Bill Text: HI HB1486 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Guns.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-13 - The committee(s) on PVM recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB1486 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2019-HB1486-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1486 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO GUNS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
PART I
SECTION 1. The legislature finds it is crucial for public safety for those who wish to own and carry a firearm to have a thorough understanding of the ability to safely use a firearm in a time of need. There is an inherent danger in operating a firearm, and all too often, during an active shooter event, innocent bystanders are wounded or killed by gunfire that was intended to stop the active shooter.
The legislature believes that adequate training in firearm use to prepare for chaotic situations, such an active shooter event, can save lives. Further, laws that require firearms training will give members of the public confidence that those among them who choose to carry a firearm in public are trained in and capable of safe firearm use.
The purpose of this part is to improve the training of individuals who carry concealed or unconcealed handguns by:
(1) Requiring these individuals to undergo additional training before applying for or renewing a license to carry a concealed or unconcealed handgun;
(2) Requiring any individual applying for or renewing a license to carry an unconcealed handgun to undergo the same review as an individual applying for or renewing a license to carry a concealed handgun; and
(3) Reducing the length of a license to carry a concealed or unconcealed handgun from one year to six months.
SECTION 2. Section 134-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:
"(g)
Effective July 1, 1995, no person shall be issued a permit under
this section for the acquisition of a pistol or revolver unless the person, at
any time prior to the issuance of the permit, has completed:
(1) An
approved hunter education course as authorized under section 183D-28;
(2) A
firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public
offered by a law enforcement agency of the State or of any county;
(3) A
firearms safety or training course offered to law enforcement officers,
security guards, investigators, deputy sheriffs, or any division or subdivision
of law enforcement or security enforcement by a state or county law enforcement
agency; [or]
(4) A
firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state certified or
National Rifle Association certified firearms instructor or a certified
military firearms instructor that provides, at a minimum, a total of at least
two hours of firing training at a firing range and a total of at least four
hours of classroom instruction, which may include a video, that focuses on:
(A) The
safe use, handling, and storage of firearms and firearm safety in the home; and
(B) Education
on the firearm laws of the State.
An affidavit
signed by the certified firearms instructor who conducted or taught the course,
providing the name, address, and phone number of the instructor and attesting
to the successful completion of the course by the applicant shall constitute
evidence of certified successful completion under this paragraph[.];
or
(5) A
firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state certified
firearms instructor or a certified military firearms instructor that provides,
at a minimum, all of the training of a safety course or class described in
paragraph (4) and also provides a total of at least four hours of additional
training in:
(A) Properly carrying concealed and unconcealed weapons in public;
(B) Situation de-escalation;
(C) Interaction with law enforcement; and
(D) The proper use of a weapon as a last resort.
An
affidavit signed by the certified firearms instructor who conducted or taught
the course, providing the name, address, and phone number of the instructor and
attesting to the successful completion of the course by the applicant shall
constitute evidence of certified successful completion under this paragraph."
SECTION 3. Section 134-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
"§134-9 Licenses to carry. (a) In
an exceptional case, when an applicant shows reason to fear injury to the
applicant's person or property, the chief of police of the appropriate county
may grant a license to an applicant who is a citizen of the United States of
the age of twenty-one years or more or to a duly accredited official
representative of a foreign nation of the age of twenty-one years or more to
carry a pistol or revolver and ammunition therefor concealed on the person
within the county where the license is granted.
Where the urgency or the need has been sufficiently indicated, the
respective chief of police may grant to an applicant of good moral character
who is a citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years or more,
is engaged in the protection of life and property, and is not prohibited under
section 134-7 from the ownership or possession of a firearm, a license to carry
a pistol or revolver and ammunition therefor unconcealed on the person within
the county where the license is granted.
The chief of police of the appropriate county, or the chief's designated
representative, shall perform an inquiry on an applicant by using the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System, to include a check of the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement databases where the applicant is not a citizen of the
United States, before any determination to grant a license is made. Unless renewed, [the] a license
issued pursuant to this section shall expire [one]:
(1) One year from the date of issue[.]
if the license was issued on an initial or renewal basis before July 1, 2019;
or
(2) Six months from the date of issue if the license was issued on an initial or renewal basis after June 30, 2019.
(b)
The chief of police of each county shall adopt procedures to require
that any person granted a license to carry a [concealed weapon] pistol
or revolver and ammunition on the person shall:
(1) Be
qualified to use the firearm in a safe manner[;], as evidenced by
documentation showing successful completion by the person of a firearms safety
or training course or class approved by the chief of police of the appropriate county
and as described in section 134-2(g)(5); provided that the person shall have
completed the course within thirty days before applying for or renewing a
license;
(2) Appear
to be a suitable person to be so licensed;
(3) Not
be prohibited under section 134-7 from the ownership or possession of a firearm;
[and]
(4) Not
have been adjudged insane or not appear to be mentally deranged[.];
and
(5) Also
carry on the person an electric gun, as defined in section 134-1, which is intended
to be non-lethal by design, whenever the licensee carries a pistol or revolver pursuant
to the license.
