Bill Text: HI SB36 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Firearms; Permits; Registration; Storage; Education and Training

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-01-17 - Referred to PSM/JDL, WAM. [SB36 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2013-SB36-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

36

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to firearms.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  Chapter 134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding two new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§134-A  Mandatory biannual firearms education and training.  Each firearm owner shall complete, at least once every two years, a firearms course or class that substantially meets the criteria for any course or class set forth in section 134-2(g), including any course or class funded by the department of the attorney general pursuant to section 134-B(b).  The failure of any firearm owner to comply with this subsection shall constitute grounds for:

     (1)  Revocation of any permit or license provided for under this part pursuant to section 134-13; and

     (2)  Forfeiture by the owner of any firearm and ammunition therefor pursuant to section 134-7.3(c).

     §134-B  Firearms education and training special fund.  (a)  There is created within the state treasury a firearms education and training special fund that shall consist of:

     (1)  All firearm registration fees collected under section 134-3(f);

     (2)  Moneys appropriated to the fund by the legislature;

     (3)  All interest attributable to investment of money deposited in the fund; and

     (4)  Moneys allotted to the fund from any other source.

     (b)  Subject to legislative appropriation, moneys from the fund shall be expended by the department of the attorney general to fund at least one firearms course or class per year that permits firearm owners to comply with the biannual firearms education and training requirement under section 134-A."

     SECTION 2.  Section 134-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§134-3  Registration, mandatory, exceptions.  (a)  Every person arriving in the State who brings or by any other manner causes to be brought into the State a firearm of any description, whether usable or unusable, serviceable or unserviceable, modern or antique, shall register the firearm within three days after arrival of the person or of the firearm, whichever arrives later, with the chief of police of the county of the person's place of business or, if there is no place of business, the person's residence or, if there is neither a place of business nor residence, the person's place of sojourn.  A nonresident alien may bring firearms not otherwise prohibited by law into the State for a continuous period not to exceed ninety days; provided that the person meets the registration requirement of this section and the person possesses:

     (1)  A valid Hawaii hunting license procured under chapter 183D, part II, or a commercial or private shooting preserve permit issued pursuant to section 183D-34;

     (2)  A written document indicating the person has been invited to the State to shoot on private land; or

     (3)  Written notification from a firing range or target shooting business indicating that the person will actually engage in target shooting.

The nonresident alien shall be limited to a nontransferable registration of not more than ten firearms for the purpose of the above activities.

     (b)  Every person who acquires a firearm pursuant to section 134-2 shall register the firearm in the manner prescribed by this section within five days of acquisition.  The registration shall be on forms prescribed by the attorney general, which shall be uniform throughout the State, and shall include the following information:  name of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; serial number; and source from which receipt was obtained, including the name and address of the prior registrant.  If the firearm has no serial number, the permit number shall be entered in the space provided for the serial number, and the permit number shall be engraved upon the receiver portion of the firearm prior to registration.  All registration data that would identify the individual registering the firearm by name or address shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone, except as may be required for processing the registration or as may be required by a law enforcement agency for the lawful performance of its duties or as may be required by order of a court.

     (c)  Dealers licensed under section 134-31 or dealers licensed by the United States Department of Justice shall register firearms pursuant to this section on registration forms prescribed by the attorney general and shall not be required to have the firearms physically inspected by the chief of police at the time of registration.

     (d)  Registration shall not be required for:

     (1)  Any device that is designed to fire loose black powder or that is a firearm manufactured before 1899;

     (2)  Any device not designed to fire or made incapable of being readily restored to a firing condition; or

     (3)  All unserviceable firearms and destructive devices registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms of the United States Department of Justice pursuant to Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations.

     (e)  [No fee shall be charged for the registration.Any person who registers any firearm under this section shall be required to renew the registration of each firearm annually; provided that if the person has multiple firearms registered under this section, the chief of police of the appropriate county may align the deadlines for re-registering each firearm to allow the person to re-register all firearms on the same date.

     (f)  A fee of $        shall be charged for the registration or re-registration of each firearm under this section and deposited into the firearms education and training special fund established by section 134-B."

