RALEIGH, N.C. — More than 40 new laws in North Carolina law that take effect Thursday. The laws will:
Add minimum age and safety restrictions for operators of all-terrain vehicles. Ban online hunting of animals located in North Carolina using a computer and a remote-controlled rifle. Permit consumers to put a security freeze on their credit reports to prevent identity thieves from opening accounts and generating credit using stolen information. Make it a crime if a driver and a passenger switch places after a car accident and flee the scene. The law was passed in response to the 2003 death of Tar Heel Sports Network commentator Stephen Gates when he was hit by a car as he changed a tire on an Orange County interstate ramp. Make it a felony for a person to solicit sex from a person they believe to be a minor, including police officers posing as children. Lower threshold for felony larceny from $1,000 to $300 in some circumstances when the stolen goods came from a permitted construction site. Make it a felony for failing to return a rental car valued at more than $4,000. Otherwise, it's a misdemeanor. Amend the indecent exposure law to make it a felony when the incident involves an adult perpetrator and a victim under 16 years old. Make it a felony to break-in to a church, synagogue or other house of worship. Increase penalties for people who exploit the elderly or disabled financially. Create a criminal offense for concealing a person's death. Make it a state crime to record or copy a film showing in a movie theater. Make intentionally pointing a laser beam at a traveling aircraft a felony instead of a misdemeanor. Require a deposit from people arrested for dogfighting to pay for the care of impounded dogs while the case is adjudicated. Restrict access to photos and recordings from official autopsy reports. Make promoting or watching cockfighting a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Enforce "Rachel's Law," which increases punishments for someone who fires a gun into an occupied car or home. It was named after Rachel Sanchez, a 5-year-old girl shot in the head while traveling on Interstate 40 in Catawba County in 2003. 
