SB3460 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 19842 RLC 69362 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3460

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Ram Villivalam

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Personalized Firearms Act. Establishes within the Illinois State Police the Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission. Provides that the Commission shall be responsible for establishing performance standards for personalized firearms and maintaining a roster of personalized firearms authorized for sale to the public. Provides that the Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission shall maintain a roster of all personalized firearms for retail sales to the public by the Commission as meeting the personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria established under the Act. Provides that within 12 months of the first personalized firearm being included on the roster established under the Act, each licensed firearms retail dealer shall: (1) only make available for purchase personalized firearms approved by the Commission and listed on the roster as eligible for sale; (2) post in one or more locations in the dealer's place or places of business in a conspicuous manner that makes them easily visible and accessible to customers: (A) copies of the personalized firearm roster; and (B) a sign that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the features of personalized firearms that are not offered by traditional firearms and advising customers that those firearms may be purchased through the licensed retail dealer; and (3) accept and process orders to enable customers to purchase through the licensed retail dealer any of the personalized firearms included in the roster.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning safety.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Personalized Firearms Act.

Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Authorized user" means the lawful owner of a personalized firearm or person to whom the owner has given consent to use the personalized firearm.

"Personalized firearm" means a firearm that incorporates within its design a permanent programmable feature as part of its manufacture that cannot be deactivated and renders the personalized firearm reasonably resistant to being fired except when activated by the lawful owner or other user authorized by the lawful owner. No make or model of a firearm shall be deemed to be a personalized firearm unless the Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission has determined the personalized firearm meets the standards established in Section 20.

Section 10. Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission.

(a) There is established within the Illinois State Police, a Commission which shall be known as the Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission. The Commission shall be responsible for establishing performance standards for personalized firearms and maintaining a roster of personalized firearms authorized for sale to the public under this Act. The Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission shall maintain a roster of all personalized firearms for retail sales to the public by the Commission as meeting the personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria established under this Section. The roster of approved personalized firearms shall be published on a website maintained by the Illinois State Police and shall be updated as necessary. A copy of the roster shall be made available every 6 months to registered and licensed firearms dealers in this State.

(b) The Commission shall consist of 7 members as follows:

(1) Three ex officio members:

(A) the Attorney General, or the Attorney General's designee;

(B) the Director of the Illinois State Police, or the Director's designee; and

(C) the Secretary of Human Services, or the Secretary's designee.

(2) The following public members appointed by the Governor:

(A) one member of the American Academy of Pediatrics;

(B) one member who shall be a resident of this State who is a licensed firearms wholesaler, manufacturer, or retail dealer;

(C) one member who shall be a representative of an organization that advocates against firearm violence; and

(D) one member with substantial experience in radio frequency identification or biometric reading technology.

(c) All appointments to the Commission shall be made within 6 months after the effective date of this Act. The chair of the Commission shall be selected from among its members by the Governor. Members of the Commission shall serve a term of 4 years from the date of their appointment and until their successors are appointed. Vacancies in the membership of the Commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made.

(d) Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the Commission, and within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Commission for its purpose.

(e) The Commission shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of any employees of any State department, board, bureau, Commission, or agency or unit of local government as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

(f) During the first year following the establishment of the Commission, it shall meet once every 6 months or at the call of the chair of the Commission or the majority of its members.

Section 15. Roster of all personalized firearms.

(a) The Personalized Firearm Authorization Commission shall maintain a roster of all personalized firearms for retail sales to the public by the Commission as meeting the personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria established under this Section. The roster of approved personalized firearms shall be published on a website maintained by the Illinois State Police and shall be updated as necessary. A copy of the roster shall be made available every 6 months to registered and licensed firearms dealers in this State.

(b) Within one year of organizing, the Commission shall develop personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria that a personalized firearm shall meet in order to be placed on the personalized firearm roster. The personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) the firearm shall be reasonably resistant to being fired by anyone other than the firearm's authorized user;

(2) the personalized technology shall be incorporated into the design of the personalized firearm and shall be a permanent, irremovable part of the firearm and any device or object necessary for the authorized user to fire the firearm;

(3) the personalized firearm shall not be manufactured so as to permit the personalized characteristics of the firearm to be readily deactivated; and

(4) the personalized firearm shall meet any other reliability standards generally used in the industry for other commercially available firearms.

(c) The Commission shall recommend to the Attorney General any rule, guideline, or revision thereto, or legislation which it deems necessary to establish a process by which firearm manufactures may request that their firearms be added to the roster established under this Section.

Section 20. Approved personalized firearm roster.

