More Than 40 New Laws Now in Effect
More than 40 new state laws went into effect Saturday, some of them aimed at drunken driving or underage drinking, with others providing stiffer penalties for desecrating a cemetery or killing an animal.One law bans devices known as “alcohol inhalers,” which convert liquor into a mist that can be inhaled by the user. Lawmakers were concerned that the devices, which were assembled and distributed by a Greensboro company, were being marketed to underage drinkers.
Another new law establishes rules for alcohol-detecting technology, which is used in ankle bracelets worn by some defendants convicted of drunken driving.
Also, as of Saturday, people can lose their driver’s licenses for providing alcohol to anyone under 21. The penalty is important because many underage drinkers get alcohol from friends or family members, said Craig Lloyd, the executive director of the North Carolina chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The law means that, theoretically, parents could be punished for giving a glass of wine to their 20-year-old son or daughter, even if the 20-year-old never gets behind the wheel.
Lloyd said that’s not excessive.
“It’s a zero-tolerance policy,” he said. “Breaking the law is breaking the law.”
Desecrating a gravestone or other cemetery monument is now considered a low-level felony, and the punishment has increased for people who carry a weapon while violating a domestic-violence order. There are also tougher penalties for people who steal high-priced metals, such as copper and aluminum, or who engage in the organized theft of retail merchandise with the intent to resell it.
It will also be harder to get out of a speeding ticket if the speed is more than 25 miles an hour over the speed limit. People caught speeding at that level can no longer get a “prayer for judgment continued” from a judge or plead guilty to the lesser offense of having a broken speedometer.
Another new driving law relates to school-bus drivers, who will now face a fine of at least $100 if they are caught talking on a cell phone while driving.
Several new laws affect animals. Penalties have increased for anyone who kills an animal through intentional starvation, or anyone who kills a police animal or an assistance animal such as a seeing-eye dog.
Animal-rights activists supported those two laws, although an official with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said yesterday that she objects to the idea that certain animals, such as police dogs, should be elevated above ordinary companion animals.
“If somebody kills a police dog, yes, I’d like to see them charged with a felony, but I’d also like to see anybody who kills an animal be charged with a felony,” said Stephanie Bell, the senior cruelty case worker in PETA’s cruelty investigations department, which tracks state legislation.
Bell said that anyone who willfully kills an animal - which is defined by state statute as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds - should go to prison.
A third new law dealing with animals legalizes a practice known as “earth-dog trials.” The practice involves placing a caged rat at the end of an underground tunnel. A dog such as a dachshund or terrier is then encouraged to follow the scent of the rat through the tunnel and then bark, scratch or paw at the rat’s cage.
The “trial” is said to be a simulated hunting situation and is sometimes used for entertainment.
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