§ 143-143.4. Door lock exemption for certain businesses.
§ 143‑143.4. Door lock exemption for certainbusinesses.
(a) Notwithstanding this Article or any other law to thecontrary, any business entity licensed to sell automatic weapons as a federalfirearms dealer that is in the business of selling firearms or ammunition andthat operates a firing range which rents firearms and sells ammunition shall beexempt from the door lock requirements of Chapter 10 of Volume 1 of the NorthCarolina State Building Code when issued a permit to that effect by theDepartment of Insurance in accordance with this section.
(b) The Department of Insurance shall issue a permit to abusiness entity specified in subsection (a) of this section for an exemptionfrom the door lock requirements of Chapter 10 of Volume 1 of the North CarolinaState Building Code if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The building or facility in which business is conducted hasa sales floor and customer occupancy space that is contained on one floor andis no larger than 15,000 square feet of retail sales space. Retail sales spaceis that area where firearms or ammunition are displayed and merchandised forsale to the public.
(2) The building or facility in which business is conducted isequipped with an approved smoke, fire, and break‑in alarm systeminstalled and operated in accordance with rules adopted by the Department ofInsurance. An approved smoke, fire, or break‑in alarm system does nothave to include an automatic door unlocking mechanism triggered when the smoke,fire, or break‑in alarm system is triggered.
(3) The owner or operator of the business will provide to allapplicable employees within 10 days of the issuance of the permit under thissection or at the time the employee is hired, whichever time is later, awritten facility locking plan applicable for the close of business each day.
(4) Each entrance to the building or facility in which businessis conducted is posted with a sign conspicuously located that warns that thebuilding is exempt from the door lock requirements of the State Building Code,and that after business hours the building or facility's doors will remainlocked from the inside even in the case of fire.
(5) Payment of a permit fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) tothe Department of Insurance.
(c) The Department of Insurance shall file a copy of the permitissued in accordance with subsection (b) of this section with all local lawenforcement and fire protection agencies that provide protection for thebusiness entity.
(d) The Department of Insurance shall be responsible for anyinspections necessary for the issuance of permits under this section and, inconjunction with local inspection departments, shall be responsible forperiodic inspections to ensure compliance with the requirements of thissection. The Department of Insurance may contract with local inspectiondepartments to conduct inspections under this subsection.
(e) The Department of Insurance shall revoke a permit issuedunder this section upon a finding that the requirements for the originalissuance of the permit are not being complied with.
(f) Appeals of decisions of the Department of Insuranceregarding the issuance or revocation of permits under this section shall be inaccordance with Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
(g) For the purposes of this section, "businessentity" has the same meaning as in G.S. 59‑102.
(h) In addition to the provisions of G.S. 143‑138(h), theowner or operator of any business entity who is issued a permit as a door lockexempt business in accordance with subsection (b) of this section who fails tocomply with the permit requirements of subsection (b) of this section shall besubject to a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the firstoffense, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second offense, and five thousanddollars ($5,000) for the third and subsequent offenses, except when thebuilding or facility in which business is conducted is in compliance with thedoor lock requirements of Chapter 10 of Volume 1 of the North Carolina StateBuilding Code. Penalties authorized in this subsection shall be imposed by thecity or county in which the violation occurs. Each day the building or facilityin which business is conducted is not in compliance with the provisions of thissubsection constitutes a separate offense.
(i) The Department of Insurance shall adopt rules to implementthis section. (2001‑324, s. 1.)