Names the act The Jenesis Firearm Accountability Act. Sets forth the Act’s three purposes, including to protect law-abiding gun owners by preventing illegal firearm trafficking and reducing criminal misuse.
Adds new GS 14-409.13, concerning reporting the loss or theft of a firearm, requiring a person who owns, possesses, or otherwise controls a firearm that is lost or stolen to report the loss or theft to a law enforcement agency within 48 hours of discovering the firearm is lost or stolen. Sets forth four pieces of information that the report must include, if known.  Defines firearm, law enforcement agency, and lost or stolen.  Ranges punishment for violations from a written warning for a first offense to a $1,000 fine if the offense is a third or subsequent offense. Establishes a civil liability if the person commits a violation, in addition to the fines or warning set forth above. Provides that if the firearm is used in the commission of a violent felony or misdemeanor, the person who failed to report the lost or stolen firearm is guilty of the same level of offense as the offense in which the firearm was used unless the person demonstrates to the court a reasonable inability to have complied with the requirements of the statute.  Provides civil and criminal immunity to a person who reports a lost or stolen firearm in accordance with the statute. Clarifies that the statute does not authorize the creation of a firearm registry or require firearm owners to disclose ownership of firearms that have not been lost or stolen. Effective October 1, 2025, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
Amends GS 105-164.13 (setting forth retail sales and use tax exemptions) to exempt from taxation certain equipment designed to prevent unauthorized access to firearms from sales tax, including (1) devices, when installed on firearms, designed to prevent the firearm from firing without first being deactivated and (2) a gun safe, gun case, lockbox, or other device that is for home use and is designed, in light of materials used, to prevent access to a firearm by any means other than key, a combination, biometric data, or other similar means. Equipment designed to allow for the display of firearms, including glass-faced cabinets, are not included in the sales tax exemption. Effective October 1, 2025, and applies to sales made on or after that date.
Appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) for 2025-26 for a public awareness campaign surrounding new GS 14-409.13 in consultation with the NC Sheriffs’ Association and the NC Chiefs of Police.  Effective July 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Filed: 105-164.13