A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to establish an animal welfare hotline AND WEB SITE within the attorney general's office and to establish a court fee to support the investigation of animal cruelty VIOLATIONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 1 of Chapter 114 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 114‑8.7.  Reports of animal cruelty and animal welfare violations.
(a)	The Attorney General shall establish a hotline, to be known as the "NC Pets We Care Hotline," to receive reports of allegations of animal cruelty or violations of the Animal Welfare Act, Article 3 of Chapter 19A of the General Statutes, by means including telephone, electronic mail, and Internet Web site. The Attorney General shall periodically publicize the hotline telephone number, electronic mail address, Internet Web site address, and any other means by which the Attorney General may receive reports of allegations of animal cruelty or violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Individuals who make a report under this section shall remain anonymous unless the individual affirmatively consents to having his or her identity disclosed.
(b)	When the Attorney General receives allegations involving activity that the Attorney General determines may involve cruelty to animals in violation of Article 47 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes, the allegations shall be referred to the appropriate local law enforcement agency for the unit or units of local government within which the violations are alleged to have occurred. When the Attorney General receives allegations involving activity that the Attorney General determines may involve violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the allegations shall be referred to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Attorney General shall record the total number of reports received on the hotline and the number of reports received against any individual on the hotline."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 7A‑304(a) reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑304.  Costs in criminal actions.
(a)	In every criminal case in the superior or district court, wherein the defendant is convicted, or enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or when costs are assessed against the prosecuting witness, the following costs shall be assessed and collected. No costs may be assessed when a case is dismissed. Only upon entry of a written order, supported by findings of fact and conclusions of law, determining that there is just cause, the court may (i) waive costs assessed under this section or (ii) waive or reduce costs assessed under subdivision (7), (8), (8a), (11), (12), or (13) of this section.
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(14)	For support of law enforcement in the investigation of violations of Article 47 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes and Animal Welfare Act violations, the district or superior court judge shall, upon conviction of the defendant, order payment of the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) to be remitted to the general fund of the local governmental unit that investigated the crime to be used for local law enforcement."
SECTION 3.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2016, and applies to fees assessed or collected on or after that date. The remainder of this act becomes effective when it becomes law.