July 19, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Rick Jones, Nofs, Polidori, Steil, Wojno, Meekhof, Calley, LeBlanc, Miller, Stahl, Hansen, Sheltrown, Alma Smith, Moss, Pearce, Bieda, Mayes, Casperson, Espinoza, LaJoy, Dean and Hammon and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources.
A bill to amend 1927 PA 372, entitled
"An act to regulate and license the selling, purchasing,
possessing, and carrying of certain firearms and gas ejecting
devices; to prohibit the buying, selling, or carrying of certain
firearms and gas ejecting devices without a license or other
authorization; to provide for the forfeiture of firearms under
certain circumstances; to provide for penalties and remedies; to
provide immunity from civil liability under certain circumstances;
to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local
agencies; to prohibit certain conduct against individuals who apply
for or receive a license to carry a concealed pistol; to make
appropriations; to prescribe certain conditions for the
appropriations; and to repeal all acts and parts of acts
inconsistent with this act,"
by amending sections 2, 9, and 14 (MCL 28.422, 28.429, and 28.434),
section 2 as amended by 2004 PA 101, section 9 as amended by 2004
PA 100, and section 14 as amended by 2000 PA 381.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
2. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) this act,
a
person shall not purchase, carry, or transport a pistol in this
state without first having obtained a license for the pistol as
prescribed in this section.
(2) A person who brings a pistol into this state who is on
leave from active duty with the armed forces of the United States
or who has been discharged from active duty with the armed forces
of the United States shall obtain a license for the pistol within
30 days after his or her arrival in this state.
(3) The commissioner or chief of police of a city, township,
or village police department that issues licenses to purchase,
carry, or transport pistols, or his or her duly authorized deputy,
or the sheriff or his or her duly authorized deputy, in the parts
of a county not included within a city, township, or village having
an organized police department, in discharging the duty to issue
licenses shall with due speed and diligence issue licenses to
purchase, carry, or transport pistols to qualified applicants
residing within the city, village, township, or county, as
applicable unless he or she has probable cause to believe that the
applicant would be a threat to himself or herself or to other
individuals, or would commit an offense with the pistol that would
violate a law of this or another state or of the United States. An
applicant is qualified if all of the following circumstances exist:
(a) The person is not subject to an order or disposition for
which he or she has received notice and an opportunity for a
hearing, and which was entered into the law enforcement information
network pursuant to any of the following:
(i) Section 464a(1) of the mental health code, 1974 PA 258, MCL
330.1464a.
(ii) Section 5107 of the estates and protected individuals
code, 1998 PA 386, MCL 700.5107, or section 444a of former 1978 PA
642.
(iii) Section 2950(9) of the revised judicature act of 1961,
1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2950.
(iv) Section 2950a(7) of the revised judicature act of 1961,
1961 PA 236, MCL 600.2950a.
(v) Section 14 of 1846 RS 84, MCL 552.14.
(vi) Section 6b(5) of chapter V of the code of criminal
procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 765.6b, if the order has a condition
imposed pursuant to section 6b(3) of chapter V of 1927 PA 175, MCL
765.6b.
(vii) Section 16b(1) of chapter IX of code of criminal
procedure, 1927 PA 175, MCL 769.16b.
(b) The person is 18 years of age or older or, if the seller
is
licensed pursuant to section 923 of title 18 of the United
States
Code, 18 USC 923, is 21 years of
age or older.
(c) The person is a citizen of the United States and is a
legal resident of this state.
(d) A felony charge against the person is not pending at the
time of application.
(e) The person is not prohibited from possessing, using,
transporting, selling, purchasing, carrying, shipping, receiving,
or distributing a firearm under section 224f of the Michigan penal
code, 1931 PA 328, MCL 750.224f.
(f) The person has not been adjudged insane in this state or
elsewhere unless he or she has been adjudged restored to sanity by
court order.
(g) The person is not under an order of involuntary commitment
in an inpatient or outpatient setting due to mental illness.
(h) The person has not been adjudged legally incapacitated in
this state or elsewhere. This subdivision does not apply to a
person who has had his or her legal capacity restored by order of
the court.
