05-08-15 - NC Sheriffs` Association

Weekly Legislative Report
May 8, 2015
The House budget writers are working diligently to finalize the House version of the
State Budget Bill so that it can be sent to the Senate for their consideration. This week it was
announced that the available revenues would include a significant surplus for this year. While it
is good news that there is a revenue surplus, that merely increases the competition for available
revenues.
The appropriations subcommittees are scheduled to finalize their individual sections of
the budget next week so that their proposals can be submitted as a part of the full House
proposed budget. The House leadership proposes to have the full budget available for
consideration during the week of May 18th with plans to hold a final vote on the House version
of the budget on Thursday, May 21st.
Last week was hectic at the General Assembly with the bill crossover deadline. However,
this week has proceeded at a much more normal pace. A few House and Senate committees met
and some legislation has been considered, but all in all it has been a rather quiet week at the
General Assembly.
The House and Senate adjourned on Thursday and will reconvene on Monday evening.
BILL STATUS
HOUSE BILL 91, Study Misuse of Handicapped Parking Placards, has been approved by the
General Assembly and sent to Governor Pat McCrory for his signature.
HOUSE BILL 102, Utility Vehicles/Move-Over Changes, has passed the Senate Transportation
Committee with amendments, and has been reassigned to the Senate Committee on
Transportation. This bill was amended to provide that vehicles that are being used in the
collection of refuse, solid waste, or recycling would be included in the definition of a “public
service vehicle” for purposes of the “move-over” law. The move-over law requires that when an
authorized emergency vehicle or any public service vehicle is parked or standing within 12 feet
of a roadway and is giving a warning signal by appropriate light, the driver of every approaching
vehicle would have to either move their vehicle out of the lane closest to the emergency or public
service vehicle or would have to slow their vehicle until completely past the emergency or public
service vehicle.
HOUSE BILL 299, Occ.Lic./Private Protective Svcs. Act Changes-AB, has passed the House
Judiciary III Committee with amendments, and has been reassigned to the House Committee on
Weekly Legislative Report
North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
May 8, 2015
Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. This bill was amended to expand the powers of
the Private Protective Services Board (Board) to conduct investigations into allegations of
unlicensed activity of the type regulated by the Board (such as allegations of unlicensed persons
acting as private investigators) and also to allow the Board to acquire and deal with real property
just as any private person or corporation could. Additionally, the bill would grant authority to the
Alarm Systems Licensing Board to acquire and deal with real property in the same manner as a
private person or corporation.
HOUSE BILL 562, Second Amendment Affirmation Act, has been reassigned to the House
Committee on Appropriations. House Bill 562 has been amended several times since its original
introduction. The most recent edition of this bill [Edition 3] would make a number of changes to
North Carolina's firearms laws that would impact criminal justice agencies. These changes
include the following:
1. A district attorney with a valid concealed handgun permit would be permitted to
carry a concealed weapon while in a courtroom.
2. Any person employed by the Department of Public Safety who has a concealed
handgun permit, and has been designated by the Secretary of the Department,
would be able to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in North Carolina that
sworn law enforcement officers could carry a concealed weapon.
3. An administrative law judge would be able to carry a concealed weapon
anywhere in North Carolina that sworn law enforcement officers could carry a
concealed weapon.
4. A concealed handgun permittee would be able to possess a concealed handgun on
his/her person while in a vehicle on school property so long as the person remains
in a locked vehicle and only unlocks the vehicle to allow the entrance or exit of
another person. Currently, the concealed handgun of a permittee would have to be
kept in a closed or locked container within the vehicle.
5. It would be lawful for a concealed handgun permittee to remove a handgun from a
vehicle on school property if done so in response to a threatening situation in
which deadly force was justified.
6. The Commissioner of Agriculture would be authorized to prohibit the carrying of
firearms on the State Fairgrounds during the State Fair. Individuals with valid
concealed handgun permits would however be allowed to secure their handguns
in their locked vehicles in the parking lot of the fairgrounds. The Department of
Agriculture, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety and the North
Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, would be required to study the best method to
allow persons with concealed handgun permits to carry concealed handguns from
the parking lot to the entrance of the State Fairgrounds and secure those handguns
near the entrance to the State Fair.
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Weekly Legislative Report
North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
May 8, 2015
7. A person who owns or operates a recreational shooting range in North Carolina
would not be able to be prosecuted criminally or sued civilly in any lawsuit
related to noise or noise pollution resulting from the use of the shooting range, so
long as the range was being operated in compliance with noise control laws in
effect at the time the range began operating. These protections would apply to any
recreational shooting range, irrespective of when it began operating. Currently,
this protection from criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits only applies to shooting
ranges that were in operation for at least three years prior to 1997.
