A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the penalty for theft of political signs in Guilford county.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 16 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑76.2. Larceny of political signs.
Any person who removes or destroys a campaign sign earlier than four days after the election to which the sign is relevant without the authorization of the person who placed the sign or of the candidate, political committee, or referendum committee whose cause the sign promotes shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and be punishable by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each sign removed or destroyed, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).  This section does not apply to any government official enforcing a State law or local ordinance, to a public utility company removing a sign from its utility pole, or to the person that owns or controls the property on which the sign is placed."
SECTION 2.  This act applies to Guilford County only.
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2009, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.