FILED SENATE
May 26, 2022
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
S.B. 880
SESSION 2021 PRINCIPAL CLERK
S D
SENATE BILL DRS55055-MGa-182A
Short Title: The Allie Palmer Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Davis, Perry, and Burgin (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT CREATING A TRAUMA PREVENTION TASK FORCE WITHIN THE
3 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES; AND APPROPRIATING
4 FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF THE TASK FORCE.
5 Whereas, Alexandra (Allie) Christian Palmer was a seventh-grade student and
6 cheerleader at E.B. Frink Middle School in La Grange, North Carolina, who was a fan of North
7 Carolina State University and hoped to one day become a veterinarian; and
8 Whereas, Allie suddenly and tragically lost her life due to an all-terrain vehicle
9 accident on January 11, 2022; and
10 Whereas, Allie is only one of many North Carolina residents who lost her life this
11 year due to a fatal trauma injury; and
12 Whereas, the General Assembly finds it is in the best interest of the State to prevent
13 as many trauma injuries and deaths as possible; Now, therefore,
14 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
15 SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "The Allie Palmer Act."
16 SECTION 2. Article 1B of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by
17 adding a new section to read:
18 "§ 130A-33.70. North Carolina Trauma Prevention Task Force.
19 (a) Creation and Duties. – There is created the North Carolina Trauma Prevention Task
20 Force within the Department of Health and Human Services for budgetary purposes only. The
21 Task Force shall have the following powers and duties:
22 (1) Undertake a statistical study of the incidences and causes of trauma deaths and
23 injuries in this State and establish a profile of trauma deaths and injuries. The
24 study shall include an analysis of deaths and injuries by age, cause, and
25 geographic distribution.
26 (2) Report annually to the Governor and General Assembly, within the first week
27 of the convening or reconvening of the General Assembly. The report shall
28 contain recommended policies on the prevention of penetrating and blunt
29 trauma injuries and deaths in the State, as well as any other recommendations
30 for changes to any law, rule, or policy that the Task Force has determined will
31 reduce the incidence of penetrating and blunt trauma injuries and deaths in the
32 State. Any recommendations of changes to law, rule, or policy shall be
33 accompanied by specific legislative or policy proposals and detailed fiscal
34 notes setting forth the costs to the State.
35 (3) Research what additional roles the State can play in trauma care and
36 prevention.
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1 (4) Perform any other studies, evaluations, or determinations the Task Force
2 considers necessary to carry out its mandate.
3 (b) Membership. – The Task Force shall be composed of 35 members as follows:
4 (1) The Chief Medical Examiner, or a designee.
5 (2) The Attorney General, or a designee.
6 (3) The Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services, or a designee.
7 (4) The Director of the Division of Emergency Management, or a designee.
8 (5) The Director of the Division of Public Health, or a designee.
9 (6) The Section Chief of the Adult Care Licensure Section of the Division of
10 Health Service Regulation, or a designee.
11 (7) The Section Chief of the Nursing Home Licensure and Certification Section
12 of the Division of Health Service Regulation, or a designee.
13 (8) The Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities,
14 and Substance Abuse Services, or a designee.
15 (9) The Director of the Office of Rural Health, or a designee.
16 (10) One representative of each of the following 16 organizations, appointed by
17 the Governor, upon the recommendation of each organization:
18 a. A physician licensed to practice medicine in this State who is a
19 member of the North Carolina Division of the American Trauma
20 Society.
21 b. The Brain Injury Association of North Carolina.
22 c. The Eastern Carolina Injury Prevention Program at East Carolina
23 University's Department of Emergency Medicine.
24 d. The North Carolina Emergency Medical Services for Children State
25 Partnership Program.
26 e. The Governor's Highway Safety Program.
27 f. The North Carolina Air Medical Alliance.
28 g. The North Carolina Association of EMS Administrators.
29 h. The North Carolina Association of Paramedics.
30 i. The North Carolina Association of Pharmacists.
31 j. The North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians.
32 k. The North Carolina Committee on Trauma.
33 l. The North Carolina Emergency Nurses Association.
34 m. The North Carolina Hospital Association.
35 n. The North Carolina Medical Society.
36 o. The UNC Highway Safety Research Center.
37 p. The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center.
38 (11) Five members of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the
39 Senate, one of whom shall be a public member.
40 (12) Five members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of
41 the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a public member.
42 In making appointments or designating representatives, appointing authorities shall use best
43 efforts to select members or representatives with sufficient knowledge and experience to
44 effectively contribute to the duties of the Task Force and, to the extent possible, to reflect the
45 geographical, political, gender, and racial diversity of this State.
46 (c) Meetings and Quorum. – The Task Force shall meet quarterly and at other times at
47 the call of the chair. A majority of voting members of the Task Force shall constitute a quorum.
48 (d) Voting, Terms, and Vacancies. – All members of the Task Force are voting members.
49 Vacancies in the appointed membership shall be filled by the appointing officer who made the
50 initial appointment. Terms shall be for a period of two years. The members shall elect a chair,
51 who shall preside for the duration of the chair's term as a member. In the event a vacancy occurs
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1 in the chair before the expiration of the chair's term, the members shall elect an acting chair to
2 serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
3 (e) Authorization to Hire Staff and Consultants; Funding. – The Task Force may use
4 funds allocated to it to hire staff or contract with consultants and other professionals to assist the
5 Task Force in the completion of its duties.
6 (f) Compensation. – Members of the Task Force, staff, and consultants shall receive
7 necessary travel and subsistence expenses while on official business of the Task Force in
8 accordance with the provisions of G.S. 138-5 or G.S. 138-6, as applicable, paid from funds
9 allocated to support the work of the Task Force and within the limits of those funds."
10 SECTION 3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of
11 Health and Human Services the sum of one hundred fifty-five thousand dollars ($155,000) in
12 recurring funds to support the work and cover the expenses of the North Carolina Trauma
13 Prevention Task Force created in Section 2 of this act.
14 SECTION 4. This act becomes effective July 1, 2022.
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