Senate amendments add the following content to the 2nd edition and make conforming changes to the act’s long title.
Amendment #1 increases the amount paid to the surviving family member from $100,000 to $150,000 when the following individuals are killed in the line of duty or murdered in the line of duty: firefighters, law enforcement officers, noncustodial employees of the Department of Adult Correction or the Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety, rescue squad workers, and Senior Civil Air Patrol members.
Amendment #2 require the UNC Board of Governors to develop a scholarship program for any child at least 17 years old but not yet 28 whose parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian is a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, firefighter, volunteer firefighter, or rescue squad worker who is permanently and totally disabled as a result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty. Requires the program to include assistance with tuition, fees, educational supplies, and boarding expenses not covered under GS Chapter 115B, for both undergraduate and graduate programs. Requires a report to the specified NCGA committee by July 1, 2026.
Amendment #4 amends GS 14-34.5 (assault with a firearm on a law enforcement, probation, or parole officer, or on a member of the North Carolina National Guard, or on a person employed at a State or local detention facility) as follows. Increases the punishment so that any person who commits an assault with a firearm upon the listed government employees while the employee is performing their duties is guilty of a Class B1 felony (was, Class D felony). Adds emergency medical technicians or other emergency health care providers, medical responders, firefighters, and telecommunicators employed by a law enforcement agency as types of government employees whose assault by a firearm would trigger liability under the statute. Specifies that GS 14-34.6 applies to assaults with use of a firearm to any person not already covered under GS 14-34.5.
Amendments #6 and #8 amend GS 14-415.1 to make punishment for violations of the prohibition on a felon purchasing, owning, possessing, or having in the person's custody, care, or control any firearm or any weapon of mass death and destruction, a (1) Class C felony when the person discharges a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of a felony under GS Chapter 14 or Article 5 (North Carolina Controlled Substances Act) of GS Chapter 90, and (2) Class F felony when the violation happens during the commission or attempted commission of a felony under GS Chapter 14 or Article 5 of GS Chapter 90. Makes additional technical and clarifying changes.
Bill Summaries: S50 (2025-2026 Session)
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Bill S 50 (2025-2026)Summary date: Mar 20 2025 - View summary
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Bill S 50 (2025-2026)Summary date: Mar 18 2025 - View summary
Senate committee substitute to the 1st edition makes the following changes.
Makes organizational changes to the act by moving all new statutes to the front of the bill and putting others changes in statutory numerical order.
Amends proposed GS 14-415.35 by no longer prohibiting a person who has been convicted of an impaired driving offense under GS 20-138.1, GS 20-138.2, or GS 20-138.3 within three years prior to the date on which the person is carrying the weapon, from carrying a concealed weapon. Makes conforming changes to GS 14-415.12.
Amends proposed GS 14-415.36 by changing the punishment for carrying a concealed weapon into (1) in an area prohibited by a rule adopted by the Legislative Services Commission under GS 120-32.1 concerning State legislative buildings and grounds, (2) in any area prohibited by 18 USC 922 or any other federal law, (3) in a law enforcement or correctional facility, or (4) on any private premises where notice is given by posting a conspicuous notice or statement by the person in legal possession or control of the premises that carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited, from a Class 1 misdemeanor to an infraction and allows requiring the person to pay a fine of up to $500.
Amends GS 14-415.12 to allow a sheriff to deny a concealed handgun permit to an applicant who has been discharged from the US Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions (was, under conditions other than honorable).
Amends GS 14-269(a1), instead of removing it, to make an exception to the prohibition on willfully and intentionally carrying concealed firearms on the person, for handguns carried under Articles 54B (Concealed Handgun Permit) and 54C (enacted in this act) of GS Chapter 14.
Deletes the proposed changes to GS 14-269.2, concerning carrying weapons on campus or other educational property.
