§ 166A-6.03. Ensuring availability of emergency supplies and utility services. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 166A‑6.03.  Ensuringavailability of emergency supplies and utility services.

(a)        Executive Order. – Inaddition to any other powers conferred on the Governor by law, whenever acurfew has been imposed, the Governor may declare by executive order that thehealth, safety, or economic well‑being of persons or property in thisState require that persons transporting essentials in commerce to the curfewarea, or assisting in ensuring their availability, and persons assisting inrestoring utility services, be allowed to enter or remain in areas from whichthey would otherwise be excluded for the limited purpose of delivering theessentials, assisting in ensuring their availability, or assisting in restoringutility services.

(b)        Maximum Hours ofService Waiver. – As part of an executive order issued pursuant to subsection(a) of this section, or independently of such an order, the Governor maydeclare by executive order that the health, safety, or economic well‑beingof persons or property in this State require that the maximum of hours ofservice prescribed by the Department of Crime Control and Public Safetypursuant to G.S. 20‑381 and similar rules be waived for personstransporting essentials or assisting in the restoration of utility services.

(c)        CertificationSystem. – The Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety shall develop asystem pursuant to which a person who transports essentials in commerce, orassists in ensuring their availability, and persons who assist in the restoringof utility services can be certified as such. The certification system shallallow for both predisaster declaration and postdisaster declarationcertification and may include an annually renewable precertification. TheSecretary shall only allow those who routinely transport or distributeessentials or assist in the restoring of utility services to be certified. Acertification of the employer shall constitute a certification of theemployer's employees. The Secretary shall create an easily recognizableindicium of certification in order to assist local officials' efforts todetermine which persons have received certification by the system establishedunder this subsection.

(d)        Notwithstanding theexistence of any curfew, a person who is certified pursuant to the systemestablished under subsection (c) of this section shall be allowed to enter orremain in the curfew area for the limited purpose of delivering or assisting inthe distribution of essentials or assisting in the restoration of utilityservices and shall be allowed to provide service that exceeds otherwiseapplicable hours of service maximums, to the extent authorized by an executiveorder executed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. Nothing in thissection prohibits law enforcement or other local officials from specifying thepermissible route of ingress or egress for persons with certifications.

(e)        If the Governordeclares the existence of an abnormal market disruption with respect topetroleum pursuant to G.S. 75‑38(f), the Governor shall contemporaneouslyseek all applicable waivers under the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7401,et seq., and any other applicable federal law to facilitate the transportationof fuel within this State in order to address or prevent a fuel supplyemergency in this State. Waiver requests shall be directed to the appropriatefederal agencies and shall seek waivers of the following:

(1)        The ReformulatedGasoline requirements throughout the State.

(2)        The Federal andState Implementation Plan summertime gasoline requirements (low RVP) throughoutthe State.

(3)        Any other waiverthat will, if obtained, facilitate the transportation of fuel within thisState.

(f)         Definitions. – Thefollowing definitions apply in this section:

(1)        Curfew. – Anyrestriction on ingress and egress to an area that is covered by a state ofdisaster declared pursuant to this Article or a locally declared state ofemergency declared pursuant to Article 36A of Chapter 14 of the GeneralStatutes, or any restriction on the movement of persons within such an area.

(2)        Curfew area. – Thearea that is subject to a curfew.

(3)        Essentials. – Anygoods that are consumed or used as a direct result of an emergency or which areconsumed or used to preserve, protect, or sustain life, health, safety, oreconomic well‑being of persons or their property. The Secretary of CrimeControl and Public Safety shall determine what goods constitute essentials forpurposes of this section.  (2009‑195, s. 1.)