H.B. 525
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
Apr 8, 2021
SESSION 2021 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
H D
HOUSE BILL DRH40275-ML-88A
Short Title: Allow ERPOs to Prevent Suicides & Save Lives. (Public)
Sponsors: Representative Morey.
Referred to:
1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE ISSUANCE OF AN EXTREME RISK PROTECTION
3 ORDER TO RESTRICT TEMPORARILY A PERSON'S ACCESS TO FIREARMS IF
4 THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT THE PERSON POSES A DANGER OF PHYSICAL HARM
5 TO SELF OR OTHERS.
6 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
7 SECTION 1. The General Statutes are amended by adding a new Chapter to read:
8 "Chapter 50E.
9 "Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
10 "§ 50E-1. Title of Chapter.
11 This Chapter may be cited as the "Extreme Risk Protection Orders Act."
12 "§ 50E-2. Legislative findings and purpose.
13 (a) Legislative Findings. – The General Assembly finds all of the following:
14 (1) Gun violence is a public health epidemic that ravages communities and
15 families in North Carolina and the country.
16 (2) Every year almost 40,000 people are killed by gun violence, an average of 108
17 people per day. In 2018, 1,416 North Carolinians were killed by gun violence,
18 almost four lives lost every day.
19 (3) Firearm suicides are the most common type of firearm death in the United
20 States. In 2018, one-half of the 48,344 suicides in the United States involved
21 a firearm. In 2018, 813 North Carolinians died from firearm suicide.
22 (b) Purpose. – The purpose of this Chapter is to reduce gun deaths and injuries, while
23 respecting constitutional rights, by providing a court procedure for concerned citizens and law
24 enforcement to obtain an order temporarily restricting a person's access to firearms. The court
25 orders authorized under this Chapter are intended to be limited to situations in which the person
26 poses a significant danger of harming themselves or others by possessing a firearm and include
27 standards and safeguards to protect the rights of respondents and due process of law.
28 "§ 50E-3. Definitions.
29 The following definitions apply in this Chapter:
30 (1) Extreme Risk Protection Order or ERPO. – An order granted under this
31 Chapter, which includes a remedy authorized under G.S. 50E-6.
32 (2) Family or household member. – Any of the following:
33 a. A person related by blood, marriage, or adoption to the respondent.
34 b. A current or former dating partner of the respondent.
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1 c. A person who has a child in common with the respondent, regardless
2 of whether the person has been married to the respondent or has lived
3 together with the respondent at any time.
4 d. A domestic partner of the respondent.
5 e. A person who has a biological or legal parent-child relationship with
6 the respondent, including stepparents, stepchildren, grandparents, and
7 grandchildren.
8 f. A person who is acting or has acted as the respondent's legal guardian.
9 (3) Firearm. – Any weapon, including a starter gun, which will or is designed to
10 or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive,
11 or its frame or receiver.
12 (4) Petitioner. – The person who petitions for an ERPO under this Chapter.
13 (5) Respondent. – The person who is identified as the respondent in a petition
14 filed under this Chapter.
15 "§ 50E-4. Commencement of action.
16 (a) Petition. – Any of the following may file a verified petition in district court for an
17 ERPO:
18 (1) A family or household member.
19 (2) A current or former spouse or dating partner.
20 (3) A law enforcement officer or agency.
21 (4) A health care provider.
22 (b) Filing Location. – A petition for an ERPO under this Chapter may be filed in any
23 county permitted under G.S. 1-82.
24 (c) Required Information in Petition. – A petition for an ERPO under this Chapter shall
25 include all of the following:
26 (1) An allegation that the respondent poses a danger of physical harm to self or
27 others by having in his or her care, custody, possession, ownership, or control
28 a firearm. If the petitioner is seeking an ex parte ERPO, the petition shall
29 include an allegation that the respondent poses an imminent danger of physical
30 harm to self or others by having in his or her care, custody, possession,
31 ownership, or control a firearm. The allegation required under this subdivision
32 shall include facts to support the allegation.
33 (2) An identification, to the best of the petitioner's knowledge, of the number,
34 types, and locations of firearms under the respondent's custody or control.
