THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WOZNIAK, ALLOWAY, D. WHITE, RAFFERTY AND FONTANA, FEBRUARY 28, 2011

REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011  

AN ACT

Protecting and managing sport shooting clubs and firing ranges

in this Commonwealth.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Short title.

This act shall be known and may be cited as the Freedom to

Shoot Act.

Section 2.  Legislative findings.

(a)  Findings.--The General Assembly finds that:

(1)  Sport shooting and training ranges are widely used

and enjoyed by the residents of this Commonwealth and are a

necessary component of the guarantees of the Second Amendment

to the United States Constitution and the Constitution of

Pennsylvania.

(2)  Projectiles and targets are integral to sport

shooting and training range activity and to the ownership and

use of privately owned firearms.

(3)  Over years of operation, projectiles and targets

have accumulated in the environment at many existing ranges.

Whether this accumulation has caused or will cause

degradation of the environment or harm to human health

depends on factors that are situational. Therefore, sport

shooting and training ranges must be allowed flexibility to

apply appropriate environmental management practices at

ranges. The use of environmental management practices can be

implemented to avoid or reduce any potential for adverse

environmental impact or harm to human health.

(4)  Environmental management practices to maintain or

improve the condition of sport shooting and training ranges

is evolving and will continue to evolve.

(5)  Unnecessary litigation and unnecessary and

burdensome regulation by governmental agencies of sport

shooting and training ranges impair the ability of residents

of this Commonwealth to ensure training in the safe handling

of firearms and to enjoy the recreational opportunities

ranges provide. The cost of defending these actions is

prohibitive and threatens to curtail and destroy the sport

shooting and training range industry.

(6)  The elimination of sport shooting ranges and

training facilities will unnecessarily impair the ability of

residents of this Commonwealth to exercise and practice their

Constitutional guarantees under the Second Amendment to the

United States Constitution and the Constitution of

Pennsylvania.

(7)  This act does not apply to private parties or guests

of said private parties performing recreational sport

shooting or firearms training on private, leased or rented

parcels where that activity has been approved by the owner of

said property.

(b)  Intentions.--The General Assembly intends to protect

public and private sport shooting and training range owners,

operators, users, employees, agents, contractors, customers,

lenders, insurers and concessionaires from lawsuits and other

legal actions by the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or

private parties relating to and in order to promote maximum

flexibility for effective implementation of environmental

management practices. It is also the intent of the General

Assembly that any action by any agency of the Commonwealth or

private party relating to normal operating circumstances and

while adhering to approved best management practices in effect

at the time of the implementation of this act be reversed

immediately and any expenses incurred by the shooting facility

or organization be refunded by the agency or private party

causing the facility or organization to incur these expenses.

(c)  Establishment.--The General Assembly will assist the

Game Commission in establishing a Range Clean-up Trust Fund

within its operating budget which will be augmented with

proceeds gained from the reclamation operations performed by the

Game Commission on training ranges and sport shooting facilities

choosing to relinquish any reclamation operations and assumed

revenue deemed necessary by the task force.

Section 3.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this act shall

have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Commission."  The Pennsylvania Game Commission.

"Director."  The executive director of the commission.

"Projectile."  Any component of ammunition that is propelled

from a handgun, shotgun, rifle or any variation of firearm which

is legal for use within this Commonwealth.

"Sport shooting."  All forms of target shooting with rifles,

shotguns or handguns or any other firearm that is not illegal

for use within this Commonwealth as well as training and

education in the use of said firearms.

"Standard."  The best management practices for lead at

outdoor shooting ranges, established by the Environmental

Protection Agency, or:

(1)  ITRC (Interstate Technology Regulatory Cooperative)

rules and regulations; or

(2)  environmental stewardship plans established by the

particular facility by a certified lead management

professional.

"Task force."  The Task Force for Protection and Management

of Sport Shooting and Training Ranges established in section 4.

"Training range."  Any parcel of real estate or portion

thereof that is used in whole or in part for any form of sport

shooting or training or education in the use of firearms.

Section 4.  Task force.

(a)  Establishment.--The Task Force for Protection and

Management of Sport Shooting and Training Ranges is established.

(b)  Membership.--The task force will consist of the

following:

(1)  The Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources

or a designee.

(2)  The Secretary of Environmental Protection or a

designee.

(3)  A delegate of the Pennsylvania Amateur Trapshooting

Association.

(4)  A delegate of the Pennsylvania Skeet Shooting

Association.

(5)  A delegate of the Pennsylvania Sporting Clays

Association.

(6)  A representative of the Pennsylvania Rifle and

Pistol Association.

(7)  A representative of the Pennsylvania Muzzle Loading

Rifle Association.

(8)  A representative of the National Rifle Association.

(9)  A representative from the Pennsylvania Federation of

Sportsmen's clubs.

(10)  A representative at large from an organized sport

shooting club or facility.

(11)  A representative at large from the general sport

shooting community.

(12)  The director.

(c)  Organization.--

(1)  The director shall serve as chair.

(2)  Seven members shall constitute a quorum.

(3)  Meetings will be held as required at the discretion

of the director.

(4)  Members' meeting expenses will be borne by the

director.

