2016 -- H 7390 SUBSTITUTE A

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

     Introduced By: Representatives Lima, Carnevale, Corvese, Chippendale, and Costa

     Date Introduced: January 28, 2016

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 11-47-2, 11-47-11, 11-47-12 and 11-47-18 of the General Laws in

Chapter 11-47 entitled "Weapons" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     11-47-2. Definitions. -- When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases are

construed as follows:

      (1) "Antique firearm" is defined as that term is defined under the provisions of 18 U.S.C.

§ 921.

      (2) "Crime of violence" means and includes any of the following crimes or an attempt to

commit any of them: murder, manslaughter, rape, first or second degree sexual assault, first or

second degree child molestation, kidnapping, first and second degree arson, mayhem, robbery,

burglary, breaking and entering, any felony violation involving the illegal manufacture, sale, or

delivery of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a

controlled substance classified in schedule I or schedule II of § 21-28-2.08, any violation of § 21-

28-4.01.1 or 21-28-4.01.2 or conspiracy to commit any violation of these statutes, assault with a

dangerous weapon, assault or battery involving grave bodily injury, and/or assault with intent to

commit any offense punishable as a felony; upon any conviction of an offense punishable as a

felony offense under § 12-29-5.

      (3) "Firearm" includes any machine gun, pistol, rifle, air rifle, air pistol, "blank gun,"

"BB gun," or other instrument from which steel or metal projectiles are propelled, or which may

readily be converted to expel a projectile, except crossbows, recurve, compound, or longbows,

and except instruments propelling projectiles which are designed or normally used for a primary

purpose other than as a weapon. The frame or receiver of the weapon shall be construed as a

firearm under the provisions of this section.

      (4) "Fugitive from justice" means any person who has fled from any state, territory, the

District of Columbia, or possession of the United States to avoid prosecution for a crime of

violence or to avoid giving testimony in any criminal proceeding.

      (5) "Licensing authorities" means the board of police commissioners of a city or town

where the board has been instituted, the chief of police or superintendent of police of other cities

and towns having a regular organized police force, and, in towns where there is no chief of police

or superintendent of police, it means the town clerk who may issue licenses upon the

recommendation of the town sergeant, and it also means any other person or body duly authorized

by the city or town charter or by state law.

      (6) "Machine gun" means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be

readily restored to shoot automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single

function of the trigger. The term also includes the frame or receiver of the weapon, any

combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun,

and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if the parts are in the

possession or under the control of a person.

      (7) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, firm, association, or corporation.

      (8) "Pistol" includes any pistol or revolver, and any shotgun, rifle, or similar weapon

with overall length less than twenty-six inches (26"), but does not include any pistol or revolver

designed for the use of blank cartridges only.

      (9) "Sawed-off rifle" means any rifle with overall length of less than twenty-six inches

(26") and/or barrel length of less than sixteen inches (16").

      (10) "Sawed-off shotgun" means any shotgun with overall length of less than twenty-six

inches (26") and/or barrel length of less than eighteen inches (18").

      (11) "Sell" includes let or hire, give, lend, and transfer, and "purchase" includes hire,

accept, and borrow, and "purchasing" shall be construed accordingly.

     (12) "Suitable person" means any person who is not prohibited by state law from

possessing a pistol or revolver. A person may be considered unsuitable if the licensing authority

has clear and convincing evidence that the person is a clear and present danger to themself, or to

another person. Any person may be considered unsuitable if they are a bona fide member of a

criminal street gang as defined in §12-19-39.

