1 HB272
2 218888-3
3 By Representatives Stringer, Jones (M), McCutcheon, Brown (C),
4 Marques, Oliver, Gaston, Sorrell, Lipscomb, Wilcox, Wheeler,
5 Shedd, Stadthagen, Collins, Treadaway, Estes, Moore (P),
6 Hanes, Smith, Standridge, Robbins, Mooney, Meadows, Whorton,
7 Crawford, Ledbetter, Fincher, Wingo, Holmes, Dismukes, Carns,
8 Isbell, Robertson, Wadsworth, Wood (D), Kiel and Harbison
9 RFD: Public Safety and Homeland Security
10 First Read: 03-FEB-22
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1
2 ENROLLED, An Act,
3 Relating to firearms; to amend Sections 13A-11-7,
4 13A-11-50, 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-74,
5 13A-11-85, and 13A-11-90, Code of Alabama 1975, to delete
6 certain language regarding the carrying of a visible pistol;
7 to revise certain penalties for carrying weapons unlawfully;
8 to delete certain language regarding the carrying of a
9 concealed pistol; to revise certain restrictions on the
10 carrying or possession of firearms at certain locations; to
11 eliminate the requirement for a person to obtain a concealed
12 carry permit to lawfully carry a pistol; to revise the
13 definition of shotgun; to revise language regarding an
14 employee storing a firearm in the employee's vehicle; to
15 require persons to disclose a concealed pistol or firearm to a
16 law enforcement officer under certain conditions; to authorize
17 a law enforcement officer to temporarily take a person's
18 firearm into custody, under certain conditions; to prohibit
19 the knowing touching of a firearm during a law enforcement
20 investigative stop, under certain conditions; to create a
21 program to issue grants to offices of sheriff to replace
22 pistol permit revenue; to make nonsubstantive, technical
23 revisions to update the existing code language to current
24 style; to repeal Sections 13A-11-55 and 13A-11-73, Code of
25 Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying or possession of a
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1 weapon, to repeal certain restrictions on the carrying or
2 possession of a firearm on certain property or in a motor
3 vehicle; to authorize the temporary taking into custody of a
4 firearm by a law enforcement officer, under certain
5 conditions; to provide further for policies of two-year or
6 four-year institutions of higher education regarding firearm
7 possession on grounds of that institution; and in connection
8 therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement
9 of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the
10 meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of
11 1901, as amended by Amendment 890, now appearing as Section
12 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of
13 Alabama of 1901, as amended.
14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
15 Section 1. Sections 13A-11-7, 13A-11-50,
16 13A-11-61.2, 13A-11-62, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-74, 13A-11-85, and
17 13A-11-90, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as
18 follows:
19 "13A-11-7.
20 "(a) A person commits the crime of disorderly
21 conduct if, with intent to cause public inconvenience,
22 annoyance, or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, he
23 or she does any of the following:
24 "(1) Engages in fighting or in violent tumultuous or
25 threatening behavior.
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1 "(2) Makes unreasonable noise.
2 "(3) In a public place uses abusive or obscene
3 language or makes an obscene gesture.
4 "(4) Without lawful authority, disturbs any lawful
5 assembly or meeting of persons.
6 "(5) Obstructs vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or a
7 transportation facility.
8 "(6) Congregates with other person in a public place
9 and refuses to comply with a lawful order of law enforcement
10 to disperse.
11 "(b) Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor.
12 "(c) It shall be a rebuttable presumption that the
13 The mere carrying of a visible pistol, holstered or otherwise
14 secured on or about one's person, without brandishing the
15 weapon, in a public place, in and of itself, is not a
16 violation of this section. For purposes of this subsection,
17 "brandishing" shall mean the waving, flourishing, displaying,
18 or holding of an item in a manner that is threatening or would
19 appear threatening to a reasonable person, with or without
20 explicit verbal threat, or in a wanton or reckless manner.
21 "(d) Nothing in Act 2013-283 shall be construed to
22 prohibit law enforcement personnel who have reasonable
23 suspicion from acting to prevent a breach of the peace or from
24 taking action to preserve public safety.
25 "13A-11-50.
