The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 
 
                  Section 1.  G.S. 20-127, as amended by Chapter 683 of the 
 1993 Session Laws (Reg. Sess. 1994), reads as rewritten: 
"§ 20-127.    Windows and windshield wipers. 
          
(a)  Windshield Wipers. -- A vehicle that is operated on a  
     highway and has a windshield must have a windshield wiper
     to clear rain or other substances from the windshield in
     front of the driver of the vehicle  and the windshield wiper
     must be in good working order.  If a vehicle has  more than 
     one windshield wiper to clear substances from the windshield,  
     all the windshield wipers must be in good working order. 

(b)  Window Tinting Restrictions. -- A window of a vehicle that  is 
     operated on a highway or a public vehicular area must comply with 
     this  subsection.  The windshield of the vehicle may be tinted 
     only along the  top of the windshield and the tinting may not 
     extend more than five inches below the top of the windshield or 
     below the AS1 line of the windshield,  whichever measurement is
     longer.  Any other window of the vehicle may be  tinted in 
     accordance with the following restrictions: 

                  (1)  The total light transmission of the tinted
                       window must be at least thirty-five percent (35%).
                       A vehicle window that,  by use of a light meter
                       approved by the Commissioner, measures a total
                       light transmission of more than thirty-two
                       percent (32%) is conclusively  presumed to meet
                       this restriction. 
                  (2)  The light reflectance of the tinted window must
                       be twenty percent (20%) or less. 
                  (3)  Tinted film or another material used to tint the
                       window must be nonreflective and must be a color
                       other than red,  yellow, or amber. 

(c)  Tinting Exceptions. -- The window tinting restrictions in  
     subsection (b) of this section apply without exception to the
     windshield  of a vehicle. The window tinting restrictions in
     subdivisions (b)(1) and  (b)(2) of this section do not apply to
     any of the following vehicle  windows: 
                  (1)  A window of an excursion passenger vehicle, as
                       defined in G.S. 20-4.01(27)a. (2)  A window of a
                       for-hire passenger vehicle, as  defined in
                       G.S. 20-4.01(27)b. 
                  (3)  A window of a common carrier of passengers, as
                       defined in G.S. 20-4.01(27)c. 
                  (4)  A window of a motor home, as defined in
                       G.S. 20-4.01(27)d2. 
                  (5)  A window of an ambulance, as defined in
                       G.S. 20-4.01(27)f. 
                  (6)  The rear window of a property-hauling vehicle,
                       as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(31). 
                  (7)  A window of a limousine. 
                  (8)  A window of a law enforcement vehicle. 
                  (9)  A window of a multipurpose vehicle that is  behind
                       the driver of the vehicle.  A multipurpose vehicle
                       is a passenger  vehicle that is designed to carry
                       10 or fewer passengers and either is  constructed
                       on a truck chassis or has special features designed
                       for  occasional off-road operation.  A minivan and
                       a pickup truck are  multipurpose vehicles. 
                  (10) A window of a vehicle that is registered in  another
                       state and meets the requirements of the state in
                       which it is  registered.

(d)  Violations. -- A person who does any of the following  commits a
     misdemeanor of the class set in G.S. 20-176: 


                  (1)  Applies tinting to the window of a vehicle  that
                       is subject to a safety inspection in this State
                       and the resulting  tinted window does not meet the
                       window tinting restrictions set in this  section. 

                  (2)  Drives on a highway or a public vehicular area 
                       a vehicle that has a window that does not meet
                       the window tinting  restrictions set in this section.

 (e)  Defense. -- It is a defense to a charge of driving a  vehicle with
      an unlawfully tinted window that the tinting was removed  within
      15 days after the charge and the window now meets the window 
      tinting restrictions.  To assert this defense, the person charged
      must  produce in court, or submit to the prosecuting attorney before
      trial, a  certificate from the Division of Motor Vehicles or the
      Highway Patrol  showing that the window complies with the
      restrictions."