GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION
CHAPTER 152
AN ACT TO AMEND THE LAW PROHIBITING THE DISCHARGE OF FIREARMS ON REGISTERED LAND IN GRANVILLE COUNTY BY PROVIDING FOR REGISTRATION AT ANY TIME, BY ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT THAT REGISTRATION BE RENEWED ANNUALLY, AND BY PROVIDING THAT A REGISTRANT MUST FURNISH THE POSTED NOTICES REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAW.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. Section 2 of Chapter 159 of the 1991 Session Laws reads as rewitten:
"Sec. 2. Registration procedure.
(a) A person who possesses land and wishes to register it under this act must apply to the sheriff in accordance with this section.
(b) A new registration
application or a renewal application containing an amendment of the boundaries
of the tract of registered land must be filed with the sheriff between July
1 and August 1 and must contain:
(1) A statement under oath by the applicant that he is the possessor of the tract of land to be registered. If the applicant is not an owner, he must file a copy of his lease or other document granting him his right of general possession of or the control of hunting rights on the land.
(2) Three copies of a description of the tract that will allow law enforcement officers to determine in the field, and prove in court, whether an individual is within the boundaries of the tract. This description may take the form of a map, plat, aerial photograph showing boundaries, diagram keyed to known landmarks, or any other document or description that graphically demarks the boundaries with sufficient accuracy for use by officers in court and in the field.
(3) An agreement by the applicant to post the tract in accordance with the requirements of this section by August 15, and to make a continuing effort to maintain posted notices for the tract.
(4) An agreement by the applicant to issue or cause issuance of an entry permit to all individuals not exempted by Section 5(c) to whom he or his authorized agent gives permission to hunt, or to possess a firearm or bow and arrow that is readily available for use, on the tract or on any highway adjacent to the tract. The applicant must file the name and signature of any agent authorized by him to issue the entry permit.
(5) An agreement to notify the sheriff in writing immediately upon rescinding the authority of any agent and to file the name and signature of any new agent with the sheriff.
(6) A fee of ten dollars ($10.00) to cover the administrative costs of processing the registration application.
(c) No renewal of
registration is required except as provided in subsection (b) for amending the
boundaries of a tract of registered land and in subsection (d) for new
possessors. A tract of land remains registered until the registrant
requests in writing that the sheriff delete the tract of land from
registration. An application for annual renewal of registration in
which there is no change of boundaries of the tract must be filed with the
sheriff between July 1 and August 1 and must contain:
(1) A statement
under oath by the applicant that he remains the possessor of the tract of registered
land.
(2) A statement
under oath that every posted notice required by this section has been reviewed
within the 30 days preceding the application and a specification as to any
failure of compliance with the posting requirements. If there is any such
failure, the registrant must agree to bring his tract of registered land into
full compliance with posting requirements by August 15.
(3) An agreement
to make a continuing effort to maintain posted notices for the tract.
(4) An agreement
to issue or cause issuance of an entry permit to all individuals not exempted
by Section 5(c) to whom he or his authorized agent gives permission to hunt, or
to possess a firearm or bow and arrow that is readily available for use, on the
tract or on any highway adjacent to the tract. The registrant must list
the name of each agent currently authorized by him to issue the entry permit,
and must file the name and signature of any agent newly so authorized.
(5) An agreement
to notify the sheriff in writing immediately upon rescinding the authority of
an agent and to file the name and signature of any new agent with the sheriff.
(6) A fee of
five dollars ($5.00) to cover the administrative costs of processing the
renewal application.
(d) Within 20 days after
a registrant loses his status as the possessor of all or any part of a tract of
registered land, he must notify the sheriff of this fact. If there is a
new possessor who wishes to retain the land's registered status, and there will
be no change as to the overall boundaries of registered land, the new possessor
may within 20 days after gaining this status apply to the sheriff to have the
former registrant's application amended to designate him as the possessor of
the transferred tract or portion of the tract. The amended application
must contain all the provisions of a renewal application under subsection
(c), and the new possessor must pay a fee of five dollars ($5.00) to cover the
administrative costs of processing the renewal application. contain:
(1) A statement under oath by the applicant that he is the possessor of the tract of registered land.
(2) A statement under oath that every posted notice required by this section has been reviewed within the 30 days preceding the application and a specification as to any failure of compliance with the posting requirements. If there is any such failure, the registrant must agree to bring his tract of registered land into full compliance with posting requirements within 30 days of the application.
(3) An agreement to make a continuing effort to maintain posted notices for the tract.
(4) An agreement to issue or cause issuance of an entry permit to all individuals not exempted by Section 5(c) to whom he or his authorized agent gives permission to hunt, or to possess a firearm or bow and arrow that is readily available for use, on the tract or on any highway adjacent to the tract. The registrant must list the name of each agent currently authorized by him to issue the entry permit, and must file the name and signature of any agent newly so authorized.
(5) An agreement to notify the sheriff in writing immediately upon rescinding the authority of an agent and to file the name and signature of any new agent with the sheriff.
(6) A fee of five dollars ($5.00) to cover the administrative costs of processing the renewal application.
