Present law prohibits the following: (1) The allocation of public funds of this state, or any political subdivision of this state, to the implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any federal law, executive order, rule, or regulation regulating the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, if the expenditure of public funds would result in the violation of another Tennessee statute, Tennessee common law, or the Constitution of Tennessee; (2) The allocation of personnel or property of this state, or any political subdivision of this state, to the implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any federal law, executive order, rule, or regulation regulating the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, if the use of personnel or property would result in the violation of another Tennessee statute, Tennessee common law, or the Constitution of Tennessee; (3) The allocation of personnel or property of this state, or any political subdivision of this state, to the implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any international law or treaty regulating the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, if the use of personnel or property would result in the violation of another Tennessee statute, Tennessee common law, or the Constitution of Tennessee; and (4) The allocation of public funds of this state, or any political subdivision of this state, to the implementation, regulation, or enforcement of any international law or treaty regulating the ownership, use, or possession of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories, if the expenditure of public funds would result in the violation of another Tennessee statute, Tennessee common law, or the Constitution of Tennessee. This bill extends the applicability of the above provisions to laws, rules, regulations, and treaties that regulate the sale of firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories. This bill also clarified, in regard to (2) and (3) above, that the prohibition applies if the "expenditure of public funds" (instead of "use of personnel or property") would result in a violation of statute, common law, or the state constitution. Present law authorizes local governments to regulate by ordinance, resolution, policy, rule or other enactment the enforcement of any state or federal law pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition, or combinations thereof. This bill specifies that the present law provisions described above in (1)-(4), as amended by this bill, are exceptions to this authorization. ON APRIL 27, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 557, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 adds that a violation of the prohibitions against the use of public resources for activities that violate rights related to firearms by a state or local government entity may be reviewed by the office of the attorney general and reporter and the general assembly and may result in the entity's loss of funding from the state for the fiscal year following the violation. This amendment also changes this bill's effective date from July 1, 2021, to upon becoming a law.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 71-5-1002, 71-5-1003, 71-5-1010
Amended with SA0392 -- 04/27/2021: 38-3-115, 39-17-1314(b)(4), 39-17-1314