PROPOSED BILLS TARGET METH, GUNS

Proposed bills target meth, guns A committee recommends closing a loophole
to strengthen the penalties for firing weapons at school

A joint legislative committee recommended Wednesday that the General
Assembly pass bills to strengthen penalties for firing guns on school
property and enact tougher laws for makers of methamphetamines. The
committee approved a bill Wednesday that would create a higher class of
felony for discharging a gun on school property or at a school-sponsored
event. The penalty applies when the shooting does not result in serious
injury or death.

The bill seeks to close a loophole that came to light after a student fired
two shots inside Burns Middle School in Cleveland County in September. The
13-year-old boy was charged with felony possession of a handgun on school
property.

Rep. Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican, said a charge of firing a gun
into occupied property was dismissed because the shots weren't fired from a
separate enclosure.

"This bill slams shut that loophole," Moore told the committee.

Methamphetamine production has soared in recent years, especially in the
western part of the state. Law enforcement officials -- including Attorney
General Roy Cooper -- have pushed for tougher penalties for those who make
the illegal drug.

On Wednesday, the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control and Juvenile
Justice Oversight Committee also, without comment, included four
meth-related bills in its recommendations to the General Assembly, which
reconvenes May 10.

The bills, which the committee approved last week, would increase prison
time for makers of the drug or those who make it in the presence of
children.

The legislation would reclassify the penalty for manufacturing meth from a
Class H felony to a Class C felony, punishable by a maximum prison sentence
of about two years to 17 1/2 years. First-time offenders can now receive
community service.

A manufacturer also could be convicted of second-degree murder if someone
overdoses on meth they made. If approved, the law would take effect Dec. 1.