If there is any lapse as to the registered status of the land
or any change as to boundaries of registered land, application must be made between
July 1 and August 1 under the provisions of subsection (b).
(e) The sheriff must
first examine each application submitted under subsection (b) to determine
whether the description of the tract will satisfy the provisions of subdivision
(2). If the description is not adequate, the sheriff may in his
discretion reject the application or require an amended description that does
satisfy those provisions. If the application otherwise satisfies the
provisions of subsection (b), the sheriff before September 1 must inspect the
tract to be registered to determine whether the land is properly posted in
compliance with this section. As to renewal applications, the sheriff
must determine whether the provisions of subsection (c) (d) are
met. Of the applications that do meet the requirements, he must make spot
checks of the tracts of land covered by these applications before September 1
for compliance with the posting requirements of this section.
(f) By September 1 each year, the sheriff must:
(1) File with the Register of Deeds of Granville County a listing of all tracts of land accepted by him for registration during the ensuing year. This listing must contain an abbreviated description of the location of each tract of land so accepted.
(2) File with the Register of Deeds a copy of the full description of the boundaries of each tract accepted for registration that year under subsection (b). As to the remaining applications accepted, the sheriff must indicate in his filing with the Register of Deeds the year in which a full description was filed for that tract that met the requirements of subdivision (2) of subsection (b).
(3) File with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission all of the material required to be filed with the Register of Deeds under subdivisions (1) and (2). The sheriff must also furnish the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission with a copy of the signature of each registrant and agent newly authorized to issue entry permits during the ensuing year, and a listing of agents no longer authorized to issue entry permits. In addition, throughout the year as registrants make changes with respect to their authorized agents or there are amended applications that substitute registrants, the sheriff must as soon as feasible inform the Commission of the changes and file with the Commission a copy of the signatures of new registrants and agents.
(4) Release for publication by appropriate media with coverage in Granville County the listing described in subdivision (1).
(5) Compile and maintain throughout the ensuing year in his office, so that the information is freely available to the public, all of the information covered by this subsection.
(g) Each registrant under this act must post his tract of registered land within the time limits agreed to by him in his registration application, and the registrant must from time to time inspect his registered land and repost the land to keep it in conformance with the requirements of this subsection. Posted notices must measure at least 120 square inches; contain the word 'POSTED' in letters at least three inches high; state that the land is registered with the Sheriff of Granville County and that hunting and the possession of weapons are prohibited without an entry permit. Notices must be conspicuously posted not more than 200 yards apart close to and along the boundaries of the tract. In any event, at least one notice must be placed on each side of the registered tract, one at each corner, one facing toward the traveled portion of each abutting highway, and one at each point of entry. A point of entry is where a roadway, trail, path, or other way likely to be used by entering hunters and weapons possessors leads into the tract. Notices posted along the boundaries of a tract must face in the direction that they will most likely be seen by hunters and weapons possessors.
(h) Any law enforcement officer or any employee of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission who determines that a registrant has failed to keep registered property posted in substantial compliance with this section must so notify the registrant or his agent. If within a reasonable time after notice the registrant fails to take steps to post or repost the tract, or if without regard to notice a registrant is inexcusably or repeatedly negligent in failing to keep the tract properly posted, the sheriff upon learning of this must immediately delete registration of the tract, notify the registrant, or the present possessor if the registrant is no longer a possessor, and require that the responsible person remove any remaining posted notices.
(i) When there
is no renewal of an application for registration, when the sheriff learns
that a registrant is no longer the possessor of a registered tract of land and
there has been no timely application by the new possessor to amend the
registration, or when a registrant requests that his tract of land be deleted
from registration, the sheriff must immediately delete the registration of the
tract, notify the current possessor of his action, and require him to remove
all posted notices.
(j) A possessor's failure to cause the removal of all posted signs within a reasonable time after receipt of notice that the tract has been deleted from registration is a misdemeanor punishable in the discretion of the court."
Sec. 2. Section 3 of Chapter 159 of the 1991 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 3. Entry permits and posted notices
furnished by sheriff. notices.
(a) Upon initial or renewal registration of a tract of land, the sheriff must furnish the registrant with a reasonable number of entry permit forms to be carried by individuals given permission to hunt, or possess a firearm or bow and arrow that is readily available for use, on the registered land or on any highway abutting the registered land. The sheriff must establish a procedure for resupplying registrants and their agents with entry permit forms for their registered land as needed.
(b) To be valid, the entry permit must be issued and dated within the previous 12 months and signed by the registrant, or by an authorized agent of the registrant whose signature is on file with the sheriff.
(c) The sheriff registrant
must procure a stock sufficient number of posted notices that
meet the requirements of subsection (g) of Section 2 of this act and, upon
initial or renewal registration, furnish the registrant with a sufficient
number of posted notices that he may comply with the posting requirements of
this act. The sheriff must establish a procedure for supplying
registrants with additional posted notices as needed for reposting in
compliance with this act. act in order to comply with the posting
requirements of this act."
Sec. 3. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 1st day of June, 1995.
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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate
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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives