New laws taking effect

A quick look at some of the more than 40 laws taking effect Saturday in North Carolina.

HANG UP: It becomes a misdemeanor, with a minimum $100 fine, for school bus drivers to talk on the phone while driving.

FEWER BREAKS: It will be harder for speeding motorists to get off with a lesser charge.

CARD 'EM: Those who provide alcohol to a minor could lose their driver's licenses.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT: Rules will be set so motorcyclists can go through a red light that won't turn green because the motorcycle is too light to set off a sensor in the road.

THEFT: There will be new felonies for people who shoplift high-end merchandise or conspire to steal multiple times from a store with the intent to resell the goods.

CANINE CRIMES: Someone who willfully kills a police or seeing-eye dog could face a felony with possible prison time.

RESPECT THE DEAD: Anyone who vandalizes or defaces a grave marker, tombstone or other cemetery monument, no matter how small the damage, could face a low-grade felony.

SKIP THE DRINK: Alcohol inhalers, which use a mixture of vaporized alcohol and oxygen to put alcohol directly into the bloodstream, will be prohibited.

FRAUD: It will be easier to prosecute residential mortgage fraud by defining the practice and creating tougher punishments for repeat offenders.

FEED 'EM: It will be a higher grade of misdemeanor to kill an animal through intentional starvation.

NO CHOPPING: An automobile "chop shop" law makes it a felony for someone to disassemble a car that was illegally obtained or buy one with an altered identification number.

SHARING: Law enforcement agencies will have to turn over copies of all crime investigation records to prosecutors so that they can be made available to defense lawyers.