GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

SESSION LAW 2009-508

SENATE BILL 990

AN ACT to increase the criminal penalty for cutting, injuring, or removing another's timber resulting in damages that exceed One thousand dollars.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14-135 reads as rewritten:

"§ 14-135.  Cutting, injuring, or removing another's timber.

(a)        If any person not being the bona fide owner thereof, shall knowingly and willfully cut down, injure or remove any standing, growing or fallen tree or log, log off the property of another, he the person shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. punished the same as in G.S. 14-72."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2009, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6^th day of August, 2009.

                                                                    s/  Marc Basnight

                                                                         President Pro Tempore of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Joe Hackney

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/  Beverly E. Perdue

                                                                         Governor

Approved 3:20 p.m. this 26^th day of August, 2009