GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001

SESSION LAW 2001-508
HOUSE BILL 168

AN ACT TO PERMIT A CORPORATION TO TRANSFER ASSETS TO A WHOLLY OWNED UNINCORPORATED ENTITY, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION, TO AMEND THE INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS OF THE PATIENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS, TO SUPPORT TROOPS PARTICIPATING IN OPERATIONS ENDURING FREEDOM AND NOBLE EAGLE, AND TO PERMIT LEAVE FOR DISASTER SERVICE VOLUNTEERS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 55‑12‑01 reads as rewritten:
"§ 55‑12‑01.  Sale of assets in regular course of business and mortgage of assets.
(a)	A mortgage of or other security interest in all or any part of the property of a corporation may be made by authority of the board of directors without approval of the shareholders, unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or in bylaws adopted by the shareholders.
(b)	Unless otherwise provided in the articles of incorporation or in bylaws adopted by the shareholders, a corporation may, on the terms and conditions and for the consideration determined by the board of directors, and without approval by the shareholders:
(1)	Sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of all, or substantially all, of its property in the usual and regular course of business; or
(2)	Transfer any or all of its property to a corporation or an unincorporated entity all the shares or ownership interests of which are owned by the corporation."
SECTION 2.  Effective July 1, 2002, G.S. 90‑21.52(c), as enacted by Section 4.7 of S.L. 2001‑446, reads as rewritten:
"(c)	This Article does not create any liability on the part of a physician or health care provider in addition to that otherwise imposed under existing law. No managed care entity held liable under this Article shall be entitled to contribution under Chapter 1B of the General Statutes. No managed care entity held liable under this Article shall have a right to indemnity against physicians, health care providers, or entities wholly owned by physicians or health care providers or any combination thereof, except when:
(1)	The liability of the managed care entity is based on an administrative decision to approve or disapprove payment or reimbursement for, or denial, reduction, or termination of coverage, for a health care service and the  physician organizations, health care providers, or entities wholly owned by physicians or health care providers or any combination thereof, which have made the decision at issue, have agreed explicitly, in a written  addendum or agreement separate from the managed care organization's standard professional service agreement, to assume responsibility for making noncertification decisions under G.S. 58-50-61(13) with respect to certain insureds or enrollees; and(2)	The managed care entity has not controlled or influenced or advocated for the decision regarding whether or when payment or reimbursement should be made or whether or when the insured or enrollee should receive a health care service.
The right to indemnity set forth herein shall not apply to professional medical or health care services provided by a physician or health care provider, and shall only apply where the agreement  to assume responsibility for making noncertification decisions for the managed care entity is shown to have been undertaken voluntarily and the managed care organization has not adversely affected the terms and conditions of the relationship with the health care provider based upon the willingness to execute or refusal to execute an agreement under G.S. 58-50-61(13)."
SECTION 3.  Definitions. – As used in this act:
(1)	"Military personnel" includes both of the following: 
a. A member of the armed forces or the armed forces reserves of the United States on active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Noble Eagle on or after September 11, 2001. 
b. A member of the North Carolina Army National Guard or the North Carolina Air National Guard called to active duty in support of Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Noble Eagle on or after September 11, 2001. 
A copy of the soldier’s military orders specifying deployment is conclusive evidence of the soldier’s deployment.
(2)	"Operation Enduring Freedom" or "Operation Noble Eagle" include any other operations with differing names arising out of the same occurrence.
SECTION 4.  Waiver of Deadlines, Fees, and Penalties. – Except as prohibited by the Constitution, the Governor may extend deadlines and waive penalties or fees as is necessary to alleviate hardship created for deployed military personnel serving in either Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Noble Eagle.  Such authority includes, but is not limited to, the authority to:
(1)	Extend for up to 90 days from the end of deployment the validity of a permanent or temporary drivers license issued under G.S. 20‑7 to deployed military personnel;
(2)	Waive civil penalties and restoration fees under G.S. 20‑309 for any deployed military personnel whose motor vehicle liability insurance lapsed during the period of deployment or within 90 days after the soldier returned to North Carolina if the soldier certifies to the Division of Motor Vehicles that the motor vehicle was not driven on the highway by anyone during the period in which the motor vehicle was uninsured and that the owner now has liability insurance on the motor vehicle;
(3)	Allow up to 90 days from the end of deployment for any deployed military personnel to renew a license as defined in G.S. 93B‑1. During the period of deployment or active duty and until the expiration of the 90‑day period provided for in this subsection, expired licenses that are within the scope of this act shall remain valid, as if they had not expired; and 
(4)	Require that any renewal fee applicable to the renewal of a license under subdivision (3) of this section be prorated over the period covered by the license and reduced in proportion to the period of time that the licensee was deployed outside the State.
SECTION 5.(a)  Property Taxes. – Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑360 or G.S. 105‑330.4, deployed military personnel are allowed 90 days after the end of the individual’s deployment to pay property taxes at par, for any property taxes that became due or delinquent during the term of the deployment.  For these individuals, the taxes for the relevant tax year do not become delinquent until after the end of the 90‑day period provided in this section, and an individual who pays the property taxes before the end of the 90‑day period is not liable for interest on the taxes for the relevant tax year.  If the individual does not pay the taxes before the end of the 90‑day period, interest shall accrue on the taxes according to the schedule provided in G.S. 105‑360 or G.S. 105‑330.4, as applicable, as though the taxes were unpaid as of the date the taxes would have become delinquent if not for this section. 
