A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the enforcement of state laws to combat gun trafficking.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 114 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 6A.
"Crime Gun Interdiction Program.
"§ 114-45.  Crime Gun Interdiction Task Force.
(a)	There is created within the Department of Justice a Crime Gun Interdiction Task Force to establish cooperative enforcement of the laws of this State concerning the illegal distribution and illegal possession of firearms.
(b)	The program, in cooperation with the United States Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, district attorneys in this State, and local law enforcement agencies shall develop and implement a strategy to stop the movement of illegal guns into and out of North Carolina. The strategy shall include:
(1)	Identifying and prosecuting gun traffickers and suppliers of guns who may be violating federal, State, or local laws,
(2)	Cooperating with the United States Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in investigating firearm trafficking investigations,
(3)	Cooperating with the United States Attorneys of this State in coordinating the activities of the task force with the activities of the Project Safe Neighborhood Program,
(4)	Cooperating with appropriate prosecutorial agencies in other states in the investigation and enforcement of federal, State, or local laws. The State Bureau of Investigation, district attorneys, and any other member of the task force shall enter into agreements with prosecutorial and other governmental agencies and entities in other States in an effort to stop the movement of illegal guns into and out of North Carolina.
(c)	The program shall utilize the resources available through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the United States Attorney for Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, including assistance in all of the following:
(1)	Analyzing crime gun trace and related multiple sales information.
(2)	Mapping crime gun recovery locations.
(3)	Utilizing Online Project Lead to search for criminal patterns in trace information.
(4)	Identifying specific traffickers operating in the community.
(5)	Determining the most appropriate venue for prosecution.
"§ 114-46.  Policy Board; membership.
There shall be a Task Force Policy Board, consisting of the Attorney General or his designee, the Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety or the secretary's designee, the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation, the agent in North Carolina in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a representative of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association, a representative of the North Carolina Police Chiefs Association, a representative of the North Carolina District Attorneys Association, a representative of the North Carolina Fraternal Order of Police, a representative of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, the United States Attorneys for the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina or their designees, the State coordinators of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, one member appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatitives, and one member appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
"§ 114-47.  Duties of Policy Board.
(1)	The Policy Board shall direct the formation of policies and operating procedures of the task force.
(2)	The Policy Board shall commission an annual report covering the activities of the task force and the gun crime and gun trafficking problem within the State. This study shall be made available to the public.
(3)	The Policy Board shall make annual recommendations to the General Assembly regarding legislative remedies that would assist in reducing the level of gun crime within the State and additional resources that would assist the task force in reducing gun crime in this State.
(4)	The Policy Board may apply for and administer any federal appropriations or grant funds made available for the operation of the task force. Such federal grants may include the following: Bureau of Justice Assistance Local Law Enforcement Block Grants, Byrne Formula Grants, including grants for the Weed and Seed Program, Juvenile Justice Formula Grants and Competitive Grants administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants administered by the Violence Against Women Grants Office; and the National Criminal History Improvement Program administered by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
(5)	The Policy Board shall develop or identify a preexisting firearm trafficking education program that shall be made available to local law enforcement agencies throughout the State. The education program shall include all of the following:
a.	A module explaining the firearm violence and gun trafficking problem within the state.
b.	Resources available to local law enforcement to combat firearm crimes and gun trafficking.
c.	The assistance available from the Crime Gun Interdiction Task Force.
d.	The importance of gun tracing, crime mapping and coordinating the federal, state and other local law enforcement.
e.	Assistance in implementing investigative techniques and investigative tools to combat gun crime and gun trafficking."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑2.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑2.2.  Sentencing of a person convicted of a Class A, B, B1, B2, C, D, or E felony who used, displayed, or threatened to use or display a firearm during the commission of the crime; confiscation and disposition of a firearm used in a felony;  obliterated serial numbers.
(a)	If a person is convicted of a Class A, B, B1, B2, C, D, or E felony and the person used, displayed, or threatened to use or display a firearm during the commission of the felony, the person shall, in addition to the punishment for the underlying felony, be sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment for 60 months as provided by G.S. 15A‑1340.16A.
The court shall not suspend any sentence imposed under this section and shall not place a person sentenced under this section on probation for the sentence imposed under this section. Sentences imposed pursuant to this section shall be consecutive to all other sentences imposed and shall begin at the expiration of any other sentence being served by the person.
(b)	Subsection (a) of this section does not apply in any of the following circumstances:
(1)	The person is not sentenced to an active term of imprisonment.
(2)	The evidence of the use, display, or threatened use or display of a firearm is needed to prove an element of the underlying Class A, B, B1, B2, C, D, or E felony.
(3)	The person did not actually possess a firearm about his or her person.
(b1)	It is unlawful to remove, deface, or otherwise obliterate a serial number on a firearm so that ownership of the firearm is not traceable. Every person violating the provisions of this subsection shall be punished as a Class I felon.
(c)	When a person is found to have personally used a firearm in the commission or attempted commission of a felony and the firearm is owned by that person, or the serial number on the firearm has been defaced such that ownership is not traceable, the court shall order that the firearm be confiscated and disposed of in any of the ways provided by G.S. 14‑269.1 that the court in its discretion deems appropriate."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 14‑415.1(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in his custody, care, or control any handgun or other firearm with a barrel length of less than 18 inches or an overall length of less than 26 inches, or any weapon of mass death and destruction as defined in G.S. 14‑288.8(c).
Every person violating the provisions of this section shall be punished as a Class F felon.
Nothing in this subsection would prohibit the right of any person to have possession of a firearm within his own home or on his lawful place of business."
SECTION 4.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 53D.
"Mental Health Records Access.
