Florida Senate - 2024 SB 518



By Senator Polsky





30-00692-24 2024518__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to weapons and firearms; providing a
3 short title; creating s. 790.0653, F.S.; providing
4 definitions; requiring background checks on all
5 persons involved in a firearm sale or other transfer;
6 requiring firearm sales or other transfers between
7 unlicensed persons to be conducted through, and
8 processed by, a licensed dealer; specifying
9 requirements for firearm sales or transfers through
10 licensed dealers; authorizing a fee; providing
11 exceptions; providing criminal penalties; requiring
12 the investigating law enforcement agency to report
13 certain violations to the Attorney General; providing
14 applicability; amending s. 790.174, F.S.; revising
15 requirements for the safe storage of firearms;
16 revising criminal penalties for violations; providing
17 exceptions; providing and revising definitions;
18 amending s. 790.175, F.S.; prohibiting licensed
19 dealers from selling firearms without trigger locks or
20 gun cases; providing exceptions; revising required
21 written warnings to be delivered by licensed dealers
22 to purchasers or transferees upon retail commercial
23 sales or retail transfers of firearms; requiring
24 certain written materials to be delivered to gun
25 purchasers; providing applicability; requiring
26 licensed dealers and purchasers to sign a specified
27 statement; providing record retention requirements for
28 licensed dealers; providing construction; providing
29 criminal penalties; defining the term “licensed
30 dealer”; creating s. 790.223, F.S.; providing
31 definitions; prohibiting certain actions leading to
32 the manufacture or assembly, sale, or transfer of a
33 firearm not imprinted with a valid serial number;
34 prohibiting specified acts involving unfinished
35 firearm frames or receivers; prohibiting specified
36 acts involving undetectable firearms; prohibiting
37 certain activities involving a three-dimensional
38 printer or computer numerical control milling machine
39 that has the primary or intended function of
40 manufacturing or assembling firearms or related items;
41 providing an exception; providing criminal penalties;
42 providing applicability; providing construction;
43 defining the term “licensed dealer”; providing an
44 effective date.
45
46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Responsible Gun
49 Ownership Act.”
50 Section 2. Section 790.0653, Florida Statutes, is created
51 to read:
52 790.0653 Transfers of firearms; transfer through licensed
53 dealer required.—
54 (1) As used in this section, the term:
55 (a) “Background check” means the process described in 18
56 U.S.C. s. 922(t) and s. 790.065 of using the National Instant
57 Criminal Background Check System and other systems to determine
58 that a person is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a
59 firearm under federal or state law.
60 (b) “Family member” means a spouse or any of the following
61 relations, whether by consanguinity, adoption, or step-relation:
62 1. Parent;
63 2. Child;
64 3. Sibling;
65 4. Grandparent; or
66 5. Grandchild.
67 (c) “Firearm” has the same meaning as in s. 790.001 and
68 includes any handgun, rifle, or shotgun or any completed or
69 unfinished frame or receiver.
70 (d) “Licensed dealer” means a person who holds a federal
71 firearms license issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C. s. 923(a).
72 (e) “Person” means any individual, corporation, trust,
73 company, firm, partnership, association, club, organization,
74 society, joint stock company, or other legal entity.
75 (f) “Purchaser or other transferee” means an unlicensed
76 person who wishes or intends to receive a firearm from another
77 unlicensed person.
78 (g) “Sale” means the sale, delivery, or passing of
79 ownership or control of a firearm for a fee or other
80 consideration.
81 (h) “Seller or other transferor” means an unlicensed person
82 who wishes or intends to transfer a firearm to another
83 unlicensed person.
84 (i) “Transfer” means to furnish, give, lend, deliver, or
85 otherwise provide, with or without consideration.
86 (j) “Unfinished frame or receiver” means a forging,
87 casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar item
88 that is:
89 1. Designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, or
90 otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver; or
91 2. Marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as
92 the frame or receiver of a functional firearm, rifle, or shotgun
93 once completed, assembled, or otherwise converted.
94
95 However, the term does not include a component designed and
96 intended for use in an antique weapon.
97 (k) “Unlicensed person” means a person who is not a
98 licensed dealer.
