North Carolina § 143B-345 - Department of Transportation - creation.

§ 143B-345. Department of Transportation - creation.

There is hereby created and established a department to be known as the "Department of Transportation" with the organization, powers, and duties defined in Article 1 of Chapter 143B , except as modified in this Article. History (1975, c. 716, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2002-190, s. 1, as amended by Session Laws 2002-159, s. 31.5, provides: "All statutory authority, powers, duties, and functions, including rulemaking, budgeting, purchasing, records, personnel, personnel positions, salaries, property, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, reserves, support costs, and other funds allocated to the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Section, for the regulation and enforcement of commercial motor vehicles, oversize and overweight vehicles, motor carrier safety, and mobile and manufactured housing are transferred to and vested in the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety [Department of Public Safety]. This transfer has all the elements of a Type I transfer as defined in G.S. 143A-6. "The Department of Crime Control and Public Safety shall be considered a continuation of the transferred portion of the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Section, for the purpose of succession to all rights, powers, duties, and obligations of the Enforcement Section and of those rights, powers, duties, and obligations exercised by the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles on behalf of the Enforcement Section. Where the Department of Transportation, the Division of Motor Vehicles, or the Enforcement Section, or any combination thereof are referred to by law, contract, or other document, that reference shall apply to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety. "All equipment, supplies, personnel, or other properties rented or controlled by the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Section for the regulation and enforcement of commercial motor vehicles, oversize and overweight vehicles, motor carrier safety, and mobile and manufactured housing shall be administered by the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 28.11(a)-(c), provides: "The Secretary of Transportation shall transfer the Program Development branch, as it existed on May 1, 2005, from the Deputy Secretary for Environmental, Planning and Local Government Affairs to the Chief Financial Officer of the Department of Transportation. "The Secretary of Transportation shall transfer the Transportation Planning branch, as it existed on May 1, 2005, from the Deputy Secretary for Environmental, Planning and Local Government Affairs to the State Highway Administrator. "The Secretary of Transportation shall transfer the Project Development and Environmental Analysis branch, as it existed May 1, 2005, from the Deputy Secretary for Environmental, Planning and Local Government Affairs to the State Highway Administrator." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2005'." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2010-180, s. 13(a) and (b), provides: "(a) The Department of Administration, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety [Department of Public Safety], the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Insurance, and the Department of Transportation shall: "(1) Review their respective planning and regulatory programs to determine whether the programs currently consider the impacts of global climate change, including adaptation and sea level rise. "(2) For those programs that currently consider the impacts of global climate change, the agency shall describe how the program considers the impacts of global climate change, including adaptation and sea level rise, and recommend whether the consideration of the impacts of global climate change should be modified or expanded. "(3) For those programs that do not currently consider the impacts of global climate change, the agency shall recommend if and how the program should consider the impacts of global climate change, including adaptation and sea level rise. "(b) No later than September 1, 2011, each State agency shall report the results of its review and any recommendations to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The Department shall compile the results and recommendations and report them to the Environmental Review Commission and to any future legislative commission that directly and primarily addresses issues concerning global climate change no later than November 1, 2011." Session Laws 2013-245, ss. 2-5, provide: "2. DOT contracted services cost-savings pilot program authorized. - The Department of Transportation is authorized to study a statewide pilot program for contracted services cost savings for the 2013-2014 budget cycle. The Department of Transportation shall study methods to reduce its existing facilities maintenance, repair, operation, and service costs by ten percent (10%) by implementing cost-effective and streamlined procurement strategies as recommended in this act. The ten percent (10%) reduction provided for in this section shall be based upon the funds appropriated to the Department in the Appropriations Act of 2013. The Department shall report its findings to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations and the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee on or before April 1, 2014. Any implementation plans may include, but are not limited to, the following: to obtain the reduction provided for in this section, the Department shall investigate and study, among other things, whether cost reductions can be achieved by efforts to (i) procure services through integrated facility service contracts to maintain, repair, or operate all facilities under the Department's control and (ii) consolidate facility service contracts to award a single contract, where feasible, for similar or identical services at separate and distinct facilities. Contracts awarded under this subsection shall not be subject to the requirements of Article 3 or Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. "The following facility maintenance, repair, operation, and service contracts may be subject to the requirements of this section: "(1) Janitorial, custodial, and commercial cleaning services, including blind cleaning, carpet care, document disposal, waste disposal, escalator cleaning, food service sanitation, hard surface floor care, light industrial cleaning, pressure washing, recycling services, restroom sanitation, upholstery cleaning, and window cleaning. "(2) Landscaping, grounds maintenance, and lawn care, including fertilization, seeding, weeding, tree trimming, aerification, verticutting, irrigation maintenance, pest control, floral planting and care, landscape design, parking lot maintenance, interior plant maintenance, and snow removal. "(3) Security, access