SB 454 — Arson Law Revisions.

FILED SENATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA AprSESSION 1, 2021 S.B.S 1 SENATE BILL 454 Short Title:

454 SESSION 2021 PRINCIPAL CLERK S D SENATE BILL DRS35202-MLf-84A Short Title:

Rules and Operations of the Senate April 5, 2021 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO INCREASE THE PUNISHMENT FOR THE BURNING OF COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES;

If Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, if any person shall wantonly and willfully set fire to or burn or cause to be burned, *DRS35202-MLf-84A**S454-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 or aid, counsel or procure the burning of, any building or structure in the process of construction for use or intended to be used as a dwelling house or in carrying on any trade or manufacture, or otherwise, whether the same or any of them respectively shall then be in the possession of the offender, or in the possession of any other person, he the person shall be punished as a Class H felon." SECTION 1.(e) G.S.

Page 2 DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 (b) Offense InvolvingInvolvingSerious SeriousInjury.–ApersonisInjury.–Apersonis guiltyguiltyofaClassEfelonyiftheperson ofaClassEfelony iftheperson commits a felony under Article 15 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes and a firefighter, law enforcement officer, fire investigator, or emergency medical technician suffers serious bodily injury while discharging or attempting to discharge official duties on the property, or proximate to theproperty,thattheproperty, that is thesubject ofthefirefighter's,lawenforcement officer's, fireinvestigator's, or emergency medical technician's discharge or attempt to discharge his or her respective duties.

– A person is guilty of a Class F felony if the person commits a felony under Article 15 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes and a firefighter, law enforcement officer, fire investigator, or emergency medical technician suffers physical injury while discharging or attempting to discharge official duties on the property, or proximate to theproperty,thattheproperty, that is thesubject ofthefirefighter's,lawenforcement officer's, fireinvestigator's, or emergencyemergencymedical medical technician's discharge or attempt to discharge his or her respective duties." PART III.

A preliminary investigation shall be made by the chief of fire department or chief of police, wherethereis no chiefof firedepartment inmunicipalities,andbythecountyinmunicipalities,andbythecountyfiremarshal firemarshal and the sheriff of the county or the chief of the rural fire department where such fire occurs outside of a municipality, and must be begun within three days, exclusive of Sunday, of the occurrence of the fire, and the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, through the State Bureau of Investigation, Commissioner of Insurance, through the Office of the State Fire Marshal, shall have the right to supervise and direct the investigation when he the Commissioner deems it expedient or necessary.

It is the dutydutyof of the Commissioner of Insurance, through the Office of State Fire Marshal, and the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation to examine, or cause examination to be made, into the cause, circumstances, and origin of all fires occurring within the State to which his his DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 or her attention has been called in accordance with the provisions of G.S.

58-79-1, or by interested parties, by which property is accidentally or unlawfully burned, destroyed, or damaged, wheneverin his his orherjudgmentorherjudgmentthe the evidence is sufficient, andandto tospeciallyexamine specially examine and decide whether the fire was the result of carelessness or the act of an incendiary.

The Commissioner of Insurance, through the Office of State Fire Marshal, and the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation shall, in person, by deputy or otherwise, fully investigate all circumstances surrounding such fire, and, when in his their opinion such proceedings are necessary, take or cause to be taken the testimonytestimonyon on oath of all persons supposed to be cognizant of any facts or to have means of knowledge in relation to the matters as to which an examination is herein required to be made, and shall cause the same to be reduced in writing.

The Commissioner of Insurance, through the Office of State Fire Marshal, and the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation or his their deputydeputyhas has have authorityauthorityat at all times of the day or night, in performance of the duties imposed by the provisions of this Article, to enteruponandexamineanybuildingorpremiseswhereanyenteruponandexamineanybuildingorpremiseswhereanyfirehasoccurred,andotherbuildings firehasoccurred,andotherbuildings and premises adjoining or near the same.

All investigations held by or under the direction of the Commissioner of Insurance, through the Office of State Fire Marshal, and Director of the State Bureau of Investigation or his their deputy may, in their discretion, be private, and persons other than those required to be present bybythe the provisions of this Article maymaybe be excluded from the place where the investigation is held, and witnesses may be kept apart from each other and not allowed to communicate with each other until they have been examined." SECTION 3.(d) G.S.

(a) The chief of any municipal fire or police department, county fire marshal or sheriff, or special agent of the State Bureau of Investigation Investigation, or the Office of State Fire Marshal maymayrequest request any insurance companycompanyinvestigating investigating a fire loss of real or personal property to release any information in its possession relative to that loss.

The company shall release the Page 4 DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 information and cooperate with any official authorized to request such information pursuant to this section.

– AStateorfederalA Stateorfederal historyof conviction ofa crime,whether a misdemeanor or felony, that bears upon a covered person's fitness for holding a paid or volunteer position with a fire department.

DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition Page 5 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 Article26,Offenses AgainstPublicMoralityandDecency;Article26A,AdultAgainstPublicMoralityandDecency; Establishments;

Article26A,Adult Establishments;

Article 29, Bribery;Article31,MisconductBribery; in PublicOffice;

Article35,OffensesArticle31,Misconduct Againstin thePublicOffice; Public Peace;

Article35, Offenses Against the Public Peace;

18B-302,ordriving18B-302,ordrivingwhileimpairedinviolationofG.S. whileimpairedinviolationofG.S.

The local Homeland SecuritySecuritydirector, director, local fire chief, marshal, director, or local law enforcement agency shall provide to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety the fingerprints of the applicant to be checked, any additional information required by the Department of Public Safety, and a form signed by the applicant to be checked consenting to the (i) check of the criminal record and to the (ii) use of fingerprints and other identifying information required bybythe the State or National Repositories.

however, the following factors shall be considered bybythe the local Homeland SecuritySecuritydirector, director, local fire chief, county fire marshal, emergency services director, or local law enforcement agency in Page 6 DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 determining whether the position applicant shall be denied or the current member dismissed from a current position:

A local Homeland Security director, local fire chief, county fire marshal, or local law enforcement agency, as applicable, shall request, and an applicant shall disclose, any pending felony charges involving burning or setting fire under Article 14, Article 22, or anyanyother other Article of Chapter 15 of the General Statutes.

and "emergency"emergencyservices services director" shall include only emergency services directors who are paid employees of a city or county." SECTION 4.(b) G.S.

maycontract for fire-fightingfire-fightingorprevention orprevention services with one ormore counties, cities, or cities or other units of local government government, incorporated volunteer fire departments, or with an agency of the State government, or with one or more incorporated DRS35202-MLf-84ASenate Bill 454-First Edition Page 7 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2021 volunteer fire departments;

If these duties include State Building Code enforcement, theytheyshall shall follow the provisions as defined in G.S.

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