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PRINTER'S NO. 3638
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2928
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY RABB, GUZMAN, SANCHEZ, FIEDLER, WARREN AND CEPHAS,
NOVEMBER 29, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 29, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
articles, further providing for sale or transfer of firearms
and for licensing of dealers and providing for security
camera, for lost and stolen firearm reporting requirements
and for inspection of retail firearm dealer licensees and
grant program; establishing the Retail Licensee Inspection
Fund and the Firearm Dealer Safety Grant Program; imposing
penalties; and making an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 6111(b) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding paragraphs to read:
§ 6111. Sale or transfer of firearms.
* * *
(b) Duty of seller.--No licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer or licensed dealer shall sell or deliver any
firearm to another person, other than a licensed importer,
licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer or licensed collector,
until the conditions of subsection (a) have been satisfied and
until he has:
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* * *
(8) Conducted a background check, as required under this
section, when an individual is seeking to sell a firearm on
consignment.
(9) Taken a written and photographic record of the
buyer's vehicle license plate and driver's license or
identification card issued by Federal, State or local
government.
* * *
Section 2. Section 6113(a) introductory paragraph and (b) of
Title 18 are amended and the section is amended by adding
subsections to read:
§ 6113. Licensing of dealers.
(a) General rule.--The chief or head of any police force or
police department of a city, and, elsewhere, the sheriff of the
county, shall grant to reputable applicants licenses, in form
prescribed under subsection (b.1) by the Pennsylvania State
Police, effective for three years from date of issue, permitting
the licensee to sell firearms direct to the consumer, subject to
the following conditions in addition to those specified in
section 6111 (relating to sale or transfer of firearms), for
breach of any of which the license shall be forfeited and the
licensee subject to punishment as provided in this subchapter:
* * *
(a.1) Application.--The application under subsection (a)
shall be submitted online or via a paper form. The chief or head
of any police force or police department of a city or the
sheriff of a county may charge a fee for applications submitted
in paper form.
(b) [Fee.--The fee for issuing said license shall be $30,
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which fee shall be paid into the county treasury.] (Reserved).
(b.1) Licensing form requirements.--An individual who wishes
to sell a firearm directly to a consumer must apply for a
license using a form that includes, at minimum:
(1) The following questions:
Has your dealership been inspected by the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) at
least once prior to this application?
When was your last ATF inspection? Date:
Has your dealership been inspected by a State or
local law enforcement or regulatory agency?
When was your last non-ATF inspection? Date:
Have you been consistently in compliance with all
county or local ordinances? If No, explain.
Do you use an electronic platform to document firearm
sales?
How many firearms have you sold since last acquiring
a dealer's license?
How many firearms have you sold since acquiring your
place of business?
In the last year, what was the greatest number of
firearms you sold in any one week?
What is your annual revenue? $
How much of your annual revenue is generated from
firearm and weapons sales? $
How much of your annual revenue is generated from
ammunition sales? $
Is your primary residence in this Commonwealth?
Do you have or have you ever had an ownership stake
in any other firearm dealerships in this
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Commonwealth?
Have you held a Federal firearms license in another
state? If Yes, please list:
Have you owned an interest in a firearm dealership
unaffiliated with this application?
If Yes to the previous question, what were the
location(s), name(s) and Federal firearms license
number(s) of that or those dealership(s)?
Have you previously held a Federal firearms license
that was revoked, transferred or not renewed for any
reason?
If Yes to the previous question, please provide the
associated license number(s) and date(s) of
revocation, transfer or expiration.
Have you reported any lost or stolen firearms from
your inventory?
If Yes to the previous question, how many, on what
dates and to which agency or agencies?
(2) Any other questions the Pennsylvania State Police
deem necessary to facilitate the licensing of firearm
dealers.
(b.2) Reporting.--Information collected under subsection
(b.1) shall be provided to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime
and Delinquency, who shall prepare and disseminate quarterly
reports detailing and evaluating the information provided under
subsection (b.1) and make recommendations for statutory and
regulatory changes to improve compliance by firearm sellers and
reduce the prevalence of illegally sold, purchased or possessed
firearms in this Commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Commission on
Crime and Delinquency shall provide information collected under
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subsection (b.1) to the Pennsylvania State Police to include in
the database described in section 6131(b) (relating to
inspection of retail firearm dealer licensees and grant
program).
* * *
Section 3. Title 18 is amended by adding sections to read:
§ 6129. Security camera.
A licensed retail firearm dealer who sells more than five
firearms per week at any point during the year shall operate
security cameras in the parking lot at the dealer's place of
business for the purpose of recording vehicle information for
all patrons. The records shall be maintained for a period of no
less than three years. Retailers or individuals who sell
firearms who generate more than 80% of annual revenue from items
other than firearms, ammunition or other weapons are exempt from
the requirements of this section.
§ 6130. Lost and stolen firearm reporting requirements.
(a) Duty to report.--A licensed firearm seller, dealer,
importer or manufacturer who suffers a loss or theft of a
firearm must, within 24 hours of the discovery of the loss or
theft, report the loss or theft, including the facts and
circumstances, to the municipal police of the jurisdiction in
which the loss or theft is believed to have occurred or to the
Pennsylvania State Police. The licensed firearm seller, dealer,
importer or manufacturer must then report the theft to the
centralized database with technical assistance provided under
section 6131(b) (relating to inspection of retail firearm dealer
licensees and grant program) .