control, and public safety, including background checks, alarm response, security consulting, security surveys, and special event staffing. "(4) Electrical distribution systems maintenance, repair, and testing, including interior and exterior lighting maintenance, thermal imaging, exit and emergency lighting systems, landscape lighting, pole and fixture installation, ultrasonic inspection, and sign repair. "(5) HVAC and mechanical systems maintenance, repair, testing, and operation, including boiler repairs, building controls, exhaust heat, chiller repairs, climate control systems, retro-commissioning, continuous commissioning, lighting retrofit and re-lamp projects, and lighting control systems. "(6) Parking, fleet management, and transportation management, including shuttle transportation services, valet parking, meter collections, parking revenue management and collection, vehicle maintenance, vehicle tracking, driver management, speed management, fuel management, and health and safety management. "(7) Other general maintenance and repair services, including, but not limited to, fire and security alarms, appliance repair, awnings, backflow testing, building repairs, carpentry, carpet or upholstery cleaning, ceiling repair, disaster recovery, loading dock repairs, doors and hardware, duct cleaning, electrical repair, floor carpeting tile, furniture refinishing, generator maintenance and repair, glass, gutters, waste hauling, hazardous waste removal, locksmiths, masonry, mold remediation, overhead door repair, pest control, plaster, plumbing, power washing, roof repair, drain service, snow removal, sprinklers and irrigation systems, and welding. "3. Any contract not subject to the provisions of Section 2 of this act shall be bid and awarded as provided in Article 3 and Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. "4. The Department of Transportation shall submit a written report of their progress to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Office of the Governor no later than December 31, 2015. "5. If the Department achieves the savings provided for in Section 2 of this act, the Department shall retain the funds saved and may use the funds for any purpose authorized by applicable law." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 34.7(a)-(d), provides: "(a) Spot Mobility Program. - Of the funds appropriated in this act to the Mobility/Modernization Fund in the Highway Fund, forty percent (40%) of the funds shall be used for a Spot Mobility Program that shall be managed by the State Traffic Engineer of the Department of Transportation. The purpose of the Spot Mobility Program is to provide funding for small projects that will reduce traffic congestion and vehicular delay times. The Department shall develop a quantitative, evidence-based formula to use in selecting projects to receive funding from the Spot Mobility Program. At a minimum, the Department shall consider all of the following in developing the formula required by this subsection: "(1) The travel-time savings resulting from the proposed project. "(2) Reductions to motor vehicle queues resulting from the proposed project. "(3) The service life of the proposed project. "(4) The benefit-cost ratio of the proposed project. "In selecting projects to receive funding from the Spot Mobility Program, the Department shall give preference to projects that will improve access from the State highway system to a school. For purposes of this section, the term "school" 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 as authorized under G.S. 115C-218.5. "(b) Economic Development/Small Construction/Industrial Access. - Of the funds appropriated in this act to the Mobility/Modernization Fund in the Highway Fund, twelve percent (12%) of the funds shall be used for the following purposes: "(1) To allocate to the Economic Development Fund to be used for prioritized transportation improvements and infrastructure that expedite commercial growth as well as either job creation or job retention. "(2) For small construction projects recommended by the Chief Engineer in consultation with the Chief Operating Officer and approved by the Secretary of Transportation. Funds used in accordance with this subdivision shall be allocated equally among the 14 Highway Divisions for small construction projects. "(3) To use for the development and expansion of access roads to industrial facilities. "(c) High-Impact and Low-Cost Construction Projects. - Of the funds appropriated in this act to the Mobility/Modernization Fund in the Highway Fund, forty-eight percent (48%) of the funds shall be used for construction projects that are high impact and low cost. The funds shall be allocated equally among the 14 Highway Divisions. Projects funded under this subsection include intersection improvement projects, minor widening projects, and operational improvement projects. The Department shall develop a quantitative, evidence-based formula to use in selecting projects to receive funding under this subsection. At a minimum, the Department shall consider all of the following in developing the formula required by this subsection: "(1) The average daily traffic volume of a roadway and whether the proposed project will generate additional traffic. "(2) Any restrictions on a roadway. "(3) Any safety issues with a roadway. "(4) The condition of the lanes, shoulders, and pavement on a roadway. "(5) The site distance and radius of any intersection on a roadway. "(d) Report. - The Department shall develop a report detailing (i) the formulas developed under subsections (a) and (c) of this section, (ii) the types of projects funded under this section, and (iii) the total amount of funding allocated to each project funded under this section. The Department shall submit the report required under this subsection to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee by March 1, 2018." Session Laws 2019-231, s. 4.12(b), effective July 1, 2019, repealed Session Laws 2017-57, s. 34.7(a)-(d). For present similar provisions pertaining to Spot Mobility Program, see Article 14C of Chapter 136 , G.S. 136-189.20 et seq. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2019-231, s. 4.8(a), (b), provides: "(a) The amount of funds appropriated for legislative salary increases for employees of the Department of Transportation (Department) shall be budgeted on a recurring basis in the correct Fund Code that corresponds to the positions it supports. Any transfer and use of the funds for any other purpose shall be done on a nonrecurring basis, except for the purpose of retirement and health benefits. "(b) The Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Transportation the amount allocated to each division or unit no more than 30 days after an allocation has occurred." Session Laws 2019-231, s. 5.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2019-2021 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2019-231, s. 5.5, is a severability clause.