SF 1481

as introduced - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; regulating transfers or 
  1.3             purchases of pistols or semiautomatic military-style 
  1.4             assault weapons within a 30-day period; prohibiting 
  1.5             the transporting of pistols and semiautomatic 
  1.6             military-style assault weapons into the state with the 
  1.7             intent to transfer them to persons who are ineligible 
  1.8             to possess them; prohibiting certain convicted felons 
  1.9             from possessing pistols or semiautomatic 
  1.10            military-style assault weapons for the remainder of 
  1.11            the person's life; increasing the mandatory prison 
  1.12            sentence for convicted felons who possess firearms; 
  1.13            requiring the reporting of lost or stolen pistols or 
  1.14            semiautomatic military-style assault weapons; 
  1.15            increasing the criminal penalty for certain transfers 
  1.16            of pistols and semiautomatic military-style assault 
  1.17            weapons; requiring the commissioner of public safety 
  1.18            to establish a computerized central reporting system 
  1.19            and to maintain certain databases related to firearms; 
  1.20            imposing criminal penalties; appropriating money; 
  1.21            amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 609.11, 
  1.22            subdivision 5; 609.165, subdivision 1a; 624.713, 
  1.23            subdivision 1; 624.7132, subdivision 9; and 624.7141, 
  1.24            subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.25            Minnesota Statutes, chapters 299A and 624. 
  1.26  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.27     Section 1.  [299A.06] [FIREARMS TRACKING SYSTEM.] 
  1.28     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) As used in this section, 
  1.29  the following terms have the meanings given. 
  1.30     (b) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of public safety 
  1.31  or the commissioner's designee. 
  1.32     (c) "Federal firearms tracking system" means the 
  1.33  computerized system established by the Bureau of Alcohol, 
  1.34  Tobacco and Firearms of the United States Department of the 
  1.35  Treasury to track the serial numbers of firearms involved in 
  2.1   criminal activity and to trace prior ownership of these firearms 
  2.2   before their involvement in criminal activity. 
  2.3      (d) "Firearm involved in criminal activity" means a firearm 
  2.4   seized by a law enforcement agency from a person who has been 
  2.5   arrested or taken into custody for committing a crime or a 
  2.6   delinquent act.  The term also includes a firearm seized from a 
  2.7   person who is ineligible to possess the firearm under section 
  2.8   624.713. 
  2.9      (e) "Serial number" means the serial number or other 
  2.10  identification required under United States Code, title 26, 
  2.11  section 5842, for the identification of firearms. 
  2.12     Subd. 2.  [TRACKING SYSTEM CREATED.] The commissioner shall 
  2.13  maintain a computerized database and system within the 
  2.14  department of public safety designed to: 
  2.15     (1) track the serial numbers of and other identifying 
  2.16  information on firearms involved in criminal activity; and 
  2.17     (2) provide information on who owned or possessed the 
  2.18  firearm before and at the time of the criminal activity. 
  2.19  The commissioner shall design the database to interconnect and 
  2.20  be compatible with the federal firearms tracking system. 
  2.21     Subd. 3.  [ENTRY OF AND ACCESS TO DATA.] (a) Every state or 
  2.22  local law enforcement agency that seizes a firearm involved in 
  2.23  criminal activity shall give the commissioner identifying 
  2.24  information on the firearm in the form and manner prescribed by 
  2.25  the commissioner under paragraph (b).  The agency shall give the 
  2.26  commissioner this information as soon as possible after the 
  2.27  seizure. 
  2.28     (b) The commissioner shall develop a form specifying the 
  2.29  identifying information that law enforcement agencies must 
  2.30  provide under paragraph (a). 
  2.31     (c) The commissioner shall develop programs and procedures 
  2.32  that give law enforcement agencies reasonable and timely access 
  2.33  to the information stored in the state and federal firearms 
  2.34  tracking system. 
  2.35     (d) The commissioner may develop a protocol to provide 
  2.36  incentives to state and local law enforcement agencies to 
  3.1   provide the identifying information on seized firearms required 
  3.2   by this section. 