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Bill S 50 (2025-2026)Summary date: Feb 4 2025 - View summary
Amends GS 14-269, which prohibits carrying concealed weapons, to establish that the term weapon does not include a firearm for purposes of the statute. Makes conforming changes to eliminate subsections (a1) and (a2) pertaining to carrying a concealed handgun with a permit and the punishments set out for violations of those subsections in subsection (c). Makes further conforming changes to eliminate related defenses to prosecution under this statute. Adds new subsection (a3) to provide that the exceptions to the prohibition on carrying a concealed weapon listed in subsection (b) of the statute that include a condition that the person have a concealed carry permit require a person to have a concealed handgun permit issued in accordance with Article 54B of GS Chapter 14 or one considered valid under GS 14-415.24 (reciprocity for out-of-state handgun permits or licenses) to qualify as an exception.
Enacts Article 54C, Carrying Concealed Handguns, to establish that any person who is a US citizen and is at least 18 years old can carry a concealed handgun in North Carolina unless prohibited otherwise by law; violations are a Class 3 misdemeanor. Makes it unlawful for a person who meets any of the 14 specified criteria to carry a concealed handgun, including a person who is under indictment for a felony, or who is or has been adjudicated to be a danger to self or others due to mental illness or lack of mental capacity. Makes a violation of this prohibition a Class 2 misdemeanor for a first offense, and a Class H felony for a second or subsequent offense. Requires a person to carry valid identification when carrying a concealed handgun. Further, requires a person to disclose to any law enforcement officer that the person is carrying a concealed handgun when approached or addressed by the officer, and to display the proper identification upon the officer's request. Makes a violation of this subsection an infraction punishable in accordance with GS 14-3.1 (setting a penalty not to exceed $100).
Prohibits carrying a concealed weapon, unless provided otherwise by law, (1) in an area prohibited by a rule adopted by the Legislative Services Commission under GS 120-32.1 concerning State legislative buildings and grounds, (2) in any area prohibited by 18 USC 922 or any other federal law, (3) in a law enforcement or correctional facility, or (4) on any private premises where notice is given by posting a conspicuous notice or statement by the person in legal possession or control of the premises that carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited. Makes a violation of this statute a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Amends GS 14-269.3 by amending the prohibition on carrying any gun, rifle, or pistol into an assembly where an admission fee has been charged, or into an establishment in which alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed, so that it now applies to any person consuming alcohol, or at any time while the person has remaining in the person's body any alcohol or in the person's blood a controlled substance previously consumed (was, applied to any person). Removes the exemptions to the prohibition.
Amends GS 14-269.4 to exempt a person carrying a concealed handgun from the prohibition on carrying weapons into certain State property and courthouses, so long as the firearm is in a closed compartment or container within the person's locked vehicle or in a locked container securely affixed to the person's vehicle (previously, exempted persons carrying a concealed handgun with a valid permit under GS 14-415.24, a concealed handgun permit considered valid under GS 14-415.24, or a person who is exempt from obtaining a permit under GS 14-415.25, who has a firearm in the locked vehicle as specified). Makes similar changes to exempt carrying a concealed handgun from the prohibition of possessing any dangerous weapons at parades or funeral processions (previously, exempted persons carrying a concealed handgun with a valid permit, a concealed handgun permit considered valid under GS 14-415.24, or is exempt from obtaining a permit under GS 14-415.25). Does not make changes to the clarification that a person may not carry a handgun on any premises where the person in legal possession or control of the premises has posted a conspicuous notice prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun on the premises in accordance with GS 14-415.11(c).
Amends GS 14-277.2 to exempt from the statute concealed carry of a handgun at a parade or funeral procession, no longer requiring the person to have a valid permit.
Amends GS 14-269.1 to include convictions under new GS 14-415.35(b) under the convicted offenses for which the presiding trial judge must order the confiscation and disposal of the deadly weapon referenced in the conviction, in the judge's discretion as specified. Also establishes that this provision applies to a conviction of any offense in addition to those specified involving the use of a deadly weapon, including a firearm.
