Tuesday, December 1, 2009 — A group of new laws go into effect Tuesday, many involving motor vehicles.
Texting while driving will become unlawful today. If caught in the act of driving while texting or reading e-mail, a person may be subject to a $100 fine and court costs. However, no drivers license points or insurance surcharges would be assessed from this violation.
On the same subject of texting while driving, in the event of someone violating this law while operating a school bus, the perpetrator may be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor and fined no less than $100.
The following legislation also becomes effective Dec. 1. This information is according to the North Carolina General Assem-bly. More information is available at the assembly’s Web site at www.ncleg.net:
S.L. 2009-37 (HB 616) OFFENSE FOR POR-TABLE TOILETS/ PUMPER TRUCKS.
An Act To Create The Offense Of Larceny, Destruction, Defacement, Or Vandalism Of Portable Toilets Or Pumper Trucks.
S.L. 2009-93 (HB 1327) SCHOOLS NOTIFIED OF CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION.
An Act Authorizing Law Enforcement Agencies To Disseminate An Assessment Of Criminal Intelligence Information To A School Principal Pursuant To Federal Law.
S.L. 2009-107 (HB 43) SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS/FAILURE TO DISCHARGE DUTY.
An Act Making It Unlawful For A School Board Member To Willfully Fail To Discharge The Duties Of The Office.
S.L. 2009-128 (SB 1000) MOTOR VEHICLE SIZE AND WEIGHT LAW CHANGES.
An Act To Restrict The Overall Length Of A Single Vehicle With Two Or More Axles To Forty Feet, To Require That Vehicles Transporting Equipment Or Poles For Emergency Utility Repair At Night Have Trailers That Are No Longer Than Fifty-Three Feet, To Increase The Maximum Length For A Combination Of A House Trailer Used As A Mobile Home With Its Towing Vehicle, And To Re-quire Certain Farm Vehicles To Be Self-Propelled When Operating On A Highway.
S.L. 2009-135 (HB 9) NO TEXTING WHILE DRIVING.
An Act To Make It Unlawful To Use A Mobile Telephone For E-Mail Or Text Messaging While Operating A Vehicle On A Public Street Or Highway Or Public Vehicular Area.
S.L. 2009-147 (HB 440) THE NICHOLAS AD-KINS SCHOOL BUS SAFETY ACT.
An Act To Provide For The Use Of Automated Camera Or Video Recording Sys-tems To Detect And Pro-secute Individuals Who Pass Stopped School Buses, As Recommended By The Child Fatality Task Force, And To Increase The Penalty For Striking And Causing The Death Of A Person When Passing A Stopped School Bus.
S.L. 2009-179 (HB 315) PLEA BARGAIN DISCLOSURE.
An Act To Provide That Rejection Of A Plea Arrangement By A Judge In Superior Court Shall Be Noted On The Plea Tran-script And Be Made Part Of The Court Record.
S.L. 2009-203 (HB 1190) PRESERVATION OF DNA & BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE.
An Act To Clarify And Strengthen The Law Regarding The Preservation Of Dna And Biological Evidence That Is Related To A Criminal Offense And A Defendant’s Access To That Evidence.
S.L. 2009-204 (HB 787) INCREASE PENALTY/ REMOVE SERIAL NUMBER FROM GUN.
An Act To Increase The Criminal Penalty For Altering, Destroying, Or Removing The Permanent Serial Number Of A Firearm And For Possessing A Firearm With The Serial Number Removed.
S.L. 2009-205 (HB 722) PARAPHERNALIA CONTROL ACT.
An Act To Provide For The Regulation Of Certain Devices That May Be Used As Drug Paraphernalia.
S.L. 2009-234 (SB 649) MODIFY SPEED ZONE RESTRICTIONS.
An Act To Prevent Speed Limits In Areas Newly Annexed By A Municipality From Automatically Be-coming Thirty-Five Mile-Per-Hour Speed Zones And To Allow Flexibility
In The Designation Of Segments Of Work Zones Subject To Additional Penalties.
S.L. 2009-300 (HB 885) TARGETED PICKETING.
An Act To Prohibit Persons From Picketing Directed At A Single Residence In A Manner That Would Cause Fear Or Substantial Emotional Distress.
S.L. 2009-319 (HB 882) MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION PROGRAM CHANGES.
An Act To Allow The Division Of Motor Vehicles To Refuse To Register A Vehicle If The
Vehicle Is Not In Compliance With The Inspections Requirements, To Require Proof Of Finan-cial Responsibility For A Three-Day Trip Permit, And To Make Technical Changes To The Inspection Program Statutes.