  3.3      Sec. 2.  [299A.07] [DATABASE OF FIREARM TRANSFERS.] 
  3.4      The commissioner shall establish a computerized central 
  3.5   reporting system and maintain a database of firearm transfers to 
  3.6   track the sales of pistols and semiautomatic military-style 
  3.7   assault weapons.  The commissioner shall promulgate rules to 
  3.8   establish a procedure that must be followed by transferors and 
  3.9   transferees when checking on the number and dates of prior 
  3.10  firearm sales or transfers prior to a sale or transfer.  This 
  3.11  database must quickly indicate whether the transferee has 
  3.12  purchased a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault 
  3.13  weapon within a 30-day period. 
  3.14     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.11, 
  3.15  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  3.16     Subd. 5.  [FIREARM.] (a) Except as otherwise provided in 
  3.17  paragraph (b), any defendant convicted of an offense listed in 
  3.18  subdivision 9 in which the defendant or an accomplice, at the 
  3.19  time of the offense, had in possession or used, whether by 
  3.20  brandishing, displaying, threatening with, or otherwise 
  3.21  employing, a firearm, shall be committed to the commissioner of 
  3.22  corrections for not less than three years, nor more than the 
  3.23  maximum sentence provided by law.  Any defendant convicted of a 
  3.24  second or subsequent offense in which the defendant or an 
  3.25  accomplice, at the time of the offense, had in possession or 
  3.26  used a firearm shall be committed to the commissioner of 
  3.27  corrections for not less than five years, nor more than the 
  3.28  maximum sentence provided by law.  
  3.29     (b) Any defendant convicted of violating section 609.165 or 
  3.30  624.713, subdivision 1, clause (b), shall be committed to the 
  3.31  commissioner of corrections for not less than 18 months five 
  3.32  years, nor more than the maximum sentence provided by law.  Any 
  3.33  defendant convicted of a second or subsequent violation of 
  3.34  either of these sections shall be committed to the commissioner 
  3.35  of corrections for not less than five ten years, nor more than 
  3.36  the maximum sentence provided by law. 
  4.1      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.165, 
  4.2   subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
  4.3      Subd. 1a.  [CERTAIN CONVICTED FELONS INELIGIBLE TO POSSESS 
  4.4   FIREARMS.] The order of discharge must provide that a person who 
  4.5   has been convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in section 
  4.6   624.712, subdivision 5, is not entitled to ship, transport, 
  4.7   possess, or receive: 
  4.8      (1) a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon 
  4.9   for the remainder of the person's lifetime; or 
  4.10     (2) a firearm until ten years have elapsed since the person 
  4.11  was restored to civil rights and during that time the person was 
  4.12  not convicted of any other crime of violence.  Any person who 
  4.13  has received such a discharge and who thereafter has received a 
  4.14  relief of disability under United States Code, title 18, section 
  4.15  925, shall not be subject to the restrictions of this 
  4.16  subdivision.  
  4.17     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 624.713, 
  4.18  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  4.19     Subdivision 1.  [INELIGIBLE PERSONS.] The following persons 
  4.20  shall not be entitled to possess a pistol or semiautomatic 
  4.21  military-style assault weapon or, except for clause (a), any 
  4.22  other firearm: 
  4.23     (a) a person under the age of 18 years except that a person 
  4.24  under 18 may carry or possess a pistol or semiautomatic 
  4.25  military-style assault weapon (i) in the actual presence or 
  4.26  under the direct supervision of the person's parent or guardian, 
  4.27  (ii) for the purpose of military drill under the auspices of a 
  4.28  legally recognized military organization and under competent 
  4.29  supervision, (iii) for the purpose of instruction, competition, 
  4.30  or target practice on a firing range approved by the chief of 
  4.31  police or county sheriff in whose jurisdiction the range is 
  4.32  located and under direct supervision; or (iv) if the person has 
  4.33  successfully completed a course designed to teach marksmanship 
  4.34  and safety with a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault 
  4.35  weapon and approved by the commissioner of natural resources; 
  4.36     (b) except as otherwise provided in clause (i), a person 
  5.1   who has been convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent or 
  5.2   convicted as an extended jurisdiction juvenile for committing, 
  5.3   in this state or elsewhere, a crime of violence is permanently 
  5.4   prohibited from possessing a pistol or a semiautomatic 
