HF 650

1st Engrossment - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to shooting ranges; exempting owners of 
  1.3             shooting ranges from the application of future noise 
  1.4             control laws or ordinances that are more restrictive 
  1.5             than those in effect at the time the range was 
  1.6             constructed or initially operated; clarifying 
  1.7             liability resulting from the use of shooting ranges; 
  1.8             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.9             chapters 500; and 561. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [500.31] [SHOOTING RANGE SERVITUDES.] 
  1.12     The right to use real property as a range safety zone or as 
  1.13  a noise or pollution abatement zone for a shooting range is a 
  1.14  land burden or servitude upon real property that may be granted 
  1.15  and held, and runs with the burdened property though not 
  1.16  attached to land.  For the purposes of this section, "shooting 
  1.17  range" has the meaning given in section 561.20. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  [561.20] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  1.19     Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] For the purposes of sections 
  1.20  561.20 to 561.22, the terms defined in this section have the 
  1.21  meanings given them. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [PERSON.] "Person" means an individual, 
  1.23  proprietorship, partnership, corporation, club, political 
  1.24  subdivision, or other legal entity. 
  1.25     Subd. 3.  [SHOOTING RANGE OR RANGE.] "Shooting range" or 
  1.26  "range" means an area or facility designed and operated for the 
  1.27  use of firearms as defined in section 97A.015, subdivision 19, 
  2.1   or archery, and includes shooting preserves as defined in 
  2.2   section 97A.115 or any other Minnesota law. 
  2.3      Sec. 3.  [561.21] [SHOOTING RANGES; EFFECT OF FUTURE LAWS 
  2.4   OR ORDINANCES.] 
  2.5      Notwithstanding any other provision of law or ordinance, a 
  2.6   person who owns or operates a shooting range in this state is 
  2.7   subject only to the noise control and noise pollution laws or 
  2.8   ordinances, if any, in effect at the time of the shooting 
  2.9   range's construction or initial operation and is not subject to 
  2.10  more restrictive noise control or noise pollution laws or 
  2.11  ordinances enacted after that date. 
  2.12     Sec. 4.  [561.22] [NOISE; NUISANCE ACTIONS.] 
  2.13     A person who owns, operates, or uses a shooting range is 
  2.14  not subject to a civil action for nuisance, and a court of the 
  2.15  state shall not enjoin or restrain the use or operation of a 
  2.16  range on the basis of nuisance, or of noise or noise pollution, 
  2.17  unless the range is not in material compliance with any noise 
  2.18  control laws and ordinances, if any, that applied to the range 
  2.19  and its operation at the time of construction or initial 
  2.20  operation of the range.  This section does not prohibit actions 
  2.21  for negligence or recklessness in the operation of the range or 
  2.22  by a person using the range resulting in personal injury. 
  2.23     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.24     Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
  2.25  enactment.