35 (3) An identification of any existing protection order under State law governing
36 the respondent.
37 (4) An identification of any pending lawsuits, complaints, petitions, or other
38 actions between the petitioner and the respondent.
39 (d) Verification of Terms of Existing Orders. – The clerk of court shall verify the terms
40 of any existing protection orders governing the petitioner and respondent. The court shall not
41 delay granting relief because of the existence of a pending action between the petitioner and
42 respondent or the necessity of verifying the terms of an existing protection order. A petition for
43 an ERPO under this Chapter may be granted whether or not there is a pending action between
44 the petitioner and the respondent.
45 (e) Nondisclosure of Address. – A petitioner with a current and valid Address
46 Confidentiality Program authorization card issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15C of
47 the General Statutes may use the substitute address designated by the Address Confidentiality
48 Program when filing with the court any document required under this Chapter. If a petitioner
49 does not have a current and valid Address Confidentiality Program authorization card, but
50 submits to the court a copy of a protective order without attachments, if any, issued to the
51 petitioner under G.S. 50B-3 or a lawful order of any court of competent jurisdiction restricting
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1 the access or contact of one or more persons with the petitioner, accompanied by a signed
2 statement that the petitioner has good reason to believe that the physical safety of the petitioner
3 or a member of the petitioner's family residing with the petitioner would be jeopardized if the
4 petitioner's address were open to public inspection, that petitioner's address shall be kept
5 confidential.
6 (f) Court Costs and Attorneys' Fees. – No court costs or attorneys' fees shall be assessed
7 for the filing or service of the petition, or the service of any ERPOs, except as provided in
8 G.S. 1A-1, Rule 11.
9 (g) Electronic Filing. – All documents filed, issued, registered, or served in an action
10 under this Chapter relating to an ERPO may be filed electronically.
11 (h) Report. – Beginning December 1, 2022, and occurring annually thereafter, the
12 Administrative Office of the Courts shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight
13 Committee on Justice and Public Safety and the Fiscal Research Division that includes all of the
14 following information:
15 (1) The number of petitions filed under this Chapter during the prior calendar
16 year.
17 (2) The number of ex parte ERPOs issued during the prior calendar year.
18 (3) The number of ex parte ERPOs the courts declined to issue during the prior
19 calendar year, and justification for why each was declined.
20 (4) The number of full ERPOs issued during the prior calendar year.
21 (5) The number of full ERPOs the courts declined to issue during the prior
22 calendar year, and justification for why each was declined.
23 "§ 50E-5. Process.
24 (a) Summons Required. – Except as otherwise provided in G.S. 50E-8, a petition for an
25 ERPO requires that a summons be issued and served not later than five days prior to the date set
26 for the full ERPO hearing. Attachments to the summons shall include the petition for any ERPO,
27 any ex parte ERPO that has been issued and the notice of hearing on the ex parte ERPO, and a
28 description of what an ERPO is.
29 (b) Service of the Summons and Attachments. – The clerk of court shall effect service of
30 the summons and any attachments through the appropriate law enforcement agency where the
31 respondent is to be served.
32 "§ 50E-6. ERPO requirements; remedy; mental health or chemical dependency evaluation.
33 (a) Required Information in ERPO. – An ERPO issued under this Chapter shall include
34 all of the following:
35 (1) A statement of the grounds supporting issuance of the ERPO.
36 (2) The date and time the ERPO was issued.
37 (3) The date and time the ERPO expires.
38 (4) Whether a mental health evaluation or chemical dependency evaluation of the
39 respondent is required.
40 (5) The address of the court in which any responsive pleading may be filed.
41 (6) A description of the requirements for relinquishment and retrieval of any
42 firearms, ammunition, permits to purchase firearms, and permits to carry
43 concealed firearms that are in the care, custody, ownership, or control of the
44 respondent.
45 (7) A description of the process for seeking termination of the ERPO.
46 (8) A statement that a violation of the ERPO is punishable as a Class A1
47 misdemeanor.
48 (b) Remedy Granted. – Upon issuance of an ERPO, including an ex parte ERPO, the
49 court shall order the respondent to surrender to the sheriff all firearms, ammunition, permits to
50 purchase firearms, and permits to carry concealed firearms that are in the care, custody,
51 possession, ownership, or control of the respondent.