S.L. 2009-333 (HB 1105) AMEND LAWS/ RE-FRIGERATION CONTRACTORS.
An Act To Amend The Laws Regulating Refrigera-tion Contractors.
S.L. 2009-335 (SB 817) INCREASE CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTIONS.
An Act To Increase Child Support Collections By Permitting Greater Senten-cing Flexibility For A Person Who Commits Criminal Contempt By Failing To Comply With An Order To Pay Child Support.
S.L. 2009-336 (SB 65) AMEND COMPUTER SOLICITATION OF CHILD.
An Act To Amend The Law Regarding Solicitation Of A Child By Computer To Commit An Unlawful Sex Act To Include Solicitations By Other Electronic Devices As Well As Computers.
S.L. 2009-344 (SB 307) REGULATE OWNERSHIP & USE OF CERTAIN REPTILES.
An Act To Amend The Law Regulating The Use Of Certain Reptiles.
S.L. 2009-348 (SB 764) REAL ESTATE/SETTLEMENT AGENT EMBEZZLEMENT.
An Act Amending The Criminal Statutes And The Good Funds Settlement Act To Clarify That A Settlement Agent Is Guilty Of Embez-zlement In Instances Where It Cannot Be Shown That The Funds Were Embezzled From A Particular Person Or Entity.
S.L. 2009-349 (SB 1076) MODIFY CRIMINAL JUSTICE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
An Act To Modify The Criminal Justice Partnership Program To Allow Certain Community-Level Offend-ers To Be Served By The Program.
S.L. 2009-351 (HB 23) STRENGTHEN CHILD LABOR VIOLATION PENALTIES.
An Act Amending Chapter 95 Of The General Statutes To Protect The Health And Safety Of Children By Increasing The Penalties For Violations Of Child Labor Laws.
S.L. 2009-356 (HB 192) CHILD WITNESS TESTIMONY/PROCEDURES.
An Act To Establish Pro-cedural Requirements For Child Witness Testimony In Criminal Cases.
S.L. 2009-369 (HB 1185) HABITUAL DWI-REINSTATEMENT PETITION/10 YRS.
An Act To Allow An Individual Convicted Of Habitual Impaired Driving To Be Eligible To Petition For A Hearing To Restore Driving Privileges After Ten Years Without Any Traffic Or Criminal Convictions.
S.L. 2009-372 (SB 920) PROBATION REFORM.
An Act To Allow Probation Officers To Access Certain Offenders’ Juvenile Re-cords, To Make Warrantless Searches And Drug Screen-ing Regular Conditions Of Supervision, To Add Addi-tional Controlling Mea-sures For Offenders Subject To Intermediate Punish-ment, And To Make Clarify-ing Amendments To Stream-line Procedures For Super-vision Of Offenders In The Community.
S.L. 2009-379 (HB 1256) LARCENY OF A MOTOR VEHICLE PART.
An Act To Create The Criminal Offense Of Lar-ceny Of A Motor Vehicle Part.
S.L. 2009-380 (HB 1255) SEX OFFENDERS/PERMANENT NO CONTACT ORDER.
An Act To Provide That When Sentencing A Defendant Convicted Of A Sex Offense And Upon Request Of The District Attorney, The Court May Enter A Permanent No Contact Order Prohibiting Any Future Contact Of A Convicted Sex Offender With The Crime Victim If The Court Determines That Appropri-ate Grounds Exist For The Order.
S.L. 2009-398 (HB 1077) VENUE/MUNICIPALITIES IN MULTIPLE DISTRICTS.
An Act To Amend The Venue Rules And The Authority Of Magistrates For Municipalities Lying In Four Or More Counties, Each Of Which Is In A Different Judicial District.
S.L. 2009-411 (SB 513) NOTICE OF HEARING/UNSUPERVISED PROBATION.
An Act To Authorize Service By Mail Of Notices Of Hearings On Violations Of Unsupervised Probation, Clarifying Procedures For Community Service Staff Notifying Persons Of Will-ful Violations, And To Clar-ify The Court’s Authority When A Notice Of Violation Of Unsupervised Probation Is Served By Mail.
S.L. 2009-412 (SB 1078) DELAY BOND/PROBATIONER ARRESTED FOR FELONY.
An Act To Provide The Procedure For Determining Pretrial Release Conditions When A Probationer Is Arrested And Charged With The Commission Of A Felony, And To Provide That When A Probationer Is Charged With A Violation Of Probation And Has A Pending Felony Charge, A Judicial Official Must Determine Whether The Probationer Poses A Danger To The Public And, If The Probationer Is A Danger To The Public, The Judicial Official Must Deny Release On The Probation Violation Charge.