99 (2) All persons involved in a firearm sale or other
100 transfer, in whole or in part, shall be subject to a background
101 check unless specifically exempted by state or federal law. If
102 the person involved in the firearm sale or other transfer, in
103 whole or in part, is a corporation or any entity other than an
104 individual person, the principal individual or individuals
105 involved in such sale or other transfer on behalf of the
106 corporation or other entity shall be subject to background
107 checks unless specifically exempted by federal law. A person may
108 not sell or otherwise transfer a firearm unless:
109 (a) The person is a licensed dealer;
110 (b) The purchaser or other transferee is a licensed dealer;
111 or
112 (c) The requirements of subsection (3) are met.
113 (3) If neither party to a prospective firearm sale or other
114 transfer is a licensed dealer, the parties to the transaction
115 shall complete the sale or other transfer through a licensed
116 dealer as follows:
117 (a) The seller or other transferor and the purchaser or
118 other transferee shall appear jointly with the firearm at a
119 licensed dealer and request that the licensed dealer conduct a
120 background check on the purchaser or other transferee.
121 (b) A licensed dealer who agrees to conduct a background
122 check pursuant to this section shall process the sale or other
123 transfer as if he or she were transferring the firearm from the
124 licensed dealer’s own inventory to the purchaser or other
125 transferee, complying with all requirements of federal and state
126 law which would apply if he or she were the seller or other
127 transferor of the firearm, including all background checks and
128 recordkeeping requirements.
129 (c) The seller or other transferor and the purchaser or
130 other transferee shall each complete, sign, and submit all state
131 and federal forms necessary to process the background check and
132 otherwise complete the sale or other transfer pursuant to this
133 section, and the licensed dealer shall indicate on the forms
134 that the sale or other transfer is between unlicensed persons.
135 (d) This section does not prevent the seller or other
136 transferor from removing the firearm from the premises of the
137 licensed dealer while the background check is being conducted or
138 during the applicable waiting period, provided that the seller
139 or other transferor returns to the business premises of the
140 licensed dealer and delivers the firearm to the licensed dealer
141 before completion of the sale or other transfer.
142 (e) A licensed dealer or a seller or other transferor may
143 not sell or otherwise transfer a firearm to a purchaser or other
144 transferee if the results of the background check indicate that
145 the purchaser or other transferee is prohibited from possessing
146 or receiving a firearm under federal or state law.
147 (f) A licensed dealer who agrees to conduct a background
148 check pursuant to this section may charge a reasonable fee not
149 to exceed the administrative costs incurred by the licensed
150 dealer for conducting the sale or other transfer of the firearm,
151 plus applicable fees pursuant to federal and state law.
152 (4) Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to the following:
153 (a) A law enforcement officer or a correctional officer, as
154 defined in s. 943.10(1) and (2), respectively, vested with the
155 authority to bear arms, acting within the course and scope of
156 his or her employment or official duties.
157 (b) A United States Marshals Service officer, United States
158 Armed Forces or National Guard member, or federal official
159 vested with the authority to bear arms, acting within the course
160 and scope of his or her employment or official duties.
161 (c) A gunsmith who receives a firearm solely for the
162 purposes of service or repair and who returns the firearm to its
163 lawful owner.
164 (d) A common carrier, warehouseman, or other person engaged
165 in the business of transportation or storage, to the extent that
166 the receipt of any firearm is in the ordinary course of business
167 and not for the personal use of any such person.
168 (e) A person who is not prohibited from possessing or
169 receiving a firearm under state or federal law and who has
170 temporarily been transferred a firearm by its lawful owner:
171 1. Solely for the purpose of the person shooting at
172 targets, if the transfer occurs on the premises of a sport
173 shooting range authorized by the governing body of the
174 jurisdiction in which the range is located, or, if no such
175 authorization is required, operated consistently with local law
176 in such jurisdiction, and the firearm is at all times kept
177 within the premises of the sport shooting range;
178 2. While the person is accompanying the lawful owner of the
179 firearm and using the firearm for lawful hunting purposes, if
180 hunting is legal in all places where the person possesses the
181 firearm and the person holds all licenses and permits required
182 for such hunting;
183 3. While the person is participating in a lawfully
184 organized competition involving the use of a firearm; or
185 4. While the person is in the presence of the seller or
186 other transferor.
