House File 73 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 73 BY WINDSCHITL A BILL FOR An Act relating to optional permits to acquire firearms and to 1 permits to carry weapons and providing a penalty. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj
H.F. 73 Section 1. Section 724.11A, Code 2013, is amended to read 1 as follows: 2 724.11A Recognition. 3 A valid permit or license issued by another state to any 4 nonresident of this state shall be considered to be a valid 5 permit or license to carry weapons issued pursuant to this 6 chapter , except that such permit or license shall not be 7 considered to be a substitute for an annual a permit to acquire 8 pistols or revolvers firearms issued pursuant to section 9 724.15 . 10 Sec. 2. Section 724.15, Code 2013, is amended by striking 11 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 12 724.15 Optional permit to acquire firearms. 13 1. It is the purpose of this section to provide for a permit 14 to acquire firearms that will satisfy the requirements of 18 15 U.S.C. § 922(t)(3) to allow the holder of such a permit to 16 acquire firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. A 17 person is not required to obtain a permit to acquire firearms 18 under this section if the person possesses a valid permit to 19 carry weapons issued in accordance with this chapter or if the 20 person has otherwise completed a satisfactory national instant 21 criminal background check required pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 22 922(t). 23 2. Any person who desires to acquire ownership of firearms 24 may obtain a permit to acquire firearms pursuant to this 25 section. However, a permit to acquire firearms shall not be 26 issued to a person who is subject to any of the following: 27 a. Is under twenty-one years of age. 28 b. Is prohibited by section 724.26 or federal law from 29 possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm. 30 c. Is prohibited by court order from possessing, shipping, 31 transporting, or receiving a firearm. 32 3. A permit to acquire firearms shall authorize the permit 33 holder to acquire one or more firearms, without limitation, 34 from a federally licensed firearms dealer during the period the 35 -1- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 1/ 8
H.F. 73 permit remains valid pursuant to section 724.20. 1 4. An issuing officer who finds that a person issued 2 a permit to acquire firearms under this chapter has been 3 arrested for a disqualifying offense or who is the subject of 4 proceedings that could lead to the person’s ineligibility for 5 such permit may immediately suspend such permit. An issuing 6 officer proceeding under this subsection shall immediately 7 notify the permit holder of the suspension by personal service 8 or certified mail on a form prescribed and published by the 9 commissioner of public safety and the suspension shall become 10 effective upon the permit holder’s receipt of such notice. If 11 the suspension is based on an arrest or a proceeding that does 12 not result in a disqualifying conviction or finding against 13 the permit holder, the issuing officer shall immediately 14 reinstate the permit upon receipt of proof of the matter’s 15 final disposition. If the arrest leads to a disqualifying 16 conviction or the proceedings to a disqualifying finding, the 17 issuing officer shall revoke the permit. The issuing officer 18 may also revoke the permit of a person whom the issuing officer 19 later finds was not qualified for such a permit at the time of 20 issuance or who the officer finds provided materially false 21 information on the permit application. A person aggrieved by a 22 suspension or revocation under this subsection may seek review 23 of the decision pursuant to section 724.21A. 24 Sec. 3. Section 724.16, Code 2013, is amended by striking 25 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 26 724.16 Prohibited transfers of firearms. 27 A person who transfers ownership of a firearm to a person 28 that the transferor knows is prohibited by section 724.26 from 29 possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm 30 commits a class “D” felony. 31 Sec. 4. Section 724.17, Code 2013, is amended to read as 32 follows: 33 724.17 Application for annual permit to acquire firearms —— 34 criminal history check required. 35 -2- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 2/ 8
H.F. 73 1. The application for an annual a permit to acquire pistols 1 or revolvers firearms may be made to the sheriff of the county 2 of the applicant’s residence and shall be on a form prescribed 3 and published by the commissioner of public safety. 4 a. The If an applicant is a United States citizen, the 5 application shall require only the full name of the applicant, 6 the driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card 7 number of the applicant, the residence of the applicant, and 8 the date and place of birth of the applicant. 9 b. If the applicant is not a United States citizen, the 10 application shall, in addition to the information specified in 11 paragraph “a” , require the applicant’s country of citizenship, 12 any alien or admission number issued by the United States 13 immigration and customs enforcement or any successor agency, 14 and, if applicable, the basis for any exception claimed 15 pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(y). 