AN ACT to increase the punishment for property crimes committed against critical infrastructure, including public water supplies and wastewater treatment facilities, and to make conforming changes to update statutes relating to damage to utilities.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑159.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 14‑159.1.  Contaminating or injuring a public water system.system; injuring a wastewater treatment facility.

(a)        Contaminating a Public Water System. – A person commits the offense of contaminating a public water system, as defined in G.S. 130A‑313(10), if he the person willfully or wantonly:

(1)        Contaminates, wantonly contaminates, adulterates or otherwise impurifies or attempts to contaminate, adulterate or otherwise impurify the water in a public water system, including the water source, with any toxic chemical, biological agent or radiological substance that is harmful to human health, except those added in approved concentrations for water treatment operations; oroperations.

(2)        Damages or tampers with the property or equipment of a public water system with the intent to impair the services of the public water system.

(b)        Injuring a Public Water System. – It is unlawful to knowingly and willfully stop, obstruct, impair, weaken, destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, or attempt to stop, obstruct, impair, weaken, destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, the property or equipment of a public water system, as defined in G.S. 130A‑313(10), with the intent to impair the services of the public water system.

(c)        Injuring a Wastewater Treatment System. – It is unlawful to knowingly and willfully stop, obstruct, impair, weaken, destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, or attempt to stop, obstruct, impair, weaken, destroy, injure, or otherwise damage, the property or equipment of a wastewater treatment system that is owned or operated by a (i) public utility, as that term is defined under G.S. 62‑3, or (ii) local government unit, as defined in G.S. 159G‑20(13). For purposes of this section, the term wastewater treatment facility means the various facilities and devices used in the treatment of sewage, industrial waste, or other wastes of a liquid nature, including the necessary interceptor sewers, outfall sewers, nutrient removal equipment, pumping equipment, power and other equipment, and their appurtenances.

(b)(d)   Any person who commits the offense defined in Punishment. – A person who violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section is guilty of a Class C felony. Additionally, a person who violates subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section shall be ordered to pay a fine of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000).

(e)        Merger. – Each violation of this section constitutes a separate offense and shall not merge with any other offense.

(f)        Civil Remedies. – Any person whose property or person is injured by reason of a violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section shall have a right of action on account of such injury done against the person who committed the violation and any person who acts as an accessory before or after the fact, aids or abets, solicits, conspires, or lends material support to the violation of this section. If damages are assessed in such case the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover treble the amount of damages fixed by the verdict or punitive damages pursuant to Chapter 1D of the General Statutes, together with costs, including attorneys' fees. A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section shall constitute willful or wanton conduct within the meaning of G.S. 1D‑5(7) in any civil action filed as a result of the violation. The rights and remedies provided by this subsection are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law. For purposes of this subsection, the term damages includes actual and consequential damages.

(g)        The provisions of subsection (f) of this section relating to treble damages shall not be made known to the trier of fact through any means, including voir dire, the introduction into evidence, argument, or instructions to the jury.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 62‑323 reads as rewritten:

§ 62‑323.  Willful injury to property of public utility a misdemeanor.felony.

(a)        If any person shall willfully do or cause to be done any act or acts whatever whereby any building, construction or work of any public utility, or any engine, machine or structure or any matter or thing appertaining to the same shall be stopped, obstructed, impaired, weakened, injured or destroyed, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.Class C felony.

(b)        Merger. – Each violation of this section constitutes a separate offense and shall not merge with any other offense.

(c)        Civil Remedies. – Any person whose property or person is injured by reason of a violation of subsection (b) of this section shall have a right of action on account of such injury done against the person who committed the violation and any person who acts as an accessory before or after the fact, aids or abets, solicits, conspires, or lends material support to the violation of this section. If damages are assessed in such case the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover treble the amount of damages fixed by the verdict or punitive damages pursuant to Chapter 1D of the General Statutes, together with costs, including attorneys' fees. A violation of subsection (b) of this section shall constitute willful or wanton conduct within the meaning of G.S. 1D‑5(7) in any civil action filed as a result of the violation. The rights and remedies provided by this subsection are in addition to any other rights and remedies provided by law. For purposes of this subsection, the term damages includes actual and consequential damages.

(d)       The provisions of subsection (c) of this section relating to treble damages shall not be made known to the trier of fact through any means, including voir dire, the introduction into evidence, argument, or instructions to the jury.

(e)        The provisions of this section shall only apply to conduct resulting in injury to a public utility, or property thereof, not otherwise covered by G.S. 14‑150.2, 14‑154, or 14‑159.1.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 143‑152 is repealed.

SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2023, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.