GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001

SENATE BILL 541
RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO EXEMPT SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS USED AS FAMILY FOSTER HOMES OR THERAPEUTIC HOMES FROM SANITATION REQUIREMENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 130A‑235 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑235.  Regulation of sanitation in institutions; setback requirements applicable to certain water supply wells.
(a)	For protection of the public health, the Commission shall adopt rules to establish sanitation requirements for all institutions and facilities at which individuals are provided room or board and for which a license to operate is required to be obtained or a certificate for payment is obtained from the Department. The rules shall also apply to facilities that provide room and board to individuals but are exempt from licensure under G.S. 131D‑10.4(1). No other State agency may adopt rules to establish sanitation requirements for these institutions and facilities. The Department shall issue a license to operate or a certificate for payment to such an institution or facility only upon compliance with all applicable sanitation rules of the Commission, and the Department may suspend or revoke a license or a certificate for payment for violation of these rules. In adopting rules pursuant to this section, the Commission shall define categories of standards to which such institutions and facilities shall be subject and shall establish criteria for the placement of any such institution or facility into one of the categories. This section shall not apply to State institutions and facilities subject to inspection under G.S. 130A‑5(10). This section shall not apply to a single-family dwelling that is used for a family foster home, as defined in G.S. 131D-10.2, or a therapeutic home. For purposes of this section, 'therapeutic home' means a 24-hour residential facility located in a private residence that provides professionally trained parent-substitutes who work intensively with children and adolescents who are emotionally disturbed or who have a substance abuse problem.
(b)	Rules that establish a minimum distance from a building foundation for a water supply well shall provide that an institution or facility located in a single‑family dwelling served by a water supply well that is located closer to a building foundation than the minimum distance specified in the rules may be licensed or approved if the results of water testing meet or exceed standards established by the Commission and there are no other potential health hazards associated with the well. At the time of application for licensure or approval, water shall be sampled and tested for pesticides, nitrates, and bacteria. Thereafter, water shall be sampled and tested at intervals determined by the Commission but not less than annually. A registered sanitarian or other health official who is qualified by training and experience shall collect the water samples as required by this subsection and may examine the well location to determine if there are other potential health hazards associated with the well. A well shall comply with all other applicable sanitation requirements established by the Commission.
(c)	The Department may suspend or revoke a license or approval for a violation of this section or rules adopted by the Commission."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 14th day of May, 2001.

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		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

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		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

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		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2001