  5.5   military-style assault weapon; and also is prohibited from 
  5.6   possessing any other type of firearm unless ten years have 
  5.7   elapsed since the person has been restored to civil rights or 
  5.8   the sentence or disposition has expired, whichever occurs first, 
  5.9   and during that time the person has not been convicted of or 
  5.10  adjudicated for any other crime of violence.  For purposes of 
  5.11  this section, crime of violence includes crimes in other states 
  5.12  or jurisdictions which would have been crimes of violence as 
  5.13  herein defined if they had been committed in this state; 
  5.14     (c) a person who is or has ever been confined in Minnesota 
  5.15  or elsewhere as a "mentally ill," "mentally retarded," or 
  5.16  "mentally ill and dangerous to the public" person as defined in 
  5.17  section 253B.02, to a treatment facility, or who has ever been 
  5.18  found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of 
  5.19  mental illness, unless the person possesses a certificate of a 
  5.20  medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in Minnesota, or other 
  5.21  satisfactory proof that the person is no longer suffering from 
  5.22  this disability; 
  5.23     (d) a person who has been convicted in Minnesota or 
  5.24  elsewhere of a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor violation of 
  5.25  chapter 152, or a person who is or has ever been hospitalized or 
  5.26  committed for treatment for the habitual use of a controlled 
  5.27  substance or marijuana, as defined in sections 152.01 and 
  5.28  152.02, unless the person possesses a certificate of a medical 
  5.29  doctor or psychiatrist licensed in Minnesota, or other 
  5.30  satisfactory proof, that the person has not abused a controlled 
  5.31  substance or marijuana during the previous two years; 
  5.32     (e) a person who has been confined or committed to a 
  5.33  treatment facility in Minnesota or elsewhere as "chemically 
  5.34  dependent" as defined in section 253B.02, unless the person has 
  5.35  completed treatment.  Property rights may not be abated but 
  5.36  access may be restricted by the courts; 
  6.1      (f) a peace officer who is informally admitted to a 
  6.2   treatment facility pursuant to section 253B.04 for chemical 
  6.3   dependency, unless the officer possesses a certificate from the 
  6.4   head of the treatment facility discharging or provisionally 
  6.5   discharging the officer from the treatment facility.  Property 
  6.6   rights may not be abated but access may be restricted by the 
  6.7   courts; 
  6.8      (g) a person, including a person under the jurisdiction of 
  6.9   the juvenile court, who has been charged with committing a crime 
  6.10  of violence and has been placed in a pretrial diversion program 
  6.11  by the court before disposition, until the person has completed 
  6.12  the diversion program and the charge of committing the crime of 
  6.13  violence has been dismissed; 
  6.14     (h) except as otherwise provided in clause (i), a person 
  6.15  who has been convicted in another state of committing an offense 
  6.16  similar to the offense described in section 609.224, subdivision 
  6.17  3, against a family or household member or section 609.2242, 
  6.18  subdivision 3, unless three years have elapsed since the date of 
  6.19  conviction and, during that time, the person has not been 
  6.20  convicted of any other violation of section 609.224, subdivision 
  6.21  3, or 609.2242, subdivision 3, or a similar law of another 
  6.22  state; 
  6.23     (i) a person who has been convicted in this state or 
  6.24  elsewhere of assaulting a family or household member and who was 
  6.25  found by the court to have used a firearm in any way during 
  6.26  commission of the assault is prohibited from possessing any type 
  6.27  of firearm for the period determined by the sentencing court; or 
  6.28     (j) a person who: 
  6.29     (1) has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable 
  6.30  by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; 
  6.31     (2) is a fugitive from justice as a result of having fled 
  6.32  from any state to avoid prosecution for a crime or to avoid 
  6.33  giving testimony in any criminal proceeding; 
  6.34     (3) is an unlawful user of any controlled substance as 
  6.35  defined in chapter 152; 
  6.36     (4) has been judicially committed to a treatment facility 
  7.1   in Minnesota or elsewhere as a "mentally ill," "mentally 
  7.2   retarded," or "mentally ill and dangerous to the public" person 
  7.3   as defined in section 253B.02; 
  7.4      (5) is an alien who is illegally or unlawfully in the 
  7.5   United States; 
  7.6      (6) has been discharged from the armed forces of the United 
  7.7   States under dishonorable conditions; or 
  7.8      (7) has renounced the person's citizenship having been a 
  7.9   citizen of the United States. 