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1 "Except as otherwise provided in this Code, a A
2 person who, in violation of this article, carries concealed
3 about his or her person a bowie knife or knife or instrument
4 of like kind or description or in a vehicle a pistol or
5 firearm of any other kind or an air gun shall, on conviction,
6 be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00, and may
7 also be imprisoned in the county jail or sentenced to hard
8 labor for the county for not more than six months guilty of a
9 Class B misdemeanor.
10 "13A-11-61.2.
11 "(a) In addition to any other place limited or
12 prohibited by state or federal law, a person, including a
13 person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or
14 recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not knowingly possess
15 or carry a firearm in any of the following places without the
16 express permission of a person or entity with authority over
17 the premises:
18 "(1) Inside the building of a police, sheriff, or
19 highway patrol station.
20 "(2) Inside or on the premises of a prison, jail,
21 halfway house, community corrections facility, or other
22 detention facility for those who have been charged with or
23 convicted of a criminal or juvenile offense.
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1 "(3) Inside a facility which that provides inpatient
2 or custodial care of those with psychiatric, mental, or
3 emotional disorders.
4 "(4)a. Inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a
5 building in which a district attorney's office is located, or
6 a building in which a county commission or city council is
7 currently having a regularly scheduled or specially called
8 meeting or the primary office of any elected official.
9 "b. For purposes of this subdivision, "courthouse
10 annex" means either of the following:
11 "1. A building constructed, purchased, or repurposed
12 as part of a courthouse complex, judicial complex, or probate
13 court, for so long as the building is actively and regularly
14 used for that purpose.
15 "2. A building or part of a building that, by order
16 of any judge or probate judge, is having regularly scheduled
17 or specially called judicial proceedings. A building or part
18 of a building that is a courthouse annex pursuant to this
19 subparagraph shall be a courthouse annex only for the duration
20 of the judicial proceedings and any other related activities
21 that the judge orders necessary.
22 "(5) Inside any facility hosting an athletic event
23 not related to or involving firearms which is sponsored by a
24 private or public elementary or secondary school or any
25 private or public institution of postsecondary education,
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1 unless the person has a permit issued under Section
2 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
3 "(6) Inside any facility hosting a professional
4 athletic event not related to or involving firearms, unless
5 the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1)
6 or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
7 "(b)(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
8 (a), and in addition to any other place where possession of a
9 firearm or a pistol is prohibited by federal or state law or
10 may be prohibited pursuant to federal or state law, including,
11 but not limited to, Section 13A-11-52, a person, including a
12 person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or
13 recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not, without the
14 express permission of a person or entity with authority over
15 the premises, may not knowingly possess or carry a firearm
16 inside any building or facility to which access of
17 unauthorized persons and prohibited articles is limited during
18 normal hours of operation by the continuous posting of guards
19 and the use of other security features, including, but not
20 limited to, magnetometers, key cards, biometric screening
21 devices, or turnstiles or other physical barriers that prevent
22 all persons entering the facility from bringing prohibited
23 items into the facility.
24 "(2) It is not a violation of subsection (a) or (b)
25 to knowingly possess or carry a firearm at a location
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1 described in subsection (a) or (b) if the location is also a
2 sheriff's office that issues pistol permits and the pistol
3 remains inside of a locked vehicle at all times while the
4 person is on the premises.
5 "(3) Nothing in this subsection otherwise restricts
6 the possession, transportation, or storage of a lawfully
7 possessed firearm or ammunition in an employee's privately
8 owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or
9 private parking area provided the employee complies with the
10 requirements of Section 13A-11-90.
11 "(c) The person or entity with authority over the
12 premises set forth in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of
13 subsection (a) and subsection (b) shall place a notice at the
14 public entrances of such premises or buildings alerting those
15 entering that firearms are prohibited.
16 "(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (5) and (6)
17 of subsection (a), any Any firearm on the premises of any
18 facility set forth in subdivision (1) of subsection (a), or
19 subdivisions (4) to (6) inclusive, of subsection (a), or
20 subsection (b) must shall be kept from ordinary observation
21 and locked within a compartment or in the interior of the
22 person's motor vehicle or in a compartment or container
23 securely affixed to the motor vehicle.
