Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
 State of Arkansas
 93rd General Assembly                         A Bill
 Regular Session, 2021                                                             HOUSE BILL 1486
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 By: Representative Gonzales
 By: Senator A. Clark
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                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT CONCERNING THE POSSESSION OR STORAGE OF A
                PERSON'S FIREARM WHEN A PERSON LEAVES HIS OR HER
                FIREARM INSIDE OF HIS OR HER CAR IN HIS OR HER
                EMPLOYER'S PARKING LOT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                                Subtitle
                         CONCERNING THE POSSESSION OR STORAGE OF A
                         PERSON'S FIREARM WHEN A PERSON LEAVES HIS
                         OR HER FIREARM INSIDE OF HIS OR HER CAR
                         IN HIS OR HER EMPLOYER'S PARKING LOT.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.       Arkansas Code  5-73-306(18), concerning prohibited places
 where a licensee may not carry a concealed handgun, is amended to read as
 follows:
                (18)(A)(i)      Any place at the discretion of the person or entity
 exercising control over the physical location of the place by placing at each
 entrance to the place a written notice clearly readable at a distance of not
 less than ten feet (10') that carrying a handgun is prohibited.
                                (ii)(a)       If the place does not have a roadway
 entrance, there shall be a written notice placed anywhere upon the premises
 of the place.
                                        (b)    In addition to the requirement of
 subdivision (18)(A)(ii)(a)           of this section, there shall be at least one (1)
 written notice posted within every three (3) acres of a place with no roadway
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 entrance.
                               (iii)    A written notice as described in subdivision
 (18)(A)(i) of this section is not required for a private home.
                               (iv)    Any licensee entering a private home shall
 notify the occupant that the licensee is carrying a concealed handgun.
                      (B)   Subdivision (18)(A) of this section does not apply if
 the place is:
                               (i)     A public university, public college, or
 community college, as defined in  5-73-322, and the licensee is carrying a
 concealed handgun as provided under  5-73-322;
                               (ii)    A publicly owned and maintained parking lot if
 the licensee is carrying a concealed handgun in his or her motor vehicle or
 has left the concealed handgun in his or her locked and unattended motor
 vehicle; or
                               (iii)    A parking lot of a private employer and the
 licensee person is carrying a concealed handgun as provided under  5-73-326
  11-5-117.
                      (C)   The person or entity exercising control over the
 physical location of a place that does not use his, her, or its authority
 under this subdivision (18) to prohibit a person from possessing a concealed
 handgun is immune from a claim for monetary damages arising from or related
 to the decision not to place at each entrance to the place a written notice
 under this subdivision (18);
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      SECTION 2.      Arkansas Code  5-73-326 is repealed.
      5-73-326. Licensee rights  Private employer parking lot.
      (a)    A private employer shall not prohibit an employee who is a
 licensee from transporting or storing a legally owned handgun in the
 employee's private motor vehicle in the private employer's parking lot when:
               (1)   The handgun:
                      (A)   Is lawfully possessed;
                      (B)   Is stored out of sight inside a locked private motor
 vehicle in the private employer's parking lot; and
                      (C)(i)     Is stored inside a locked personal handgun storage
 container that is designed for the safe storage of a handgun.
                               (ii)    An employee is not required to store the
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 handgun in the personal handgun storage container as required in subdivision
 (a)(1)(C)(i) of this section until he or she is exiting his or her private
 motor vehicle; and
            (2)   The employee has in his or her possession the key to the
 personal handgun storage container as required by subdivision (a)(1)(C)(i) of
 this section.
      (b)   A private employer shall not prohibit or attempt to prevent an
 employee who is a licensee from entering the parking lot of the private
 employer's place of business because the employee's private motor vehicle
 contains a handgun if:
            (1)   The handgun is kept for lawful purposes;
            (2)   The handgun is concealed within the employee's private motor
 vehicle; and
            (3)   The employee stores the handgun in his or her motor vehicle
 in accordance with subdivisions (a)(1)(A)-(C) of this section.
      (c)   An employer has the right to:
            (1)   Prohibit a person who is not an employee from storing a
 handgun in the employee's motor vehicle in the private employer's parking
 lot; and
            (2)   Prohibit a licensee's entry onto the private employer's
 place of business or parking lot because the person's private motor vehicle
 contains a handgun in the following circumstances:
                   (A)    The parking lot is a prohibited place specifically
 listed in  5-73-306;
                   (B)    The parking lot is on the grounds of an owner-occupied
 single-family detached residence or a tenant-occupied single-family detached
 residence and the single-family detached residence or tenant-occupied single-
 family detached residence is being used as a residence;
                   (C)    The private employer reasonably believes that the
 employee is in illegal possession of the handgun;
                   (D)    The employee is operating a private employer-owned
 motor vehicle during and in the course of the employee's duties on behalf of
 the private employer, except when the employee is required to transport or
 store a firearm as part of the employee's duties;
                   (E)    The private motor vehicle is not permitted in the
 parking lot for reasons unrelated to the employee's transportation, storage,
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 or possession of a handgun;
                      (F)   The employee is the subject of an active or pending
 employment disciplinary proceeding; or
                      (G)   The employee, at any time after being issued a license
 to carry a concealed handgun, has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or
 not guilty in a legal proceeding by reason of mental disease or defect.
        (d)   This section does not prevent a private employer from prohibiting
 a person who is not licensed or who fails to transport or store the handgun
 in accordance with subdivisions (a)(1)(A)-(C) of this section from
 transporting or storing a handgun in the parking lot or from entering onto
 the private employer's place of business or the private employer's parking
 lot.
        (e)   A former employee who possesses a handgun in his or her private
 motor vehicle under this section is not criminally liable for possessing the
 handgun in his or her private motor vehicle in his or her former private
 employer's parking lot while the former employee is physically leaving the
 private employer's parking lot immediately following his or her termination
 or other reason for ceasing employment with the former private employer.
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        SECTION 3.    Arkansas Code Title 11, Chapter 5, Subchapter 1, is amended
 to add an additional section to read as follows:
        11-5-117.    Possession of firearm in private employer parking lot.
        (a)   A private employer shall not prohibit an employee from
 transporting or storing a legally owned firearm in the employee's private
 motor vehicle in the private employer's parking lot when the firearm is:
              (1)    Lawfully possessed; and
              (2)    Stored out of sight inside a locked private motor vehicle.
        (b)   A private employer shall not prohibit or attempt to prevent an
 employee from entering the parking lot of the private employer's place of
 business because the employee's private motor vehicle contains a firearm if
 the firearm is:
              (1)    Kept for lawful purposes; and
              (2)    Stored out of sight inside a locked private motor vehicle.
        (c)   An employer has the right to:
              (1)    Prohibit a person who is not an employee from storing a
 firearm in an employee's motor vehicle in the private employer's parking lot;
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 and
             (2)    Prohibit an employee entering the private employer's place
 of business or parking lot because the employee's private motor vehicle
 contains a firearm in the following circumstances:
                     (A)   The parking lot is a prohibited place specifically
 listed in  5-73-306;
                     (B)   The parking lot is on the grounds of an owner-occupied
 single-family detached residence or a tenant-occupied single-family detached
 residence and the single-family detached residence or tenant-occupied single-
 family detached residence is being used as a residence;
                     (C)   The private employer reasonably believes that the
 employee is in illegal possession of the firearm;
                     (D)   The employee is operating a private employer-owned
 motor vehicle during and in the course of the employee's duties on behalf of
 the private employer, unless the employee is required to transport or store a
 firearm as part of the employee's duties;
                     (E)   The private motor vehicle is not permitted in the
 parking lot for reasons unrelated to the employee's transportation, storage,
 or possession of a firearm;
                     (F)   The employee is the subject of an active or pending
 employment disciplinary proceeding; or
                     (G)   The employee has been adjudicated mentally incompetent
 or not guilty in a legal proceeding by reason of mental disease or defect.
       (d)   This section does not prevent a private employer from prohibiting
 a person who fails to transport or store the firearm in accordance with
 subsection (a) of this section from transporting or storing a firearm in the
 private employer's parking lot or from entering the private employer's place
 of business or the private employer's parking lot.
       (e)   A former employee who possesses a firearm in his or her private
 motor vehicle under this section is not criminally liable for possessing the
 firearm in his or her private motor vehicle in his or her former private
 employer's parking lot while the former employee is physically leaving the
 private employer's parking lot immediately following his or her termination
 or other reason for ceasing employment with the former private employer.
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       SECTION 4.    Arkansas Code  16-118-115 is amended to read as follows:
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        16-118-115.    Civil actions regarding violations of  5-73-326  11-5-
 117.
        An employer or employee who knowingly violates  5-73-326  11-5-117 is
 liable to the prevailing party in an action brought under this section and,
 upon proving the prevailing party's case by clear and convincing evidence, is
 entitled to one (1) or more of the following remedies:
              (1)    Equitable relief;
              (2)    Compensatory damages; and
              (3)    Costs and fees, including reasonable attorney's fees.
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        SECTION 5.    Arkansas Code  16-120-802(a), concerning a civil action
 against a business entity for acts concerning a concealed handgun in a
 parking lot, is amended to read as follows:
        (a)   A business entity, owner or legal possessor of property, or
 private employer is not liable in a civil action for damages, injuries, or
 death resulting from or arising out of an employee's or another person's
 actions involving a handgun transported or stored under  5-73-326(a)  11-5-
 117 or from allowing a person to enter the private employer's place of
 business or parking lot under  5-73-326(b)  11-5-117, including without
 limitation the theft of a handgun from an employee's private motor vehicle,
 unless the business entity, owner or legal possessor of property, or private
 employer intentionally solicited or procured the other person's actions.
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Statutes affected: 
HB 1486: 5-73-306(18), 5-73-326, 5-73-306, 16-118-115, 11-5-117, 16-120-802(a)