8. Convicted felons, whose firearms rights are restored by a district court judge,
would have the ability to possess handguns, shotguns, rifles, or weapons of mass
death and destruction (for example, suppressors and short barreled rifles or short
barreled shotguns). These felons, whose firearms rights are restored, would not
however be able to possess automatic weapons. Currently, convicted felons whose
rights have been restored by a district court judge can possess any firearm,
weapon of mass death and destruction, or automatic weapon.
9. An applicant for a North Carolina-issued concealed handgun permit would no
longer be disqualified from receiving a permit based on convictions for any
misdemeanor assault offense, if three years had passed since the assault
conviction. A concealed handgun permit applicant would however be
permanently barred from getting a concealed handgun permit if the applicant had
been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or assault on a law
enforcement officer or other emergency services personnel.
10. Hunting would be allowed with short barreled rifles (rifles with a barrel length of
less than 16 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches) in addition to
hunting with suppressors.
11. The punishment for a concealed handgun permittee carrying a concealed handgun
into an area that had been posted as prohibiting the carrying of concealed
handguns would be reduced from a Class 1 misdemeanor to an infraction and may
be punishable by a fine of up to $500.
12. The requirement to have a pistol purchase permit for the purchase or transfer of a
handgun would be abolished in North Carolina. The North Carolina Sheriffs’
Association supports maintaining North Carolina's pistol purchase permit
system.
13. Clerks of superior court would transmit court orders and findings to the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) within 48 hours of the entry
of such an order or finding, if the order or finding would be a basis to prevent an
individual from possessing firearms under federal law. Clerks would send this
information only if NICS requested such information and the data could be sent in
an acceptable format to NICS.
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Weekly Legislative Report
North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
May 8, 2015
14. The Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation with the State Bureau of
Investigation, would be required to work with the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS) to determine the feasibility of reporting
additional information to NICS that would be grounds to disqualify an individual
from possession of firearms under federal law.
15. Any person adversely affected by a city or county ordinance that unlawfully
regulates the possession, transfer, sale, taxation, manufacture, transportation, or
registration of firearms would be allowed to bring a lawsuit against the city or
county for damages the person suffered as a result of the ordinance. The court
would be able to give the winning party to the lawsuit reasonable attorneys’ fees
and court costs.
16. Sheriffs would be required to either issue or deny an application for a concealed
handgun permit within 90 calendar days from the date that the application was
submitted, regardless of whether the required records on the mental health or
capacity of the applicant had been received. Currently, sheriffs have 45 days after
receipt of all requested documents to either issue or deny the permit.
17. Would define the term “chief law enforcement officer” (CLEO) to be any official
designated as such by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives (BATFE) who would be eligible to provide any required
certification on federal paperwork for the transfer or making of a firearm (for
example, the transfer of an automatic weapon or suppressor).
Therefore, if designated by the BATFE, a chief of police or other official could
sign any necessary federal paperwork for the transfer of a weapon. Currently,
these certification duties may be performed only by the sheriff. Under this bill, the
CLEO would have to provide the certification within 15 days of the request if the
applicant is not otherwise prohibited by State or federal law from receiving or
possessing the firearm. Any denial by the CLEO could be appealed to the district
court of the district where the request for certification was made.
18. Health care providers would be prohibited from soliciting or maintaining records
from patients concerning their possession of firearms or ammunition.
19. Any individual adversely affected by a city or county ordinance unlawfully
restricting the person's ability to carry a concealed handgun would be able to
bring a lawsuit against the city or county for actual damages suffered by the
person. The court would be able to give the winning party in such a lawsuit
reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs.
HOUSE BILL 760, Regulatory Reform Act of 2015, has passed the House and has been sent to
the Senate for their consideration. This bill was amended to make clarifying changes regarding
the authority of law enforcement officers, protectors, and inspectors (officers) to inspect
weapons, equipment, fish, or wildlife. It would be unlawful to refuse to allow officers to inspect
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Weekly Legislative Report
North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association
May 8, 2015
weapons or equipment if the officer reasonably believes the items are possessed incident to an
activity that is regulated by law and the officer has a reasonable suspicion that a violation has
been committed. The officer would be allowed to inspect: 1) a shotgun without a reasonable
suspicion that a violation has been committed, to confirm whether the shotgun is plugged or
unplugged; and 2) equipment left unattended as part of the normal operation of the equipment in
the absence of an individual in apparent control of the item, to include traps, trot lines, crab pots,
and fox pens. The bill would also make it unlawful to refuse to permit officers to inspect fish or
wildlife for the purpose of determining compliance with bag and size limits.
The requirement that the Wildlife Resources Commission conduct a study as to whether, and
under what circumstances, reasonable suspicion that a violation has been committed should be
required before an officer would be able to inspect weapons, equipment, fish or wildlife was
removed from the bill.
SENATE BILL 445, Burt's Law, has passed the House Judiciary II Committee with
amendments, and is scheduled to be considered by the House on Tuesday, May 12, 2015.
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