Thanks to your input, which sent thousands of emails and calls to legislators, House Bill 562 is still alive, but hanging by a thread. As you know, a bill must pass at least one chamber by April 30 to remain alive. Because the bill requires two debates on the chamber floor (Second and Third Readings), which must be done on successive days, effectively it needed to hit the floor by April 29.
The bad news is that didn’t make the floor yesterday. Due to the anti-gun actions of Rep. LEO DAUGHTRY (R-Johnston, GRNC evaluation under review), the Judiciary Chairman leading the effort to gut the bill, the GOP caucus couldn’t gather enough support to pass the bill on the floor and send it to the Senate.
The good news is that House Rules Chairman DAVID LEWIS (R-Harnett , GRNC ****) kept the bill alive by convening a meeting of Rules during a recess, adding a fiscal note and re-referring the bill to the Appropriations Committee. Under legislative rules, bills with fiscal considerations are immune from the crossover deadline and may be introduced and passed at any time.
Therefore, although we weren’t able to pass HB 562, it remains alive and will likely be acted on next week. One caveat: Leadership says they still want to “work on” the bill, meaning your continued input will be crucial.
The latest version of HB 562:
• Allows District Attorneys, members of the Dept. of Public Safety and administrative law judges to carry in courtrooms;
• Expands concealed carry on educational properties to allow CHP-holders to keep firearms concealed on their persons or to transfer them to and from closed compartments provided the vehicle remains locked;
• Establishes an affirmative defense for CHP-holders forced leave the vehicle on educational property in order to respond to a deadly threat;
• One bad measure allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to prohibit guns at the State Fair, but the bill also establishes the right to keep firearms in locked motor vehicles at the fair and establishes a study to examine means of allowing permit-holders to check firearms at fair entrances;
• Expands sport shooting range to protect more recently established ranges;
• Removes or limits some minor misdemeanors from being disqualifiers for CHPs;
• Allows short-barreled rifles to be used for hunting;
• Reduces the penalty for carry on posted property from a misdemeanor to an infraction;
• Repeals North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit system;
• Requires reporting of disqualifying crimes to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) within 48 hours;
• Allows individuals to seek injunctive relief and recover legal costs from local governments which adopt illegal gun restrictions in violation of statewide firearms preemption;
• Requires Chief Law Enforcement Officer certification for Title II firearm applications by qualified applicants;
• Requires sheriffs to issue CHPs to qualified applicants within 90 days regardless of the return of mental health checks; and
• Prohibits health care providers from asking patients via written questionnaires about guns in the home, or from disclosing information verbally collected.
). Overall, the current omnibus bill is pretty good, but as they say, it's not over till its over.