  7.10     A person who issues a certificate pursuant to this 
  7.11  subdivision in good faith is not liable for damages resulting or 
  7.12  arising from the actions or misconduct with a firearm committed 
  7.13  by the individual who is the subject of the certificate. 
  7.14     The prohibition in this subdivision relating to the 
  7.15  possession of firearms other than pistols and semiautomatic 
  7.16  military-style assault weapons does not apply retroactively to 
  7.17  persons who are prohibited from possessing a pistol or 
  7.18  semiautomatic military-style assault weapon under this 
  7.19  subdivision before August 1, 1994. 
  7.20     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 624.7132, 
  7.21  subdivision 9, is amended to read: 
  7.22     Subd. 9.  [NUMBER OF PISTOLS OR SEMIAUTOMATIC 
  7.23  MILITARY-STYLE ASSAULT WEAPONS.] Except as provided in section 
  7.24  624.7133, any number of pistols or semiautomatic military-style 
  7.25  assault weapons may be the subject of a single transfer 
  7.26  agreement and report to the chief of police or sheriff.  Nothing 
  7.27  in this section or section 624.7131 shall be construed to limit 
  7.28  or restrict the number of pistols or semiautomatic 
  7.29  military-style assault weapons a person may acquire.  However, 
  7.30  section 624.7133 applies to the transfer of more than one pistol 
  7.31  or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon within a 30-day 
  7.32  period. 
  7.33     Sec. 7.  [624.7133] [PURCHASE, TRANSFER OF MORE THAN ONE 
  7.34  PISTOL OR SEMIAUTOMATIC MILITARY-STYLE ASSAULT WEAPON PER 30 
  7.35  DAYS PROHIBITED.] 
  7.36     Subdivision 1.  [GROSS MISDEMEANOR.] (a) A person who 
  8.1   purchases or accepts the transfer of more than one pistol or 
  8.2   semiautomatic military-style assault weapon within a 30-day 
  8.3   period is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
  8.4      (b) A person who transfers a pistol or a semiautomatic 
  8.5   military-style assault weapon to an individual knowing that the 
  8.6   individual has purchased or accepted the transfer of a pistol or 
  8.7   a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon within the 
  8.8   preceding 30 days is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
  8.9      Subd. 2.  [EXCEPTIONS.] Subdivision 1 does not apply to: 
  8.10     (1) firearms dealers as defined in section 624.7161, 
  8.11  subdivision 1; 
  8.12     (2) small firearms dealers as defined in section 624.7161, 
  8.13  subdivision 1; 
  8.14     (3) large firearms dealers as defined in section 624.7161, 
  8.15  subdivision 1; 
  8.16     (4) law enforcement agencies; 
  8.17     (5) private security companies; 
  8.18     (6) the purchase of antique firearms; and 
  8.19     (7) persons who have been exempted from this section under 
  8.20  subdivision 3. 
  8.21     Subd. 3.  [STOLEN OR LOST FIREARMS.] A person whose pistol 
  8.22  or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon was stolen or 
  8.23  irretrievably lost and who because of an occupational or 
  8.24  personal safety hazard wishes to purchase or accept the transfer 
  8.25  of a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon but 
  8.26  who is prohibited from doing so because of this section, may 
  8.27  apply to the chief of police of an organized full-time police 
  8.28  department of the municipality where the person resides or to 
  8.29  the county sheriff where there is no local chief of police where 
  8.30  the person resides for an exception to this section.  The police 
  8.31  chief or sheriff shall respond to an application within three 
  8.32  business days of the application by either approving or denying 
  8.33  the request. 
  8.34     Sec. 8.  [624.7134] [GUN TRAFFICKING PROHIBITED.] 
  8.35     A person who crosses a state or international border to 
  8.36  transport pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault 
  9.1   weapons into the state of Minnesota with the intent to transfer 
  9.2   the pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons to a 
  9.3   person who is ineligible to possess a pistol or semiautomatic 
  9.4   military-style assault weapon under section 624.713 is guilty of 
  9.5   a felony. 
