GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1993 SESSION

CHAPTER 311
SENATE BILL 70

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE INSPECTION OF OSTRICHES AND OTHER RATITES UNDER THE MEAT INSPECTION ACT.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 106-549.15 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(21a)	'Ratite' means a bird whose breastbone is smooth so that flight muscles cannot attach, such as an ostrich, an emu, and a rhea.  These birds are subject to the provisions of this Article and Article 49C to the same extent as any other meat food product."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 106-549.39 reads as rewritten:
"§ 106-549.39.  Hours of inspection; overtime work; fees.
(a)	Overtime Fees. – The Commissioner is not required to furnish meat inspection services during the following times unless the establishment under inspection pays the Department for the services:  
(1)	More than eight hours in a day.
(2)	More than 40 hours in a calendar week.
(3)	On a Sunday.
(4)	On a legal holiday.
The Commissioner may establish a fee at an hourly rate to be paid by an establishment inspected during the times listed above.  The fee shall be credited to the Department as a departmental receipt and applied to the cost of inspecting the establishment.
(b)	Ratite Fees. – The Commissioner may establish a fee at an hourly rate to be paid by an establishment preparing ostriches or other ratites as a meat food product.  The fee shall be credited to the Department as a departmental receipt and applied to the cost of inspecting ostriches and other ratites. 
."
Sec. 3.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9th day of July, 1993.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives