A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT requiring a bail bondsman to obtain a firearms registration permit and firearms training.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 71 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 58‑71‑51.  Armed licensee required to have firearm registration permit; firearms training.
(a)	It shall be unlawful for any person acting as a bail bondsman to carry a firearm in the performance of his or her duties as an armed bail bondsman without first having met the qualifications of this section and having been issued a firearm registration permit by the Attorney General. For purposes of this section, an 'armed bail bondsman' is a bail bondsman licensed under this Article who, at any time, wears, carries, or possesses a firearm in the performance of duty.
(b)	The applicant for a firearm registration permit shall submit an application to the Attorney General on a form provided by the Attorney General.
(c)	Each firearm registration permit issued under this section to an armed bail bondsman shall be in the form of a pocket card designed by the Attorney General and shall identify the name of the armed bail bondsman. A firearm registration permit issued to an armed bail bondsman expires one year after the date of its issuance and shall be renewed annually unless the permit holder's employment terminates before the expiration of the permit. If an armed bail bondsman terminates his or her employment, the firearm registration permit expires and shall be returned to the Attorney General within 15 working days of the date of termination. The Attorney General may require all permit holders to complete continuing education courses approved by the Attorney General before renewal of their permits.
(d)	While carrying a firearm and engaged in practice as a bail bondsman, the armed bail bondsman shall carry the firearms registration permit issued by the Attorney General, together with valid identification, and shall disclose to any law enforcement officer that the person holds a valid permit and is carrying a firearm, whether concealed or in plain view, when approached and addressed by the law enforcement officer, and shall display both the permit and the proper identification upon the request of a law enforcement officer.
(e)	The Attorney General may suspend, revoke, or deny a firearm registration permit if the holder or applicant has been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude or any crime involving the illegal use, carrying, or possession of a deadly weapon or for violation of this section or rules adopted by the Attorney General to implement this section. The Attorney General may summarily suspend a firearm registration permit pending resolution of charges involving the illegal use, carrying, or possession of a firearm lodged against the holder of the permit.
(f)	The Attorney General shall establish a firearms training program for licensees to be conducted by agencies and institutions approved by the Attorney General. The Attorney General may approve training programs if the instructors of the training program are certified trainers approved by the Attorney General and the training program meets the following criteria:
(1)	Complete a basic training course consisting of a minimum of 20 hours of classroom training that includes all of the following:
a.	Legal limitations on the use of handguns and on the powers and authority of an armed bail bondsman.
b.	Familiarity with this section.
c.	Range firing and procedure and handgun safety and maintenance.
d.	Any other topics of armed bail bondsman training curriculum that the Attorney General deems necessary.
(2)	Fire a minimum qualifying score of eighty percent (80%) on a target course approved by the Attorney General.
(3)	Complete a refresher course and requalify on the prescribed target course before renewing the firearm registration permit.
(4)	Complete any other training requirements deemed necessary by the Attorney General.
(g)	The Attorney General may not issue a firearm registration permit to an applicant until the applicant submits evidence satisfactory to the Attorney General that the applicant:
(1)	Has satisfactorily completed an approved training course.
(2)	Meets all the qualifications established by this section and by the rules adopted to implement this section.
(3)	Is mentally and physically capable of handling a firearm within the guidelines set forth by the Attorney General.
(h)	All fees collected pursuant to G.S. 58‑71‑55 shall be expended, under the direction of the Attorney General, for the purpose of defraying the expense of administering the firearms provisions of this Article.
(i)	The Attorney General is authorized to adopt rules to implement this section, including rules for periodic requalification with the firearm and for the maintenance of records relating to persons issued a firearm registration permit by the Attorney General."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 58‑71‑55 reads as rewritten:
"§ 58‑71‑55.  License fees.
A nonrefundable license fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) shall be paid to the Commissioner with each application for license as a bail bondsman and a license fee of sixty dollars ($60.00) shall be paid to the Commissioner with each application for license as a runner. A nonrefundable application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be paid to the Attorney General with each application for a firearm registration permit for an armed bail bondsman."
SECTION 3.  A bail bondsman licensed under Article 71 of Chapter 58 of the General Statutes and carrying a firearm while engaged in practice as a bail bondsman in this State on or before October 1, 2009, shall have 90 days after that date to comply with the applicable requirements of G.S. 58‑71‑51, as enacted in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009.