PRINTER'S NO. 2335
No. 1531 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY STACK, WASHINGTON, C. WILLIAMS, TARTAGLIONE,
KITCHEN, FONTANA, A. WILLIAMS AND HUGHES, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2008
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
3 articles, further providing for duties of the Pennsylvania
4 State Police; and providing for notice of limits on lending
5 or transferring a firearm and for reporting lost or stolen
6 firearms.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 6111.1(d) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
10 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
11 § 6111.1. Pennsylvania State Police.
12 * * *
13 (d) Distribution.--The Pennsylvania State Police shall
14 provide, without charge[,]:
15 (1) summaries of uniform firearm laws and firearm safety
16 brochures pursuant to section 6125 (relating to distribution
17 of uniform firearm laws and firearm safety brochures)[.]; and
18 (2) notices of limits pursuant to section 6111.6
19 (relating to notice of limits on lending or transferring a
20 firearm).
1 * * *
2 Section 2. Title 18 is amended by adding sections to read:
3 § 6111.6. Notice of limits on lending or transferring a
4 firearm.
5 (a) Duty of Pennsylvania State Police.--It shall be the duty
6 of the Pennsylvania State Police to distribute a notice about
7 lending or transferring a firearm to every licensed firearm
8 dealer in this Commonwealth. The notice shall be written by the
9 Pennsylvania State Police, shall be provided at no cost and
10 shall contain the following:
11 NOTICE OF LIMITS ON LENDING
12 OR TRANSFERRING A FIREARM
13 As the owner of a firearm, you are required to comply
14 with the following legal obligations and restrictions:
15 (1) You may not lend or give a firearm to any person,
16 except as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 6115(b).
17 (2) You may not sell or transfer a firearm to another
18 person unless the sale or transfer occurs at a licensed
19 dealer or the office of the county sheriff. Limited transfers
20 between certain family members are permissible. See 18
21 Pa.C.S. § 6111(c).
22 (3) You must notify law enforcement within three days of
23 discovering that your firearm is lost or stolen. See 18
24 Pa.C.S. § 6128(a).
25 (4) You could be held criminally and civilly liable for
26 any crime committed with a firearm you purchase. See 18
27 Pa.C.S. § 6111(g).
28 (b) Distribution without charge.--The notice or a copy
29 thereof shall be provided without charge to each purchaser of a
30 firearm.
20080S1531B2335 - 2 -
1 (c) Duty of firearms dealer.--It shall be the duty of the
2 firearms dealer:
3 (1) to provide a copy of the notice and to review the
4 text of the notice with the buyer of the firearm; and
5 (2) to prominently display a copy of the notice where
6 the purchaser of a firearm can read it.
7 § 6128. Reporting lost or stolen firearms.
8 (a) Duty defined.--The owner of a firearm, upon discovering
9 that the firearm is lost or stolen, shall report the loss or
10 theft within three days to an appropriate law enforcement
11 official of the municipality in which the loss or theft
12 occurred, or if the municipality does not have a police force,
13 to the Pennsylvania State Police. If the owner of the firearm
14 does not know where the loss or theft occurred, the owner shall
15 report the loss or theft within three days to the municipality
16 where the owner resides or to the Pennsylvania State Police.
17 (b) Penalties.--If, after an investigation by law
18 enforcement officials, it is determined that a firearm was
19 recovered during a criminal investigation, that the owner of the
20 firearm knew his firearm was lost or stolen and that the owner
21 failed to report the loss or theft of the firearm, that person
22 commits:
23 (1) A summary offense for a first violation.
24 (2) A misdemeanor of the first degree for a second
25 violation.
26 (3) A felony of the third degree for a third or
27 subsequent violation.
28 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
E9L18DMS/20080S1531B2335 - 3 -