Bill Summaries: H427 (2021)

Tracking:
  • Summary date: Mar 25 2021 - View summary

    Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to launch a two-year statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative to educate the public about the importance of the safe storage of firearms and to facilitate the distribution of gun locks, which must include the development of a website and toolkit and include an outreach process. 

    Requires DHHS to develop a website to provide information to the public about six specified issues related to the safe storage of firearms, including access to a toolkit of information that local communities may use to launch firearm safe storage initiatives at the local level. Specifies what is to be include in the toolkit, including the distribution of free or discounted gun locks. Requires the development of the website and toolkit by July 1, 2022.

    Require DHHS, upon development of the website and toolkit, to implement an outreach process for disseminating the information and toolkit to the public and to local communities, and requires providing technical assistance to local communities to assist them in using the toolkit to launch local initiatives.

    Allows contracting with a third-party with relevant expertise related to public health and injury prevention to launch the firearm safe storage awareness initiative. 

    Prohibits the firearm safe storage awareness initiative and any state funds used to launch and maintain the initiative, from being used to advocate, promote, or lobby for the creation of new, or the revision of existing, laws regulating firearms; limits use to the purposes set out in the act and to to explaining and promoting existing laws regulating firearms and best practices for firearm storage and safety.

    Appropriates $86,500 for 2021-22 in nonrecurring funds and $69,200 in nonrecurring funds for 2022-23 from the General Fund to DHHS for costs associated with launching the firearm safe storage awareness initiative, including the purchase and distribution of gun locks.

    Requires DHHS to report to the specified NCGA committee on progress in launching the initiative by September 1, 2022.

    Effective July 1, 2021.