May 22. 1996
Chief Larry Murdock City of Thomasville Post Office Box 1669 Thomasville, North Carolina 27361
Re: Advisory Opinion: Maximum Penalty That May Be Assessed for Violations of City Parking Ordinances; G.S. § 14-4(b); G.S. § 20-162.1.
Dear Chief Murdock:
This letter is in response to your request for information regarding a conflict in the General Statutes governing the penalty for a violation of a city parking ordinance. Specifically, you state that the City desires to adopt an ordinance regulating the parking of motor vehicles in areas designated as "Fire Lanes" and inquire if the maximum penalty is limited to $5.00 as found in
- G.S.
- § 20-162.1(a). For reasons which follow, it is our opinion the City may adopt an ordinance regulating parking in fire lanes and the maximum penalty is not limited to $5.00. The maximum penalty is an infraction and a fine of not greater than $50.00.
- G.S.
- § 160A-301(d) provides that a governing body of a city may, by ordinance, "regulate the stopping, standing, or parking of vehicles" in specified areas. This statute is the enabling law for all municipal parking ordinances. Chapter 20 of the General Statutes, the motor vehicle laws, also addresses parking regulations. G.S. § 20-162 is a general prohibition to parking in front of private driveways, fire hydrants, fire stations, intersections of curb lines, and fire lanes. A prima facie rule, stating that the owner of the vehicle is deemed to be the operator for purposes of any citation, is set forth in G.S. § 20-162.1, and this statute applies to G.S. § 20-162. This same statute also provides that "[a]ny person found responsible for an infraction pursuant to [G.S. § 20-162.1] shall be subject to a penalty of not more than five dollars ($5.00)." G.S. § 20-162.1, therefore, appears to set the maximum penalty for any violation of a parking ordinance at $5.00. However, a conflicting statute also exists.
- G.S.
- § 14-4(b) states that "[i]f any person shall violate an ordinance of a … city or town regulating the … parking of vehicles, he shall be responsible for an infraction and shall be required to pay a penalty of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00)." The 1991 Session Laws, Chapter 446, Section 2, which amended G.S. § 14-4, specifically provided that the act repealed all laws in conflict with G.S. § 14-4. G.S. § 20-162.1 was last amended by the General Assembly in 1987. To the extent that G.S. § 20-162.1 conflicts with the later amended G.S. § 14-4(b), § 144(b) controls. Therefore, the maximum monetary penalty for a violation of a city parking ordinance is $50.00.
Numerous local modifications exist for both G.S. §§ 20-162 and 162.1 and G.S. § 14-4; none of
these local modifications apply to the City of Thomasville.
Andrew A. Vanore, Jr.
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Jeffrey P. Gray
Assistant Attorney General