Bills on bus safety, Sunday hunting, drones, more signed into law

Gov. Roy Cooper signed 12 bills Tuesday — on topics ranging from school bus safety to Sunday hunting to drones — leaving just 12 more bills still awaiting action by the end of the month.

Two bills were signed in formal ceremonies Tuesday, while the others became law without much fanfare. Cooper was joined by legislators and others at the governor's mansion to sign House Bill 353, which adds three new properties to the state parks system as state natural areas: Bobs Creek in McDowell County, Warwick Mill Bay in Robeson County and Salmon Creek in Bertie County.

Then Cooper headed to a Greenville school to sign Senate Bill 55, would allow school districts to install cameras on buses or contract with a company that offers the service. Drivers caught on camera illegally passing a bus would owe a fine of $400 for the first offense, $750 for the second offense and $1,000 on the third offense. They could appeal the ticket in court.

“Speeding past a stopped school bus puts children’s lives at risk, sometimes with tragic results,” Cooper said in a news release. “With this new law in place, we have another tool to help children who ride the school bus travel safely.”

Several legislators voted against the measure, arguing that the process could infringe on the rights of drivers, because the civil penalty process differs from what happens when a law enforcement officer pulls over a driver for passing a bus.

Cooper also signed House Bill 559, titled “Outdoor Heritage Enhanced,” which expands a 2015 law legalizing Sunday hunting. Hunters could hunt migratory birds, such as ducks, on Sundays if the state’s appointed Wildlife Resources Commission approves the change and sets rules for the practice.

The commission would conduct a formal study of the issue and report findings to the legislature. The final version of the bill requires a voter referendum for counties seeking to have a local ban on Sunday hunting, but it dropped a proposal to allow hunting on Sunday mornings when church is in session.

Another bill that became law Tuesday was House Bill 128, which makes it illegal to fly a drone within 500 feet of a prison or jail. Anyone who flies a drone over a correctional facility with the goal of dropping a weapon, cigarettes, alcohol or communication devices — or any other item banned inside prisons — will now face a felony charge and could be fined up to $1,500.

“Criminals look to exploit the latest technology and we must make sure our laws keep up,” Cooper said. “Drones are the newest way to get drugs and weapons behind prison walls and this law will help law enforcement fight prison contraband and the crime it causes.”

Cooper signed Senate Bill 82, titled “Achieving Business Efficiencies,” which will exempt companies that have “direct sellers” — people who sell their merchandise directly to customers, such as Mary Kay or Tupperware representatives — from paying unemployment insurance for those workers.

Another provision makes employees of a “seasonal amusement or recreation establishment” exempt from the state’s overtime and record-keeping rules. The commissioner of labor would no longer be authorized to allow those employers to pay less than minimum wage for seasonal workers; the bill’s sponsor said the change was requested by the Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball team.

Of the 12 bills remaining on Cooper's desk late Tuesday, the most controversial is House Bill 589, the solar energy bill that contains an 18-month moratorium on wind energy projects that could prompt some companies to drop planned developments in northeastern North Carolina.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Bills on bus safety, Sunday hunting, drones, more signed into law."