North Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session

North Carolina House Bill H427 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
2	2		SESSION 2025
3		-	H 2
	3	+	H 1
4	4		HOUSE BILL 427
5		-	~~Committee Substitute Favorable 4/8/25~~
	5	+
6	6
7	7		Short Title: CCW Permit/No Records Provided. (Public)
8		-	Sponsors:
9		-	Referred to:
	8	+	Sponsors: Representatives Kidwell, Moss, Pike, and Ward (Primary Sponsors).
	9	+	For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
	10	+	Referred to: Judiciary 2, if favorable, Health, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of
	11	+	the House
10	12		March 19, 2025
11		-	H427 -v-2
	13	+	H427 -v-1
12	14		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
13	15		AN ACT TO REPLACE TH E REQUIRED DISCLOSUR E OF RECORDS CONCERN ING 2
14	16		THE MENTAL HEALTH OR CAPACITY OF AN APPLICANT FOR A CONCEALE D 3
15	17		HANDGUN PERMIT WITH A "YES" OR "NO" STATEMENT INDICATING WHE THER 4
16	18		THE PERSON OR ENTITY HAS INFORMATION THA T THE APPLICANT HAS BEEN 5
17	19		DIAGNOSED BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS. 6
18	20		The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
19	21		SECTION 1. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(5) reads as rewritten: 8
20	22		"(5) A release, in a form to be prescribed by the Administrative Office of the 9
21		-	Courts, that authorizes and requires disclosure to the sheriff of any records 10
22		-	concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant to be used ~~for the~~ 11
23		-	sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a ~~permit~~ 12
24		-	under the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12. ~~G.S. 14-415.12(b).~~ This provision 13
25		-	~~does not~~ prohibit submitting information related to involuntary commitment 14
26		-	~~to the~~ National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)." 15
	23	+	Courts, that authorizes and requires disclosure to the sheriff of any records a 10
	24	+	statement concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant to be used 11
	25	+	for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a 12
	26	+	permit under the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12. This provision does not 13
	27	+	prohibit submitting information related to involuntary commitment to the 14
	28	+	National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)." 15
27	29		SECTION 2. G.S. 14-415.14(c) reads as rewritten: 16
28	30		"(c) Any person or entity who is presented by the applicant or by the sheriff with an 17
29	31		original or photocopied release form as described in G.S. 14-415.13(a)(5) shall promptly disclose 18
30		-	to shall, within 15 days of receipt of the release, provide the sheriff any records concerning the 19
31		-	mental health or capacity of the applicant who signed the form and authorized the release of the 20
32		-	records. with an initial statement indicating "Yes" or "No" as to whether the person or entity has 21
33		-	medical records pertaining to the applicant. If a person or entity responds with an initial statement 22
34		-	indicating "Yes," then the person or entity shall, no later than 30 days from the initial receipt of 23
35		-	the release, provide the sheriff with a copy of any mental health records that indicate the applicant 24
36		-	has been diagnosed by a medical professional with a mental illness. If the person or entity does 25
37		-	not have records that indicate the applicant has been diagnosed by a medical professional with a 26
38		-	mental illness, the person or entity must respond to the sheriff and provide a statement indicating 27
39		-	that none of the records are related to a mental health diagnosis. In the absence of fraud or malice, 28
40		-	no person or entity who responds with a statement in accordance with this subsection shall be 29
41		-	liable for damages in a civil action if the statement and any accompanying information is found 30
42		-	to be inaccurate or otherwise in error. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring 31
43		-	the disclosure of records not related to mental health to the sheriff." 32
44		-	SECTION 3. G.S. 14-415.15(a) reads as rewritten: 33
45		-	"(a) Except as permitted under subsection (b) of this section, within 45 days after receipt 34
46		-	of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13 from an applicant, and receipt of the required records 35
47		-	concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant, the sheriff shall either issue or deny 36 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
48		-	Page 2 House Bill 427-Second Edition
49		-	the permit. The sheriff may conduct any investigation necessary to determine the qualification or 1
50		-	competency of the person applying for the permit, including record checks. The sheriff shall 2
51		-	make the request for any records any statements concerning the mental health or capacity records 3
52		-	of the applicant within 10 days of receipt of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13. No person, 4
53		-	company, mental health provider, or governmental entity may charge additional fees to the 5
54		-	applicant for background checks conducted under this subsection. A permit shall not be denied 6
55		-	unless the applicant is determined to be ineligible pursuant to G.S. 14-415.12." 7
56		-	SECTION 4. G.S. 14-415.15(c) reads as rewritten: 8
57		-	"(c) A person's application for a permit shall be denied only if the applicant fails to qualify 9
58		-	under the criteria listed in this Article. If the sheriff denies the application for a permit, the sheriff 10
59		-	shall, within 45 days, notify the applicant in writing, stating the grounds for denial. Any grounds 11
60		-	for denial provided in accordance with this subsection shall (i) identify any medical professional 12
61		-	or facility who provided a copy of mental health records under G.S. 14-415.14(c) and (ii) provide 13
62		-	contact information for any medical professional or facility who provided the copy. An applicant 14
63		-	may appeal the denial, revocation, or nonrenewal of a permit by petitioning a district court judge 15
64		-	of the district in which the application was filed. The determination by the court, on appeal, shall 16
65		-	be upon the facts, the law, and the reasonableness of the sheriff's refusal. The determination by 17
66		-	the court shall be final." 18
67		-	SECTION 5. By no later than September 30, 2025, the Administrative Office of the 19
68		-	Courts shall update the release required under G.S. 14-415.13(a)(5) to reflect the amendment set 20
69		-	forth in Section 1 of this act. 21
70		-	SECTION 6. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to applications 22
71		-	submitted on or after that date. 23
	32	+	respond to the sheriff any records concerning the mental health or capacity of with a statement 19
	33	+	indicating "Yes" or "No" as to whether the person or entity has information that the applicant 20
	34	+	who signed the form and authorized the release of the records.has been diagnosed by a medical 21
	35	+	professional with a mental illness. If a person or entity responds with a statement indicating 22
	36	+	"Yes," then the person or entity shall, in writing and no later than 15 days from the date it 23
	37	+	provided the sheriff with the required statement, provide the applicant with the grounds for 24
	38	+	responding "Yes." In the absence of fraud or malice, no person or entity who responds with a 25
	39	+	statement in accordance with this subsection shall be liable for damages in a civil action if the 26
	40	+	statement and any accompanying information is found to be inaccurate or otherwise in error. 27
	41	+	Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring the disclosure of records to the sheriff." 28
	42	+	SECTION 3. G.S. 14-415.15(a) reads as rewritten: 29
	43	+	"(a) Except as permitted under subsection (b) of this section, within 45 days after receipt 30
	44	+	of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13 from an applicant, and receipt of the required records 31
	45	+	statement concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant, the sheriff shall either issue 32
	46	+	or deny the permit. The sheriff may conduct any investigation necessary to determine the 33
	47	+	qualification or competency of the person applying for the permit, including record checks. The 34 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
	48	+	Page 2 House Bill 427-First Edition
	49	+	sheriff shall make the request for any records the statement concerning the mental health or 1
	50	+	capacity of the applicant within 10 days of receipt of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13. No 2
	51	+	person, company, mental health provider, or governmental entity may charge additional fees to 3
	52	+	the applicant for background checks conducted under this subsection. A permit shall not be 4
	53	+	denied unless the applicant is determined to be ineligible pursuant to G.S. 14-415.12." 5
	54	+	SECTION 4. G.S. 14-415.15(c) reads as rewritten: 6
	55	+	"(c) A person's application for a permit shall be denied only if the applicant fails to qualify 7
	56	+	under the criteria listed in this Article. If the sheriff denies the application for a permit, the sheriff 8
	57	+	shall, within 45 days, notify the applicant in writing, stating the grounds for denial. Any grounds 9
	58	+	for denial provided in accordance with this subsection shall (i) identify any person or entity who 10
	59	+	provided a statement under G.S. 14-415.14(c), (ii) specify whether the person or entity responded 11
	60	+	with a "Yes" or "No," and (iii) provide contact information for the person or entity who provided 12
	61	+	the statement. An applicant may appeal the denial, revocation, or nonrenewal of a permit by 13
	62	+	petitioning a district court judge of the district in which the application was filed. The 14
	63	+	determination by the court, on appeal, shall be upon the facts, the law, and the reasonableness of 15
	64	+	the sheriff's refusal. The determination by the court shall be final." 16
	65	+	SECTION 5. By no later than September 30, 2025, the Administrative Office of the 17
	66	+	Courts shall update the release required under G.S. 14-415.13(a)(5) to reflect the amendment set 18
	67	+	forth in Section 1 of this act. 19
	68	+	SECTION 6. This act becomes effective October 1, 2025, and applies to applications 20
	69	+	submitted on or after that date. 21