     11-47-11. License or permit to carry concealed pistol or revolver. -- (a) The licensing

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authorities of any city or town shall, upon application of any person twenty-one (21) years of age

or over having a bona fide residence or place of business within the city or town, or of any person

twenty-one (21) years of age or over having a bona fide residence within the United States and a

license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver concealed upon his or her person issued by the

authorities of any other state or subdivision of the United States, issue a license or permit to the

person to carry concealed upon his or her person a pistol or revolver everywhere within this state

for four (4) years from date of issue, if it appears that the applicant has good reason to fear an

injury to his or her person or property or has any other proper lawful reason for carrying a pistol

or revolver, and that he or she is a suitable person to be so licensed. The license or permit shall be

in triplicate in form to be prescribed by the attorney general and shall bear the fingerprint,

photograph, name, address, and description, and signature of the licensee and the reason given for

desiring a license or permit of the permit holder. In and in no case shall it contain the serial

number of any firearm. The original shall be delivered to the licensee. The licensing authority

shall retain a copy of the permit for its records and send a second copy to the attorney general. All

permits issued or renewed pursuant to this section shall be recorded in the Rhode Island criminal

history database, or its successor system. Any member of the licensing authority, its agents,

servants, and employees shall be immune from suit in any action, civil or criminal, based upon

any official act or decision, performed or made in good faith in issuing a license or permit under

this chapter.

      (b) Notwithstanding any other chapter or section of the general laws of the state of

Rhode Island, the licensing authority of any city or town shall not provide or release to any

individual, firm, association or corporation the name, address, or date of birth of any person who

has held or currently holds a license or permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver. This section

shall not be construed to prohibit the release of any statistical data of a general nature relative to

age, gender and racial or ethnic background nor shall it be construed to prevent the release of

information to parties involved in any prosecution of § 11-47-8 or in response to a lawful

subpoena in any criminal or civil action which the person is a party to that action.

     (c) The licensing authority shall, within fifteen (15) calendar days, return any incomplete

application to the applicant along with a written explanation of why the application is incomplete.

     (d) The licensing authority shall approve or deny a complete application within sixty (60)

calendar days of receiving it. Within seven (7) business days after approval, the license shall be

made available for the applicant to pick up in person or, at the request and expense of the

applicant, be delivered by mail. Any denial shall be in writing and state the evidence upon which

the licensing authority based its decision and the rationale for the denial. Failure by the licensing

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authority to approve or deny within the time allowed shall constitute a denial for the sole purpose

of permitting an appeal by the applicant and for no other purpose, and shall create a presumption

that no evidence exists indicating that the applicant is unsuitable.

     (e) No licensing authority shall effect a denial without first affording the applicant an

administrative hearing pursuant to the provisions of §42-35-9.

     (f) Any applicant may seek judicial review or an adverse administrative decision pursuant

to the provisions of §42-35-15.

     (g)(1) Each licensing authority shall make its application available to any person by:

     (i) Posting it on its website, if it has one; and

     (ii) Making it immediately available to any person who requests it in person; and

     (iii) For any request made other than in person, providing it by mail within seven (7)

days.

     (2) All licensing authorities of a city or town shall use the following application:

     Application for a concealed carry license pursuant to §11-47-11

     Name

     Address

     (Street and number) (City or town) (State)

     Date of birth, place of birth

     Height, Weight, hair color, eye color

     Are you a citizen of the United States?

     If you are not a US citizen, please list your admission number

     ARMY L or RI COMBAT COURSE shooting score:

     Name and certification number of National Rifle Association (NRA) instructor or RI

instructor:

     Signature of instructor

     Have you ever been convicted of a crime of violence?

     Are you a fugitive from justice?

     Have you ever been adjudicated as being addicted to a controlled substance?

     Have you ever been adjudicated as being mentally incompetent?

     Have you been dishonorably discharged from the United States Military?

     To your knowledge, are you prohibited by federal or state law from possessing a firearm?

     For what lawful purpose do you seek to carry a pistol or revolver?

     Applicant's signature

     (See §11-47-23 for penalty for false information provided on this application)

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     AFFIDAVIT: I certify that I have read and am familiar with the provisions of the

Firearms Act of the general laws of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations §§11-

47-1 to 11-47-63, inclusive, and that I am aware of the penalties for violation of the provisions of

the cited sections.

     Signed

     (over)

     County of

     State of Rhode Island (or other jurisdiction)

     Subscribed and sworn before me this (month, date, year)

     Notary Public

     (h) All applicants shall include two (2) forms of identification, such as a driver's license,

state issued non-driver ID card, concealed carry permit issued by any state or political subdivision

of any state, passport, immigration documentation, military ID, student ID, social security card or

a birth certificate. At least one of these must be a government issued photo ID.

