NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1967 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 966

HOUSE BILL 1041

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 20-9 RELATING TO PERSONS WHO SHALL NOT BE LICENSED TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE, ESTABLISHING REVIEW PROCEDURE.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1. G.S. 20-9, as the same appears in the 1965 Replacement Volume 1C of the General Statutes, is hereby amended by adding a new subsection to be designated as subsection "(g)", to read as follows:

"(g)       The Department may issue an operator's or chauffeur's license to any applicant covered by subsection (e) of this Section under the following conditions:

(1)        The Department may issue a license to any person who is afflicted with or suffering from physical or mental disability set out in subsection(e) of this Section who is otherwise qualified to obtain a license, provided such person submits to the Department a certificate in the form prescribed in subsection (2). Unless sooner revoked, suspended or cancelled, such license continues in force as long as the licensee presents to the Department one year from the date of issuance of such license and at yearly intervals thereafter a certificate in the form prescribed in subsection (2), provided the Commissioner may require the submission of such certificate at six months intervals where in his opinion public safety demands. In no event shall a license issued pursuant to this Section be valid beyond the birthday of the licensee in the fourth year following the year of issuance, at which time the license is subject to renewal.

(2)        The Department shall not issue a license pursuant to this Section unless the applicant has submitted to a physical examination by a physician or surgeon duly licensed to practice medicine in this State and unless such examining physician or surgeon has completed and signed the certificate required by subsection (1). Such certificate shall be devised by the Commissioner with the advice of qualified experts in the field of diagnosing and treating physical and mental disorders as he may select to assist him and shall be designed to elicit the maximum medical information necessary to aid in determining whether or not it would be a hazard to public safety to permit the applicant to operate a motor vehicle, including, if such is the fact, the examining physician's statement that the applicant is under medication and treatment and that such person's physical or mental disability is controlled. The certificate shall contain a waiver of privilege and the recommendation of the examining physician to the Commissioner as to whether a license should be issued to the applicant.

(3)        The Commissioner is not bound by the recommendation of the examining physician but shall give fair consideration to such recommendation in exercising his discretion in acting upon the application, the criterion being whether or not, upon all the evidence, it appears that it is safe to permit the applicant to operate a motor vehicle. The burden of proof of such fact is upon the applicant. In deciding whether to issue or deny a license, the Commissioner may be guided by opinion of experts in the field of diagnosing and treating the specific physical or mental disorder suffered by an applicant and such experts may be compensated for their services on an equitable basis. The Commissioner may also take into consideration any other factors which bear on the issue of public safety.

(4)        Whenever a license is denied by the Commissioner, such denial may be reviewed by a reviewing board upon written request of the applicant filed with the Department within 10 days after receipt of such denial. The reviewing board shall consist of the Commissioner or his authorized representative and four persons designated by the Chairman of the State Board of Health. The persons designated by the Chairman of the State Board of Health shall be either members of the State Board of Health or physicians duly licensed to practice medicine in this State. The members so designated by the Chairman of the State Board of Health shall receive the same per diem and expenses as provided by law for members of the State Board of Health, which per diem and expenses shall be charged to the same appropriation as per diems and expenses for members of the State Board of Health. The Commissioner or his authorized representative, plus any two of the members designated by the Chairman of the State Board of Health, constitute a quorum. The procedure for hearings authorized by this Act shall be as follows:

(a)        Applicants shall be afforded an opportunity for hearing, after reasonable notice of not less than 10 days, before the review board established by subsection (4) of this Act. The notice shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the applicant in person or sent by registered mail, with return receipt requested. The notice shall state the time, place, and subject of the hearing.

(b)        The review board may compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of such books, records and papers as it desires at a hearing authorized by the Act. Upon request of an applicant, a subpoena to compel the attendance of any witness or a subpoena duces tecum to compel the production of any books, records, or papers shall be issued by the board. Subpoenas shall be directed to the sheriff of the county where the witness resides or is found and shall be served and returned in the same manner as a subpoena in a criminal case. Fees of the sheriff and witnesses shall be the same as that allowed in the County Recorder's Court or District Court in cases before that Court and shall be paid in the same manner as other expenses of the Department of Motor Vehicles are paid. In any case of disobedience or neglect of any subpoena served on any person, or the refusal of any witness to testify to any matters regarding which he may be lawfully interrogated, the District Court or Superior Court where such disobedience, neglect or refusal occurs, or any judge thereof, on application by the board, shall compel obedience or punish as for contempt.

(c)        A hearing may be continued upon motion of the applicant for good cause shown with approval of the board or upon order of the board.

(d)        The board shall pass upon the admissibility of evidence at a hearing but the applicant affected may at the time object to the board's ruling, and, if evidence offered by an applicant is rejected the party may proffer the evidence, and such proffer shall be made a part of the record. The board shall not be bound by common law or statutory rules of evidence which prevail in courts of law or equity and may admit and give probative value to evidence which possesses probative value commonly accepted by reasonably prudent men in the conduct of their affairs. They may exclude incompetent, immaterial, irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence. Uncontested facts may be stipulated by agreement between an applicant and the board and evidence relating thereto may be excluded. All evidence, including records and documents in the possession of the Department of Motor Vehicles or the board, of which the board desires to avail itself shall be made a part of the record. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies or excerpts, or by incorporation by reference. The board shall prepare an official record, which shall include testimony and exhibits. A record of the testimony and other evidence submitted shall be taken, but it shall not be necessary to transcribe shorthand notes or electronic recordings unless requested for purposes of court review.

(e)        Every decision and order adverse to an applicant shall be in writing or stated in the record and shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law. The findings of fact shall consist of a concise statement of the board's conclusions on each contested issue of fact. Counsel for applicant, or applicant, if he has no counsel, shall be notified of the board's decision in person or by registered mail with return receipt requested. A copy of the board's decision with accompanying findings and conclusions shall be delivered or mailed upon request to applicant's attorney of record or to applicant, if he has no attorney.

(f)         Actions of the reviewing board are subject to judicial review as provided under Article 33 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.

(g)        An applicant or licensee who has been denied a license pursuant to a hearing before the board may not file a new application until the expiration of two years after the date of such denial by the board.

(h)        All records and evidence collected and compiled by the Department and the reviewing board shall not be considered public records within the meaning of Chapter 132-1, and following, of the General Statutes of North Carolina and may be made available to the public only upon an order of a court of competent jurisdiction. All information furnished by or on behalf of an applicant under this Section shall be without prejudice and shall be for the use of the Department, the reviewing board or the court in administering this Act and shall not be used in any manner as evidence, or for any other purposes in any trial, civil or criminal."

Sec. 3.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 4.  This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 27th day of June, 1967.