Bill Summaries: H723 (2017-2018 Session)

Tracking:
  • Summary date: Apr 11 2017 - View summary

    Repeals GS 14-51.2 (Home, workplace, and motor vehicle protection; presumption of fear of death or serious bodily harm), GS 14-51.3 (Use of force in defense of person; relief from criminal or civil liability), and GS 14-51.4 (Justification for defensive force not available).

    Enacts new GS 14-51.5 (Use of deadly physical force against an intruder). Provides that lawful occupants of a residence are justified in using any degree of force, including deadly force, that the occupant reasonably believes is necessary against an intruder to prevent forcible entry or terminate unlawful entry, if the occupant reasonably believes or apprehends that the intruder (1) may kill or inflict serious bodily harm to the occupant or others in the residence or (2) intends to commit a felony in the residence. Provides that the occupant does not have a duty to retreat from an intruder in these circumstances. Does not repeal, expand, or limit any other defense that exists under the common law.

    Amends GS 14-315.1. Amends the caption to read "Safe storage of firearms." Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who resides in the same premises as an unauthorized person (person who is not authorized to purchase a firearm under State or federal law), owns or possesses a firearm, and stores or leaves the firearm without having securely locked the firearm in appropriate storage or rendered it incapable of being fired. The person is guilty of the misdemeanor if the unauthorized person gains access to the firearm and either (1) possesses it in violation of GS 14-269.2(b) (regarding firearms on school premises); (2) exhibits it publicly in a careless, angry, or threatening manner; (3) causes personal injury or death with it not in self-defense; or (4) uses it in the commission of a crime. Makes conforming changes.

    Amends GS 14-315.2. Amends the caption to read "Warning upon sale or transfer of firearm to protect minor; warning regarding access to firearm by person not authorized to possess firearm." Requires any retail or wholesale store, shop, or sales outlet that sells firearms to conspicuously post at each purchase counter a warning in block letters about the unlawfulness of storing firearms in a manner inconsistent with amended GS 14-315.1. Provides for the text of the warning. Violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

    Enacts new GS 14-409.13 (Report of loss or theft of firearm). Requires the owner of a firearm to report the loss or theft of the firearm within 48 hours after discovery of the loss or theft, either to the local law enforcement agency or the State Bureau of Investigation. Initial violations are a Class 3 misdemeanor. Subsequent violations are Class I felonies.

    Amends GS 14-404 to require sheriffs to determine that a person has firearm liability insurance before issuing a firearm permit to that person. Directs sheriffs to transmit a prohibiting record under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that requires the sheriff to deny a person a firearm permit to NICS within 48 hours after notifying the applicant of the denial, revocation, or refusal. Enacts new GS 14-415.18A, setting out the same requirements when a sheriff denies, revokes, or refuses to renew a permit.

    Enacts new GS 14-409.44 (Liability insurance required for gun owners). Requires any person in this State who intends to own a firearm to obtain a policy of liability insurance for at least $100,000 prior to ownership, and to maintain the policy throughout ownership. Requires persons owning a firearm on December 1, 2017, to obtain the insurance by January 15, 2018. Does not apply to law enforcement officers authorized to carry firearms. Directs the Department of Insurance to adopt rules to implement this statute.

    Amends GS 14-415.24 (Reciprocity; out-of-state handgun permits). Directs the Department of Justice to inquire what criteria other states use for the issuance of a concealed handgun permit, and to compile list of states whose criteria are at least as stringent as the criteria required in this State. Provides that only out-of-state licenses issued by those states are valid in North Carolina.

    Enacts new GS Chapter 14, Article 53D (Regulation of Large-Capacity Ammunition Magazines), as follows.

    New GS 14-409.60 defineslarge-capacity magazine to include three specified classes of equipment, including a fixed or detachable magazine box, drum, feed strip, or similar device capable of accepting more than 15 rounds of ammunition, and to exclude three specified classes of equipment, including a feeding device that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accomodate more than 15 rounds of ammunition.

    New GS 14-409.61 prohibits a person from selling, transferring, or possessing large-capacity magazines. Initial violations are Class 2 misdemeanors, subsequent violations are Class 1 misdemeanors. Violation is a Class I felony if the person possessed the large-capacity magazine during the commission of a felony. Exempts persons who own large-capacity magazines on December 1, 2017, and maintain continuous possession of the large-capacity magazine, and requires a prosecutor to refute an assertion that a person being prosecuted under this statute is exempted. Does not apply to entities that manufacture large-capacity magazines within North Carolina exclusively for transfer, any federally licensed gun dealer that sells large-capacity magazines exclusively to listed entities or their employees acting within their employment duties, employees of listed government agencies or the military who bear firearms in the course of the employee's official duties, or a person who possesses the magazine for the sole purpose of transporting the magazine to an out-of-state entity on behalf of a North Carolina manufacturer of large-capacity magazines.

    New GS 14-409.62 requires a large-capacity magazine manufactured in North Carolina on or after December 1, 2017 to include a permanent stamp or marking indicating that it was manufactured or assembled on or after that date. Authorizes the State Bureau of Investigation to adopt rules implementing this statute. Violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

    Enacts new GS Chapter 147, Article 9 (Firearms Manufacturer Divestment Act) as follows.

    New GS 147-95 defines six terms as they are used in the Article, including public fund (funds held by the State Treasurer to the credit of listed retirement and pension funds).

