CSSB 141(FIN): "An Act relating to permits to carry concealed handguns; and relating to the possession of firearms."
00CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 141(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to permits to carry concealed handguns; and relating to the 02 possession of firearms." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 11.61.200(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 05 (12) knowingly possesses a firearm that is concealed on the person after 06 having been convicted of a felony or adjudicated a delinquent minor for conduct that 07 would constitute a felony if committed by an adult by a court of this state, a court of 08 the United States, or a court of another state or territory. 09 * Sec. 2. AS 11.61.200 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 10 (h) For purposes of (a)(12) of this section, a firearm on a person is concealed 11 if it is covered or enclosed in any manner so that an observer cannot determine that 12 it is a firearm without removing it from that which covers or encloses it or without 13 opening, lifting, or removing that which covers or encloses it. A firearm on a person 14 is not concealed if it is unloaded and is encased in a closed container designed for
01 transporting firearms. 02 (i) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under (a)(12) of this section 03 that 04 (1) either 05 (A) the defendant convicted of the prior offense on which the 06 action is based received a pardon for that conviction; 07 (B) the underlying conviction upon which the action is based 08 has been set aside under AS 12.55.085 or as a result of post-conviction 09 proceedings; or 10 (C) a period of 10 years or more has elapsed between the date 11 of the defendant's unconditional discharge on the prior offense or adjudication 12 of juvenile delinquency and the date of the violation of (a)(12) of this section, 13 and the prior conviction or adjudication of juvenile delinquency did not result 14 from a violation of AS 11.41 or of a similar law of the United States or of 15 another state or territory; and 16 (2) at the time of possession, the defendant was 17 (A) in the defendant's dwelling or on land owned or leased by 18 the defendant appurtenant to the dwelling; or 19 (B) actually engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, or 20 other lawful outdoor activity that necessarily involves the carrying of a weapon 21 for personal protection. 22 * Sec. 3. AS 11.61.220(b) is amended to read: 23 (b) In a prosecution under (a)(1) of this section, it is an affirmative defense 24 that the defendant, at the time of possession, was 25 (1) in the defendant's dwelling or on land owned or leased by the 26 defendant appurtenant to the dwelling; 27 (2) actually engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, or other lawful 28 outdoor activity that necessarily involves the carrying of a weapon for personal 29 protection; [OR] 30 (3) the holder of a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun under 31 AS 18.65.700 - 18.65.790, the [DEADLY] weapon [CONCEALED] was a concealed
01 handgun as defined in AS 18.65.790, and the possession did not occur in a 02 municipality or established village in which the possession of concealed handguns is 03 prohibited under AS 18.65.780 - 18.65.785; or 04 (4) lawfully able to carry a concealed handgun in public in the state 05 where the defendant resides or was the holder of a valid permit to carry a 06 concealed handgun issued by another state or a political subdivision of another 07 state and 08 (A) the weapon was a concealed handgun as defined in 09 AS 18.65.790; 10 (B) the possession did not occur in a municipality or 11 established village in which the possession of concealed handguns is 12 prohibited under AS 18.65.780 - 18.65.785; and 13 (C) if applicable, the defendant was considered a permittee 14 under AS 18.65.748. 15 * Sec. 4. AS 11.61.220(c) is amended to read: 16 (c) The provisions of (a)(2) [(a)(1), (2),] and (4) of this section do not apply 17 to a peace officer acting within the scope and authority of the officer's employment. 18 * Sec. 5. AS 11.61.220(d) is amended to read: 19 (d) In a prosecution under (a)(2) of this section, it is 20 (1) an affirmative defense that 21 (A) the defendant, at the time of possession, was 22 (i) the holder of a valid permit to carry a concealed 23 handgun under AS 18.65.700 - 18.65.790 or under the law of 24 another state or a political subdivision of another state; or 25 (ii) lawfully able to carry a concealed handgun in 26 public in the state where the defendant resides; 27 (B) the loaded firearm was a concealed handgun as defined 28 in AS 18.65.790; 29 (C) the possession occurred at a place designated as a 30 restaurant for the purposes of AS 04.16.049 and the defendant did not 31 consume intoxicating liquor at the place;
