RALEIGH ń Gov. Mike Easley announced today he has signed the following 24 bills into law:

House Bill 887, ěAn act to clarify and expand the criminal offense of stalking.î The bill was sponsored by Reps. Laura Wiley (R-Guilford), James Langdon (R-Johnston), Karen Ray (R-Iredell) and Alice Underhill (D-Craven). The law becomes effective Dec. 1, 2008.

House Bill 1230, ěAn act to amend the law concerning the issuance of special one-time permits to nonprofit organizations.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 1563, ěAn act to provide line-of-duty death benefits to fire and rescue instructors who are otherwise eligible for these benefits but who are not currently covered while conducting fire and rescue training outside their own departments.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Hugh Holliman (D-Davidson). The new law becomes effective June 1, 2008.

House Bill 1770, ěAn act to clarify the authority of the parties to conservation and preservation agreements to include provisions in the agreements for the payment of fees upon future conveyance of property subject to the agreements and to allow special assessments to be paid in more than ten annual installments and to be pledged to the repayment of revenue bonds issued for critical infrastructure needs.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Dan McComas (R-New Hanover). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 2318, ěAn act to authorize the Department of Transportation to enter into private partnership agreements for construction of transportation infrastructure, as recommended by the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Nelson Cole (D-Rockingham). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 2409, ěAn act to require multi-unit assisted housing with services (MAHS) programs to register annually with the Division of Health Service Regulation and to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to establish certain fees, as recommended by the Study Commission on Aging.î The bill was sponsored by Reps. Bob England (D-Rutherford), Jean Farmer-Butterfield (D-Wilson), Alice Bordsen (D-Alamance) and Garland Pierce (D-Scotland). The law becomes effective Jan. 1, 2010.

House Bill 2410, ěAn act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Aging and Adult Services, and Division of Medical Assistance, to study implementation of an income disregard policy for current state/county special assistance and Medicaid recipients who are adversely impacted due to cost of living or other income increases, as recommended by the Study Commission on aging.î The bill was sponsored by Reps. Bob England (D-Rutherford), Jean Farmer-Butterfield (D-Wilson), Alice Bordsen (D-Alamance) and Garland Pierce (D-Scotland). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 2432, ěAn act to direct the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, in consultation with the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, to study and develop plans to enhance disaster management capabilities at the county level; and to allow the Adjutant General of the National Guard to appoint a Deputy Adjutant General who holds the rank of major general.î The bill was sponsored by Reps. Grier Martin (D-Wake), Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland), Dan McComas (R-New Hanover) and William Wainwright (D-Craven). The new law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 2496, ěAn act to authorize the addition of Bear Paw State Natural Area and Yellow Mountain State Natural Area to the State Parks System, as recommended by the Environmental Review Commission.î The bill was sponsored by Reps. Cullie Tarleton (D-Watauga), Lucy Allen (D-Franklin), Pryor Gibson (D-Anson) and Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

House Bill 2509, ěAn act to authorize a semi-annual sales and use tax refund to a nonprofit organization that procures, designs, constructs, or provides facilities to a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson (D-Anson). The law becomes effective Jan. 1, 2004.

House Bill 2570, ěAn act to authorize the movement of trailer frames not exceeding fourteen feet in width to another location no farther than three miles away from the point of origin for continued manufacturing of the transfer trailer with an annual permit.î The bill was sponsored by Rep. Van Braxton (D-Lenoir). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 741, ěAn act to amend the law governing advance payments by nonprofit organizations and Indian tribes.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). The law becomes effective Jan. 1, 2010.

