PRINTER'S NO. 975
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
861
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY BARRAR, BERNSTINE, CIRESI, DeLUCA, FARRY, FREEMAN,
GILLEN, MILLARD, MURT, NEILSON, SAYLOR AND SANCHEZ,
MARCH 18, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 18, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
articles, providing for application denial.
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:
ยง 6129. Application denial.
(a) Transmission of data.--The Pennsylvania State Police
shall transmit data relating to the denial of an application for
the purchase or transfer of a firearm to the Attorney General
when the following conditions apply:
(1) the denial of the application is based on a
conviction for a felony offense that would prohibit an
individual from possession of a firearm under Federal or
State law; and
(2) the time period for challenging the denial under
section 6111.1(e) (relating to Pennsylvania State Police) has
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expired or the challenge to the denial has been ruled
invalid.
(b) Content of transmission.--When the Pennsylvania State
Police are required to transmit data under subsection (a), the
content of the transmission shall include all of the following:
(1) Date of the application.
(2) Name and address of the applicant.
(3) Name and address of the licensed firearm dealer.
(4) Offense, grade of the offense, offense tracking
number and date of the offense.
(c) Duty of Attorney General.--Upon receipt of data under
subsection (a), the Attorney General shall do all of the
following:
(1) Review the denial of application data forwarded from
the Pennsylvania State Police.
(2) Investigate the incident.
(3) Determine whether there is sufficient evidence to
prosecute the individual for a violation of section
6111(g) (4) (relating to sale or transfer of firearms).
(4) Prosecute the individual for violating section
6111(g)(4) if there is sufficient evidence under paragraph
(3).
(d) Confidentiality.--The Attorney General may use the
information provided by the Pennsylvania State Police and any
information obtained pursuant to its investigation for official
purposes only. Notwithstanding any other law, the information
shall not be subject to public disclosure.
(e) Report to General Assembly.--The Attorney General shall,
on an annual basis, submit a report to the Judiciary Committee
of the Senate and the Judiciary Committee of the House of
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Representatives on the Attorney General's efforts related to
this section. The report shall include the following
information, broken down by county:
(1) The number of denials transmitted to the Attorney
General by the Pennsylvania State Police.
(2) The number of prosecutions for violations of section
6111(g)(4).
(3) The number of convictions for violations of section
6111(g)(4).
(4) The average sentence for an individual convicted for
a violation of section 6111(g)(4).
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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