North Carolina § 106-896 - Forest rangers, deputy rangers, and emergency workers.

§ 106-896. Forest rangers, deputy rangers, and emergency workers.

The Commissioner or the Commissioner's designee may authorize as many forest rangers, deputy rangers, or emergency workers as the Commissioner deems necessary and available. For purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply: "Deputy ranger" means a highly trained emergency worker hired on a temporary basis to respond to a given emergency or condition. A deputy ranger shall be sworn or affirmed to the terms of "General Oath" as provided in G.S. 11-11. A deputy ranger shall have the powers and duties as enumerated in G.S. 106-899. "Emergency worker" means a person who is not an employee of the North Carolina Forest Service but is an individual serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood, or other similar emergency. Except for a deputy ranger, an emergency worker is not sworn or affirmed to the terms of "General Oath" provided in G.S. 11-11. "Forest ranger" means an employee of the North Carolina Forest Service who has been sworn or affirmed to the terms of "General Oath" provided in G.S. 11-11. A forest ranger shall have the powers and duties as enumerated in G.S. 106-898 and G.S. 106-899. History (1915, c. 243, s. 2; C.S., s. 6134; 1925, c. 106, s. 1; c. 122, s. 22; 1927, c. 150, s. 1; 1935, c. 178, s. 1; 1951, c. 575; 1973, c. 1262, s. 28; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; 1989, c. 727, s. 61; 2011-145, s. 13.25(p), (q); 2017-108, s. 12(a).) Editor's Note. - This section was formerly codified as G.S. 113-52. It was recodified as G.S. 106-861 by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.25(p), effective July 1, 2011, and renumbered as G.S. 106-896 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-108, s. 21, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-145, s. 13.25(q), effective July 1, 2011, substituted "Commissioner" for "Secretary." Session Laws 2017-108, s. 12(a), effective July 12, 2017, rewrote the section which formerly read "The Commissioner may appoint one county forest ranger and one or more deputy forest rangers in each county of the State in which, after careful investigation, the amount of forestland and the risks from forest fires shall, in his judgment, warrant the establishment of a forest fire organization."