THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY METCALFE, BROOKS, CUTLER, DALEY, GINGRICH, HESS, METZGAR, MILLARD, MULLERY, PYLE, ROAE AND TALLMAN, MAY 9, 2012

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MAY 9, 2012  

AN ACT

Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, providing for the offense of unlawful

firearm records; and prescribing a penalty.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 6143.  Unlawful firearm records.

(a)  Prohibition.--Except as otherwise provided under

subsection (b), no State governmental agency or political

subdivision or official, agent or employee thereof or any other

person, public or private, may knowingly and willfully keep or

cause to be kept any list, database, record or registry of

privately owned firearms or any list, database, record or

registry of the owners of those firearms.

(b)  Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any of

the following:

(1)  Records of firearms that have been used in

committing a crime.

(2)  Records relating to a person who has been convicted

of a crime.

(3)  Records of firearms that have been reported stolen.

These records may be retained for a period not in excess of

ten days after such firearms are recovered and any criminal

prosecution related to the stolen firearms has ended,

including any period during which an appeal may be filed.

Official documentation recording the theft of a recovered

weapon may be maintained no longer than the balance of the

year entered plus two years.

(4)  Firearm records that are required to be retained by

firearms dealers or manufacturers under Federal or State law,

including copies of such records transmitted to law

enforcement agencies, provided that no State governmental

agency or political subdivision or official, agent or

employee thereof or any other person, private or public, may

accumulate, compile, computerize or otherwise collect or

convert such written records into any form of list, database

or registry for any purpose.

(5)  Records kept by the Pennsylvania State Police to the

extent required by Federal law and a log of dates of requests

for criminal history record checks, unique approval and

nonapproval numbers, license identification numbers and

transaction numbers corresponding to such dates.

(6)  Records of an insurer that, as a condition to

providing insurance against theft or loss of a firearm,

identify such firearm, provided that the records are not

sold, commingled with records relating to other firearms or

transferred to any person or entity other than the insured

and that the insurer does not keep a record of the firearm,

unless part of an ongoing claim, more than 60 days after

either the policy of insurance expires or notification by the

insured that the insured is no longer the owner of the

firearm.

(7)  Lists of customers of a firearms dealer retained by

the dealer, provided that the lists do not disclose the

particular firearms purchased, and lists or any parts thereof

are not sold, commingled with records relating to other

firearms or transferred to any other person or entity.

(8)  Sales receipts retained by the seller of firearms or

by a person providing credit for the purchase, provided that

the receipts do not serve as or are used for the creation of

a database for registration of firearms.

(9)  Personal records of firearms maintained by the owner

of the firearms or at the request of the owner of the

firearms.

(10)  Records maintained by a business or person that

stores or acts as the selling agent of firearms on behalf of

the lawful owner of the firearms.

(11)  Membership lists of organizations comprised of

owners of firearms.

(12)  Records maintained by an employer or contracting

entity of the firearms owned or used by its officers,

employees or agents, if the firearms are used in the course

of business performed on behalf of the employer or

contracting entity.

(13)  Records of firearms involved in criminal

investigations, criminal prosecutions, criminal appeals and

postconviction motions, civil proceedings relating to the

ownership, surrender, seizure or safekeeping of firearms,

including protection orders and sheriff executions, and

voluntary surrender by the owner or custodian of the firearm

for safekeeping or otherwise.

(14)  Paper documents relating to firearms involved in

criminal cases, criminal investigations and criminal

prosecutions, civil proceedings relating to the ownership,

surrender, seizure or safekeeping of firearms, including

protection orders and sheriff executions, and voluntary

surrender by the owner or custodian of the firearm for

safekeeping or otherwise.

(15)  Noncriminal records relating to the receipt,

storage or return of firearms, including, but not limited to,

records relating to firearms impounded or surrendered for

storage or safekeeping, receipts proving that a firearm was

returned to its lawful owner and supporting records of

identification and proof of ownership, or records relating to

firearms impounded pursuant to sheriff execution or court

orders, provided that the records are not compiled, sorted or

otherwise arranged into any lists, indexes or registries of

firearms or owners of firearms.

(16)  Records required to be maintained and reported by

eligible organizations licensed under the act of December 19,

1988 (P.L.1262, No.156), known as the Local Option Small

Games of Chance Act, provided that the records are not

compiled, sorted or otherwise arranged into any lists,

indexes or registries of firearms or owners of firearms.

(c)  Penalties.--A person who violates this section commits a

felony of the third degree.

(d)  No expenditure of State funds to defend.--

(1)  Except as otherwise provided under paragraph (2) and

the sixth amendment to the Constitution of the United States,

no public funds shall be used to defend the unlawful conduct

of any person charged with a violation of this section,

unless the charges against the person are dismissed or the

person is determined to be not guilty at trial.

(2)  Public funds may be expended to provide the services

of a public defender or court-appointed attorney.

(e)  Fines.--

(1)  The governmental entity, or the designee of such

governmental entity, in whose service or employ a list,

record or registry was compiled in violation of this section

may be assessed a fine of not more than $5,000,000, if the

court determines that the evidence shows that the list,

database, record or registry was compiled or maintained with

the knowledge or complicity of the management of the

governmental entity.

(2)  The Attorney General may bring a civil cause of

action to enforce the fines assessed under this subsection.

(f)  Prosecution.--The district attorney in the appropriate

jurisdiction shall investigate complaints of criminal violations

of this section and, where evidence indicates a violation may

have occurred, shall prosecute violators.

(g)  Construction.--This section shall be construed to

effectuate its remedial and deterrent purposes. This section may

not be construed to grant any substantive, procedural privacy

right or civil claim to any criminal defendant, and a violation

of this section may not be grounds for the suppression of

evidence in any criminal case.

(h)  Destruction of existing records.--A list, database,

record or registry of firearms maintained or under construction

on the effective date of this section shall be destroyed, unless

prohibited by law, within 60 days after the effective date of

this section. After that 60-day time period, the failure to

destroy such list, database, record or registry may result in

prosecution under this section.

(i)  Confidentiality.--Information retained in compliance

with subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (12), (13), (14) and (15)

shall not be subject to public access under the act of February

14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.

(j)  Definitions.--As used in this section, the following

words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this

subsection:

"Firearm."  Any weapon which is designed to or may readily be

converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive

or the frame or receiver of such weapon.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.