North Carolina § 75A-13 - 1. Skin and scuba divers.

§ 75A-13. 1. Skin and scuba divers.

No person shall engage in skin diving or scuba diving in the waters of this State that are open to boating, or assist in such diving, without displaying a diver's flag from a mast, buoy, or other structure at the place of diving; and no person shall display such flag except when diving operations are under way or in preparation. The diver's flag shall be square, not less than 12 inches on a side, and shall be of red background with a diagonal white stripe, of a width equal to one fifth of the flag's height, running from the upper corner adjacent to the mast downward to the opposite outside corner. No operator of a vessel under way in the waters of this State shall permit the vessel to approach closer than 50 feet to any structure from which a diver's flag is then being displayed, except where the flag is so positioned as to constitute an unreasonable obstruction to navigation; and no person shall engage in skin diving or scuba diving or display a diver's flag in any locality that will unreasonably obstruct vessels from making legitimate navigational use of the water. A person who violates a provision of this section is responsible for an infraction as provided in G.S. 14-3.1. History (1969, c. 97, s. 1; 2006-185, s. 1; 2013-360, s. 18B.15(b); 2013-380, s. 6.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 18B.15(f), makes the amendments to this section by Session Laws 2013-360, s. 18B.15(b), effective December 1, 2013, and provides: "Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this section are not abated or affected by this section, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this section remain applicable to those prosecutions." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2013-380, s. 12, made the amendment to subsection (d) by Session Laws 2013-380, s. 6, applicable to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2013. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2006-185, s. 1, effective January 1, 2007, and applicable to offenses committed on or after January 1, 2007, substituted "that" for "which" in the middle of subsection (a); in subsection (c), substituted "the" for "such" twice and substituted "that" for "at which the same" near the end; and added subsection (d). Session Laws 2013-360, s. 18B.15(b), effective December 1, 2013, substituted "responsible for an infraction as provided in G.S. 14-3.1" for "guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and shall only be subject to a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00)" in subsection (d). For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Session Laws 2013-380, s. 6, effective December 1, 2013, substituted "responsible for an infraction as provided in G.S. 14-13.1" for "guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor and shall only be subject to a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00)" in subsection (d). For applicability, see editor's note. § 75A-13.2: Repealed by Session Laws 1999-447, s. 3.