    New GS 147-96 requires the Public Fund to make its best efforts to identify all firearms manufacturers in which the Public Fund has direct or indirect holdings or could possibly have such holdings in the future, within 90 days of September 1, 2017, and to assemble a list of all such manufacturers.

    New GS 147-97 requires the State Treasurer to promptly divest all direct and indirect holdings in firearms manufacturers held by the Public Fund, and prohibits the Public Fund from acquiring direct or indirect holdings in firearms manufacturers.

    Enacts new Article 21, Review of Deaths Involving Law Enforcement Officers, in GS Chapter 15A. GS 15A-410(Review of Deaths Involving Law Enforcement Officers) defines three terms as they are used in the statute. Requires law enforcement agencies to have a written policy regarding the investigation of officer-involved deaths that involve a law enforcement officer employed by the law enforcement agency, by December 1, 2017. Provides requirements for the policy, including a requirement for two independent investigators. Authorizes an internal investigation, so long as the internal investigation does not interfere with the independent investigation. Requires the investigators to report their findings to the district attorney, and if the district attorney determines that there is no basis to prosecute the law enforcement officers involved, to release the report. Effective when the bill becomes law.

    Enacts new GS Chapter 50E (Gun Violence Restraining Orders), as follows.

    New GS 50E-1 provides for the issuance of a court order prohibiting and enjoining a named person from having in their custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, any firearms or ammunition, called a gun violence restraining order. Provides requirements for the contents of a petition for a gun violence restraining order, and requirements for the contents of a gun violence restraining order. Requires all North Carolina law enforcement agencies to enforce a gun violence restraining order without further order of the court.

    New GS 50E-2 authorizes immediate family members of a person, or a law enforcement officer, to request a court to issue a one-year gun violence restraining order after notice and a hearing. Lists four factors that the court must consider in determining whether to issue the order, and six factors that the court may consider in determining whether to issue the order. Requires a petitioner to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the subject of the petition, or a person subject to an ex parte gun violence restraining order, as applicable, poses a significant danger of causing personal injury by having, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm, and that the order is necessary to prevent the personal injury because less restrictive alternatives have been tried and found ineffective, or are inadequate or inappropriate for the circumstances. Requires the court to issue the order, upon a finding that there is clear and convincing evidence to issue the order. Requires the court to dissolve any temporary emergency or ex parte gun violence restraining order then in effect, upon a finding that there is not clear and convincing evidence to support the issuance of the order.

    New GS 50E-3 provides for a 21-day temporary emergency gun violence restraining order to issue, ex parte, upon a law enforcement officer's assertion, and a judicial officer's finding, that the subject of the petition poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury by having, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm, and that the order is necessary to prevent the personal injury because less restrictive alternatives have been tried and found to be ineffective or have been determined to be inadequate or inappropriate for the circumstances. Requires the assertion to be submitted in a written petition, unless time and circumstances do not permit the submission of a written petition, in which case the procedure for obtaining an oral search warrant applies.

    New GS 50E-4 authorizes immediate family members of a person, or law enforcement officers, to file a petition requesting an ex parte gun violence restraining order, issuable upon a court finding a substantial likelihood that the subject of the petition poses a significant danger, in the near future, of causing personal injury by having, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm, as determined by the factors in new GS 50E-2, and that the order is necessary to prevent the personal injury because less restrictive alternatives either have been tried and found to be ineffective or are inadequate or inappropriate for the circumstances. Requires the affidavit supporting the petition to set forth the facts establishing the grounds of the petition. Requires the ex parte order to either issue or be denied on the same day that the petition is submitted to the court, unless the petition is filed too late in the day to permit effective review, in which case the order shall be issued or denied on the next day of judicial business in sufficient time for the order to be filed that day with the clerk of court.

    New GS 50E-5 authorizes a person subject to a gun violence restraining order under this Chapter to submit a written request for a hearing to terminate the order. Directs the court to terminate the order upon finding that there is no longer clear and convincing evidence to believe that the circumstances in GS 50E-2 are true.

    New GS 50E-6 provides for a one-year renewal of gun violence restraining orders upon a petition of an immediate family member or law enforcement officer, and clear and convincing evidence that the provisions of GS 50E-2 continue to be true, within three months prior to the expiration of a gun violence restraining order.

    New GS 50E-7 requires copies of the order to be issued to each party, and to the police department or sheriff of the city or county of the restrained person's residence.

    New GS 50E-8 requires the subject of a gun violence restraining order to immediately surrender all firearms and ammunition in that person's custody, control, or ownership, and any permits to purchase firearms, to local law enforcement agencies. If immediate surrender is not possible, then surrender must occur within 24 hours of being served with the order. Requires the subject to file a receipt of surrender, issued by the law enforcement officer taking possession of the firearms, within 48 hours of being served with the order. Failure is a violation of the order. Upon expiration of the order, any firearms or ammunition shall be returned to the restrained person. Authorizes the restrained person to sell or transfer title of any firearms or ammunition in the custody of a law enforcement agency under this statute. Directs law enforcement agencies to return any firearms surrendered under this statute to the lawful owner, if the lawful owner is not the restrained person.

    New GS 50E-9 provides that officers and law enforcement agencies are not required to pursue a gun violence restraining order in any case.

    Except as otherwise specified, effective December 1, 2017, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.


  • Summary date: Apr 10 2017 - View summary

    To be summarized.