S.L. 2009-415 (SB 713) REMOVAL OF ELECTRONIC MONITORING DEVICE.
An Act To Create The Cri-minal Offense Of Remo-ving, Destroying, Or Cir-cumventing The Operation Of An Electronic Monitor-ing Device.
S.L. 2009-417 (HB 1058) INCREASE STATUTORY HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION.
An Act To Increase The Statutory Homestead Exemption.
S.L. 2009-451 (SB 202) APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2009.
An Act To Make Base Budget Appropriations For Current Operations Of State Departments, Institutions, And Agencies, And For Other Purposes.
S.L. 2009-456 (HB 67) LICENSE PLATE FRAME/STATE NAME VISIBLE/STUDY.
An Act To Prohibit The Covering Of The State Name, Year Sticker, Or Month Sticker On A State License Plate By A License Plate Frame And To Direct The Joint Legislative Trans-portation Oversight Com-mittee And The Revenue Laws Study Committee To Study The Authorization Of Special Registration Plates.
S.L. 2009-460 (HB 1098) PROTECT SEARCH AND RESCUE ANIMAL.
An Act To Provide The Same Protections To Search And Rescue Animals As Those Provided To Law En-forcement Agency Animals And Animals That Assist The Disabled.
S.L. 2009-491 (HB 1117) SEX OFFENDER CAN’T DRIVE BUS WITH CHILDREN.
AN ACT to provide that the division of motor vehicles shall not issue or renew commercial drivers licenses with endorsements that qualify a person to drive a commercial passenger vehicle or school bus for anyone required to register under the sex offender and public protection registration programs.
S.L. 2009-498 (HB 209) SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY/LIBERTIES W/STUDENT.
An Act To Add The Offense Of Taking Indecent Liberties With A Student To The List Of Sex Offenses That Require Registration Under The Sex Offender And Public Protection Registration Program, As Recommended By The House Select Committee On Sex Offender Issues.
S.L. 2009-500 (HB 926) CONTINUOUS ALCOHOL MONITORING SYSTEMS.
An Act To Allow The Use Of Continuous Alcohol Monitoring Systems To Meet Requirements For The Restoration Of A Revoked Drivers License, And To Authorize The Use Of Certain Funds For The Promulgation Of Division Of Motor Vehicles Guidelines Relating To The Use Of The Results Of Con-tinuous Alcohol Monitoring Systems As Evidence.
S.L. 2009-508 (SB 990) INCREASE PENALTY/ TIMBER THEFT.
An Act To Increase The Criminal Penalty For Cutting, Injuring, Or Removing Another’s Timber Resulting In Damages That Exceed One Thousand Dollars.
S.L. 2009-514 (HB 775) ALT. TESTIMONY/ CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES.
An Act To Provide For Alternative Means Of Testimony For Persons With Developmental Disabilities And Persons With Mental Retardation, As Recom-mended By The Joint Study Committee On Autism Spectrum Disorder And Public Safety.
S.L. 2009-516 (HB 1269) AOC OMNIBUS COURTS ACT.
An Act To Authorize A County Or City To Use Excess Facility Fees Without The Approval Of The Administrative Office Of The Courts, To Add To The Director’s Powers And Duties The Establishment And Staffing Of An Internal Auditing Division For The Judicial Department, To Modify Certain Statutes Related To Drug Treatment Courts, And To Clarify The Emergency Powers Of The Chief Justice.
S.L. 2009-517 (SB 853) MOTION FOR APPROPRIATE RELIEF/NEW REQUIREMENT.
An Act To Provide That An Attorney Making A Motion For Appropriate Relief In Superior Court, Whether By Oral Or Written Motion, Must Certify In Writing To The Court That The Motion Is Made In Good Faith And On Sound Legal Basis, That The Attorney Has Reviewed The Trial Transcript As Appropriate, Or If The Tran-script Is Unavailable, State The Efforts Undertaken To Locate The Transcript, And The Attorney Has Notified Both The District Attorney And The Defense Attorney Who Initially Represented The Defendant Of The Motion, To Require That The Certification Appear In Writing On The Motion; And To Require That Prior Trial And Appellate Counsel For The Defendant And The State Make All Files Related To The Defendant’s Case Available To The Defend-ant’s Attorney For Postcon-viction Proceedings In Superior Court.
S.L. 2009-528 (HB 889) CHANGE PENALTY FOR MISD. DEATH BY VEHICLE.