(b) Penalty.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
licensed firearm seller, dealer, importer or manufacturer who
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fails to report the loss or theft of a firearm under subsection
(a), and the failure to report is a proximate cause of the
commission of a crime in which the firearm is later used, shall
be held civilly liable for any damages resulting from that
crime. Any retailer who fails to report a lost or stolen firearm
that is later recovered in the commission of the crime by law
enforcement shall be subject to a fine of $500 for each day from
the date the retailer acquired the gun until the date of
recovery. Fines shall be deposited into the Retail Licensee
Inspection Fund established under section 6131(g) (relating to
inspection of retail firearm dealer licensees and grant
program).
§ 6131. Inspection of retail firearm dealer licensees and grant
program.
(a) Inspection.--An inspection of each licensed retail
firearm dealer shall be conducted at least once annually by each
municipality, county or the Pennsylvania State Police. If a
retailer is found to be or is under suspicion of violating this
section based on data from the Attorney General's Crime Gun
Database, the Pennsylvania State Police shall inspect that
retailer at least three times per year for a period of no less
than two years. Retailers that do not record sales
electronically or install security cameras in their parking lots
to record license plate numbers shall be subject to additional
quarterly inspections and may utilize the technical assistance
provided under subsection (b) and funding under subsection (h)
to procure electronic platforms to document firearm sales and
security cameras to record license plates.
(b) Technical assistance.--The Pennsylvania State Police,
the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Auditor General,
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the Deputy Sheriff's Education and Training Board, the
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the
Municipal Police Officers' Education and Training Commission
shall provide technical assistance as needed to firearm sellers
to increase the use of digital data collection systems and
entities funded through the Retail Licensee Inspection Fund and
the Firearm Dealer Safety Grant Program to conduct an inspection
under subsection (a) or train an employee to conduct an
inspection. The Pennsylvania State Police shall create a
database to track the number of guns and crime guns traced to
particular dealers. The database shall be regularly maintained
by the Pennsylvania State Police and additional analytical
infrastructure added to facilitate automated email alerts to
State and local law enforcement when a firearm seller is flagged
as having sold a disproportionate number of firearms recovered
by law enforcement. The database shall be made available to the
public and shall include and track the following information:
(1) Whether the gun is connected to a felony.
(2) Whether an arrest was made associated with the
recovery of the weapon.
(3) If an arrest was made under paragraph (2), the
reason for the arrest.
(4) The outcome of the associated court case.
(c) Ineligibility.--Any dealer inspected due to a crime gun
within two consecutive years and found not to be in violation of
section 6130 (relating to lost and stolen firearm reporting
requirements) shall be ineligible for a crime-gun-related
inspection for one year after the second inspection. The dealer
shall be subject to random inspection.
(d) Determination.--Once every calendar year, the
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Pennsylvania State Police shall calculate the percentage of
crime guns recovered in the past two years sold by each firearm
seller and the ratio of crime guns to guns sold by each seller.
A firearm seller shall be determined to have sold a
disproportionate number of crime guns if that seller is in the
top 1% of sellers of crime guns recovered in the past two years.
A seller in the top 1% shall be subject to inspection.
(e) Exemption.--A firearm seller who is found to have sold a
disproportionate number of crime guns for two consecutive years,
but was also found not to be in violation of section 6130, shall
not be subject to an inspection required under subsection (d).
(f) Fees.--A licensing fee shall be assessed to retail
firearm dealers to be deposited into the Retail Licensee
Inspection Fund established under subsection (g). A 1% firearm
sales tax shall be paid by the firearm seller for each firearm
sold and a 1% ammunition tax shall be paid by the seller for
each unit of ammunition sold. The 1% tax under this subsection
shall also be applied to firearms that were purchased online but
were temporarily in the possession of a licensed firearm dealer
before transfer to the purchaser. Funds from the tax shall be
deposited into the Retail Licensee Inspection Fund.
(g) Fund.--The Retail Licensee Inspection Fund is
established as a separate fund in the State Treasury for the
purposes of administering this section, funding to support
conducting inspections, providing grants to firearm sellers to
improve information systems, providing grants to service
providers for victims of gun violence, funding for maintenance
of a database, developing an analytical and reporting mechanism
to leverage information in the database, funding to support
research on the impact of this section beginning in year five
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and partially defer the medical expenses due to gunshot injuries
for children under the age of 13 and offset of funeral expenses
for victims of gun violence. Payment from the fund under this
section shall be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis
and shall be capped at $100,000 per payment. The sum of
$50,000,000 shall be appropriated to the fund for the purposes
of this section.
(h) Grant program.--The Firearm Dealer Safety Grant Program
is established and shall be administered by the Treasury
Department. Grants under the program shall be used by
municipalities and counties seeking to hire and train staff to
conduct inspections under this section. Federally licensed
firearm sellers may apply for grants to help defray costs of
purchasing security cameras and installing digital case
management systems to facilitate recordkeeping. The sum of
$5,000,000 of the amount appropriated to the Retail License
Inspection Fund under subsection (g) shall be expended to make
grants under this section. Grant approval shall be overseen by a
board composed of one individual or designee from each of the
following organizations:
(1) The Municipal Police Officers' Education and
Training Commission.
(2) The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency.
(3) The Pennsylvania State Police.
(4) The Deputy Sheriff's Education and Training Board.
(5) The Office of Inspector General.
(i) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "crime
gun" means a firearm recovered by law enforcement:
(1) If the possession of the firearm was the criminal
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offense.
(2) After use in a criminal offense or suspected use in
a criminal offense.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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