Part I.

Repeals GS 14-60, which made the burning of schoolhouses or buildings of educational institutions a Class F felony. 

Enacts new GS 14-62.3 to provide the penalties for wantonly and willfully setting fire to or burning or aiding, counseling, or procuring the burning of any commercial structure, defined as any building or structure that is not designed principally for residential purposes. Violations are a Class D felony if the structure was occupied at the time of the burning and a Class E felony if the structure was unoccupied at the time of the burning.

Amends the following statutes to provide for the punishment stated in the statute unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law that provides for greater punishment: GS 14-61 (burning of certain bridges and buildings), GS 14-62 (burning of certain buildings), GS 14-62.1 (burning of building or structure in process of construction), GS 14-62.2 (burning of churches and certain other religious buildings), and GS 14-64 (burning of commercial structure).

Part II.

Amends GS 14-69.3 by adding that a person is guilty of a Class I felony for committing a felony under Article 15 (Arson and other burnings) where a firefighter, law enforcement officer, fire investigator, or emergency medical technician suffers physical injury while discharging (or attempting to do so) their official duties on the property, or proximate to the property, that is the subject of the individual's discharge of their respective duties.

Part III. 

Provides that prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions. 

The act is effective December 1, 2019, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.