Amends GS 14-269.2, which prohibits the carrying of weapons on any kind of educational property or to a curricular or extracurricular school-sponsored activity, as follows. Amends subsection (i) to exempt employees who reside on the higher education institution or nonpublic post-secondary educational institution at which the person is employed, who in addition to meeting other specified qualifications, has a handgun on the premises of the employee's residence or in a closed compartment or container within the employee's locked vehicle located in a parking area of the property at which the person is employed and resides (previously, exempted persons carrying a concealed handgun with a valid permit or who is exempt from obtaining a permit under Article 54B of GS Chapter 14). Makes conforming changes to eliminate provisions concerning employees who are not authorized to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to Article 54B of GS Chapter 14. Makes identical changes to subsection (j) exempting employees of a public or nonpublic school who reside on the campus of the school at which the person is employed. Makes conforming changes to eliminate reference to concealed handgun permits in the exemption set out in subsection (k), which sets out parameters for how a handgun must be kept in a locked compartment within the person's locked vehicle.
Amends GS 14-401.24, which sets out the provisions for the unlawful possession and use of unmanned aircraft systems, to make a clarifying change to define the term weapon to include any object capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death when used as a weapon, including a firearm.
Amends GS 14-409.40, which establishes the regulation of firearms as an issue of general statewide concern, to provide that nothing in this statute prohibits municipalities or counties from application of their authority under GS 14-415.35 (as enacted by this act).
Amends GS 14-415.4, which provides for the restoration of firearms rights, to direct the court to deny the petition to restore the firearms rights of any petitioner if the court finds the petitioner is under indictment for a felony (previously, if the court finds that the petitioner is under indictment for a felony or a finding of probable cause exists against the petitioner for a felony).
Enacts GS 14-415.10A to provide that the State of North Carolina is to continue to make a concealed handgun permit available, even though it is lawful to carry a concealed handgun without a permit under new GS 14-415.35, to any person who applies for and is eligible to receive a concealed handgun permit pursuant to Article 54B of GS Chapter 14, reasoning that a permit is convenient for purposes of reciprocity when traveling out of state and to make the purchase of a firearm.
Amends GS 14-415.11 to eliminate the provision that allows a military concealed handgun permittee to carry a concealed handgun during the 90 days following the end of deployment when that permittee's permit has expired during deployment.
Repeals GS 14-415.22 (the construction provisions of Article 54B of GS Chapter 14).
Amends GS 74E-6 to provide that company police officers have the authority to carry concealed weapons pursuant to and in conformity with new GS 14-415.35 in addition to GS 14-269(b)(4) and (5) if duly authorized by the superior officer in charge. Company police agencies can be a hospital, a State institution, or a corporation engaged in providing on-site police security personnel service for persons or property under GS 74E-2 that is certified by the Attorney General in accordance with The Company Police Act, GS Chapter 74E.
Amends GS 74G-6 to provide that campus police officers have the authority to carry concealed weapons pursuant to and in conformity with new GS 14-415.35 in addition to GS 14-269(b) if duly authorized by their campus police agency and by the sheriff of the county in which the campus police agency is located. Campus police agencies can be public educational institutions operating under the authority of the UNC Board of Governors or the State Board of Community Colleges and private educational institutions licensed by the UNC Board of Governors pursuant to GS 116-15 or that are exempt from licensure by the Board of Governors pursuant to GS 116-15(c) and certified by the Attorney General in accordance with The Campus Police Act, GS Chapter 74G.
Amends GS 113-136 to authorize inspectors and protectors of the Department of Environmental Quality to arrest for violations of new GS 14-415.35, subject to the direction of administrative superiors, relating to matters within the jurisdiction of the Department concerning the conservation of marine and estuarine resources and relating to matters within the jurisdiction of the Wildlife Resources Commission concerning boating and water safety, hunting and trapping, fishing, and activities in woodlands and on inland waters.
Applicable to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2025. Directs that prosecutions for offenses committed before December 1, 2025, are not abated or affected by the act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for the act remain applicable to those prosecutions.