01 (D) the possession did not occur in a municipality or 02 established village in which the possession of concealed handguns is 03 prohibited under AS 18.65.780 - 18.65.785; and 04 (E) if applicable, the defendant was considered a permittee 05 under AS 18.65.748; 06 (2) a defense that the defendant, at the time of possession, was on 07 business premises 08 (A) [(1) ON BUSINESS PREMISES] owned by or leased by the 09 defendant; or 10 (B) [(2) ON BUSINESS PREMISES] in the course of the 11 defendant's employment for the owner or lessee of those premises. 12 * Sec. 6. AS 11.61.220 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (h) The provisions of (a)(1) of this section do not apply to a peace officer 14 (1) of this state who is certified by the Alaska Police Standards Council 15 as a peace officer; or 16 (2) employed by another state or a political subdivision of another state 17 who is at the time of the possession certified as a peace officer by the other state and 18 is acting within the scope and authority of the officer's employment. 19 * Sec. 7. AS 18.65.700(a) is amended to read: 20 (a) The department shall issue a permit to carry a concealed handgun to a 21 person who 22 (1) applies in person at an office of the Alaska State Troopers; 23 (2) qualifies under AS 18.65.705; 24 (3) submits a completed application on a form provided by the 25 department, that provides the information required under AS 18.65.705 and 18.65.710 26 and is executed under oath; with each application form provided by the 27 department, the department shall provide a copy of the state laws and regulations 28 relating to concealed handguns, which must include a concise summary of where, 29 when, and by whom a handgun can be carried under state and federal law; 30 (4) submits two complete sets of fingerprints on Federal Bureau of 31 Investigation approved fingerprint cards that are of sufficient quality so that the
01 fingerprints may be processed; the fingerprints must be taken by a person, group, or 02 agency approved by the department; the department shall maintain a list of persons, 03 groups, or agencies approved to take fingerprints and shall provide the list to the 04 public upon request; 05 (5) submits evidence of competence with handguns as provided in 06 AS 18.65.715; 07 (6) provides two frontal view color photographs of the person taken 08 within the preceding 30 days that include the head and shoulders of the person and are 09 of a size specified by the department; 10 (7) shows a valid Alaska driver's license or identification card at the 11 time of application; 12 (8) does not suffer a physical infirmity that prevents the safe handling 13 of a handgun; and 14 (9) pays the application fee required by AS 18.65.720. 15 * Sec. 8. AS 18.65.700(b) is amended to read: 16 (b) The department shall either approve or reject an application for a permit 17 to carry a concealed handgun under (a) of this section within 30 [15] days of receipt 18 of [PERMIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION FROM THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF 19 INVESTIGATION OR OTHER AGENCY NECESSARY TO MAKE A 20 DETERMINATION CONCERNING] the application. If the department has not 21 received necessary fingerprint eligibility information from another agency by the 22 end of this 30-day period, and the applicant is otherwise eligible, the department 23 shall issue a conditional permit to the applicant subject to immediate revocation 24 under the procedure provided in AS 18.65.740(a) - (c) if the fingerprint 25 information subsequently discloses that the applicant is ineligible for a permit 26 [THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REQUEST PERMIT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 27 UNDER THIS SUBSECTION WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF THE RECEIPT OF THE 28 APPLICATION]. The department shall notify the applicant in writing of the reason 29 for a rejection. 30 * Sec. 9. AS 18.65.700 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (e) The department shall issue a permit to carry a concealed handgun to an
01 honorably retired peace officer of this state who applies for a concealed handgun 02 permit within one year of the officer's retirement and who satisfies the requirements 03 of this subsection. To qualify for a permit under this subsection, an honorably retired 04 peace officer must satisfy (a)(1) - (3) and (6) - (9) of this section and, unless the 05 honorably retired peace officer has qualified with a handgun within five years of the 06 officer's retirement, must also satisfy (a)(5) of this section. The department may not 07 require an honorably retired peace officer applying under this subsection to comply 08 with (a)(4) of this section to receive a permit. The department shall issue the permit 09 without submitting information to or receiving permit eligibility information from the 10 Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department may adopt regulations to define an 11 "honorably retired peace officer" and the evidence that must be submitted to establish 12 eligibility under this subsection. 