AN ACT to increase the criminal penalty for simple assault or battery on a handicapped person.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑32.1(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Any person who commits a simple assault or battery upon a handicapped person is guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2006, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of July, 2006.

	_____________________________________
		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	_____________________________________
		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2006