16 c. The applicant shall also display an identification card 17 that bears a distinguishing number assigned to the cardholder, 18 the full name, date of birth, sex, residence address, and brief 19 description and colored photograph of the cardholder, or other 20 identification as specified by rule of the department of public 21 safety. 22 2. The sheriff shall conduct a criminal history check 23 concerning each applicant by obtaining criminal history data 24 from the department of public safety which shall include an 25 inquiry of the national instant criminal background system 26 maintained by the federal bureau of investigation or any 27 successor agency and an immigration alien query through a 28 database maintained by the United States immigration and 29 customs enforcement or any successor agency if the applicant 30 is not a United States citizen . 31 3. A person who makes what the person knows to be a false 32 statement of material fact on an application submitted under 33 this section or who submits what the person knows to be any 34 materially falsified or forged documentation in connection with 35 -3- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 3/ 8
H.F. 73 such an application commits a class “D” felony. 1 Sec. 5. Section 724.18, Code 2013, is amended by striking 2 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 3 724.18 Procedure for making application for permit to acquire 4 firearms. 5 1. A person may personally request the sheriff to mail an 6 application for a permit to acquire firearms, and the sheriff 7 shall immediately forward such application to the person. The 8 person shall personally deliver such a completed application 9 to the sheriff who, upon successful completion of the criminal 10 history check and immigration alien query, if applicable, 11 required pursuant to section 724.17, shall note the period of 12 validity on the application and immediately issue the permit 13 to the applicant. 14 2. For the purposes of this section, the date of application 15 shall be the date on which the sheriff received the completed 16 application. 17 Sec. 6. Section 724.19, Code 2013, is amended to read as 18 follows: 19 724.19 Issuance of annual permit to acquire firearms . 20 The annual permit to acquire pistols or revolvers firearms 21 shall be issued to the applicant immediately upon completion 22 of the application unless the applicant is disqualified under 23 the provisions of section 724.15 and . The permit shall be on a 24 form have a uniform appearance, size, and content prescribed 25 and published by the commissioner of public safety. The permit 26 shall contain the name of the permittee, the residence of the 27 permittee, and the effective date of the permit , but shall not 28 contain the permittee’s social security number . The permit may 29 be laminated by the issuing officer or the permit holder. Such 30 a permit shall not be issued for a particular weapon and shall 31 not contain information about a particular weapon including the 32 make, model, or serial number of the weapon, or any ammunition 33 used in that weapon. 34 Sec. 7. Section 724.20, Code 2013, is amended to read as 35 -4- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 4/ 8
H.F. 73 follows: 1 724.20 Validity of annual permit to acquire pistols or 2 revolvers firearms . 3 The permit shall be valid throughout the state and shall be 4 valid three days after the date of application and shall be 5 invalid one year five years after the date of application. 6 Sec. 8. Section 724.21, Code 2013, is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 724.21 Giving false information when acquiring weapon 9 firearms . 10 A person who gives a false name or presents false 11 identification, or otherwise knowingly gives false material 12 information to one from whom the person seeks to acquire a 13 pistol or revolver firearm , commits a class “D” felony. 14 Sec. 9. Section 724.21A, subsections 1, 5, and 7, Code 2013, 15 are amended to read as follows: 16 1. In any case where the sheriff or the commissioner of 17 public safety denies an application for or suspends or revokes 18 a permit to carry weapons or an annual a permit to acquire 19 pistols or revolvers firearms , the sheriff or commissioner 20 shall provide a written statement of the reasons for the 21 denial, suspension, or revocation and the applicant or permit 22 holder shall have the right to appeal the denial, suspension, 23 or revocation to an administrative law judge in the department 24 of inspections and appeals within thirty days of receiving 25 written notice of the denial, suspension, or revocation. 26 5. The standard of review under this section shall be 27 clear and convincing evidence that the issuing officer’s 28 written statement of the reasons for the denial, suspension, or 29 revocation constituted probable cause to deny an application 30 or to suspend or revoke a permit clear and convincing evidence 31 that, as of the date of the adverse decision, the applicant 32 or permit holder, under the applicable standards set forth in 33 this chapter, was ineligible for a permit to carry weapons or a 34 permit to acquire firearms, is subject to prosecution or any 35 -5- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 5/ 8