(d)  Functions.--The task force has the following functions:

(1)  To study lead management and reclamation at firing

ranges.

(2)  To ensure that the best management practices under

section 3 or the provisions of subparagraph (i) or (ii) are

implemented, including those pertaining to projectiles and

targets.

(i)  The task force shall develop a training and

notification program to assist sport shooting facilities

and training ranges to identify, develop and implement

best management practices for their particular facility.

(ii)  The task force shall develop an inventory of

sport shooting facilities and training ranges by inquiry

of the public members of the task force and sportsmen's

associations within this Commonwealth.

(3)  Determine and establish qualifications for lead

management and reclamation professionals.

Section 5.  Implementation.

(a)  Environmental management.--No later than January 1,

2012, sport shooting and training range owners, operators,

tenants and occupants shall initiate environmental management or

stewardship plans with implementation of situation-appropriate

environmental practices including projectiles and targets.

(b)  Site analysis.--If any contamination is suspected or

identified by any owner, operator, tenant or occupant of a sport

shooting or training range, the owner, operator, tenant or

occupant may request the task force to perform a site analysis

or assessment including, but not limited to, assistance in

preparing a plan to confirm the presence or absence of any

suspected contamination. Any costs incurred for risk analysis,

environmental impact analysis or site-specific environmental

stewardship plans will be borne by the commission.

(c)  Contamination.--If contamination is suspected or

identified by a third-party complaint or by adjacent property

sampling events, the task force shall give 60 days' notice to

the sport shooting or training range facility of the task

force's intent to enter upon the site for the purpose of

investigating potential sources of contamination. The task force

may assist with or perform a contamination assessment including,

but not limited to, assistance with preparing and implementing a

plan to confirm the absence or presence of any contamination.

The cost of an assessment shall be borne by the complaining

party. If the task force confirms contamination, principles of

risk-based corrective action pursuant to ITRC best management

practices will be implemented immediately with the intent to:

(1)  correct the situation; and

(2)  insure that the sport shooting or training range

facility will continue to be operated within its original

intent.

Section 6.  Protection.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any public or

private owner, operator, employee, agent, contractor, customer,

lender, insurer or user of any sport shooting or training range

located in this Commonwealth shall have immunity from lawsuits

and other legal actions brought by the Commonwealth or any of

its agencies, nongovernmental entities or units of local

government for any claim associated with the use, release,

placement, deposition or accumulation of any projectile or

target in the environment on or under that sport shooting or

training range or any property over which the range has an

easement, leasehold or other legal right of use, if the sport

shooting or training range owner or operator has made a good

faith effort to comply with section 5(a).

Section 7.  Withdrawal of claims and recovery of expenses and

attorney fees.

(a)  Claims.--Within 90 days after the effective date of this

act, all claims by the Commonwealth and any agencies and units

of local government against sport shooting or training ranges,

including projectiles and targets pending within any agency or

before any court of law, shall be withdrawn.

(b)  Leases.--Leases or rental agreements held by any sport

shooting facility or training range having operated on any

property leased or rented from any agency of the Commonwealth

shall be immediately reinstated.

(c)  Reimbursement.--Within 90 days of the effective date of

this act, any and all expenses committed or spent by any sport

shooting or training range facility that has been operating on

any real property within this Commonwealth including, but not

limited to, ownership by Commonwealth, county or municipal

government or private property, in response to closure forced by

any Commonwealth, county or municipal agency within this

Commonwealth prior to the effective date of this act, will be

reimbursed to the sport shooting or training range facility by

the Commonwealth, county or municipal agency effecting the

closure of said facility. The termination of such cases shall

have no effect on the defendant's cause of action for damages,

attorney fees and expenses.

(d)  Recovery of expenses.--In any action filed in violation

of this act after the effective date of this act, the defendant

shall recover all expenses resulting from such action by the

governmental body or entity bringing such unlawful action.

Section 8.  Penalties.

Any official, agent or employee of a Commonwealth agency or a

unit of local government while he or she was acting in his or

her official capacity and within the scope of his or her

official employment or office, who intentionally and maliciously

violates the provisions of this act or is party to bringing an

action in violation of this act, commits a misdemeanor of the

third degree.

Section 9.  Zoning.

Notwithstanding any provision of State or municipal law or

ordinance, after the effective date of this act, no action shall

be taken by a county or municipality to zone or rezone any real

property on which there is then located a sport shooting or

training range if the zoning or rezoning would cause the

elimination of or the cessation of the operation of that sport

shooting or training range, unless the owner of the real

property on which the sport shooting or training range is

located petitions for or consents to the zoning or rezoning.

Section 10.  Preemption.

Except as expressly provided by law, the General Assembly

hereby declares that it is occupying the full field of

regulation of firearms and ammunition use at sport shooting or

training ranges, including the environmental effects of

projectile deposition at sport shooting or training ranges.

Section 11.  Other laws.

The provisions of this act supersede any conflicting

provisions of any other acts of this Commonwealth.

Section 12.  Construction.

This act shall be liberally construed to effectuate its

remedial and deterrent purposes.

Section 13.  Effective date.

This act shall take effect in 60 days.