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1 (c) Mental Health or Chemical Dependency Evaluation. – During a hearing for issuance
2 of an ERPO, the court shall consider whether a mental health evaluation or chemical dependency
3 evaluation of the respondent is appropriate and may order the respondent to undergo evaluation
4 if appropriate.
5 "§ 50E-7. Hearing and issuance of a full Extreme Risk Protection Order.
6 (a) Hearing. – A court shall hold a hearing on a petition for a full ERPO no later than 10
7 days from either of the following dates:
8 (1) If an ex parte ERPO has been issued, the date the ex parte ERPO was issued.
9 (2) If subdivision (1) of this subsection does not apply, the date the petition for a
10 full ERPO was filed with the court.
11 A continuance shall be limited to one extension of no more than 10 days unless all parties
12 consent or good cause is shown.
13 (b) Order. – A court may issue a full ERPO if all of the following requirements are met:
14 (1) The court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent poses
15 a danger of causing physical harm to self or others by having in his or her
16 custody a firearm. In determining whether the requirement set forth in this
17 subdivision is met, the court may consider any relevant evidence, including,
18 but not limited to, any of the following:
19 a. A recent act or threat of violence by the respondent against himself,
20 herself, or others, whether or not the violence or threat of violence
21 involves a firearm.
22 b. An act or threat of violence by the respondent within the past 12
23 months, including, but not limited to, acts or threats of violence by the
24 respondent against himself, herself, or others.
25 c. Evidence of the respondent being seriously mentally ill or having
26 recurring mental health issues.
27 d. A violation by the respondent of an order issued under Chapter 50B,
28 50C, or 50D of the General Statutes.
29 e. A previous or existing ERPO issued against the respondent.
30 f. A violation of a previous or existing ERPO issued against the
31 respondent.
32 g. Whether the respondent, in this State or any other state, has been
33 convicted of, had adjudication withheld on, or pled nolo contendere to
34 a crime that constitutes domestic violence as defined in G.S. 50B-1.
35 h. Whether the respondent has used, or has threatened to use, against
36 himself, herself, or others, any weapons.
37 i. The unlawful or reckless use, display, or brandishing of a firearm by
38 the respondent.
39 j. The recurring use of, or threat to use, physical force by the respondent
40 against another person or the respondent stalking another person.
41 k. Whether the respondent, in this State or any other state, has been
42 arrested for, convicted of, had adjudication withheld on, or pled nolo
43 contendere to a crime involving violence or a threat of violence.
44 l. Corroborated evidence of the abuse of controlled substances or alcohol
45 by the respondent.
46 m. Evidence of recent acquisition of firearms or ammunition by the
47 respondent.
48 n. Any relevant information from family and household members
49 concerning the respondent.
50 o. Witness testimony, taken while the witness is under oath, relating to
51 the matter before the court.
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1 (2) Process was served on the respondent in accordance with the requirements of
2 this Article.
3 (3) Notice of hearing was given to the respondent in accordance with the
4 requirements of this Article.
5 "§ 50E-8. Hearing and issuance of an ex parte Extreme Risk Protection Order.
6 (a) Hearing. – Upon receipt of a petition for an ex parte ERPO, the court shall hold a
7 hearing in person on the day the petition is filed or the judicial day immediately following the
8 day the petition is filed.
9 (b) Order. – If it clearly appears to the court from specific facts shown that the respondent
10 poses an imminent danger of causing physical harm to self or others by having in his or her
11 custody a firearm, a judge or magistrate of district court may issue an ex parte ERPO before a
12 hearing for a full ERPO and without evidence of service of process or notice.
13 (c) Requirements. – An ex parte ERPO granted without notice shall meet all of the
14 following requirements:
15 (1) The ERPO shall be endorsed with the date and hour of issuance.
16 (2) The ERPO shall be filed immediately in the clerk's office and entered of
17 record.
18 (3) The ERPO shall include a statement detailing why the ERPO was granted
19 without notice.
20 (4) The ERPO shall include the applicable information required under
21 G.S. 50E-6(a).
22 (5) The ERPO shall expire b