     (i) The licensing authority may require any applicant to include an FBI fingerprint

applicant card {FD-258, (Rev 12-10-07)}, or provide fingerprints by livescan, with the

application, except that this shall not be a requirement for a renewal applicant.

     (j) All applicants shall include a copy of the instructor's credentials for the instructor who

certified their firing score on their application.

     (k) Any permit issued pursuant to this section is eligible to be renewed under this section

if it is not expired, or has been expired for less than one year. Any person whose permit has been

expired for one year or more may apply for a new permit under this section.

     (l) No licensing authority shall require any additional forms, standards, information, or

other additional requirements unless specifically requested by, or provided by, the applicant.

     11-47-12. License or permit fee. -- A fee of forty dollars ($40.00) shall be charged and

shall be paid for each license or permit to the licensing authority or the attorney general upon

issuance issuing it. No additional fees or costs of any type shall be charged for any reason, except

that any actual fee charged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to process fingerprints may be

charged to the applicant. Every license or permit shall be valid for four (4) years from the date

when issued unless sooner revoked. The fee charged for issuing of the license or permit shall be

applied for the use and benefit of the city, town, or state of Rhode Island.

     11-47-18. License or permit issued by attorney general on showing of need --

Issuance to retired police officers. -- (a) The attorney general may issue a license or permit to

any person twenty-one (21) years of age or over to carry a pistol or revolver, whether concealed

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or not, upon his or her person upon a proper showing of need, subject to the provisions of §§ 11-

47-12 and 11-47-15; that license or permit may be issued notwithstanding the provisions of § 11-

47-7.

      (b) All state police officers and permanent members of city and town police forces of

this state who have retired in good standing after at least twenty (20) years of service, or retired in

good standing due to a physical disability other than a psychological impairment, may be issued a

license or permit by the attorney general subject to the provisions of §§ 11-47-12 and 11-47-15.

The term "in good standing" means that at the time of retirement, the police officer was not facing

disciplinary action that could have resulted in his or her termination for misconduct or unfitness

for office. Any member of the licensing authority, and its agents, servants, and employees shall

be immune from suit in any action, civil or criminal, based upon any official act or decision,

performed or made in good faith in issuing a license or permit under this chapter.

      (c) Notwithstanding any other chapter or section of the general laws of the state of

Rhode Island, the attorney general shall not provide or release to any individual, firm, association

or corporation the name, address, or date of birth of any person who has held or currently holds a

license or permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver. This section shall not be construed to

prohibit the release of any statistical data of a general nature relative to age, gender and racial or

ethnic background nor shall it be construed to prevent the release of information to parties

involved in any prosecution of § 11-47-8 or in response to a lawful subpoena in any criminal or

civil action which said person is a party to such action.

     (d) An applicant denied a permit pursuant to §11-47-18 may seek judicial review

pursuant to the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42.

     (e) The attorney general shall establish and maintain an emergency permit extension on

the renewal application for a license to carry a concealed weapon.

     (1) The emergency permit extension is only available to renewal applicants who, at the

time of the application, have an unexpired four (4) year attorney general license to carry a

concealed weapon and who must maintain this license for work purposes.

     (2) A complete copy of the permit application shall be delivered to the office of the

attorney general.

     (3) The attorney general shall, within three (3) business days of receipt of the renewal

application copy, if there is no material change in the applicant's renewal application, no material

change in need and no change in applicant's criminal history, automatically approve the

emergency permit extension.

     (4) A fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be charged and shall be paid to the attorney

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general for the emergency permit extension upon the issuance of the emergency permit.

     (5) The emergency permit extension shall be valid for forty-five (45) days from issuance

and shall not be extended.

     (6) Nothing in the emergency permit extension section shall be construed or interpreted

to stay or toll the time periods in the renewal process as outlined herein.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2017.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS

***

     This act would require timely review of any application for a permit to carry a concealed

weapon and would allow judicial review of adverse administrative decisions regarding such

applications. It would also codify applications to the attorney general.

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2017.

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