| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO INCREASE THE PUNISHMENT FOR COMMITTING AN ASSAULT 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | AGAINST A UTILITY OR COMMUNICATIONS WORKER. 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | SECTION 1. G.S. 14-33(b) reads as rewritten: 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | "(b) Unless his the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | punishment, any person who commits any assault, assault and battery, or affray is guilty of a 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | Class 1 misdemeanor if, in the course of the assault, assault and battery, or affray, he:he or she 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | does any of the following: 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | … 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | (9) Commits an assault and battery against a sports official when the sports 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | official is discharging or attempting to discharge official duties at a sports 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | event, or immediately after the sports event at which the sports official 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | discharged official duties. A "sports official" is a person at a sports event who 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | enforces the rules of the event, such as an umpire or referee, or a person who 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | supervises the participants, such as a coach. A "sports event" includes any 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | interscholastic or intramural athletic activity in a primary, middle, junior high, 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | or high school, college, or university, any organized athletic activity 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | sponsored by a community, business, or nonprofit organization, any athletic 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | activity that is a professional or semiprofessional event, and any other 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | organized athletic activity in the State. 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | (10) Assaults a utility or communications worker while the worker is (i) readily 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | identifiable as a worker and (ii) discharging or attempting to discharge his or 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | her duties. For purposes of this subdivision, the term "utility or 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | communications worker" means an employee of, agent of, or under contract 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | with an organization, entity, or company, whether State-created or privately, 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | municipally, county, or cooperatively owned, that provides electricity, natural 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | gas, telecommunications services, or internet access services. For purposes of 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | this subdivision, the term "readily identifiable as a worker" shall be construed 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | to include the worker wearing, at the time of the assault, a uniform, hat, or 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | other outerwear bearing the logo of the utility or communications company 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | for which the worker is an employee of, agent of, or under contract with." 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | SECTION 2. Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act 34 |
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