GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2003

SESSION LAW 2003-336

HOUSE BILL 944

AN ACT to require CERTAIN NOTIFICATIONS BEFORE a tower may collect certain charges.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 20-77(d) reads as rewritten:

"(d)      An operator of a place of business for garaging, repairing, parking or storing vehicles for the public in which a vehicle remains unclaimed for 10 days, or the landowners upon whose property a motor vehicle has been abandoned for more than 30 days, shall, within five days after the expiration of that period, report the vehicle as unclaimed to the Division. Failure to make such report shall constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor. Persons who are required to make this report and who fail to do so within the time period specified may collect other charges due but may not collect storage charges for the period of time between when they were required to make this report and when they actually did send the report to the Division by certified mail.

Any vehicle which remains unclaimed after report is made to the Division may be sold by such operator or landowner in accordance with the provisions relating to the enforcement of liens and the application of proceeds of sale of Article 1 of Chapter 44A."

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2003.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 9^th day of July, 2003.

                                                                    s/ Beverly E. Perdue

                                                                         President of the Senate

                                                                    s/ James B. Black

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives

                                                                    s/ Michael F. Easley

                                                                         Governor

Approved 6:50 p.m. this 20^th day of July, 2003