AN ACT amending certain laws regulating persons engaged in providing private protective services to allow for probationary employees and the registration of regular employees, and TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON LICENSED BY THE PRIVATE PROTECTIVE SERVICES BOARD AS AN ARMED SECURITY GUARD WHO ALSO HAS AN ARMED SECURITY GUARD FIREARM REGISTRATION PERMIT IS DEEMED TO HAVE SATISFIED THE APPROVED FIREARMS SAFETY AND TRAINING COURSE REQUIREMENT FOR A CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 74C‑11 reads as rewritten:
"§ 74C‑11.  Probationary employees and registration of regular employees; unarmed security guard required to have registration card.
(a)	All licensees may employ unarmed security guards as probationary employees for 20 calendar days. Upon completion of the probationary period and the desire of the licensee to hire an unarmed security guard as a regular employee, the licensee shall register the employee who will be engaged in providing private protective services covered by this Chapter with the Board within 30 days after the probationary employment period ends, unless the Director, in the Director's discretion, extends the time period, for good cause. Before a probationary employee engages in private protective services, the employee shall complete any training requirements, and the licensee shall conduct a criminal record check on the employee, as the Board deems appropriate. The licensee shall submit a list of the probationary employees to the Director on a monthly basis. The list shall include the name, address, social security number, and dates of employment of the employees. 
To register an employee after the probationary period ends, a licensee must give the Board the following:
(1)	Set(s) of classifiable fingerprints on standard F.B.I. applicant cards; recent photograph(s) of acceptable quality for identification; and
(2)	Statements of any criminal records obtained from the appropriate authority in each area where the employee has resided within the immediately preceding 48 months.
(b)	A security guard and patrol company may not employ an unarmed security guard in a regular position unless the guard has a registration card issued under subsection (d) of this section. A person engaged in a private protective services profession may not employ an armed security guard unless the guard has a firearm registration permit issued under G.S. 74C‑13.
(c)	The Director shall be notified in writing of the termination of any regular employee registered under subsection (a) of this section within 10 days after the termination.
(d)	An unarmed security guard shall make application to the Director for an unarmed registration card which the Director shall issue to said applicant after receipt of the information required to be submitted by his employer pursuant to subsection (a), and after meeting any additional requirements which the Board, in its discretion, deems to be necessary. The unarmed security guard registration card shall be in the form of a pocket card designed by the Board, shall be issued in the name of the applicant, and may have the applicant's photograph affixed thereto. The unarmed security guard registration card shall expire one year after its date of issuance and shall be renewed every year. If an unarmed registered security guard is terminated by a licensee and changes employment to another security guard and patrol company, the security guard's registration card shall remain valid, provided the security guard pays the unarmed guard registration transfer fee to the Board and a new unarmed security guard registration card is issued. An unarmed security guard whose transfer registration application and transfer fee have been sent to the Board may work with a copy of the transfer application until the registration card is issued.
(e)	Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a licensee may employ a person properly registered or licensed as an unarmed security guard in another state for a period not to exceed 10 days in any given month; provided the licensee, prior to employing the unarmed security guard, submits to the Director the name, address, and social security number of the unarmed guard and the name of the state of current registration or licensing, and the Director approves the employment of the unarmed guard in this State.
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SECTION 2.  G.S. 14‑415.12A reads as rewritten:
"§ 14‑415.12A.  Firearms safety and training course exemption for qualified sworn law enforcement officers and certain other persons.
(a)	A person who is a qualified sworn law enforcement officer or a qualified former sworn law enforcement officer is deemed to have satisfied the requirement under G.S. 14‑415.12(a)(4) that an applicant successfully complete an approved firearms safety and training course.
(b)	A person who is licensed or registered by the North Carolina Private Protective Services Board under Article 1 of Chapter 74C of the General Statutes as an armed security guard, who also has a firearm registration permit issued by the Board in compliance with G.S. 74C‑13, is deemed to have satisfied the requirement under G.S. 14‑415.12(a)(4) that an applicant successfully complete an approved firearms safety and training course."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law, and Section 2 of this act applies to permit applications submitted on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 11th day of July, 2005.

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		 Marc Basnight
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

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		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

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		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2005