Bill Text: HI SB1494 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Firearms Insurance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-11 - Carried over to 2024 Regular Session. [SB1494 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-SB1494-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1494 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to firearms insurance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
The purpose of this Act is to require gun owners to obtain liability coverage for their firearms.
SECTION 2. Section 134-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§134-2 Permits to
acquire.
(a) No person shall acquire the ownership of a
firearm, whether usable or unusable, serviceable or unserviceable, modern or
antique, registered under prior law or by a prior owner or unregistered, either
by purchase, gift, inheritance, bequest, or in any other manner, whether
procured in the State or imported by mail, express, freight, or otherwise,
until the person has first procured from 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 place of business nor residence, the
person's place of sojourn, a permit to acquire the ownership of a firearm as
prescribed in this section. When title
to any firearm is acquired by inheritance or bequest, the foregoing permit
shall be obtained before taking possession of a firearm; provided that upon
presentation of a copy of the death certificate of the owner making the
bequest, any heir or legatee may transfer the inherited or bequested firearm
directly to a dealer licensed under section 134-31 or licensed by the United
States Department of Justice without complying with the requirements of this
section.
(b) The permit application form shall include the
applicant's name, address, sex, height, weight, date of birth, place of birth,
country of citizenship, social security number, alien or admission number, proof
of coverage under a firearms insurance policy that covers liabilities for
personal injury and property damage arising out of the possession or use of the
firearm, and information regarding the applicant's mental health history
and shall require the fingerprinting and photographing of the applicant by the
police department of the county of registration; provided that where
fingerprints and a photograph are already on file with the department, these
may be waived.
(c) An applicant for a permit shall sign a waiver
at the time of application, allowing the chief of police of the county issuing
the permit access to any records that have a bearing on the mental health of
the applicant. The permit application
form and the waiver form shall be prescribed by the attorney general and shall
be uniform throughout the State.
(d) The chief of police of the respective
counties may issue permits to acquire firearms to citizens of the United States
of the age of twenty-one years or more, or duly accredited official
representatives of foreign nations, or duly commissioned law enforcement
officers of the State who are aliens; provided that any law enforcement officer
who is the owner of a firearm and who is an alien shall transfer ownership of
the firearm within forty-eight hours after termination of employment from a law
enforcement agency. The chief of police
of each county may issue permits to aliens of the age of eighteen years or more
for use of rifles and shotguns for a period not exceeding sixty days, upon a
showing that the alien has first procured a hunting license under chapter 183D,
part II. The chief of police of each county
may issue permits to aliens of the age of twenty-one years or more for use of
firearms for a period not exceeding six months, upon a showing that the alien
is in training for a specific organized sport-shooting contest to be held
within the permit period. The attorney
general shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 91, as to what constitutes
sufficient evidence that an alien is in training for a sport-shooting
contest. Notwithstanding any law to the
contrary and upon joint application, the chief of police may issue permits to
acquire firearms jointly to spouses who otherwise qualify to obtain permits
under this section.
(e)
The permit application form shall be signed by the applicant and by the
issuing authority. One copy of the
permit shall be retained by the issuing authority as a permanent official
record. Except for sales to dealers
licensed under section 134-31, or dealers licensed by the United States
Department of Justice, or law enforcement officers, or where a license is
granted under section 134-9, or where any firearm is registered pursuant to
section 134-3(a), no permit shall be issued to an applicant earlier than
fourteen calendar days after the date of the application; provided that a
permit shall be issued or the application denied before the twentieth day from
the date of application. Permits issued
to acquire any pistol or revolver shall be void unless used within ten days
after the date of issue. Permits to
acquire a pistol or revolver shall require a separate application and permit
for each transaction. Permits issued to
acquire any rifle or shotgun shall entitle the permittee to make subsequent
purchases of rifles or shotguns for a period of one year from the date of issue
without a separate application and permit for each acquisition, subject to the
disqualifications under section 134-7 and subject to revocation under section
134-13; provided that if a permittee is arrested for committing a felony or any
crime of violence or for the illegal sale of any drug, the permit shall be
impounded and shall be surrendered to the issuing authority. The issuing authority shall perform an
inquiry on an applicant by using the International Justice and Public Safety
Network, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement query,
the National Crime Information Center, and the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System, pursuant to section 846-2.7 before any determination
to issue a permit or to deny an application is made.
