A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide similar protections for the venus flytrap that are currently provided for Ginseng.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 106‑202.19(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater punishment, any of the following is unlawful:
(1)	To uproot, dig, take or otherwise disturb or remove for any purpose from the lands of another, any plant on a protected plant list without a written permit from the owner which is dated and valid for no more than 180 days and which indicates the species or higher taxon of plants for which permission is granted; except that the incidental disturbance of protected plants during agricultural, forestry or development operations is not illegal so long as the plants are not collected for sale or commercial use.
(2)	To sell, barter, trade, exchange, export, offer for sale, barter, trade, exchange or export or give away for any purpose including advertising or other promotional purpose any plant on a protected plant list, except as authorized according to the rules and regulations of the Board.
(3)	To violate any rule of the Board promulgated under this Article.
(4)	To dig ginseng on another person's land, except for the purpose of replanting, between the first day of April and the first day of September.
(5)	To buy ginseng outside of a buying season as provided by the Board without obtaining the required documents from the person selling the ginseng.
(6)	To buy ginseng for the purpose of resale or trade without holding a currently valid permit as a ginseng dealer.
(7)	To fail to keep records as required under this Article, to refuse to make records available for inspection by the Board or its agent, or to use forms other than those provided for the current year or harvest season by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
(8)	To provide false information on any record or form required under this Article.
(9)	To make false statements or provide false information in connection with any investigation conducted under this Article.
(10)	To possess any protected plant, or part thereof, which was obtained in violation of this Article or any rule adopted under this Article.
(11)	To violate a stop sale order issued by the Board or its agent.
(12)	To dig venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) on another person's land, except for the purpose of replanting.
(13)	To buy venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) without obtaining the required documents as provided by the Board from the person selling the venus flytrap.
(14)	To buy venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) for the purpose of resale or trade without holding a currently valid permit as a venus flytrap dealer."
SECTION 2.  Article 19B of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 106‑202.21A.  Venus flytrap dealer permits.
(a)	No person shall act in the capacity of a dealer of venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula), or shall engage, or offer to engage in the business of, advertise as, or assume to act as a venus flytrap dealer, unless that person holds a currently valid permit as provided in this Article.
(b)	Applications for a venus flytrap dealer permit shall be on a form and shall contain information as prescribed by the Board. All permits issued under this section shall expire on 30 June of the fiscal year for which they are issued.
(c)	A venus flytrap dealer permit may be renewed annually upon application to the Board.
(d)	A venus flytrap dealer shall notify the Board of any change of address or business location within 30 days of such change.
(e)	The Board shall issue to each applicant who satisfies the requirements of this Article a permit which entitles the applicant to conduct the business described in the application during the harvest season for which the permit is issued, unless the permit is suspended or revoked."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑79 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑79.  Larceny of ginseng; venus flytrap.
(a)	If any person shall take and carry away, or shall aid in taking or carrying away, any ginseng growing upon the lands of another person, with intent to steal the same, he shall be punished as a Class H felon.
(b)	If any person shall take and carry away, or shall aid in taking or carrying away, any venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) growing upon the lands of another person, with intent to steal the same, he shall be punished as a Class H felon."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 14‑129 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑129.  Taking, etc., of certain wild plants from land of another.
No person, firm or corporation shall dig up, pull up or take from the land of another or from any public domain, the whole or any part of any  trailing arbutus, Aaron's Rod (Thermopsis caroliniana), Bird‑foot Violet (Viola pedata), Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), Blue Dogbane (Amsonia tabernaemontana), Cardinal‑flower (Lobelia cardinalis), Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus), Gentians (Gentiana), Ground Cedar, Running Cedar, Hepatica (Hepatica americana and acutiloba), Jack‑in‑the‑Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Lily (Lilium), Lupine (Lupinus), Monkshood (Aconitum uncinatum and reclinatum), May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum), Orchids (all species), Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia), Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia), Oconee Bells (Shortia galacifolia), Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum), Trailing Christmas (Greens‑Lycopodium), Trillium (Trillium), Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica), and Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus), American holly, white pine, red cedar, hemlock or other coniferous trees, or any flowering dogwood, any mountain laurel, any rhododendron, or any ground pine, or any Christmas greens, or any Judas tree, or any leucothea, or any azalea, without having in his possession a permit to dig up, pull up or take such plants, signed by the owner of such land, or by his duly authorized agent. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor only punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the Counties of Cabarrus, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Chowan, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Hertford, McDowell, Pamlico, Pender, Person, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan and Swain."
SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2007, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.