187 (f) A family member of the seller or other transferor. This
188 paragraph does not apply if the lawful owner or family member
189 knows or has reasonable cause to believe that federal or state
190 law prohibits the family member from purchasing or possessing a
191 firearm, or the seller or other transferor knows or has
192 reasonable cause to believe that the family member is likely to
193 use the firearm for unlawful purposes.
194 (g) An executor, administrator, trustee, or personal
195 representative of an estate or trust that occurs by operation of
196 law upon the death of the former lawful owner of the firearm.
197 (h) The temporary transfer of a firearm if such transfer is
198 to prevent immediate or imminent death or great bodily harm to
199 one’s self or others, provided that the person to whom the
200 firearm is transferred is not prohibited from possessing a
201 firearm under state or federal law and the temporary transfer
202 lasts no longer than is necessary to prevent the immediate or
203 imminent death or great bodily harm.
204 (i) The sale or other transfer of an antique firearm.
205 (5) A person who violates this section commits a felony of
206 the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s.
207 775.083, or s. 775.084.
208 (6) In addition to any other penalty or remedy, the
209 investigating law enforcement agency shall report any violation
210 of this section committed by a licensed dealer to the Attorney
211 General.
212 (7) This section does not apply to any firearm modified to
213 render it permanently inoperable.
214 Section 3. Section 790.174, Florida Statutes, is amended to
215 read:
216 790.174 Safe storage of firearms required.—
217 (1)(a) A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under
218 his or her control, a loaded firearm, as defined in s. 790.001,
219 and who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely
220 to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of
221 the minor’s parent or the person having charge of the minor, or
222 without the supervision required by law, shall keep the firearm
223 in a securely locked box or container or in a location which a
224 reasonable person would believe to be secure or shall secure it
225 with a trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the
226 firearm on his or her body or within such close proximity
227 thereto that he or she can retrieve and use the firearm it as
228 easily and quickly as if he or she carried it on his or her
229 body.
230 (b) A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under his
231 or her control, a firearm, as defined in s. 790.001, and who
232 knows or reasonably should know that a prohibited user is likely
233 to gain access to the firearm, shall keep the firearm in a
234 securely locked box or container or shall secure it with a
235 trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the firearm on
236 his or her body or within such close proximity thereto that he
237 or she can retrieve and use the firearm as easily and quickly as
238 if he or she carried it on his or her body. For the purposes of
239 this section, the term “prohibited user” means any person who is
240 prohibited by state or federal law from possessing the firearm.
241 (2) Except as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b), It is a
242 misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.
243 775.082 or s. 775.083, if a person who violates subsection (1)
244 commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as
245 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
246 (a) If, as a result of the violation of subsection (1), by
247 failing to store or leave a firearm in the required manner and
248 as a result thereof a prohibited user or a minor gains access to
249 the firearm, without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent
250 or the person having charge of the minor, and possesses or
251 exhibits it, without the supervision required by law:
252 1.(a) In a public place; or
253 2.(b) In a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner in
254 violation of s. 790.10,
255
256 The person who violates subsection (1) commits a misdemeanor of
257 the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s.
258 775.083.
259 (b) This subsection does not apply under any of the
260 following circumstances if the prohibited user or the minor
261 obtains the firearm:
262 1. If the minor obtains the firearm As a result of an
263 unlawful entry by any person.
264 2. While lawfully acting in self-defense or defense of
265 another.
266 3. With the permission of the minor’s parent or guardian
267 and the minor uses or possesses the firearm during the minor’s
268 employment; ranching or farming; or target practice, hunting, or
269 instruction in the safe use of a firearm.
270 (3) As used in this section act, the term:
271 (a) “Locked box or container” means a secure container that
272 is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination
273 lock, or similar locking device.
274 (b) “Locking device” means a trigger lock, cable lock, or
275 similar lock that prevents a firearm from discharging when the
276 locking device is properly engaged so as to render such weapon
277 inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully
278 authorized user.
279 (c) “Minor” means any person under the age of 18 16.
280 Section 4. Section 790.175, Florida Statutes, is amended to
281 read:
282 790.175 Transfer or sale of firearms; required warnings;
283 penalties.—
284 (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a licensed dealer
285 may not sell a firearm in this state unless the sale includes
286 one of the following:
287 (a) A commercially available trigger lock or other device
288 designed to disable the firearm and prevent the discharge of the
289 firearm.
290 (b) A commercially available gun case or storage container
291 that can be secured to prevent unautho