North Carolina SB 445: Recording of Court-Filed Documents.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 5
SENATE BILL 445
Health Care Committee Substitute Adopted 4/17/25
House Committee Substitute Favorable 5/20/26
House Committee Substitute #2 Favorable 6/2/26
Fifth Edition Engrossed 6/3/26

Short Title: Regulatory Reform Act of 2026. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
March 25, 2025
*S445-v-5*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FURTHER REGULATORY RELIEF TO THE CITIZENS OF NORTH 2
CAROLINA. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
5
PART I. ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES REFORMS 6
7
REPEAL 2023 FISHERIES HARVEST REPORTING REQUIREMENT 8
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 113-170.3(d), (e), (f), and (g) are repealed. 9
SECTION 1.(b) The catch line of G.S. 113-170.3 reads as rewritten: 10
"§ 113-170.3. Record-keeping requirements; mandatory reporting for certain 11
fisheries.requirements." 12
13
MOVE ARBOR WEEK FROM MARCH TO NOVEMBER 14
SECTION 3. G.S. 103-6 reads as rewritten: 15
"§ 103-6. Arbor Week. 16
The week in March November of each year containing March November 15 is hereby 17
designated as Arbor Week in North Carolina." 18
19
INCREASE CIVIL PENALTY FOR WATER THEFT 20
SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 14-151 reads as rewritten: 21
"§ 14-151. Interfering with gas, electric, and steam steam, and water appliances or meters; 22
penalties. 23
(a) It is unlawful for any person to willfully, with intent to injure or defraud, commit any 24
of the following acts: 25
... 26
(4) Make any connection or reconnection with the gas mains, water pipes, service 27
pipes, or wires of any person, furnishing to consumers natural or artificial gas, 28
water, or electricity, or turn on or off or in any manner interfere with any valve 29
or stopcock or other appliance belonging to that person, and connected with 30
the person's service or other pipes or wires, or enlarge the orifices of mixers, 31
or use natural gas for heating purposes except through mixers, or electricity 32
for any purpose without first procuring from the person a written permit to 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 445-Fifth Edition
turn on or off the stopcock or valve, or to make the connection or 1
reconnections, or to enlarge the orifice of mixers, or to use for heating 2
purposes without mixers, or to interfere with the valves, stopcocks, wires, or 3
other appliances of them, as the case may be. For the purposes of this 4
subsection, "water pipes" means water pipes, fire hydrants, flushing 5
assemblies, blow-offs, sampling stations, and all other appurtenances 6
connected to a water distribution system, whether above or below ground. 7
... 8
(e) Whoever is found in a civil action to have violated any provision of this section is 9
liable to the electric, gas, or water supplier in triple the amount of losses and damages sustained 10
or five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is greater.greater, except that whoever is found in a 11
civil action to have violated subdivision (a)(4) of this section by the connection or reconnection 12
with any water pipe is liable to the water supplier in triple the amount of losses and damages 13
sustained or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever is greater, and attorneys' fees. 14
...." 15
SECTION 4.(b) This section becomes effective December 1, 2026, and applies to 16
offenses committed on or after that date. 17
18
ALLOW LIQUEFIED PETROLEUM GAS REFILLS DURING EMERGENCIES 19
SECTION 5.(a) G.S. 119-54(a) reads as rewritten: 20
"(a) It is the purpose of this Article to provide for the adoption and promulgation of a code 21
of safety, and such rules and regulations setting forth minimum general standards of safety for 22
the design, construction, location, installation, and operation of the equipment used in handling, 23
storing, measuring, transporting, distributing, and utilizing liquefied petroleum gases and to 24
provide for the administration and enforcement of the code and such rules and regulations thereby 25
adopted. Words used in this Article shall be defined as follows: 26
(1) "Board" means the North Carolina Board of Agriculture. 27
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture or his designated 28
agent. 29
(3) "Dealer" means any person, firm, or corporation who is engaged in or desires 30
to engage in: 31
a. The business of selling or otherwise dealing in liquefied petroleum 32
gases which require handling, storing, measuring, transporting, or 33
distributing liquefied petroleum gas; or 34
b. The business of installing, servicing, repairing, adjusting, connecting, 35
or disconnecting containers, equipment, or appliances which use 36
liquefied gas. A person who engages in any of the aforementioned 37
activities only in connection with his or his employer's use of liquefied 38
petroleum gas and not as a business shall not be deemed to be a 39
"dealer" for the purposes of this Article. 40
(3a) "Emergency supplier" means a Class A dealer that provides liquefied 41
petroleum gas to a consumer during a qualifying emergency, purs