New Laws in NC, Effective 10/1/09

How life changes, starting today

A few new laws are now in effect in North Carolina as of October 1, 2009.  I’ve always enjoyed following legislation, and while I don’t immediately understand the importance of some laws, I can appreciate that the reason it has become a law is because it was important to someone for some reason.

Some new laws of note:

• No more plastic bottles in the landfills.  OK, sounds good enough. Hopefully this will encourage people to reuse bottles and to drink tap water instead of overpriced tap water from another city that comes in a container that fills up our landfills. Maybe it will also mean that there will be more recycling receptacles in public…
• No more novelty lighters.  Too enticing to children.  Makes sense.  But, will people now make runs to the VA/SC border to buy their novelty lighters?
• Expanded WIC food choices.  This law expands the choices to include corn tortillas, canned beans, tofu, and other whole-grain products.  It’s about time!  I am often surprised to see the blue applesauce labeled as a WIC item, while some canned beans are not.
• No more watching TV while driving.  Really???  Who does that?

Now, here are two that I find particularly important (one personally and one professionally—I’ll let you decide which one is which):

• Beer tastings in grocery stores are now allowed.  Finally!  We’ve been tasting wine in grocery stores for some time, so it’s only fair that beer gets the same opportunity.  What will be interesting is to see what breweries take advantage of this and whether the majority of the beer tastings will be sponsored by the big breweries (Miller, AnheuserBusch, etc.)  Or, will the local craft breweries use this as a way to connect with the community and promote good beer?  Of course, this legislation had its opponents who worry that these tastings will increase alcohol abuse.  I disagree. I’d say that allowing beer tasting in grocery stores promotes alcohol abuse about as much as the sale of beer at sporting events.

• The timeline for North Carolina’s “heart-balm” torts has been limited.  North Carolina is one of a very few states that allows a spouse to sue “the other man/woman” for interfering with the marriage.  However, under the new law, the jilted spouse/scorned lover cannot sue for affairs that began after the couple separates.  If the affair/tryst/hook-up happened before the marriage dissolved, the scorned spouse can still sue.  The new law also clarifies that the scorned spouse can only sue a natural person, not a company (sometimes attempted when an employer knows of an affair, but didn’t do anything to prevent or discourage it.)

So…be forewarned…turn off the TV while you drive to South of the Border to buy a novelty lighter for your mistress, and if you have a plastic bottle of water in your console to accompany you on that drive down I-95, please recycle it, along with any empty beer bottles that resulted from a purchase of a local craft beer that you would not otherwise have bought if it weren’t for the tasting at the Krojay.  Failure to follow this advice could result in a $500 fine, a traffic ticket, or a lawsuit against you for damages for interfering with a marriage.

Best to wait until after the marriage has dissolved to indulge a mistress with novelty lighters.  And, please recycle.  The next generation depends on us.

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