SECTION 5.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑307, deployed military personnel required to list property for taxation while deployed are allowed 90 days after the end of the deployment to list the property. For these individuals, the listing period for the relevant tax year is extended until the end of the 90‑day period provided in this act, and an individual who lists the property before the end of the 90‑day period is not subject to civil or criminal penalties for failure to list the property required to be listed during deployment.
SECTION 6.  Leave for Volunteers. – G.S. 166A‑32 reads as rewritten:
"§ 166A‑32.  Disaster service volunteer leave.
An employee of a State agency who is a disaster service volunteer of the American Red Cross may be granted leave from his work with pay for a time not to exceed 15 work days in any 12‑month period to participate in specialized disaster relief services for the American Red Cross. To be granted leave, the request for the services of that employee must come from the American Red Cross. The decision to grant the employee leave rests in the sole discretion of the employing State agency based on the work needs of that agency. Employees granted leave pursuant to this Article shall not lose seniority, pay, vacation time, sick time, or earned overtime accumulation. The State agency shall compensate an employee granted leave under this Article at the regular rate of pay for those regular work hours during which the employee is absent from his work. Leave under this Article shall be granted only for services related to a disaster occurring within the United States.
The State of North Carolina shall not be liable for workers compensation claims arising from accident or injury while the State employee is on assignment as a disaster service volunteer for the American Red Cross. Duties performed while on disaster leave shall not be considered to be a work assignment by a state agency. The employee is granted leave based on the need for theemployee's area of expertise. Job functions although similar or related are performed on behalf of and for the benefit of the American Red Cross.
SECTION 7.(a)  Community College Refunds. – Upon request of the student, each community college shall:
(1)	Grant a full refund of curriculum tuition and fees to military reserve and national guard personnel called to active duty or active personnel who have received temporary or permanent reassignments as a result of military operations that make it impossible for them to complete their course requirements; and
(2)	Buy back textbooks through the colleges' bookstore operations to the extent possible. Colleges shall use distance‑learning technologies and other educational methodologies to help these students, under the guidance of faculty and administrative staff, complete their course requirements.
SECTION 7.(b)  Upon request of the student, each community college shall:
(1)	Grant a full refund of extension registration fees to military reserve and national guard personnel called to active duty or active personnel who have received temporary or permanent reassignments as a result of military operations that make it impossible for them to complete their course requirements; and
(2)	Buy back textbooks through the colleges' bookstore operations to the extent possible. Colleges shall use distance‑learning technologies and other educational methodologies to help these students, under the guidance of faculty and administrative staff, complete their course requirements.
SECTION 7.(c)  This section applies to the 2001‑2002 academic year only.
SECTION 8.(a)  UNC System Refunds. – This section is intended to assist the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina in situations in which students request refunds of tuition or fees because of involuntary or voluntary service in the military or because of circumstances related to national emergencies.
Upon request of the student, all constituent institutions may issue a full refund of tuition and required fees to students who are involuntarily called to active duty in the military after a semester or term begins.
All constituent institutions should have a process for determining on a case‑by‑case basis whether to grant a full refund of tuition and required fees to students who volunteer for military service or who request to withdraw because of circumstances related to a national emergency.
Constituent institutions should determine under what circumstances students who withdraw because of military service or circumstances related to national emergencies should be given the option of receiving incompletes in their courses instead of receiving tuition and fee refunds.
Constituent institutions should determine whether or not to give full or pro rata refunds of housing, parking, and other optional fees to students to whom they give tuition and required fee refunds.
Constituent institutions which offer courses on military bases should defer to their contracts with the military in making determinations concerning withdrawal from courses due to changes in assignments of military personnel.
It is recommended that every campus review its policy on tuition refunds and make modifications necessary to cover the circumstances described in this section.
SECTION 8.(b) Legislative Tuition Grants. – Students who are receiving the North Carolina Legislative Tuition Grant who lose their full‑time student status due to a call to active military duty or circumstances related to national emergencies shall not be required to repay the Legislative Tuition Grant for that semester.  The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority shall implement this subsection.
SECTION 8.(c)  This section applies to the 2001‑2002 academic year only.
SECTION 9.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective July 1, 2002.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law, and Section 1 of this act applies to transfers occurring on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6th day of December, 2001.

	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 7:30 p.m. this 19th day of December, 2001