An Act To Increase The Penalty For Misdemeanor Death By Motor Vehicle From A Class 1 Misde-meanor To A Class A1 Misdemeanor.
S.L. 2009-531 (SB 295) CLARIFY CLOSEST MARKET.
An Act To Require The Closest Market To Which A Crop May Be Hauled To Be Within One Hundred Fifty Miles Of The Farm From Which The Crop Is Hauled.
S.L. 2009-534 (HB 1111) CAMPAIGN FINANCE AMENDMENTS.
An Act To Make More Specific When An Indivi-dual Becomes A “Can-didate” For Campaign Finance Law; To Use Different Terminology And Define Terms In The Legal Expense Funds Statute And Clarify Candidate Contri-butions To Legal Expense Funds; To Revise The Way The Definitions Of “Contri-bution” And “Expenditure” Deal With Promises; To Require That A Treasurer For A North Carolina Com-mittee Be A North Carolina Resident; To Reduce The Three-Thousand-Dollar Or Less Exemption For Cam-paign Reporting For Can-didates For Certain Local Elected Offices To One Thousand Dollars Or Less And To Eliminate The Three-Thousand-Dollar Or Less Exemption For Cam-paign Reporting For Candidates For All Other Offices; To Exempt Com-mercial Communications From The Electioneering Communication Laws And Candidate-Specific Com-munication Laws; To Autho-rize An Optional Process To Determine Whether Or Not A Communication Is An Electioneering Communi-cation Or A Candidate-Specific Communication Prior To Its Distribution; To Make A Change To The Procedure For Allocating Money In The Political Parties Financing Fund; And To Make Other Technical Changes.
S.L. 2009-538 (SB 138) SALVIA DIVINORUM UNLAWFUL.
An Act To Create The Offense Of Unlawful Manu-facture, Sale, Delivery, Or Possession Of Salvia Divinorum.
S.L. 2009-545 (SB 984) ACCESS TO JUVENILE RECORDS/VIOLENT OFFENDERS.
An Act Amending The Juvenile Code Regarding Access To Juvenile Court Records.
S.L. 2009-547 (SB 726) AMEND HOUSE ARREST LAWS/ADULT/ JUVENILE.
An Act To Provide That House Arrest May Be Imposed As A Condition Of Pretrial Release; To Provide That The Court May Autho-rize An Offender Under Electronic House Arrest To Leave The Offender’s Resi-dence For Specific Purposes And The Court Or Probation Officer May Modify Those Conditions; And To Amend The Definition Of House Arrest Under Juvenile Law To State The Specific Pur-poses For Which A Juvenile May Be Authorized To Leave The Juvenile’s Residence.
S.L. 2009-551 (HB 1261) PROTECT OUR KIDS/ CYBER BULLYING.
An Act Protecting Children Of This State By Making Cyber-Bullying A Criminal Offense Punishable As A Misdemeanor.
S.L. 2009-553 (HB 1387) SOLAR COLLECTORS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.
An Act To Make The Current Limitations On City Ordinances And County Ordinances That Regulate The Installation Of Solar Collectors For Single-Family Residences Appli-cable To All Residential Property And The Current Limitations On Deed Re-strictions That Regulate The Installation Of Solar Collectors For Single-Family Residences Appli-cable To All Residential Property Except Certain Multi-Story Condominiums.
S.L. 2009-554 (HB 1135) QUI TAM/LIABILITY FOR FALSE CLAIMS.
An Act To Deter And Punish Persons Who Make False Or Fraudulent Claims For Payment By The State And To Provide Remedies In The Form Of Treble Damages And Civil Penalties When Money Is Obtained From The State By Reason Of Such Claims.
S.L. 2009-555 (SB 489) EVEN OUT PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD POINTS.
An Act To Restructure The Prior Record Level Point Ranges In Order To Expand The Points In Prior Record Level I And To Even Out The Remaining Ranges.
S.L. 2009-556 (SB 488) ESTABLISH PROPORTIONATE SENTENCE LENGTHS.
An Act To Make The In-crease In Sentence Lengths Between Prior Record Levels More Proportionate Using A Set Percentage Increment.
S.L. 2009-577 (HB 1329) CONSOLIDATE EX-PUNCTION STATUTES.
An Act To Consolidate All Statutes Related To Ex-punction Of Records In One Article Of The General Statutes, To Modify The Age Requirements Of Certain Expunctions To Be The Age At The Time Of The Offense Rather Than The Age At The Time Of Conviction, To Allow The Expunction Of Misdemeanor Larceny, And To Make Clarifying And Conforming Changes To The Expunction Statutes.
