ORDINANCE - Amending Certain Sections of the Code of Ordinances to Comply with SL 2021-138 5-16-22

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AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF LEE COUNTY TO COMPLY WITH S.L. 2021-138 BE IT ORDAINED by the Board of Commissioners of Lee County, North Carolina that the Code of Ordinances of Lee County should be, and it hereby is, amended as follows: Section 1. Historically, violations of a county ordinance have been punishable as a misdemeanor unless the ordinance stated that they were not. In 2021, the General Assembly passed Session Law 2021-138 which provides that a violation of a city ordinance is not a misdemeanor or infraction unless the ordinance expressly provides that it is. S.L. 2021-138 also lists certain ordinances that can never be punished by a criminal penalty. Lee County now amends the ordinances listed in Section 2 through Section 17 of this ordinance in order to comply with S.L. 2021-138 and G.S. 153A-123: Section 2. Section 1-7(a) — General Penalty, shall be amended and new subsections (g) and (h) created to clarify how criminal penalties may apply in accordance with S.L. 2021-138, and rewritten as follows: (a) Unless otherwise provided in this Code, each violation of this Code shall not constitute a misdemeanor, and violations of such provisions of this Code shall be punished by a civil penalty not exceeding $500.00. If the Code specifically allows for enforcement by a criminal penalty, then any violation shall be punishable as provided in G.S. 14-4. (g) A person may not be found responsible or guilty of an ordinance violation punishable as a misdemeanor if, when tried for that violation, the person produces proof of compliance with the Lee County Code of Ordinance through any of the following: (1) No new alleged violations of the local ordinance within 30 days from the date of the initial alleged violation. (2) The person provides proof of a good -faith effort to seek assistance to address any underlying factors related to unemployment, homelessness, mental health, or substance abuse that might relate to the person's ability to comply with the local ordinance. (h) Upon determination of a violation of any section of this Code, the penalty for which is a civil penalty, the County shall issue a civil citation by the appropriate official and served directly on either the violator or his duly designated agent, either in person or posted in the United States mail service by first class mail addressed to the last known address of the violator as contained in the records of the county. The violator shall be deemed to have been served upon the mailing of the citation. The citation shall direct the violator to pay the citation by mail within thirty days of its issuance. The violation for which the citation is issued must have been corrected by the time the citation is paid, otherwise further citations shall be issued. Citations may be issued for each day the offense continues until the prohibited activity is ceased or abated. If the violator fails to respond to the citation within 30 days of issuance, and pay the penalty therein, the county may institute a civil