GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2017

S                                                                                                                                                    D

SENATE BILL DRS35213-LH-85   (02/28)

Short Title:      Online Paperless Pistol Permit Modernization.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Senators Tarte, Brock, and Britt (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to enact the online paperless pistol permit modernization Act.

Whereas, North Carolina is the only state using a paper permit to purchase a pistol; and

Whereas, it is time for North Carolina to utilize available technology for a more efficient pistol purchase process; and

Whereas, amending the law to enable every dealer in pistols to send an electronic notification to the sheriff of the county of each background check conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as part of a transaction to purchase a pistol would be beneficial to North Carolina; Now, therefore,

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 14‑402, 14‑403, and 14‑404 are repealed.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑406 reads as rewritten:

"§ 14‑406.  Dealer to keep record of sales; confidentiality of records.

(a)        Every dealer in pistols and other weapons mentioned in this Article shall keep an accurate record of all sales thereof, including the name, place of residence, date of sale, etc., of each person, firm, or corporation to whom or which such sales are made. The records maintained by a dealer pursuant to this section are confidential and are not a public record under G.S. 132‑1; provided, however, that the dealer shall make the records available upon request to all State and local law enforcement agencies.

(b)        Repealed by Session Laws 2011‑56, s. 3, effective April 28, 2011.

(c) Every dealer in pistols and other weapons mentioned in this Article shall send an electronic notification to the sheriff of the county of each background check conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as part of a transaction to purchase a pistol within 10 business days of the date of the transaction."

SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑405 reads as rewritten:

"§ 14‑405.  Record of permits kept by sheriff; confidentiality of permit information.

(a)        The sheriff shall keep a record of all permits issued under this article, including the name, date, place of residence, age, former place of residence, etc., of each such person, firm, or corporation to whom or which a permit is issued. electronic notifications received pursuant to G.S. 14‑406.The record shall include the date that a permit was revoked, the date that the permittee received notice of the revocation, whether the permit was surrendered, and the reason for the revocation.

(b)        The records maintained by the sheriff pursuant to this section are confidential and are not a public record under G.S. 132‑1; provided, however, that the sheriff shall make the records available upon request to any federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and shall also make the records available to the court if the records are required to be released pursuant to a court order. Any application to a court for release of the list of permit holders and permit application information records shall be by a petition to the chief judge of the district court for the district in which the person seeking the information resides."

SECTION 4.  G.S. 14‑407.1 reads as rewritten:

"§ 14‑407.1.  Sale of blank cartridge pistols.

The provisions of G.S. 14‑402, 14‑405, G.S. 14‑405 and 14‑406G.S. 14‑406 shall apply to the sale of pistols suitable for firing blank cartridges. The sheriffs of all the counties of this State are authorized and may in their discretion issue to any person, firm or corporation, in any such county, a license or permit to purchase or receive any pistol suitable for firing blank cartridges from any person, firm or corporation offering to sell or dispose of the same, which said permit shall be in substantially the following form:

North Carolina

______________ County

I, ______________, Clerk of the Superior Court of said county, do hereby certify that ______________, whose place of residence is ______________ Street in ______________ (or) in ______________ Township in ______________ County, North Carolina, having this day satisfied me that the possession of a pistol suitable for firing blank cartridges will be used only for lawful purposes, a permit is therefore given said ______________ to purchase said pistol from any person, firm or corporation authorized to dispose of the same, this ________ day of ____________, ________.

Sheriff

The sheriff shall charge for the sheriff's services, upon issuing such permit, a fee of fifty cents (50¢)."

SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2017, and applies to sales of pistols on and after that date and to offenses committed on or after that date.