RALEIGH — The N.C. General Assembly continues to enact new laws this week in Raleigh during another special session. However, many laws are becoming effective as of Oct. 1, 2017. Highlights of more than 30 bills, with hundreds of provisions, include:
Senate Bill 182, sponsored by Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Richmond), prohibits the use of light bars on the state’s highways with an intensity of greater than 25 candlepower. Light bars, popular on four-wheel drive trucks and SUVs used for off-roading, are typically very bright and illuminate a broad area. The bill does not prohibit the installation of the bars, simply the use of them on public roads.
House Bill 559, sponsored by Rep. Chris Millis (R-Pender), removes the general prohibitions on hunting of migratory birds on Sunday and Sunday hunting in counties with populations over 700,000. The law does not immediately allow Sunday hunting of migratory birds, but allows for the Wildlife Resources Commission to allow it if they so choose after March 1, 2018. The bill also maintains a prohibition on hunting between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. as well as hunting within 500 yards of a place of religious worship on Sunday. Counties are allowed to prohibit or further restrict Sunday hunting by ordinance if a countywide referendum is passed by a majority of county voters.
Senate Bill 323, sponsored by Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover), establishes that various types of records held by the University of North Carolina and its constituent institutions that relate to membership in the NCAA, athletic conferences or other collegiate sports organizations are subject the N.C. public records laws.
