HB1454: HB1454 Crimes and offenses; firearms and carrying and possession of firearms and other weapons; revise various laws

26 LC 63 0134S The House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security offe rs the following substitute to HB 1454: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, re lating to crimes and1 offenses, so as to revise various laws pertaining to firearms and the carrying and possession2 of firearms and other weapons; to revise the database prohibiti on; to provide for relief; to3 provide for a preemption for the discharge of firearms under certain circumstances; to amend4 Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, so as to5 revise requirements for the disposition of firearms in custody of law enforcement agencies;6 to provide for causes of action; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and7 for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Title 16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses, is11 amended in Code Section 16-11-129, relating to weapons carry li cense, gun safety12 information, temporary renewal permit, mandamus, and verification of license, by revising13 subsection (k) as follows:14 "(k) Database Data base prohibition.15 (1) As used in this subsection, the term:16 H. B. 1454 (SUB) - 1 - 26 LC 63 0134S (A) 'Government entity' means an office, agency, authority, department, commission,17 board, body, division, instrumentality, or institution of the s tate or of any county,18 municipal corporation, or consolidated government within this state.19 (B) 'Multijurisdictional data base database' means a data base database of information20 shared between or among more than one government entity or betw een or among a21 government entity and any office, agency, authority, department, commission, board,22 body, division, instrumentality, or institution of the United States or of any other state.23 (2) No person or government entity shall knowingly and willfully:24 (A) Create or maintain a multijurisdictional data base database regarding persons25 issued or who have applied for weapons carry licenses; or26 (B) Keep, or cause to be kept, any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms27 or owners of such firearms; provided, however, that nothing in this subparagraph shall28 prohibit a person from keeping, or causing to be kept, any list , record, or registry of29 firearms owned by such person.30 (3) Any person aggrieved by a violation of this subsection may bring an action for relief. 31 Such person who proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she is or was32 contained in such a multijurisdictional database or in a list, record, or registry as forth in33 paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be entitled to obtain, i n addition to appropriate34 declaratory or injunctive relief:35 (A) One hundred dollars or actual damages, whichever is greater; and36 (B) Expenses of litigation, including costs and reasonable attorney's fees."37 SECTION 2.38 Said title is further amended by revising subsection (e) of Code Section 16-11-173, relating39 to legislative findings, preemption of local regulation and law suits, and exceptions, as40 follows:41 H. B. 1454 (SUB) - 2 - 26 LC 63 0134S "(e)(1) Except as provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsect ion, nothing Nothing42 contained in this Code section shall prohibit municipalities, or counties, or consolidated43 governments, by ordinance or resolution, from reasonably limiting or prohib iting the44 discharge of firearms within the boundaries of the municipal corporation, or county, or45 consolidated government.46 (2) No municipality, county, or consolidated government shall prohibit the discharge of47 firearms on a parcel of land that is five acres or more in size, provided that the owner or48 lawful occupants of such land consent to such discharging of firearms. Nothing in this49 paragraph shall preempt a zoning ordinance which prohibits or l imits commercial50 shooting ranges or other commercial activity upon such parcel."51 SECTION 3.52 Title 17 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to criminal procedure, is53 amended by revising subsection (g) of Code Section 17-5-54, rel ating to disposition of54 personal property in custody of law enforcement agency, as follows:55 "(g)(1) With respect to unclaimed firearms, if the sheriff, chief of police, agency director,56 or designee of such official certifies that a firearm is unsafe because of wear, damage,57 age, or modification or because any federal or state law prohibits the sale or distribution58 of such firearm, at the discretion of such official, it shall be transferred to the Division of59 Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a mun icipal or county law60 enforcement forensic laboratory for training or experimental purposes, or be destroyed.61 (2) Otherwise, an unclaimed firearm:62 (A) Possessed by a municipal corporation shall be disposed of as provided for in Code63 Section 36-37-6; provided, however, that municipal corporations shall not have the64 right to reject any bids or to cancel any proposed sale of such firearms, and all sales65 shall may be to persons any person, but the transfer of such firearms shall only be to66 persons, specified by the winning bidders, who are licensed as firearms collectors,67 H. B. 1454 (SUB) - 3 - 26 LC 63 0134S dealers, importers, or manufacturers under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. Section 921, et68 seq., and who are authorized to receive such firearms under the terms of such license. 69 The municipal corporation shall dispose of all such firearms at least once every 1270 months during any time in which the municipal corporation has an inventory of five or71 more firearms. If a municipal corporation does not dispose of such firearms as required72 by this Code section, a person interested in acquiring any such firearms may bring an73 action in mandamus or other legal proceeding to compel the disposition. A person who74 has been unable to acquire a firearm because of the municipal corporation's failure to75 dispose of the firearm pursuant to this Code section shall, in addition to any other relief76 to which he or she is entitled, be entitled to actual damages o r $100.00, whichever is77 greater. A prevailing plaintiff in such an action shall be ent itled to his or her costs,78 including reasonable attorney's fees; or79 (B) Possessed by the state or a political subdivision other than a municipal corporation,80 shall be disposed of by sale at public auction. While any person may bid at auction, the81 transfer of such firearms shall only be to persons, specified by the winning bidders, who82 are licensed as firearms collectors, dealers, importers, or man ufacturers under the83 provisions of 18 U.S.C. Section 921, et seq., and who are autho rized to receive such84 firearms under the terms of such license. Auctions required by this subparagraph may85 occur online on a rolling basis or at live events, but in no ev ent shall such auctions86 occur less frequently than once every 12 months during any time in which the political87 subdivision or state custodial agency has an inventory of five or more saleable firearms. 88 If the state or a political subdivision other than a municipal corporation does not89 dispose of such firearms as required by this Code section, a pe rson interested in90 acquiring any such firearms may bring an action in mandamus or other legal proceeding91 to compel the disposition. A person who has been unable to acquire a firearm because92 of the state or such political subdivision's failure to dispose of the firearm pursuant to93 this Code section shall, in addition to any other relief to which he or she is entitled, be94 H. B. 1454 (SUB) - 4 - 26 LC 63 0134S entitled to actual damages or $100.00, whichever is greater. A prevailing plaintiff in95 such an action shall be entitled to his or her costs, including reasonable attorney's fees.96 (3) If no bids from eligible recipients are received within six months from when bidding97 opened on a firearm offered for sale pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, the98 firearm shall be transferred to the Division of Forensic Sciences of the Georgia Bureau99 of Investigation, a municipal or county law enforcement forensic laboratory for training100 or experimental purposes, or be destroyed."101 SECTION 4.102 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.103 H. B. 1454 (SUB) - 5 -