13 * Sec. 10. AS 18.65.705 is repealed and reenacted to read: 14 Sec. 18.65.705. Qualifications to obtain a permit. A person is qualified to 15 receive and hold a permit to carry a concealed handgun if the person 16 (1) is 21 years of age or older; 17 (2) is eligible to own or possess a handgun under the laws of this state 18 and under federal law; 19 (3) is a resident of the state and has been for the 90 days immediately 20 preceding the application for a permit; and 21 (4) has demonstrated competence with handguns as provided in 22 AS 18.65.715. 23 * Sec. 11. AS 18.65.710(a)(3) is amended to read: 24 (3) a statement that the applicant has been furnished with a copy of the 25 state laws and regulations relating to concealed handguns [AS 18.65.700 - 26 18.65.790], has read those sections, and understands them; 27 * Sec. 12. AS 18.65.720 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 18.65.720. Fees. The department shall charge a nonrefundable fee for the 29 processing of the application for and initial issuance of a permit, renewal of a permit, 30 or replacement of a permit. The fees shall be set by regulation and must be based on 31 the actual costs incurred by the department. However, the fee for the processing of an
01 application and initial issuance of a permit may not exceed $99 [$125] and the fee for 02 renewal of a permit or replacement of a permit may not exceed $30 [$60]. 03 * Sec. 13. AS 18.65.735(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 04 (a) The department shall immediately suspend a permit to carry a concealed 05 handgun if a permittee becomes ineligible to hold a permit under AS 18.65.705. 06 * Sec. 14. AS 18.65.740(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) A permit to carry a concealed handgun shall be immediately revoked by 08 the department when the permittee 09 (1) becomes disqualified to receive and hold a permit under 10 AS 18.65.705; 11 (2) is convicted of two class A misdemeanors of this state or similar 12 laws of another jurisdiction within a five-year period if at least one offense [OF THE 13 CONVICTIONS] occurs after a permit has been issued to the permittee [THE 14 APPLICATION]; 15 (3) knowingly supplied a false or fraudulent answer, statement, or 16 document, or made a material misstatement or omission, in connection with an 17 application for a permit or renewal or replacement of a permit. 18 * Sec. 15. AS 18.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 19 Sec. 18.65.748. Permit holders from other jurisdictions considered Alaska 20 permit holders. A person holding a permit to carry a concealed handgun from 21 another state or a political subdivision of another state or who may lawfully carry a 22 concealed handgun in public in the state where the person resides is a permittee under 23 AS 18.65.700(b) for purposes of AS 18.65.750 - 18.65.765 if the person 24 (1) has not been in Alaska for more than 90 consecutive days; or 25 (2) has informed the Department of Public Safety of the person's 26 presence in the state and address within the state and of the jurisdiction issuing the 27 person's permit. 28 * Sec. 16. AS 18.65.755(a) is repealed and reenacted to read: 29 (a) A permittee may not possess a concealed handgun 30 (1) within a residence, other than the permittee's residence, unless the 31 permittee has first obtained the express permission of an adult residing there to bring
01 a concealed handgun within the residence; and 02 (2) anywhere a person is prohibited from possessing a handgun under 03 state or federal law. 04 * Sec. 17. AS 18.65.790(3) is amended to read: 05 (3) "concealed handgun" means a firearm, that is a pistol or a revolver, 06 and that is covered or enclosed in any manner so that an observer cannot determine 07 that it is a handgun without removing it from that which covers or encloses it or 08 without opening, lifting, or removing that which covers or encloses it; however, 09 "concealed handgun" does not include a shotgun, rifle, [DERRINGER OR OTHER 10 MINIATURE HANDGUN,] or a prohibited weapon as defined under AS 11.61.200 11 [; IN THIS PARAGRAPH, 12 (A) "DERRINGER" MEANS A HANDGUN THAT HAS 13 INDIVIDUAL BARRELS FOR EACH CARTRIDGE IT IS CAPABLE OF 14 FIRING AND LACKS A MANUFACTURER'S INSTALLED TRIGGER 15 GUARD THAT COMPLETELY ENCIRCLES THE TRIGGER AND WHICH 16 IS PART OF THE FRAME; AND 17 (B) "MINIATURE HANDGUN" MEANS A HANDGUN 18 THAT HAS A BARREL LENGTH OF THREE AND ONE-HALF INCHES 19 OR LESS AND LACKS A MANUFACTURER'S INSTALLED TRIGGER 20 GUARD THAT COMPLETELY ENCIRCLES THE TRIGGER AND WHICH 21 IS PART OF THE FRAME]; 22 * Sec. 18. AS 18.65.715(b), 18.65.725(a)(3), and 18.65.755(b) are repealed.