AN ACT to modify the law regarding the desecration of a grave, as recommended by the house study committee on abandoned cemeteries.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 14‑148 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑148.  Defacing or desecrating grave sites.
(a)	It is unlawful to willfully:
(1)	Throw, place or put any refuse, garbage or trash in or on any  cemetery.
(2)	Take away, disturb, vandalize, destroy or change the location of any stone, brick, iron or other material or fence enclosing a cemetery without authorization of law or consent of the surviving spouse or next of kin of the  deceased.
(3)	Take away, disturb, vandalize, destroy, or tamper with  any  shrubbery, flowers, plants or other articles  planted or placed within any cemetery to designate where  human remains are interred or to preserve and perpetuate the memory and name of any person, without authorization of law or the consent of the surviving spouse or next of  kin.
(b)	The provisions of this section shall not apply  to:
(1)	Ordinary maintenance and care of a cemetery by the owner, caretaker, or other person acting to facilitate cemetery operations by keeping the cemetery free from accumulated debris or other signs of neglect.
(2)	Conduct that is punishable under G.S. 14‑149.
(3)	A professional archaeologist as defined in G.S. 70‑28(4) acting pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 70 of the General Statutes.
(c)	Violation of this section is a Class I felony if the damage caused by the violation is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more. Any other violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. In passing sentence, the court shall consider the appropriateness of restitution or reparation as a condition of probation under G.S. 15A‑1343(b)(9) as an alternative to actual imposition of a fine, jail term, or both."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑149 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑149.  Desecrating, plowing over or covering up  graves; desecrating human remains.
(a)	It is a Class I felony, without authorization of law or the consent of the surviving spouse or next of kin of the deceased, to knowingly and willfully:
(1)	Open, disturb, destroy, remove, vandalize or desecrate any  casket or other repository of any human remains, by any means including plowing under, tearing up, covering over or otherwise obliterating or removing any  grave or any portion thereof.
(2)	 Take away, disturb, vandalize, destroy, tamper with, or deface any tombstone, headstone, monument, grave marker, grave ornamentation, or grave artifacts erected or placed within any cemetery to designate the place where human remains are interred or to preserve and perpetuate the memory and the name of any person. This subdivision shall not apply to the ordinary maintenance and care of a cemetery.
	(a1)	It is a Class H felony, without authorization of law or the consent of the surviving spouse or next of kin of the deceased, to knowingly and willfully disturb, destroy, remove, vandalize, or desecrate any human remains that have been interred in a cemetery.
(b)	The provisions of this section shall not apply to a professional archaeologist as defined in G.S. 70‑28(4) acting pursuant to the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 70 of the General Statutes."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of June, 2007.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 5:38 p.m. this 27th day of June, 2007