(a) A manufacturer or other entity seeking to include a firearm on the approved personalized firearm roster established under this Act, may apply to the Commission for a determination of whether the make and model of a firearm proposed by the applicant would meet the personalized firearm performance standards established under this Act. The Commission's determination shall be based upon testing conducted by an independent laboratory proposed by the applicant which has been accredited for the testing of firearms by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program or other national certifying body approved by the Commission or, if the applicant does not propose an independent laboratory or if one is not approved or available, by the Illinois State Police.

(b) The Commission shall approve an independent laboratory proposed by an applicant to perform the determination under subsection (a) if the Commission is clearly convinced that the laboratory is capable of performing the determination and will be sufficiently objective making the determination; provided that the laboratory shall not be owned or operated by a firearm manufacturer or any other organization that seeks to promote or restrict firearm ownership.

(c) The application for approval of an independent laboratory to perform the determination under subsection (a) shall be in a form prescribed by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Commission, and shall provide information regarding the laboratory's capabilities and objectivity.

If the Commission approves the application, the laboratory shall utilize testing methods formulated by the Commission to determine whether a firearm meets the personalized firearm performance standards and qualifying criteria established under this Act.

(d) The independent laboratory or Division of the Illinois State Police, as the case may be, shall issue a final test report to the Commission at the conclusion of the test. The report shall state whether the firearm meets the performance standards and qualifying criteria established by the Commission.

(e) The Commission shall review the final test report and based on the report's findings shall issue, within 45 days of receiving the report, a final decision by majority vote as to whether the firearm should be included on the roster.

(f) Upon making a final determination under subsection (d), the Commission shall notify, in writing, the applicant as to whether the firearm has been approved or denied for inclusion on the roster. A notification informing the applicant that a firearm has been denied shall be provided along with a written description of the reasons for which a firearm failed to meet the performance standards and qualifying criteria established by the Commission as documented in the independent laboratory's report. Any alteration to the design of a make and model of firearm that has been approved for addition on the roster shall require a determination that the firearm continues to meet the performance standards and qualifying criteria established by the Commission in accordance with the requirements of this Section in order to include the altered design model of the firearm on the roster.

Section 25. Retail sale of firearms.

(a) Within 12 months of the first personalized firearm being included on the roster established under this Act, each licensed firearms retail dealer shall:

(1) only make available for purchase personalized firearms approved by the Commission and listed on the roster as eligible for sale;

(2) post in one or more locations in the dealer's place or places of business in a conspicuous manner that makes them easily visible and accessible to customers:

(A) copies of the personalized firearm roster; and

(B) a sign that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the features of personalized firearms that are not offered by traditional firearms and advising customers that those firearms may be purchased through the licensed retail dealer; and

(3) accept and process orders to enable customers to purchase through the licensed retail dealer any of the personalized firearms included in the roster.

(b) A personalized firearm offered for sale by a licensed retail dealer under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) shall be displayed in conspicuous manner that makes it easily distinguishable from other traditional firearms.

(c) A licensed retail dealer shall post a sign in accordance paragraph (2) of subsection (a) in close proximity to each personalized firearm.

If a licensed retail dealer's inventory of personalized firearms is depleted and there are no personalized firearms available for purchase on the premises, the licensed retail dealer shall:

(1) place an order for at least one personalized firearm within 21 days of the sale of the last personalized firearm;

(2) maintain written records of the retail dealer's efforts to place an order and maintain those records on the premises and allow them to be open for inspection at all times; and

(3) post a sign on the premises indicating that personalized firearms are routinely sold on the retail dealer's premises and will soon be available for purchase.

(d) A licensed firearms retail dealer shall not make any claim that a firearm has been approved by the Commission as meeting the performance standards or qualifying criteria for personalized firearms if that firearm is not included on the roster established under this Act.

(e) The Director of the Illinois State Police shall designate officers to inspect the personalized firearm inventory and records of all licensed firearms retailers. The inspections shall be conducted at least once every 2 years at any time during normal business hours of the firearm retailer's business.

Section 30. Exemption certificate. Upon application by a licensed firearms retail dealer demonstrating that offering a personalized firearm for sale, the Illinois State Police may issue a certificate exempting the licensed retail dealer from the requirement to offer a personalized firearm for sale established under this Act. In determining whether an exemption shall be granted, the Director of the Illinois State Police may consider factors including, but not limited to, the retail dealer's inventory size and annual sales revenue or income generated from customer purchases.

Section 35. Penalties. A licensed retail dealer who violates this Act shall be guilty of a petty offense and shall be subject to the following penalties:

(1) for a first offense, a fine not to exceed $500;

(2) for a second offense, a fine not to exceed $1,000; and

(3) for a third or subsequent offense, a fine not to exceed $2,000 and a 6 month license suspension following notice to the licensed retail dealer and an opportunity to be heard.

Each firearm sold in violation of this Act shall be deemed a distinct and separate offense.