A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to regulate hunting in granville county.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Written permission required to hunt or fish on the lands of another; accessible weapons prohibited in right‑of‑way for purposes of taking wildlife without written permission.
(a)	Written Permission Required. – It is unlawful to hunt or attempt to hunt on the land of another, to fish on the land of another, or to possess a firearm, bow and arrow, crossbow, or other weapon that is readily available for use, on the land of another or on the right‑of‑way of any public road or highway adjacent to the land of another for the purposes of taking wildlife without having on one's person the written permission, signed and dated for the current hunting or fishing season, of the landowner or lessee, or the landowner's or lessee's designee. The written permission shall not be valid for more than one year and may be valid for a shorter period stated in the permission. The written permission shall be displayed upon request of law enforcement officers of the Wildlife Resources Commission, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or any other law enforcement officers with general subject matter jurisdiction.
(b)	Written Permission for Hunting Club Members. – A person belonging to a hunting club shall have written permission to hunt or fish for purposes of this section if (i) a landowner or lessee has granted permission to a hunting club to hunt or fish on the land and (ii) the person is carrying both a current membership card demonstrating the person's membership in the hunting club and a copy of valid written permission granted to the hunting club that complies with the requirements of this section.
(c)	Written Permission for Certain Hunting with Dogs. – For the purposes of the written permission requirement of this section, a hunter not physically present on another person's land shall be considered to be hunting on such land if, during a season for hunting deer or bear, the person allows a dog under his ownership, possession, or control to run upon or cross another person's land in order to hunt deer or bear.
(d)	Exceptions. – This section does not apply to either of the following:
(1)	The immediate family of an owner or lessee of land who is hunting or possessing weapons on the land or on abutting portions of the right‑of‑way of any public road or highway. For purposes of this subdivision, "immediate family" means the mother, father, brothers, sisters, spouse, children, stepparents, stepbrothers, stepsisters, and stepchildren of a person.
(2)	Travelers on the highway in lawful possession of weapons during the course of travel who have not stopped or loitered on the highway for the purpose of hunting or using weapons.
SECTION 2.  It is unlawful to hunt at any time on, from, or across the right‑of‑way of any public road or highway.
SECTION 3.  It is unlawful to hunt deer or bear with the aid of dogs unless in compliance with all of the following requirements:
(1)	Each dog must (i) wear a global positioning system ("GPS") tracking collar and (ii) bear a tag or other identification showing the full name, address, and contact telephone number of its owner or the president of the hunting club which is using the dog to hunt.
(2)	The individual or club using dogs to hunt must allow any law enforcement officers of the Wildlife Resources Commission, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and other peace officers with general subject matter jurisdiction to inspect the data sent, received, and transmitted by each dog's GPS device.
(3)	The location where a person releases dogs to hunt must (i) consist of at least 200 contiguous acres owned by the person or (ii) consist of at least 350 contiguous acres where the person has written permission to hunt as described in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4.  The restrictions on hunting with dogs in Section 3 of this act do not apply to the use of a single dog on a leash to assist a hunter in retrieving a dead or wounded animal.
SECTION 5.  For the purposes of this act, the term "to hunt" has the same meaning as under G.S. 113‑130(5a).
SECTION 6.  Violation of this act is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
SECTION 7.  This act is enforceable by law enforcement officers of the Wildlife Resources Commission, by sheriffs and deputy sheriffs, and by other peace officers with general subject matter jurisdiction.
SECTION 8.  The following local acts are repealed:
(1)	Chapter 459 of the 1959 Session Laws.
(2)	Chapter 159 of the 1991 Session Laws.
(3)	Chapter 152 of the 1995 Session Laws.
(4)	Session Law 2009‑45.
(5)	Session Law 2009‑118.
SECTION 9.  This act applies only to Granville County.
SECTION 10.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2019.