry toll required under G.S. 136‑82
to travel to and from their homes and the site of that service."
SECTION 4. G.S. 136‑189.11(b)(8) is repealed.
SECTION 5. G.S. 136‑189.10(2)h. is repealed.
SECTION 6. The Board of Transportation shall cease collecting ferry tolls on the effective date of this act and shall take action as expeditiously as possible to repeal its regulations implementing ferry tolls. Prepaid tolls or commuter pass payments received by the Department of Transportation for ferry trips on or after the effective date of this act shall be refunded or, in the case of prepaid commuter passes, partially refunded based on the proportion of the time period covered by the commuter pass for which tolls were in effect. Any funds remaining in the reserve accounts described in G.S. 136‑82(d) as of the effective date of this act shall be used for any costs associated with the initiation of passenger‑only ferry service on the Hatteras‑Ocracoke ferry route.
SECTION 7. Notwithstanding G.S. 150B‑21.1(a), the Department of Transportation may adopt temporary rules to administer this act.
SECTION 8. There is appropriated from the Highway Fund to the Department of Transportation, the sum of thirteen million three hundred seventy‑six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($13,376,250) in recurring funds for the 2016‑2017 fiscal year to be allocated to the reserve account described in subsection (f) of G.S. 136‑82, as amended by Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 9. G.S. 136‑82(f3), as enacted by Section 1 of this act, becomes effective July 1, 2016, and applies to dispositions on or after that date. The remainder of this act becomes effective July 1, 2016.