H.F. 73 other proceeding that could result in the applicant or permit 1 holder becoming ineligible for a permit to carry weapons or 2 a permit to acquire firearms, or provided materially false 3 information or documentation in conjunction with either permit 4 application . 5 7. In any case where the issuing officer denies an 6 application for, or suspends or revokes a permit to carry 7 weapons or an annual a permit to acquire pistols or revolvers 8 firearms solely because of an adverse determination by 9 the national instant criminal background check system, the 10 applicant or permit holder shall not seek relief under this 11 section but may pursue relief of the national instant criminal 12 background check system determination pursuant to Pub. L. No. 13 103-159, sections 103(f) and (g) and 104 and 28 C.F.R. § 25.10, 14 or other applicable law. The outcome of such proceedings shall 15 be binding on the issuing officer. 16 Sec. 10. Section 724.27, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 17 1, Code 2013, is amended to read as follows: 18 The provisions of section 724.8 , section 724.15, subsection 19 1 2 , and section 724.26 shall not apply to a person who is 20 eligible to have the person’s civil rights regarding firearms 21 restored under section 914.7 if any of the following occur: 22 EXPLANATION 23 This bill relates to optional permits to acquire firearms 24 and to permits to carry weapons and provides a penalty. 25 PERMITS TO ACQUIRE FIREARMS. Current law provides that 26 any person who intends to purchase a pistol or revolver is 27 required to first obtain an annual permit to acquire pistols 28 or revolvers unless the person is otherwise exempt from 29 obtaining such a permit. The bill eliminates this type of 30 mandatory permit and provides instead for an optional permit 31 to acquire firearms in order to satisfy the requirements of 32 federal law allowing the holder of such a permit to acquire 33 firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer. A person 34 is not required to obtain a permit to acquire firearms to 35 -6- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 6/ 8
H.F. 73 purchase firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer if 1 the person possesses a valid permit to carry weapons issued 2 in accordance with Iowa law or if the person has otherwise 3 completed a satisfactory national instant criminal background 4 check required by federal law to purchase firearms from a 5 federally licensed firearms dealer. 6 Under the bill, a person who applies for a permit to acquire 7 firearms is not eligible for the permit if the person is less 8 than 21 years of age or is prohibited by Code section 724.26 9 (felon in possession of a firearm), federal law, or court 10 order from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving a 11 firearm. 12 The bill provides that an application for a permit to 13 acquire firearms is made to the sheriff of the county of the 14 applicant’s residence. An applicant who is a United States 15 citizen is only required to provide certain basic identifying 16 documentation. An applicant who is not a United States 17 citizen must provide additional information and is subject to 18 an immigration alien query through a database maintained by 19 the United States immigration and customs enforcement. All 20 applicants are subject to a criminal history background check. 21 The permit to acquire firearms is required to be issued to 22 the applicant immediately upon completion of the application 23 unless the applicant is disqualified. The permit shall have a 24 uniform appearance, size, and content, but shall not contain 25 the permittee’s social security number. The permit may be 26 laminated by the issuing officer or the permit holder. Such 27 permits shall not be issued for a particular weapon and shall 28 not contain information about a particular weapon including the 29 make, model, or serial number of the weapon, or any ammunition 30 used in that weapon. 31 The bill provides that the permit to acquire firearms may be 32 suspended or revoked by the issuing officer and the aggrieved 33 permit holder may file an appeal with an administrative law 34 judge. 35 -7- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 7/ 8
H.F. 73 The bill provides that a person who makes what the 1 person knows to be a false statement of material fact on an 2 application for a permit to acquire firearms or who submits 3 what the person knows to be any materially falsified or forged 4 documentation in connection with such an application commits 5 a class “D” felony. A person who transfers ownership of a 6 firearm to a person that the transferor knows is prohibited 7 under Code section 724.26 (felon in possession of a firearm) 8 from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm 9 commits a class “D” felony. 10 The bill makes a conforming change to Code section 724.27 11 relating to the restoration of firearms rights. 12 DENIAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION——PERMIT TO CARRY WEAPONS 13 AND PERMIT TO ACQUIRE FIREARMS. The bill provides that, in a 14 case where an issuing officer denies, suspends, or revokes a 15 permit to carry weapons or a permit to acquire firearms, the 16 clear and convincing evidence standard of review must show 17 that, as of the date of the adverse decision, the applicant or 18 permit holder was ineligible for a permit to carry weapons or a 19 permit to acquire firearms, is subject to prosecution or any 20 other proceeding that could result in the applicant or permit 21 holder becoming ineligible for a permit to carry weapons or 22 a permit to acquire firearms, or provided materially false 23 information or documentation in conjunction with either permit 24 application. 25 -8- LSB 1503YH (3) 85 rh/rj 8/ 8