     SECTION 3.  Section 134-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  No person shall possess any firearm that is owned by another, regardless of whether the owner has consented to possession of the firearm, without a permit from the chief of police of the appropriate county, except as provided in subsection (c) and section 134-5[.]; provided that if the person applying for the permit is a member of the owner's household where the firearm is stored, the person shall be subject to the same evaluation of an individual's fitness to acquire a firearm as required under any provision of this chapter relating to the issuance of a permit under section 134-2."

     SECTION 4.  Section 134-7.3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§134-7.3  Seizure of firearms upon disqualification.  (a)  If any applicant is denied a permit, the chiefs of police of the respective counties shall send, by certified mail, a notice setting forth the reasons for the denial and may require that the applicant voluntarily surrender all firearms and ammunition to the chief of police where the applicant resides or dispose of all firearms and ammunition.  If an applicant fails to voluntarily surrender or dispose of all firearms and ammunition within thirty days from the date notice was mailed, the chief of police may seize all firearms and ammunition.

     (b)  Any person disqualified from ownership, possession, or control of firearms and ammunition under section 134-7 shall voluntarily surrender all firearms and ammunition to the chief of police where the person resides or dispose of all firearms and ammunition.  If any person fails to voluntarily surrender or dispose of all firearms and ammunition within thirty days from the date of disqualification, the chief of police may seize all firearms and ammunition.

     (c)  The chief of police of the appropriate county shall immediately seize any firearm and ammunition therefor:

     (1)  From any firearm owner who fails to comply with the biannual firearms education and training requirement under section 134-A; or

     (2)  For which a person fails to provide annual proof of storage pursuant to section 134-10.5(c);

     [(c)] (d)  For the purposes of this section, "dispose" means selling the firearms to a gun dealer licensed under section 134-31, transferring ownership of the firearms to any person who meets the requirements of section 134-2, or surrendering all firearms to the chief of police where the person resides for storage or disposal; provided, for a person subject to section 134-7(f), "dispose" shall not include transferring ownership of the firearms to any person who meets the requirements of section 134-2.

     [(d)] (e)  The chief of police of the respective counties shall adopt procedures to implement and administer the provisions of this section by December 31, 2001."

     SECTION 5.  Section 134-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§134-10.5[]]  Storage of firearm; responsibility with respect to minors[.] and persons affected by substance abuse or mental disorder.  (a)  No person shall store or keep any firearm on any premises under the person's control if the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the parent or guardian of the minor[,] or that a person affected by substance abuse or mental disorder is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless the person:

     (1)  Keeps the firearm in a securely locked box or other container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure; or

     (2)  Carries the firearm on the person or within such close proximity thereto that the person readily can retrieve and use it as if it were carried on the person.

     (b)  For purposes of this section[, "minor"]:

     "Minor" means any person under the age of sixteen years.

     "Person affected by substance abuse or mental disorder" means any household member of the premises where any firearm is stored or kept who is prohibited from owning, possessing, or controlling any firearm or ammunition therefor pursuant to section 134-7(c).

     (c)  Any person who stores or keeps any firearm on any premises under the person's control shall provide annual proof to the chief of police of the appropriate county, in a form and manner prescribed by the chief of police, that the person is in compliance with the requirements of subsection (a).  Any person who violates this subsection shall be subject to forfeiture of any firearm and ammunition therefor pursuant to section 134-7.3(c)."

     SECTION 6.  Section 134-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§134-18  Qualified immunity for physicians, psychologists, or psychiatrists who provide information on permit applicants.  There shall be no civil liability for any physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist who provides information or renders an opinion in response to an inquiry made for purposes of issuing a firearm permit under section 134-2 or 134-4(b) or for purposes of investigating the continuing mental health of the holder of a valid firearm permit provided that the physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist acted without malice."

     SECTION 7.  In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2014.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Firearms; Permits; Registration; Storage; Education and Training

 

Description:

Requires annual renewals of firearm registrations.  Establishes a firearm registration fee for deposit into a new special fund to pay for mandatory firearm education and training to be attended by firearm owners at least once every two years.  Requires any member of a household where a firearm is stored, when applying for a firearm permit to possess a firearm owned by another, to undergo the same evaluation of fitness to acquire a firearm as applicants for a firearm owner permit.  Requires firearm owners who have a household member affected by substance abuse or mental disorder to provide annual proof to the police that the household member does not have access to the firearm.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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