(i) The person correctly answers 70% or more of the questions
on a basic pistol safety review questionnaire approved by the basic
pistol safety review board and provided to the individual free of
charge by the licensing authority. If the person fails to correctly
answer 70% or more of the questions on the basic pistol safety
review questionnaire, the licensing authority shall inform the
person of the questions he or she answered incorrectly and allow
the person to attempt to complete another basic pistol safety
review questionnaire. The person shall not be allowed to attempt to
complete more than 2 basic pistol safety review questionnaires on
any single day. The licensing authority shall allow the person to
attempt to complete the questionnaire during normal business hours
on the day the person applies for his or her license.
(4) Applications for licenses under this section shall be
signed by the applicant under oath upon forms provided by the
director of the department of state police. Licenses to purchase,
carry, or transport pistols shall be executed in triplicate upon
forms provided by the director of the department of state police
and shall be signed by the licensing authority. Three copies of the
license shall be delivered to the applicant by the licensing
authority.
(5) Upon the sale of the pistol, the seller shall fill out the
license forms describing the pistol sold, together with the date of
sale, and sign his or her name in ink indicating that the pistol
was sold to the licensee. The licensee shall also sign his or her
name in ink indicating the purchase of the pistol from the seller.
The seller may retain a copy of the license as a record of the sale
of the pistol. The licensee shall return 2 copies of the license to
the licensing authority within 10 days following the purchase of
the pistol.
(6) One copy of the license shall be retained by the licensing
authority as an official record for a period of 6 years. The other
copy of the license shall be forwarded by the licensing authority
within 48 hours to the director of the department of state police.
A license is void unless used within 10 days after the date of its
issue.
(7) This section does not apply to the purchase of pistols
from wholesalers by dealers regularly engaged in the business of
selling pistols at retail, or to the sale, barter, or exchange of
pistols kept as relics or curios not made for modern ammunition or
permanently deactivated. This section does not prevent the transfer
of ownership of pistols that are inherited if the license to
purchase is approved by the commissioner or chief of police,
sheriff, or their authorized deputies, and signed by the personal
representative of the estate or by the next of kin having authority
to dispose of the pistol.
(8) The licensing authority shall provide a basic pistol
safety brochure to each applicant for a license under this section
before the applicant answers the basic pistol safety review
questionnaire. A basic pistol safety brochure shall contain, but is
not limited to providing, information on all of the following
subjects:
(a) Rules for safe handling and use of pistols.
(b) Safe storage of pistols.
(c) Nomenclature and description of various types of pistols.
(d) The responsibilities of owning a pistol.
(9) The basic pistol safety brochure shall be supplied in
addition to the safety pamphlet required by section 9b.
(10) The basic pistol safety brochure required in subsection
(8) shall be produced by a national nonprofit membership
organization that provides voluntary pistol safety programs that
include training individuals in the safe handling and use of
pistols.
(11) A person who forges any matter on an application for a
license under this section is guilty of a felony, punishable by
imprisonment for not more than 4 years or a fine of not more than
$2,000.00, or both.
(12) A licensing authority shall implement this section during
all of the licensing authority's normal business hours and shall
set hours for implementation that allow an applicant to use the
license within the time period set forth in subsection (6).
Sec. 9. (1) A person within the state who owns or comes into
possession
of a pistol shall , if he or she resides in a city,
township,
or village having an organized police department, present
the
pistol for safety inspection to the commissioner or chief of
police
of the city, township, or village police department or to a
duly
authorized deputy of the commissioner or chief of police. If
that
person resides in a part of the county not included within a
city,
township, or village having an organized police department,
he
or she shall present the pistol for safety inspection to the
sheriff
of the county or to a duly authorized deputy of the
sheriff.
1 of the following:
(a) If he or she resides in a city, village, or township that
has a police department, to that police department.
(b) If he or she resides in a city, village, or township that
does not have a police department, to the county sheriff's
department.
(2) If the person presenting the pistol is eligible to possess
a
pistol under section 2(1) 2
or is exempt from the license
requirements of that section, a certificate of inspection shall be
issued in triplicate on a form provided by the director of the
department
of state police. , containing The certificate shall
contain the name, age, address, description, and signature of the
person presenting the pistol for inspection, together with a full
description of the pistol. The original of the certificate shall be
delivered to the registrant. The duplicate of the certificate shall
be mailed within 48 hours to the director of the department of
state police and filed and indexed by the department and kept as a
permanent official record. The triplicate of the certificate shall
be
retained and filed in the office of the sheriff, commissioner,
or
chief of police that police
department or county sheriff's
department.
(3) If a person presents a pistol for a safety inspection
under subsection (1) and the police department or county sheriff's
department determines that the person is not licensed under section
2 and is not exempt from that licensing requirement, the police
department or county sheriff's department shall seize the pistol if
the department has reason to believe the person is not eligible to
possess the pistol, pending the person's receipt of a license. The
department shall not submit the pistol for disposal under section
14 until the expiration of 30 days after the pistol is seized. If
the pistol is seized and the person obtains a license for the
pistol during the 30-day period, the person may have the pistol
inspected under this section as provided by law. This 30-day period
does not prohibit the police department or county sheriff's
department from immediately disposing of the pistol if that
department determines that the pistol is otherwise carried or
possessed in violation of this act or from immediately returning
the pistol to a person from whom it was stolen. If the person
presents a license for the pistol within the 30-day period, the
police department or sheriff's department shall promptly inspect
the pistol and return it to the person as provided by law.
(4) If a person presents a pistol for a safety inspection
under subsection (1) and the police department or county sheriff's
department determines that the person is not licensed under section
2 and is not exempt from that licensing requirement but the
department has no reason to believe the person is ineligible for
licensing under those sections, the department shall inspect the
pistol and return it to the person with the certificate of
inspection as provided in subsection (2). The certificate shall
indicate the date of inspection and, if the person is not otherwise
prohibited from carrying or possessing a pistol, operates as a
limited license to possess the pistol for the lesser of 30 days
after the inspection or until the application for a license is
denied. If the person promptly applied for a license and the
application is pending 30 days after the inspection, the limited
license operates until the licensing authority takes action on the
application. This subsection does not authorize the person to
possess the pistol during the 30-day period for any purpose other
than for storing the firearm pending issuance of a license under
section 2 or 5b.
(5) A person may apply for a license required under section 2
at the time of presenting a pistol for a safety inspection.
(6) A person is not subject to arrest or prosecution for a
violation of section 2 if the person presents a pistol for
inspection or transports or stores a pistol as provided in this
section.
(7) This section does not apply to a wholesale or retail
dealer in firearms who regularly engages in the business of selling
pistols at retail, or to a person who holds a collection of pistols
kept for the purpose of display as relics or curios and that are
not made for modern ammunition or are permanently deactivated.
(8) (2)
A person who presents a pistol for
a safety inspection
under subsection (1) shall ensure that the pistol is unloaded and
that the pistol is equipped with a trigger lock or other disabling
mechanism or encased when the pistol is presented for inspection. A
person who violates this subsection is responsible for a state
civil infraction and may be ordered to pay a civil fine of not more
than $50.00.
Sec.
14. (1) Subject to section sections
5g and 9, all
pistols, weapons, or devices carried or possessed contrary to this
act are declared forfeited to the state, and shall be turned over
to the director of the department of state police or his or her
designated representative, for disposal under this section.
(2) The director of the department of state police shall
dispose of firearms under this section by 1 of the following
methods:
(a) By conducting a public auction in which firearms received
under this section may be purchased at a sale conducted in
compliance with section 4708 of the revised judicature act of 1961,
1961 PA 236, MCL 600.4708, by individuals authorized by law to
possess those firearms.
(b) By destroying them.
(c) By any other lawful manner prescribed by the director of
the department of state police.
(3) Before disposing of a firearm under this section, the
director of the department of state police shall do both of the
following:
(a) Determine through the law enforcement information network
whether the firearm has been reported lost or stolen. If the
firearm has been reported lost or stolen and the name and address
of the owner can be determined, the director of the department of
state police shall provide 30 days' written notice of his or her
intent to dispose of the firearm under this section to the owner,
and allow the owner to claim the firearm within that 30-day period
if he or she is authorized to possess the firearm.
(b) Provide 30 days' notice to the public on the department of
state police website of his or her intent to dispose of the firearm
under this section. The notice shall include a description of the
firearm and shall state the firearm's serial number, if the serial
number can be determined. The department of state police shall
allow the owner of the firearm to claim the firearm within that 30-
day period if he or she is authorized to possess the firearm. The
30-day period required under this subdivision is in addition to the
30-day period required under subdivision (a).
(4) The department of state police is immune from civil
liability for disposing of a firearm in compliance with this
section.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5040(request no.
03168'07) of the 94th Legislature is enacted into law.