"§ 14-409.48.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	'Department' means the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.(2)	'Prohibited person' means those persons described in 
G.S. 14‑404(c)(4), G.S. 14‑415.12(b)(6), 18 U.S.C. 922(d)(4) or 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) who have been adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed pursuant to G.S. 122C‑226.
"§ 14-409.49.  Establish database of persons prohibited by state and federal law from possessing or purchasing a firearm.
The Department shall develop a system of electronic records that contain identifying information regarding those individuals who have been adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed pursuant to G.S. 122C‑226.
"§ 14-409.50.  Restoration of rights.
(a)	Any person who is subject to G.S. 14‑409.49, upon his or her release or any point thereafter, may petition the superior court of his or her county of residence for an order that the person may be eligible to obtain permits pursuant to G.S. 14‑404 or G.S. 14‑415.12. At the time the petition is filed, the clerk of court shall set a hearing date and notify the person, the sheriff of the county of the person’s residence, the Department, and the district attorney. The people of the State of North Carolina shall be the respondent in the proceeding and shall be represented by the district attorney.
(b)	Within seven days after receiving notice of the petition, the Department shall file a report disclosing why the petitioner is included in the database described in G.S. 14‑409.49 with the superior court. The reports shall be disclosed upon request to the petitioner and to the district attorney.
(c)	The district attorney shall be entitled to a continuance of the hearing to a date of not less than 14 days after the clerk of court notifies the district attorney of the hearing date.
(d)	The court shall conduct the hearing in camera with only the parties present that the court finds have a direct interest in the proceeding. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, declarations, police reports, including criminal history information, and any other material and relevant evidence that is not excluded under the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, shall be admissible at the hearing under this section.
(e)	If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person would be likely to use firearms in a safe and lawful manner, the court shall order that the person may have custody or control over, receive, possess, or purchase firearms as provided by State or federal law.
(f)	A copy of the order shall be submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services. Upon receipt of the order, the Department shall delete any reference to the prohibition against firearms from the person's State summary criminal history information.
"§ 14-409.51.  Access to records.
(a)	The Department, State Bureau of Investigation, and Administrative Office of the Courts shall coordinate a procedure through which the information contained in the database described in G.S. 14‑409.49 can be used to determine the eligibility of applicants for permits granted pursuant to G.S. 14‑404 or G.S. 14‑415.12. The procedure shall provide a framework for an electronic review of the database described in G.S. 14‑409.49 to determine if the applicant is a prohibited person.
(b)	When determining the eligibility of a person to obtain a permit pursuant to G.S. 14‑404 or G.S. 14‑415.12, a sheriff shall not make an electronic request directly to the Department. Instead, the response that a sheriff receives to an electronic criminal background check shall indicate whether the applicant should be denied a permit for any of the reasons set forth in G.S. 14‑404 or G.S. 14‑415.12. If a denial is indicated, the response shall not specify the reason for denial unless the applicant signs a release for that information.
(c)	The response to the inquiry described in subsection (b) shall be available to the sheriffs only with respect to the sheriffs’ duties with regard to applications described in G.S. 14‑404 and G.S. 14‑415.12.
"§ 14-409.52.  Response to request.
(a)	Upon receiving a request as defined in G.S. 14‑409.51, the Department shall check immediately to verify that the person subject to the request is not a prohibited person. Thereafter upon completing the check, the Department shall forward an electronic response immediately to the Division of Criminal Information database indicating only whether or not the applicant is a prohibited person. As indicated in G.S. 14‑409.51 (b),the ultimate response delivered by the Division of Criminal Information database to a sheriff shall not specify the reason for denial unless the applicant signs a release for that information.
(b)	If the Department is unable to complete the check immediately, the Department shall inform the Division of Criminal Information of an approximate time for the completion of the check. The time granted to complete the background check shall not exceed the time granted under the law to complete a background check pursuant to applicable State and federal laws.
"§ 14-409.53.  Institutions providing information.
(a)	The Department shall request only those public and private mental hospitals, sanitaria, and institutions that accept involuntary commitments pursuant to G.S. 122C‑226 to submit to the Department that information that the Department deems necessary to identify those persons who are within G.S. 14‑409.49 in order to carry out its duties in relation to firearms.
(b)	Upon request of the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, each public and private mental hospital, sanitarium, and institution that accepts involuntary commitments pursuant to G.S. 122C‑226 shall submit to the Department that information that the Department deems necessary to identify those persons who are within G.S. 14‑409.49 in order to carry out its duties in relation to firearms.
"§ 14-409.54.  Confidentiality of records.
All information provided to the Division of Criminal Information database pursuant to this Article shall not be maintained in the Department of Criminal Information database, shall remain solely in the database created by the Department pursuant to G.S. 14‑409.49, and shall be used only to determine eligibility of persons obtaining permits pursuant to G.S. 14‑404 and G.S. 14‑415.12. Any person who knowingly furnishes that information for any other purpose is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Records assembled under this provision shall be considered confidential and exempted from disclosure under the public records laws of this State.
"§ 14-409.55.  Immunity.
Public and private mental hospitals, sanitaria, and institutions that provide reports subject to this Chapter shall be civilly immune for making any report required or authorized by this Article. This section is declaratory of existing law.
"§ 14-409.56.  Coordination with federal database.
The Department shall coordinate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine a system through which National Instant Background Check System personnel can contact the Department for the purposes of completing a mental health records check.
"§ 14-409.57.  Funding.
The Department shall make the necessary applications to secure federal monies and grants to support the creation and operation of the database described in this Article."
SECTION 5.  Section 4 of this act becomes effective only after the Department of Health and Human Services obtains federal funding to implement that section.  Section 2 and Section 3 of this act become effective December 1, 2002, and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.  The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.