A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO provide for tax collection at gun shows.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:
"Article 54C.
"Gun Shows.
"§ 14-415.30.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Firearm. – Any one or more of the following:
a.	A weapon, by whatever name known, that is designed to expel a projectile by the action of powder and that is readily capable of use as a weapon, but excluding an antique firearm as defined in G.S. 14‑409.11.
b.	The frame or receiver of a weapon described in sub‑subdivision a. above. 
c.	A firearm muffler or firearm silencer.
(2)	Gun show. – An event that meets both of the conditions in this subdivision. The term includes any area near the location of the event that is used for parking for the event. 
a.	One hundred or more firearms or other weapons described in G.S. 14‑269(a), but not including historic edged weapons as defined in G.S. 14‑409.12, are offered or exhibited for sale, transfer, or exchange at the event.
b.	Ten or more persons are offering or exhibiting firearms for sale, transfer, or exchange at the event.
(3)	Gun show promoter. – A person who organizes, operates, promotes, or otherwise sponsors a gun show. The term includes the employees of the promoter.
(4)	Vendor. – A person who exhibits a firearm for sale, transfer, or exchange at a gun show.
"§ 14-415.31.  Gun show promoter permit.
(a)	Permit Required. – No person shall organize, operate, promote, or otherwise sponsor a gun show in any county unless the person has first obtained a permit as a gun show promoter from the sheriff of that county. A separate permit is required for each gun show, and the permit expires at the conclusion of the gun show for which it was obtained.
(b)	Application. – At least 60 days before the date of the gun show but no more than 90 days before the date of the gun show, the gun show promoter must file an application for a gun show permit with the sheriff of the county in which the gun show will take place. The application must include the time and location of the gun show and any other information requested by the sheriff. 
(c)	Fee. – At the time the gun show promoter permit application is submitted to the sheriff, the applicant must also submit a fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00). The sheriff shall transmit the proceeds of this fee to the county finance officer. The proceeds of this fee shall be allocated to the sheriff to be used to pay the costs of administering this Article and for other law enforcement purposes. The county shall not expend the proceeds for any other purposes and shall not use the proceeds to supplant other funds available to the sheriff.
(d)	Issuance of Permit. – The sheriff must inform the applicant within 30 days after the date of the application whether the permit is granted or denied. If the sheriff determines that the applicant qualifies for a gun show promoter permit under this subsection, then the permit must be granted. If the sheriff determines that the applicant does not qualify for a gun show promoter permit under this subsection, then the sheriff must provide the applicant a written statement of the reasons for the denial. An applicant may appeal the denial by petitioning a district court judge of the district in which the application was filed. The determination by the court, on appeal, shall be upon the facts, the law, and the reasonableness of the sheriff's denial.
An applicant qualifies for a gun show promoter permit if all of the following conditions are met:
(1)	The sheriff verifies by a criminal history background investigation that it is not a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun. The sheriff shall determine the criminal history of an applicant by accessing computerized criminal history records as maintained by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, by conducting a national criminal history records check, and by conducting a criminal history check through the Administrative Office of the Courts.
(2)	The applicant demonstrates by affidavits, oral evidence, or otherwise to the satisfaction of the sheriff that the applicant is of good moral character.
(3)	The sheriff finds that the applicant could not be denied a permit under G.S. 14‑404(c).
(4)	The applicant has paid the gun show promoter permit fee.
"§ 14-415.32.  Display and sale of firearms at gun show.
Except as otherwise provided by this section, a person who displays a firearm for purposes of sale at a gun show or who sells, leases, or otherwise transfers a firearm to another person at a gun show must be licensed as a dealer under 18 U.S.C. § 923 and must post the license in accordance with 27 C.F.R. §178.91 and §178.100(a). A transfer of a handgun must comply with Article 52A of this Chapter.
A person may display a firearm for sale at a gun show without being licensed as a dealer. However, a person who displays a firearm for sale without being licensed as a dealer may not sell, lease, or otherwise transfer a firearm unless the transaction is conducted through a person licensed as a dealer under 18 U.S.C. § 923.
"§ 14-415.33.  Sales tax requirements.
(a)	Vendor. – Each vendor must obtain a sales tax certificate of registration as required by G.S. 105‑164.29 and keep the certificate conspicuously displayed at the gun show as required by G.S. 66‑252. At the conclusion of the show, each vendor must certify to the gun show promoter the total sales price of orders taken or completed at the show. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 105‑164.16, at the conclusion of a gun show, each vendor must file a sales tax return and pay the tax under Article 5 of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes within 10 days after the end of the semimonthly period during which the show concluded as if the vendor were required to report on a semimonthly basis under G.S. 105‑164.16.
(b)	Promoter. – The gun show promoter must maintain a daily registration list of the names and sales tax registration numbers of all vendors selling or offering goods at the gun show in accordance with G.S. 66‑255. At the conclusion of the gun show, the gun show promoter must file with the sheriff's office a copy of the daily registration lists including the total amount of sales certified by each vendor pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. This information must be in the form required by the sheriff.
(c)	The sheriff shall retain the information provided by gun show promoters for two years and make it available upon request to any State, federal, or local government official for the purpose of tax administration or law enforcement.
"§ 14-415.34.  Violation punishable as a misdemeanor.
A violation of this Article is a Class 1 misdemeanor. It is an affirmative defense under this section for a gun show promoter that both of the following conditions are met:
(1)	The gun show promoter made a good faith effort to ensure that persons displaying, selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring firearms complied with the requirements of this Article.
(2)	The display, sale, lease, or transfer by a noncomplying person occurred in an area of the gun show other than the primary area used for displaying, selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring firearms."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2004, and applies to 
offenses committed on or after that date.