Cigarettes that self-extinguish when left unattended, would be required in North Carolina with the passage of House Bill 1785 which was approved in committee this week. Similar legislation has been approved in more than a dozen states and Canada, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes. The group says cigarettes are the leading reason for fire deaths in the United States, causing up to 900 deaths a year. In 2005, there were over 7500 residential fires in North Carolina, with nearly 100 deaths and 800 injuries from smoking-caused fires, according to the state Division of Public Health. The bill now goes to the House Finance Committee.
People who purposely kill a police animal or an assistance animal, such as a seeing-eye dog, could serve prison time under a bill sent to Gov. Mike Easley this week. The bill makes it a felony to kill such animals and makes the death an aggravating factor when determining punishment for another crime. The Senate agreed this week to a House version of the bill, Senate Bill 34, that removes language that would have made it a felony to attempt to kill these animals.
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