Senate Bill 963, ěAn act relating to the hours of labor and overtime compensation of members of municipal fire departments.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Bob Atwater (D-Chatham). The law becomes effective when ě29 U.S.C. ß 207(k) is repealed or is no longer enforceable.î

Senate Bill 1263, ěAn act to establish the Joint Legislative Elections Oversight Committee; to clarify the new election statute as it applies to multi-seat races; to reauthorize the pilot program for instant runoff voting; to amend the statute concerning notice of an election-protest order and the timing of appeal; to clarify the meaning of the term “election” for purposes of the thirty-day residence requirement for voting; to respond to the decision of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in North Carolina Right to Life v. Leake; to replace the twenty-one-day contribution embargo in the judicial public campaign program with an expedited release of matching funds; to exempt certain sales of goods or services by political party executive committees from certain contribution requirements; to require all treasurers to report according to the municipal campaign reporting schedule if their candidates or committees participate in municipal elections; to prohibit co-mingling of campaign funds; to require that new-party candidates be registered with the party; to amend the reporting requirements for matching funds in public financing programs; to limit the prohibition in the electioneering communications statutes; and to require forty-eight-hour reports for any contribution of late contributions of more than one thousand dollars, regardless of the source; and to make related changes.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Martin Nesbitt (D-Buncombe). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1407, ěAn act to protect customers when purchasing tickets via the Internet and to prohibit the use of software to unfairly purchase tickets over the Internet.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Fletcher Hartsell (R-Iredell). The law goes into effect Aug. 1, 2008.

Senate Bill 1651, ěAN ACT to amend the revised Anatomical Gift Act and other sections of the General Statutes for consistency, as recommended by the General Statutes Commission, and to lower the minimum age for donating blood from seventeen to sixteen.î The bill was sponsored by Fletcher Hartsell (R-Iredell). The law goes into effect upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1681, ěAn act to require state-controlled passenger-carrying vehicles to be smoke-free; and to authorize local governments to require local government-controlled vehicles to be smoke-free, as recommended by the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. William Purcell (D-Scotland). The new law becomes effective. Jan. 1, 2009.

Senate Bill 1716, ěAn act to clarify the distribution of supplemental PEG support funding and to clarify that the service area of a city includes any area subsequently annexed by that city.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1800, ěAn act to amend the definitions of “hazardous materials” and “state” under North Carolina’s motor vehicle laws in order to comply with federal law, as recommended by the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee; to allow certain natural gas utility employees and contractors to use all-terrain vehicles on public highways while acting in the course and scope of their employment; and to amend the Motor Vehicle Dealers and Manufacturers License Law governing the location of additional or relocated new motor vehicle dealers. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Clark Jenkins (D-Nash). It becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1852, ěAn act to resolve problems with applying property tax to heavy equipment rented on a short-term basis by replacing the property tax on this equipment with a tax on the gross receipts from renting the equipment.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Peter Brunstetter (R-Forsyth). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1878, An act to modify the schedule for general reappraisals of real property in the state to reduce the discrepancy between the property tax value of property and its market value, to modify the ownership requirements of present-use value property to reflect common forms of land ownership, to allow property to remain in present-use value when the deferred taxes are paid at the time of transfer and the new owner continues to farm the property, to classify low-income housing property, to exclude from property tax prescription drugs given as free samples, to exclude from property tax eighty percent of the appraised value of a solar electric system, and to direct the Revenue Laws Study Committee to study the effect that this act has on staffing needs of the Department of Revenue and the definition of income as it applies to the homestead exclusion.î The bill was sponsored by Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 1885, ěAn act to promote compensatory mitigation by private mitigation banks, as recommended by the Environmental Review Commission.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). The new law becomes effective Oct. 1, 2008.

Senate Bill 1957, ěAn act to modify the territorial jurisdiction of the North Carolina General Assembly Special Police throughout the state when conducting official business for the purpose of performing advances and protective duties for members, and protective duties at special sessions, committee meetings, commission hearings, and state, regional, or national legislative conferences.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Tony Rand (D-Cumberland). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.

Senate Bill 2075, ěAn act to clarify qualifications for the exception for multi-jurisdictional industrial parks tier designation and to provide for a temporary increase in the cap on amounts committed under the Job Development Investment Grant Program.î The bill was sponsored by Sen. Doug Berger (D-Franklin). The law becomes effective upon the governorís signature.