  9.6      Sec. 9.  [624.7135] [LOST OR STOLEN FIREARMS.] 
  9.7      Subdivision 1.  [FAILURE TO REPORT; GROSS MISDEMEANOR.] A 
  9.8   person who fails to report a stolen or lost pistol or 
  9.9   semiautomatic military-style assault weapon within seven days of 
  9.10  discovery of the loss is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
  9.11     Subd. 2.  [DUTY TO REPORT.] A person shall report a stolen 
  9.12  or lost pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to 
  9.13  the chief of police of an organized full-time police department 
  9.14  of the municipality where the person resides or to the county 
  9.15  sheriff where there is no local chief of police where the person 
  9.16  resides. 
  9.17     Subd. 3.  [REPORT TO COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY.] A 
  9.18  chief of police or sheriff shall report all stolen or lost 
  9.19  pistols or semiautomatic military-style assault weapons to the 
  9.20  commissioner of public safety within seven days of receiving 
  9.21  notification of the theft or loss under this section. 
  9.22     Subd. 4.  [REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.] If a person whose 
  9.23  pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon was stolen 
  9.24  or lost fails to report it under subdivision 1 or 2, and the gun 
  9.25  is used in the commission of a crime or seized from a person 
  9.26  ineligible to possess it, there is a rebuttable presumption that 
  9.27  the original gun owner transferred the gun in violation of 
  9.28  section 624.7141, subdivision 1. 
  9.29     Sec. 10.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 624.7141, 
  9.30  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  9.31     Subdivision 1.  [TRANSFER PROHIBITED.] (a) A person is 
  9.32  guilty of a gross misdemeanor who may not intentionally 
  9.33  transfers transfer a pistol or semiautomatic military-style 
  9.34  assault weapon to another if the person knows that the 
  9.35  transferee: 
  9.36     (1) has been denied a permit to carry under section 624.714 
 10.1   because the transferee is not eligible under section 624.713 to 
 10.2   possess a pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon; 
 10.3      (2) has been found ineligible to possess a pistol or 
 10.4   semiautomatic military-style assault weapon by a chief of police 
 10.5   or sheriff as a result of an application for a transferee permit 
 10.6   or a transfer report; or 
 10.7      (3) is disqualified under section 624.713 from possessing a 
 10.8   pistol or semiautomatic military-style assault weapon. 
 10.9      (b) A person who violates paragraph (a) is guilty of a 
 10.10  felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 
 10.11  two years or to payment of a fine of not more than $4,000, or 
 10.12  both. 
 10.13     Sec. 11.  [APPLICATION FORMS.] 
 10.14     The commissioner of public safety shall develop a standard 
 10.15  application form for requests to be exempted from Minnesota 
 10.16  Statutes, section 624.7133, as provided in section 624.7133, 
 10.17  subdivision 3, and distribute the form to all local police 
 10.18  chiefs and sheriffs before August 1, 1997. 
 10.19     Sec. 12.  [COUNTY GRANT PROGRAMS.] 
 10.20     The commissioner of public safety shall administer a grant 
 10.21  program to award grants to counties to create pilot programs for 
 10.22  immediate and serious consequences to juveniles adjudicated 
 10.23  delinquent in a firearms offense.  The consequences must include 
 10.24  a minimum of 21 days placement in a residential treatment 
 10.25  program or a juvenile correctional facility.  The placement may 
 10.26  be stayed on the condition that the juvenile complete a 
 10.27  community-based gun violence education program and community 
 10.28  work service, consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 
 10.29  260.185, subdivision 1, paragraph (a). 
 10.30     Sec. 13.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
 10.31     $....... is appropriated to the commissioner of public 
 10.32  safety from the general fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 10.33  1998, for the purposes described in sections 1, 2, and 8.  Of 
 10.34  this appropriation, $....... shall be available to reimburse 
 10.35  counties for the costs incurred by the counties under sections 
 10.36  1, 2, and 6. 
 11.1      Sec. 14.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 11.2      Sections 3 to 10 are effective August 1, 1997, and apply to 
 11.3   crimes committed on or after that date.