(c) If a licensee violates any requirement
relating to the license, the chief of police who issued the license shall
revoke the license.
[(c)]
(d) No person shall carry
concealed or unconcealed on the person a pistol or revolver without being
licensed to do so under this section or in compliance with [sections] section
134-5(c) or section 134-25.
[(d)]
(e) A fee of $10 shall be charged
for each license and shall be deposited in the treasury of the county in which
the license is granted.
PART II
SECTION 4. The legislature finds that its existing ban on electric guns may be unconstitutional as a result of the decision by Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Caetano v. Massachusetts. The legislature further finds that the possession and use of electric guns should be permitted as an exercise of the right of self-defense and to discourage the use of more dangerous weapons, including firearms. The legislature notes that Hawaii, New York, and Rhode Island are the only states that have an outright ban on the civilian ownership of electric guns.
The purpose of this part is to repeal the State's ban on electric guns.
SECTION 5. Section 121-34.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§121‑34.5 Use of
electric guns. Members of the army
or air national guard who have been qualified by training and are authorized by
their commanders may use electric guns, [as specifically provided in section
134-16(c) and (d),] subject to the requirements of section 134-16 (a)
and (b), when assisting civil authorities in disaster relief, emergency
management, or law enforcement functions; provided that "training"
for the purposes of this section means a course of instruction or training in
the use of any electric gun authorized pursuant to this section, that is
provided or authorized by the manufacturer or is manufacturer-approved or is an
electric gun training program approved by the army or air national guard, prior
to deployment or issuance of electric guns and related equipment."
SECTION 6. Section 134-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§134-16 [Restriction on possession, sale, gift, or
delivery of electric] Electric guns[.]; record of use; training
required. [(a) It shall be unlawful for any person,
including a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer, to
possess, offer for sale, hold for sale, sell, give, lend, or deliver any
electric gun.
(b) Any electric gun possessed, offered for sale,
held for sale, sold, given, lent, or delivered in violation of subsection (a)
shall be confiscated and disposed of by the chief of police.
(c) This section shall not apply to:] (a) Any electric gun owned by:
(1) Law enforcement officers of county police departments;
(2) Law enforcement officers of the department of public safety;
(3) Conservation and resources enforcement officers of the department of land and natural resources;
(4) Members of the Army
or Air National Guard when assisting civil authorities in disaster relief, emergency
management, or law enforcement functions, subject to the requirements of
section 121-34.5; [and] or
(5) Vendors providing
electric guns to the individuals described in paragraphs (1) through (4)[;],
[provided that electric guns] shall at all
times remain in the custody and control of the law enforcement officers of the
county police departments, the law enforcement officers of the department of
public safety, the conservation and resources enforcement officers of the
department of land and natural resources, or the members of the Army or Air
National Guard.
[(d)]
(b) The county police departments
of this State, the department of public safety, the department of land and natural
resources, and the army and air national guard shall maintain records regarding
every electric gun in their custody and control. The records shall report every instance of
usage of the electric guns; in particular, records shall be maintained in a similar
manner as for those of discharging of firearms.
The county police departments, the department of public safety, the
department of land and natural resources, and the army and air national guard
shall annually report to the legislature regarding these records no later than
twenty days before the beginning of each regular session of the legislature.
[(e)]
(c) The
department of land and natural resources and the department of public safety
shall ensure that each of its conservation and resources enforcement officers
and law enforcement officers who is authorized to use an electric gun and
related equipment shall first receive training from the manufacturer or from a
manufacturer-approved training program, as well as by manufacturer-certified or
approved instructors in the use of electric guns prior to deployment of the
electric guns and related equipment in public.
Training for conservation and resources enforcement officers of the
department of land and natural resources and law enforcement officers of the
department of public safety may be done concurrently to ensure cost savings.
[(f)] (d) No
later than June 30, 2018, the conservation and resources enforcement program of
the department of land and natural resources shall meet the law enforcement accreditation
or recognition standards of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies, Inc., in the use of electric guns."
SECTION 7. Section 134-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:
"(c)
Any person who violates section 134-2, 134-4, 134-10, or 134-15[,
or 134-16(a)] shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any person who violates section 134-3(b)
shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and the firearm shall be confiscated as
contraband and disposed of, if the firearm is not registered within five days
of the person receiving notice of the violation."
PART III
SECTION 8. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that part I shall take effect on July 1, 2019.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Firearms; Concealed Carry; Licenses; Terms; Training Requirements; Electric Guns
Description:
Requires an applicant to successfully complete a firearms safety or training course within thirty days before applying for or renewing a license to carry a concealed or unconcealed weapon. Repeals the ban on electric guns.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
