Last Updated on May 4, 2013 by Morris Green

The North Carolina General Assembly is considering several bills this session that will affect existing DWI laws. Below is an overview of the bills currently proposed.

HOUSE BILL 41: 0.00 Alcohol Restriction ‑ All DWI
Bill To Be Entitled: AN ACT TO REQUIRE A 0.00 ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION RESTRICTION ON ALL RESTORATION OF LICENSES REVOKED FOR AN IMPAIRED DRIVING OFFENSE.
This bill was enacted to revise Section 1 of N.C.G.S. 20‑17.8(b) and Section 2 of N.C.G.S. 20‑19(c3). These statutes were rewritten to so that anyone convicted of the following DWI offenses will not be allowed to have ANY alcohol in their system at the time of vehicle operation after their drivers license has been reinstated. The original statute allows a blood alcohol content of up to .04, the new bill will reduce the BAC level to 0.00 (zero). Anyone who violates this law will be considered a repeat offender and will have their license revoked for a period of no less than 1 years.
DWI Offenders subject to this law:

• Repeat offenders, habitual offenders
• Driving while less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol or drugs
• Felony, manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle when the offense involved impaired driving

HOUSE BILL 812: Special License Plate DWI Offenders
Bill To Be Entitled: AN ACT TO REQUIRE PERSONS CONVICTED OF IMPAIRED DRIVING TO HAVE A SPECIAL LICENSE PLATE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR.
If this bill passes, DWI offenders shall be required to agree to and shall indicate on the person’s drivers license a restriction that the person may operate only a vehicle that displays a special registration plate for a period of no less than 7 years.

HOUSE BILL 43: Ignition Interlock ‑ All DWI
Here is the context of this bill: AN ACT TO REQUIRE ANYONE WHO IS CONVICTED OF DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED, DRIVING AFTER CONSUMING ALCOHOL BEING LESS THAN TWENTY‑ONE YEARS OF AGE, OR ANY OTHER IMPAIRED DRIVING OFFENSE, OR ANY PERSON WHO REFUSES A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, TO HAVE AN IGNITION INTERLOCK SYSTEM INSTALLED ON EVERY VEHICLE THAT PERSON MAY DRIVE BEFORE THAT PERSON CAN GET A LIMITED DRIVING PRIVILEGE; AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH AN IGNITION INTERLOCK SYSTEM AND CREATE AN IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE FUND TO ASSIST INDIGENT PERSONS.

SENATE BILL 135: Modify Habitual Impaired Driving Statute
AN ACT TO MODIFY THE HABITUAL IMPAIRED DRIVING STATUTE.
This statute redefines a habitual impaired driver as: A person commits the offense of habitual impaired driving if the person drives while impaired as defined in G.S. 20‑138.1 and has been convicted of three or more offenses involving impaired driving.

The biggest change to this statute removes the “within 10 years of the date of the offense” limitations clause, so now it does not matter if the repeat offense occurs within 10 years or not.

SENATE BILL 449: Video of DWI Stops and Chemical Tests
This bill states: AN ACT TO REQUIRE ALL BREATH‑TESTING SITES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES ENGAGED IN TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT TO BE EQUIPPED WITH A VIDEO RECORDING DEVICE AND TO REQUIRE THE RECORDING OF ALL IMPAIRED DRIVING OFFENSES AT THE INCIDENT SITE AND THE BREATH‑TESTING SITE UNLESS SUCH RECORDING IS IMPOSSIBLE, AND TO REQUIRE A FEE BE ASSESSED TO A PERSON CONVICTED OF DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED TO OFFSET THE COST OF OPERATING THE VIDEO RECORDING SYSTEMS

As soon as we have more information, we will follow up this post with more details on the outcome of these proposed bills.