PRINTER'S NO. 1535
No. 1306 Session of 2001
INTRODUCED BY CRUZ, THOMAS, FRANKEL, WATERS, WASHINGTON,
JOSEPHS, YOUNGBLOOD, JAMES, CORRIGAN, C. WILLIAMS, COSTA,
ROONEY, STETLER, D. EVANS, HORSEY, J. WILLIAMS AND KIRKLAND,
APRIL 9, 2001
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 9, 2001
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for a limit on handgun
3 purchases and sales; creating the Violence Prevention Fund;
4 and further providing for municipal regulation of firearms
5 and ammunition.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
9 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
10 § 6111.6. Limit on handgun purchases.
11 (a) Purchase of handgun.--No person may purchase more than
12 one handgun in this Commonwealth within any 30-day period.
13 (b) Sale of handgun.--No person may sell or cause to be sold
14 to a person in this Commonwealth more than one handgun within
15 any 30-day period.
16 (c) Exceptions.--This section shall not apply to purchases
17 by or sales to the following:
18 (1) A licensed firearm dealer.
1 (2) A licensed firearm collector.
2 (3) A law enforcement agency or an agency authorized to
3 perform law enforcement duties.
4 (4) State and local correctional facilities.
5 (5) A private security company licensed to do business
6 within this Commonwealth.
7 (6) A purchaser or seller of antique firearms.
8 (7) A person whose handgun is stolen or irretrievably
9 lost if:
10 (i) the person provides the seller with a copy of
11 the official police report of the lost or stolen handgun,
12 or a summary thereof on a form provided by the
13 Pennsylvania State Police;
14 (ii) the official police report or summary thereof
15 contains the name and address of the handgun owner, the
16 description of the handgun, the location of the loss or
17 theft, the date of the loss or theft and the date the
18 loss or theft was reported to the law enforcement agency;
19 and
20 (iii) the date of the loss or theft as reflected on
21 the official police report or summary thereof occurred
22 within 30 days of the person's attempt to replace the
23 handgun.
24 The seller shall attach a copy of the official police report
25 or summary thereof to the original sales receipt or other
26 document evidencing the original sale and retain it for the
27 period prescribed by the Pennsylvania State Police.
28 (d) Penalty.--A person who violates subsection (a) or (b):
29 (1) For a first offense, commits a summary offense and
30 shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $300
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1 per handgun purchased in violation of this section.
2 (2) For a second offense, commits a summary offense and
3 shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $1,000
4 per handgun purchased in violation of this section or to
5 imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.
6 (3) For a third or subsequent offense, commits a felony
7 of the third degree.
8 (e) Disposition of fines collected.--The court imposing and
9 collecting a fine under subsection (d) shall transfer the fines
10 thus collected to the State Treasurer for deposit in the
11 Violence Prevention Fund under subsection (f).
12 (f) Violence Prevention Fund.--There is hereby created in
13 the General Fund a nonlapsing restricted receipt account to be
14 known as the Violence Prevention Fund. Moneys in the fund are
15 hereby appropriated to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
16 Delinquency solely for purposes of violence prevention and youth
17 violence prevention, including, but not limited to, youth
18 education and activities designed to prevent violence and grants
19 to law enforcement agencies for equipment and training designed
20 to prevent gun-related injuries.
21 (g) Notice.--A seller shall notify each prospective
22 purchaser that the purchase of more than one handgun in a 30-day
23 period is prohibited under this section and of the applicable
24 penalties.
25 (h) Handgun purchase history check.--In addition to any
26 other duty prescribed by this section, a seller of a handgun
27 shall request the Pennsylvania State Police to conduct a handgun
28 purchase history check to investigate whether the prospective
29 handgun purchaser is in compliance with this section. A handgun
30 purchase history check shall be conducted in accordance with the
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1 procedures governing other background checks under this
2 subchapter. A handgun purchase history shall be conducted at the
3 same time any criminal history, juvenile delinquency or mental
4 health records check is required for a firearm purchase under
5 this subchapter. Information related to a handgun purchase
6 provided to the Pennsylvania State Police by a seller may be
7 retained by the Pennsylvania State Police as necessary to
8 monitor compliance with this section.
9 (i) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
10 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
11 subsection:
12 "Handgun." Either of the following:
13 (1) A firearm which has a short stock and is designed to
14 be held and fired by the use of a single hand.
15 (2) Any combination of parts from which a firearm
16 described under paragraph (1) can be assembled.
17 "Purchase." The term does not include the exchange or
18 replacement of a handgun by a seller for a handgun purchased
19 from the seller by the same person seeking the exchange or
20 replacement within the 30-day period immediately preceding the
21 date of exchange or replacement.
22 Section 2. Section 6120(a) of Title 18 is amended to read:
23 § 6120. Limitation on the regulation of firearms and
24 ammunition.
25 (a) General rule.--No county, municipality or township,
26 except a city of the first class, may in any manner regulate the
27 lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of
28 firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or
29 transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this
30 Commonwealth.
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1 * * *
2 Section 3. Section 6126(b)(1) of Title 18, reenacted and
3 amended December 20, 2000 (P.L.728, No.101), is amended to read:
4 § 6126. Firearms Background Check Advisory Committee.
5 * * *
6 (b) Duties.--To facilitate compliance with this chapter and
7 the intent thereof, the Firearms Background Check Advisory
8 Committee shall, as follows:
9 (1) Review the operations and procedures of the
10 Pennsylvania State Police relating to the implementation and
11 administration of the criminal history, juvenile delinquency
12 [and], mental health records and handgun purchase history
13 background checks.
14 * * *
15 Section 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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