GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

SESSION LAW 1999-454
HOUSE BILL 222

AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE LITTERING LAW BY INCREASING THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM FINES AND BY REQUIRING COMMUNITY SERVICE IF THE LITTER IS MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS, IS A HAZARDOUS WASTE, OR IS DISCARDED FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 14-399 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-399.  Littering.
(a)	No person, including but not limited to, any firm, organization, private corporation, or governing body, agents or employees of any municipal corporation shall intentionally or recklessly throw, scatter, spill or place or intentionally or recklessly cause to be blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or placed or otherwise dispose of any litter upon any public property or private property not owned by him within this State or in the waters of this State including, but not limited to, any public highway, public park, lake, river, ocean, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street or alley except:
(1)	When such property is designated by the State or political subdivision thereof for the disposal of garbage and refuse, and such person is authorized to use such property for such purpose; or
(2)	Into a litter receptacle in such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon any part of such private or public property or waters.
(b)	When litter is blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or placed from a vehicle or watercraft, the operator thereof shall be presumed to have committed such offense. This presumption, however, does not apply to a vehicle transporting agricultural products or supplies when the litter from that vehicle is a nontoxic, biodegradable agricultural product or supply.
(c)	Any person who violates this section in an amount not exceeding 15 pounds and not for commercial purposes is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first offense. In addition, the court may require the violator to perform community service of not less than eight hours nor more than 24 hours. The community service required shall be to pick up litter if feasible, and if not feasible, to perform other labor commensurate with the offense committed. Any second or subsequent offense within three years after the date of a prior offense is punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000). In addition, the court may require the violator to perform community service of not less than 16 hours nor more than 50 hours. The community service required shall be to pick up litter if feasible, and if not feasible, to perform other labor commensurate with the offense committed.
(d)	Any person who violates this section in an amount exceeding 15 pounds but not exceeding 500 pounds and not for commercial purposes is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than two thousand dollars ($2,000). In addition, the court shall require the violator to perform community service of not less than 24 hours nor more than 100 hours. The community service required shall be to pick up litter if feasible, and if not feasible, to perform other community service commensurate with the offense committed.
(e)	Any person who violates this section in an amount exceeding 500 pounds or in any quantity for commercial purposes, or who discards litter that is a hazardous waste as defined in G.S. 130A-290 is guilty of a Class I felony. In addition, the court shall order the violator to:
(1)	Remove, or render harmless, the litter that he discarded in violation of this section;
(2)	Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage arising out of, his discarding litter in violation of this section; or
(3)	Perform community public service relating to the removal of litter discarded in violation of this section or to the restoration of an area polluted by litter discarded in violation of this section.
(f)	A court may enjoin a violation of this section.
(f1)	If a violation of this section involves the operation of a motor vehicle, upon a finding of guilt, the court shall forward a record of the finding to the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles, which shall record a penalty of one point on the violator's drivers license pursuant to the point system established by G.S. 20-16. There shall be no insurance premium surcharge or assessment of points under the classification plan adopted pursuant to G.S. 58-36-65 for a finding of guilt under this section.
(g)	A motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, container, crane, winch, or machine involved in the disposal of more than 500 pounds of litter in violation of this section is declared contraband and is subject to seizure and summary forfeiture to the State.
(h)	If a person sustains damages arising out of a violation of this section that is punishable as a felony, a court, in a civil action for such damages, shall order the person to pay the injured party threefold the actual damages or two hundred dollars ($200.00), whichever amount is greater. In addition, the court shall order the person to pay the injured party's court costs and attorney's fees.
(i)	For the purpose of the section, unless the context requires otherwise:
(1)	"Aircraft" means a motor vehicle or other vehicle that is used or designed to fly, but does not include a parachute or any other device used primarily as safety equipment.
	 
(2a)	"Commercial purposes" means litter discarded by a business, corporation, association, partnership, sole proprietorship, or any other entity conducting business for economic gain, or by an employee or agent of such entity.
(3)	"Law enforcement officer" means any officer of the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Division of Motor Vehicles of the Department of Transportation, a county sheriff's department, a municipal law enforcement department, a law enforcement department of any other political subdivision, the Department, or the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. In addition, and solely for the purposes of this section, "law enforcement officer" means any employee of a county or municipality designated by the county or municipality as a litter enforcement officer; or wildlife protectors as defined in G.S. 113-128(9);
(4)	"Litter" means any garbage, rubbish, trash, refuse, can, bottle, box, container, wrapper, paper, paper product, tire, appliance, mechanical equipment or part, building or construction material, tool, machinery, wood, motor vehicle or motor vehicle part, vessel, aircraft, farm machinery or equipment, sludge from a waste treatment facility, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility, dead animal, or discarded material in any form resulting from domestic, industrial, commercial, mining, agricultural, or governmental operations. "Litter" does not include political pamphlets, handbills, religious tracts, newspapers, and other such printed materials the unsolicited distribution of which is protected by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of North Carolina.
(5)	"Vehicle" has the same meaning as in G.S. 20-4.01(49); and
(6)	"Watercraft" means any boat or vessel used for transportation across the water.
(j)	It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this section.
(k)	This section does not limit the authority of any State or local agency to enforce other laws, rules or ordinances relating to litter or solid waste management." 
Section 2.  The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is directed to include at least one question relating to littering on the next drivers license examination prepared by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Section 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1999, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of July, 1999.

s/	Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

s/	James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives

s/	James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor

Approved 10:20 p.m. this 13th day of August, 1999