(f) In all cases where a pistol or revolver is
acquired from another person within the State, the permit shall be signed in
ink by the person to whom title to the pistol or revolver is transferred and
shall be delivered to the person who is transferring title to the firearm, who
shall verify that the person to whom the firearm is to be transferred is the
person named in the permit and enter on the permit in the space provided the
following information: name of the
person to whom the title to the firearm was transferred; names of the
manufacturer and importer; model; type of action; caliber or gauge; and serial
number, as applicable. The person who is
transferring title to the firearm shall sign the permit in ink and cause the
permit to be delivered or sent by registered mail to the issuing authority
within forty-eight hours after transferring the firearm.
In
all cases where receipt of a firearm is had by mail, express, freight, or
otherwise from sources without the State, the person to whom the permit has
been issued shall make the prescribed entries on the permit, sign the permit in
ink, and cause the permit to be delivered or sent by registered mail to the
issuing authority within forty-eight hours after taking possession of the
firearm.
In
all cases where a rifle or shotgun is acquired from another person within the
State, the person who is transferring title to the rifle or shotgun shall
submit, within forty-eight hours after transferring the firearm, to the
authority that issued the permit to acquire, the following information, in
writing: name of the person who
transferred the firearm, name of the person to whom the title to the firearm
was transferred; names of the manufacturer and importer; model; type of action;
caliber or gauge; and serial number, as applicable.
(g) Effective July 1, 1995, no person shall be
issued a permit under this section for the acquisition of a pistol or revolver
unless the person, at any time prior to the issuance of the permit, has
completed:
(1) An approved hunter education course as
authorized under section 183D-28;
(2) A firearms safety or training course or class
available to the general public offered by a law enforcement agency of the
State or of any county;
(3) A firearms safety or training course offered
to law enforcement officers, security guards, investigators, deputy sheriffs,
or any division or subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement by a
state or county law enforcement agency; or
(4) A firearms training or safety course or class
conducted by a state certified or National Rifle Association certified firearms
instructor or a certified military firearms instructor that provides, at a
minimum, a total of at least two hours of firing training at a firing range and
a total of at least four hours of classroom instruction, which may include a
video, that focuses on:
(A) The safe use, handling, and storage of
firearms and firearm safety in the home; and
(B) Education on the firearm laws of the State. An affidavit signed by the certified
firearms instructor who conducted or taught the course, providing the name,
address, and phone number of the instructor and attesting to the successful
completion of the course by the applicant shall constitute evidence of
certified successful completion under this paragraph.
(h) No person shall sell, give, lend, or deliver
into the possession of another any firearm except in accordance with this
chapter.
(i) No fee shall be charged for permits, or
applications for permits, under this section, except for a single fee
chargeable by and payable to the issuing county, for individuals applying for
their first permit, in an amount equal to the fee charged by the Hawaii
criminal justice data center pursuant to section 846-2.7. In the case of a joint application, the fee
provided for in this section may be charged to each person to whom no previous
permit has been issued.
(j) In all cases where a permit application under
this section is denied because an applicant is prohibited from owning,
possessing, receiving, or controlling firearms under federal or state law, the
chief of police of the applicable county shall, within ten business days from the date of denial, send
written notice of the denial including the identity of the applicant and the
reasons for the denial to the:
(1) Prosecuting attorney in the county where the permit was denied;
(2) Attorney general;
(3) United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii; and
(4) Director of public safety.
If
the permit to acquire was denied because the applicant is subject to an order
described in section 134-7(f), the chief of police shall, within three business
days from the date of denial, send written notice of the denial to the court
that issued the order.
When
the director of public safety receives notice that an applicant
has been denied a permit because of a prior criminal conviction, the director
of public safety shall determine whether the
applicant is currently serving a term of probation or parole, and if the
applicant is serving such a term, send written notice of the denial to the
applicant's probation or parole officer.
(k) The permit to acquire a firearm shall be
renewed every five years during the ownership of the firearm and shall require
continued proof of coverage under a firearms insurance policy as required by
this section.
(l) Proof of coverage under a firearms insurance
policy shall not be required if the insurance is not commercially available in
the State. If the applicant or
permittee, as the case may be, is unable to obtain coverage because the
coverage is not available, the applicant or permittee shall submit written
notice from the applicant's or permittee's state-licensed insurer stating that
the coverage is not available in the State."
SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2024.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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