GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2005

SESSION LAW 2005-312

HOUSE BILL 35

AN ACT to increase the fee paid by DWI offenders for attending an alcohol and drug education traffic school, to increase the amount remitted from the fee by an area facility to the Department of Health and human services, to increase the qualifications of persons who will be eligible to provide ADET School instruction, to direct the Commission on mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services to modify the rules regarding the number of instructional hours AND MAXIMUM adet school class size, and TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO ESTABLISH AN OUTCOMES EVALUATION STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES as recommended by the joint legislative oversight committee on mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 122C-142.1(f) reads as rewritten:

"(f)      Fees. - A person who has a substance abuse assessment conducted for the purpose of obtaining a certificate of completion shall pay to the assessing agency a fee of one hundred dollars ($100). A person shall pay to a treatment facility or  school a fee of seventy five dollars ($75.00).one hundred sixty dollars ($160.00). A person shall pay to a treatment facility a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00). If the defendant is treated by an area mental health facility, G.S. 122C-146 applies after receipt of the seventy-five dollar ($75.00) fee.

A facility that provides to a person who is required to obtain a certificate of completion a substance abuse assessment, an ADET school, or a substance abuse treatment program may require the person to pay a fee required by this subsection before it issues a certificate of completion. As stated in G.S. 122C-146, however, an area facility may not deny a service to a person because the person is unable to pay.

An areaA facility shall remit to the Department five percent (5%) ten percent (10%) of each fee paid to the area facility under this subsection by a person who attends an ADET school conducted by the area facility. The Department may use amounts remitted to it under this subsection only to support, evaluate, and administer ADET schools."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 122C-142.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

"(d1) Persons Authorized to Provide Instruction. - Beginning January 1, 2009, individuals who provide ADET school instruction as a Department-authorized ADETS instructor must have at least one of the following qualifications:

(1) Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC), as defined by the Commission.

(2) Certified Clinical Addiction Specialist (CCAS), as defined by the Commission.

(3) Certified Substance Abuse Prevention Consultant (CSAPC), as defined by the Commission."

SECTION 3.  The Commission on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services shall revise its rules regarding the number of instructional program hours and the class size for ADET schools.  The minimum program hours of instruction shall not be less than 16 hours.  The maximum class size shall not be more than 20 participants.

SECTION 4.  G.S. 122C-142.1 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

"(j) The Department shall establish an outcomes evaluation study on the effectiveness of substance abuse services provided to persons who obtain a certificate of completion under G.S. 20-17.6 as a condition for restoration of a drivers license. The findings of the study shall be reported every two years to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. The Department shall submit an initial report on the findings of the study to the Commission no later than December 31, 2007, and shall submit a report to the Commission every two years following that date."

SECTION 5.  Section 1 becomes effective when the rules adopted under Section 3 of this act become effective and shall apply to fees charged for ADET school instruction that commences on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16^th day of August, 2005.

                                                                    s/ Marc Basnight

                                                                         President Pro Tempore of the Senate

                                                                    s/ James B. Black

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/ Michael F. Easley

                                                                         Governor

Approved 12:08 p.m. this 25^th day of August, 2005