HF 127 (LSB 1693YH (3) 88)

HOUSE FILE 127

BY  STAED, KURTH, HUNTER, STECKMAN, LENSING, DONAHUE, MASCHER, WINCKLER, ANDERSON, B. MEYER, EHLERT, and GAINES

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the sale or transfer of firearms, providing penalties, and including applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  724.32  Sale or transfer of firearms —— criminal history background check.
   1.  Unless otherwise authorized by this chapter or federal law, a person shall not sell or transfer a firearm to another person without receiving verification from a licensed firearms dealer that information on the prospective purchaser or transferee has been submitted to the department of public safety for a criminal history background check and that a determination has been received by the department of public safety that the prospective purchaser or transferee is not prohibited under either state or federal law from possessing a firearm. A criminal history background check conducted under this section shall include an inquiry of the national instant criminal background check system maintained by the federal bureau of investigation.
   2.  a.  Except as provided in paragraph “b”, a person who sells or transfers a firearm in violation of this section is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.
   b.  A person does not violate this section under any of the following circumstances:
   (1)  A sale or transfer of a firearm to a firearm buyback program sponsored by a law enforcement agency.
   (2)  A transfer of a firearm to another person during an act of justified self-defense or justified defense of another person, provided that the possession after the transfer lasts no longer than is immediately necessary to resolve the emergency.
   3.  A licensed firearms dealer may charge and collect fees for obtaining criminal history record information checks on behalf of sellers or transferors.
   4.  The department of public safety shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
   5.  For purposes of this section, “licensed firearms dealer” means the same as defined in section 724.29A.
    Sec. 2.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to the sale or transfer of firearms on or after July 1, 2019.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the sale or transfer of firearms, provides penalties, and includes applicability provisions.
   Unless a sale or transfer of a firearm without the performance of a criminal history background check is otherwise authorized by Code chapter 724 (weapons) or federal law, the bill prohibits a person from selling or transferring a firearm to another person without receiving verification from a federally licensed firearms dealer that information on the prospective purchaser or transferee has been submitted to the department of public safety for a criminal history background check and that a determination has been received by the department of public safety that the prospective purchaser or transferee is not prohibited under either state or federal law from possessing a firearm. A criminal history background check under the bill includes an inquiry of the national instant criminal background check system maintained by the federal bureau of investigation.
   The bill provides that a person who sells or transfers a firearm in violation of this Code section is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $625 but not more than $6,250.
   The bill does not apply to the following: a sale or transfer of a firearm to a firearm buyback program sponsored by a law enforcement agency; or to a transfer to another person during an act of justified self-defense or justified defense of another person, provided that the possession after the transfer lasts no longer than is immediately necessary to resolve the emergency.
   The bill provides that a federally licensed firearms dealer may charge and collect fees for obtaining criminal history record information checks on behalf of sellers and transferors and the department of public safety shall adopt rules pursuant to Code chapter 17A as necessary to carry out the provisions of the bill.
   The bill applies to the sale or transfer of firearms on or after July 1, 2019.