24 "(e) A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (d) is a
25 Class C misdemeanor.
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1 "(f) This section shall not prohibit any person from
2 possessing a firearm within the person's residence or during
3 ingress or egress thereto.
4 "(g) Prohibitions regarding the carrying of a
5 firearm under this section shall not apply to law enforcement
6 officers engaged in the lawful execution of their official
7 duties or a qualified retired law enforcement officer. For
8 purposes of this section, qualified retired law enforcement
9 officer shall mean a retired officer who meets all of the
10 following requirements:
11 "(1) Was separated from service in good standing
12 from service with a public agency as a law enforcement
13 officer.
14 "(2) Before separation, was authorized by law to
15 engage in or supervise the prevention, detection,
16 investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any
17 person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of
18 arrest.
19 "(3) Before separation, served as a law enforcement
20 officer for an aggregate of 10 years or more and separated
21 from service with such agency, after completing any applicable
22 probationary period of such service, due to a
23 service-connected disability, as determined by the agency.
24 "(4) During the most recent 12-month period, has
25 met, at the expense of the individual, the standards for
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1 qualification in firearms training for active law enforcement
2 officers, as determined by the former agency of the
3 individual, the state in which the individual resides or, if
4 the state has not established such standards, either a law
5 enforcement agency within the state in which the individual
6 resides or the standards used by a certified firearms
7 instructor that is qualified to conduct a firearms
8 qualification test for active duty officers within that state.
9 "(5) Has not been officially found by a qualified
10 medical professional employed by the agency to be unqualified
11 for reasons relating to mental health, and as a result, will
12 not be issued the photographic identification described in
13 subdivision (8) and has not entered into an agreement with the
14 agency from which the individual is separating from service in
15 which that individual acknowledges he or she is not qualified
16 under this section for reasons relating to mental health and
17 for those reasons will not receive or accept the photographic
18 identification as described in subsection subdivision (8).
19 "(6) Is not under the influence of alcohol or
20 another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance.
21 "(7) Is not prohibited by state or federal law from
22 receiving a firearm.
23 "(8) Is carrying any of the following identification
24 documents:
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1 "a. A photographic identification issued by the
2 agency from which the individual separated from service as a
3 law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having
4 been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer
5 and indicates that the individual has, not less recently than
6 one year before the date the individual is carrying the
7 concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the
8 agency to meet the active duty standards for qualification in
9 firearms training as established by the agency to carry a
10 firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
11 "b. A photographic identification issued by the
12 agency from which the individual separated from service as a
13 law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having
14 been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer,
15 and a certification issued by the state in which the
16 individual resides or by a certified firearms instructor who
17 is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for
18 active duty officers within that state that indicates that the
19 individual, not less than one year before the date the
20 individual is carrying the concealed firearm, has been tested
21 or otherwise found by the state or a certified firearms
22 instructor who is qualified to conduct a firearms
23 qualification test for active duty officers within that state
24 to have met either of the following:
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1 "1. The active duty standards for qualification in
2 firearms training, as established by the state, to carry a
3 firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
4 "2. If the state has not established such standards,
5 standards set by any law enforcement agency within that state
6 to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.
7 "(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to
8 authorize the carrying or possession of a firearm where
9 prohibited by federal law.
10 "13A-11-62.
11 "For purposes of this division, the following terms
12 shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
13 indicates otherwise:
14 "(1) FIREARM. Definition is same as provided in As
15 defined under Section 13A-8-1(4).
16 "(2) RIFLE. Any weapon designed or redesigned, made
17 or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and
18 designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of
19 the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a
20 single projectile through a rifled bore for each pull of the
21 trigger.
22 "(3) (5) SHOTGUN. A weapon designed or redesigned,
23 made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and
24 designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of
25 the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a
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1 smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single
2 projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
3 "(4)(3) SHORT-BARRELED RIFLE. A rifle having one or
4 more barrels less than 16 inches in length and any weapon made
5 from a rifle (whether by alteration, modification, or
6 otherwise) if such weapon, as modified, has an overall length
7 of less than 26 inches.
8 "(5) (4) SHORT-BARRELED SHOTGUN. A shotgun having
9 one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length and any
10 weapon made from a shotgun (whether by alteration,
11 modification,