AN ACT authorizing the city of durham to expedite removal of refuse and debris, and overgrown vegetation, by amending the definition of chronic violator.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 1 of S.L. 2003‑133 reads as rewritten:
"SECTION 1.  A municipality may notify a chronic violator of the municipality's refuse and debris ordinance that, if the violator's property is found to be in violation of the ordinance, the municipality may, without further notice in the calendar year in which the notice is given, take action to remedy the violation, and the expense of the action shall become a lien upon the violator's property and shall be collected as unpaid taxes. The initial annual notice shall be served by registered or certified mail. Under this section, a chronic violator is a person who owns property whereupon, in the previous calendar year, the municipality took remedial action at least two times under the refuse and debris ordinance."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 160A‑200(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	A municipality may notify a chronic violator of the municipality's overgrown vegetation ordinance that, if the violator's property is found to be in violation of the ordinance, the municipality shall, without further notice in the calendar year in which notice is given, take action to remedy the violation and the expense of the action shall become a lien upon the property and shall be collected as unpaid taxes. The initial annual notice shall be served by registered or certified mail. A chronic violator is a person who owns property whereupon, in the previous calendar year, the municipality took remedial action at least two times under the overgrown vegetation ordinance."
SECTION 3.  This act applies to the City of Durham only.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of July, 2007.

	s/	 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives