Bill Text: HI HB88 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Ammunition; Identification; Coding

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB88 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HB88-Introduced.html

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Report Title:

Ammunition; Identification; Coding

 

Description:

Requires all ammunition of a specified caliber manufactured or sold in Hawaii that is capable of use in handguns, including assault pistols, to be coded to assist law enforcement in identifying and prosecuting gun crime offenders.  Requires Attorney General to establish a statewide database to track coded ammunition.  Effective 7/1/2009.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	88
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to ammunition.

 

 

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

 

SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that more than thirty per cent of all homicides committed in the United States that involve a gun go unsolved each year.  Handgun ammunition accounts for eighty per cent of all ammunition sold in the United States.  Current technology for matching a bullet used in a crime to the gun that fired it has worked moderately well for years but presupposes that the weapon was recovered by law enforcement.  Bullet coding is a new and effective way for law enforcement to quickly identify persons of interest in gun crime investigations.

     The purpose of this Act is to require that ammunition manufactured or sold in Hawaii and capable of use in handguns, including assault pistols, be coded to assist law enforcement in identifying and prosecuting offenders who use handguns, including assault pistols, to commit violent crimes.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"PART    .  CODED AMMUNITION

     §134-A  Possession or sale of non-coded ammunition prohibited.  (a)  All ammunition capable of use in a handgun, including an assault pistol, that is manufactured or sold in the State after January 1, 2010, shall be coded by the manufacturer; provided that the coding requirement shall apply only to the following calibers of ammunition:          .

(b)  No later than January 1, 2011, all non-coded ammunition capable of use in a handgun, including an assault pistol, whether owned by private individuals or retail outlets, shall be disposed of in a manner prescribed by the attorney general through rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91.

     (c)  For the purposes of this part, "coded ammunition" means a bullet carrying a unique identifier that has been applied by etching onto the base of the bullet projectile.

§134-B  Ammunition coding system database.  (a)  The attorney general shall establish and maintain an ammunition coding system database containing the information specified in this section.

(b)  Manufacturers shall:

     (1)  Register with the attorney general in a manner prescribed by the attorney general through rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91; and

     (2)  Maintain records on the business premises for a period of seven years concerning all sales, loans, and transfers of ammunition, to, from, or within the state.

(c)  Vendors shall:

     (1)  Register with the attorney general in a manner prescribed by the attorney general through rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91;

     (2)  Record the following information in a format prescribed by the attorney general:

         (A)  The date of the transaction;

         (B)  The name of the purchaser;

         (C)  The purchaser's driver's license number or other government-issued identification card number;

         (D)  The date of birth of the purchaser;

         (E)  The unique identifiers of all ammunition or bullets sold; and

         (F)  All other information prescribed by the attorney general through rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91;

         and

     (3)  Maintain records on the business premises for a period of three years from the date of the recorded purchase.

(c)  To the greatest extent possible or practical, the ammunition coding system database shall be built within the framework of existing firearms databases.  The ammunition coding system database shall be operational no later than January 1, 2010.

(d)  Information in the ammunition coding system database shall be stored in a manner consistent with the provisions of section 846-7 through rules adopted by the attorney general pursuant to chapter 91.  Access to the information shall be limited to law enforcement personnel only in connection with a criminal investigation.

§134-C  Penalties.  (a)  Any vendor who intentionally or knowingly fails to comply with, or falsifies the records required to be kept by, this part shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $1,000.

(b)  Any manufacturer who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than one $1,000 for a first violation, not more than $5,000 for a second violation, and not more than $10,000 for a third or subsequent violation.

(c)  Any person who intentionally or knowingly destroys, obliterates, or otherwise renders unreadable the ammunition coding required, pursuant to this part, to be placed on any bullet or assembled ammunition shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $1,000.

     §134-D  Coded ammunition special fund; fee.  (a)  There is established outside the state treasury a special fund, to be known as the coded ammunition special fund, to be administered by the attorney general.  The fund shall consist of amounts collected under this section.  Moneys paid into the fund are not general fund revenues of the State.  The attorney general shall place the funds in an interest-bearing account at any federally insured financial institution, separate and apart from the general fund of the State.  Moneys in the fund shall be expended by the attorney general for infrastructure, implementation, operational, enforcement, and future development costs of this part.

     (b)  Effective January 1, 2010, a coded ammunition fee in the amount of 0.005 cent per bullet or round of ammunition, subject to this part, shall be imposed upon the sale of each bullet or round of ammunition that is capable of use in a handgun, including an assault pistol.  The surcharge shall have uniform application and shall be imposed on the sale of each bullet or round of ammunition that is capable of use in a handgun, including an assault pistol, except those sold to federal, state, and county government entities.

     (c)  Each vendor may retain two per cent of the amount of fees collected pursuant to this section to offset administrative expenses associated with billing and collecting the surcharge.

     (d)  A vendor shall remit to the attorney general for deposit into the coded ammunition special fund, within sixty days after the end of the calendar month in which the fee is collected, an amount that represents the fees collected, less amounts retained for administrative expenses incurred by the vendor, as provided in subsection (c).

     (e)  The fees collected by the vendor pursuant to this section shall not be subject to any tax, fee, or other assessment, nor are they considered revenue of the vendor.

     (f)  At any time the attorney general deems it necessary and appropriate, the attorney general may make recommendations to the legislature as to whether the fee and fund should be discontinued, continued as is, or amended."

     SECTION 3.  Chapter 235, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§235-    Ammunition coding equipment income tax credit.  (a)  Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, there shall be allowed to each taxpayer subject to the taxes imposed by this chapter an ammunition coding equipment income tax credit that shall be deductible from the taxpayer's net income tax liability, if any, imposed by this chapter for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.  The amount of the credit shall be equal to the total qualified costs that the taxpayer incurred for the acquisition of ammunition coding equipment required by part   , chapter 134.

     In the case of a partnership, S corporation, estate, or trust, the tax credit allowable is for qualified acquisition costs incurred by the entity for the taxable year.  The cost upon which the tax credit is computed shall be determined at the entity level.  Distribution and share of credit shall be determined by rule.

     If a deduction is taken under section 179 (with respect to election to expense depreciable business assets) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, no tax credit shall be allowed for those costs for which the deduction is taken.

     The basis for eligible property for depreciation of accelerated cost recovery system purposes for state income taxes shall be reduced by the amount of credit allowable and claimed.

     (b)  The credit allowed under this section shall be claimed against the net income tax liability for the taxable year.  For the purposes of this section, "net income tax liability" means net income tax liability reduced by all other credits allowed under this chapter.

     (c)  If the tax credit under this section exceeds the taxpayer's income tax liability, the excess of credits over liability shall be refunded to the taxpayer; provided that no refunds or payment on account of the tax credits allowed by this section shall be made for amounts less than $1.  All claims, including any amended claims, for tax credits under this section shall be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the close of the taxable year for which the credit may be claimed.  Failure to comply with the foregoing provision shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim the credit.

     (d)  To qualify for this tax credit, a taxpayer shall:

     (1)  Enter into a contract for the acquisition of ammunition coding equipment required by part   , chapter 134;

     (2)  Install the ammunition coding equipment required by part   , chapter 134; and

     (3)  No later than thirty days following the end of each taxable year in which qualified costs were expended, submit a written, sworn statement to the attorney general identifying:

         (A)  All qualified costs incurred in the previous taxable year pursuant to subsection (a), if any; and

         (B)  The amount of tax credits claimed pursuant to this section, if any, in the previous taxable year.

     The attorney general shall certify to the department of taxation on forms prescribed by the director of taxation the correct qualified costs pursuant to subsection (a).

     Notwithstanding the authority of the attorney general under this section, the director of taxation may audit and adjust the amount of the tax credit to conform to the information filed by the taxpayer.

     (e)  The director of taxation shall prepare forms as may be necessary to claim a credit under this section.  The director may also require the taxpayer to furnish information to ascertain the validity of the claim for credit made under this section and may adopt rules necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section pursuant to chapter 91.

     (f)  Total tax credits claimed by a taxpayer pursuant to this section shall not exceed $          in any tax year."

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________