NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1977 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1185

SENATE BILL 914

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT THE THEFT OF CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE SHALL BE A MISDEMEANOR.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by inserting a new section to read as follows:

"§ 14-118.5.  Theft of cable television service. — (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to intentionally defraud or to aid and abet another to defraud any person or corporation of the lawful charge, in whole or in part, for any cable television service.

(b)        It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to intentionally avoid or attempt to avoid or cause or assist another to avoid or attempt to avoid any charge for such service by rearranging, tampering with, or making connection with any facilities or equipment of a cable television company, whether physically, inductively, acoustically, or electrically.

(c)        It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to advertise or promote the sale of any instrument, apparatus, equipment, or device, or plans or instruction for making or assembling the same, which instrument, apparatus, equipment, or device is designed or adapted to fraudulently avoid the lawful charge for any cable television service in violation of subsections (a) or (b) of this section.

(d)        Any person, firm, or corporation that violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00) or by imprisonment for not more than 60 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

(e)        Provided, however, subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall not apply to natural persons receiving cable television service pursuant to contract."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 14-155, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to Volume 1B, is amended by striking from the catchline and lines 2 and 3 the words, "telephone, telegraph or cable television", and substituting therefor the words, "telephone or telegraph".

Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective on October 1, 1978.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 16th day of June, 1978.