HB 480: "An Act relating to sales and attempted sales of handguns; requiring the Department of Public Safety to issue driver's licenses and identification cards with a magnetic strip encoded with information as to whether the subject of the license or card has been adjudicated mentally incompetent within the previous five years or has been convicted of a felony; requiring the Department of Public Safety to develop a computerized data base of felons and persons adjudicated mentally incompetent; providing that federally licensed firearms dealers must use a magnetic card reader to determine if the subject of the license or card is eligible to purchase a firearm; providing criminal penalties relating to magnetic reader strips; providing for the seizure of driver's licenses and identification cards by the court upon conviction of a felony or adjudication as mentally incompetent; and providing for an effective date."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 480 01 "An Act relating to sales and attempted sales of handguns; requiring the 02 Department of Public Safety to issue driver's licenses and identification cards with 03 a magnetic strip encoded with information as to whether the subject of the 04 license or card has been adjudicated mentally incompetent within the previous five 05 years or has been convicted of a felony; requiring the Department of Public 06 Safety to develop a computerized data base of felons and persons adjudicated 07 mentally incompetent; providing that federally licensed firearms dealers must use 08 a magnetic card reader to determine if the subject of the license or card is 09 eligible to purchase a firearm; providing criminal penalties relating to magnetic 10 reader strips; providing for the seizure of driver's licenses and identification cards 11 by the court upon conviction of a felony or adjudication as mentally incompetent; 12 and providing for an effective date." 13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 14 * Section 1. AS 11.61.210(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) A person commits the crime of misconduct involving weapons in the fourth 02 degree if the person 03 (1) possesses on the person, or in the interior of a vehicle in which the 04 person is present, a firearm when the person's physical or mental condition is impaired 05 as a result of the introduction of an intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance into 06 the person's body in circumstances other than described in AS 11.61.200(a)(7); 07 (2) discharges a firearm from, on, or across a highway; 08 (3) discharges a firearm with reckless disregard for a risk of damage 09 to property or a risk of physical injury to a person; 10 (4) manufactures, possesses, transports, sells, or transfers metal 11 knuckles; 12 (5) manufactures, sells, or transfers a switchblade or a gravity knife; 13 [OR] 14 (6) knowingly sells a firearm or a defensive weapon to a person under 15 18 years of age; or 16 (7) is a federally licensed firearms dealer and 17 (A) sells a handgun to a person other than another federally 18 licensed firearms dealer without waiting the prescribed period of time 19 under 18 U.S.C. 922(s)(1), if applicable, unless the federally licensed 20 firearms dealer utilizes a magnetic code reader and the code reader 21 indicates that the person is not a prohibited person and is eligible to 22 possess a handgun; or 23 (B) fails or refuses to notify law enforcement authorities, 24 within 72 hours of the attempt, of any person attempting to purchase a 25 handgun who is identified as a prohibited person by use of a magnetic 26 code reader. 27 * Sec. 2. AS 11.61.220 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 28 (h) In this section "federally licensed firearms dealer" and "prohibited person" 29 have the meanings given in AS 18.65.340. 30 * Sec. 3. AS 11.61 is amended by adding a new section to read: 31 Sec. 11.61.235. ALTERATION OR COUNTERFEITING OF MAGNETIC
01 READER STRIP HANDGUN PERMIT. (a) A person commits the crime of alteration 02 or counterfeiting of a magnetic reader handgun permit if the person knowingly alters, 03 changes, modifies, or counterfeits the magnetic reader strip or the information encoded 04 on that reader strip placed by the Department of Public Safety on a driver's license or 05 identification card. 06 (b) A person who violates (a) of this section is guilty of a class C felony. 07 * Sec. 4. AS 12.55.015 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (g) Upon conviction for a felony, the court shall seize any driver's licenses and 09 identification cards the defendant possesses that have been issued by the state and that 10 carry a magnetic reader strip under AS 18.65.310 or AS 28.15.111. 11 * Sec. 5. AS 18.65.310 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 12 (h) An identification card, and a renewal or replacement identification card, 13 must carry the magnetic reader strip required on driver's licenses under AS 28.15.111. 14 (i) An identification card issued under this section expires on the person's 15 birthday on the fifth year following the issuance of the card. A card may be renewed 16 by the department upon payment of the fee required for issuance of an identification 17 card. 18 (j) A person whose identification card is seized under AS 12.55.015(g) for 19 conviction of a felony may apply for and receive a replacement identification card 20 whose magnetic reader strip has been encoded to show that the person is ineligible to 21 purchase a handgun. The department shall charge a fee for replacement of an 22 identification card under this subsection. The fee shall be set by regulation and must 23 cover the department's costs in issuing the replacement identification card. 24 * Sec. 6. AS 18.65 is amended by adding a new section to read: 25 ARTICLE 3A. MAGNETIC CODE STRIP HANDGUN PERMIT. 26 Sec. 18.65.340. MAGNETIC CODE STRIP HANDGUN PERMIT SYSTEM. 27 (a) The department shall develop a computerized data base of prohibited persons who 28 have been 29 (1) convicted of a felony under the laws of this state, another state, or 30 the federal government; or 31 (2) adjudicated mentally incompetent and five years have not elapsed
01 since the date of the person's restoration to capacity by court order. 02 (b) Before issuing a driver's license under AS 28.15.111 or an identification 03 card under AS 18.65.310, the department shall review the computerized data base 04 under (a) of this section to determine if the person is a prohibited person. If the 05 person is a prohibited person, the department shall encode the magnetic reader strip 06 on the driver's license or identification card with indications of the conviction or 07 adjudication so that, when the license or card is inserted into a magnetic code reader, 08 the code reader will respond with a red light that means the person is a prohibited 09 person and is not eligible to purchase a handgun. If the person is not a prohibited 10 person, the department shall encode the magnetic reader strip so that, when the license 11 or card is inserted into a magnetic code reader, the code reader will respond with a 12 green light meaning that the person is eligible to purchase a handgun. The 13 identification of a person as not being a prohibited person under this section and the 14 issuance of the driver's license or identification card encoded so that the license or 15 card will read green shall be considered to be a handgun permit under 18 U.S.C. 16 922(s)(1)(C). 17 (c) The department shall supply magnetic code readers that can read the 18 magnetic reader strip on driver's licenses and identification cards issued by this state 19 to federally licensed firearms dealers to determine if a person is eligible to purchase 20 a firearm. 21 (d) If a person believes the computerized data base developed under (a) of this 22 section incorrectly identifies the person as a prohibited person, the person may file 23 with the department a written challenge to the accuracy of the data base. Upon 24 receiving a written challenge, the department shall, within five days of receiving the 25 challenge, supply the person with a statement of, and the basis for, the identification 26 as a prohibited person. The person may submit information that may correct, clarify, 27 or supplement the records relating to the person, and the department shall, within five 28 days of receipt of the information, based upon that information either correct, clarify, 29 or supplement the records or notify the person why the information is not being 30 corrected, clarified, or supplemented. 31 (e) A peace officer may utilize a magnetic code reader to read a driver's
01 license or identification during a traffic stop or other law enforcement contact with a 02 person for the purpose of determining if a person is a prohibited person. 03 (f) In this section, 04 (1) "department" means the Department of Public Safety; 05 (2) "federally licensed firearms dealer" means a person licensed by the 06 federal government to sell firearms at retail; 07 (3) "prohibited person" means a person who has been 08 (A) convicted of a felony under the laws of this state, another 09 state, or the federal government; or 10 (B) adjudicated mentally incompetent and five years have not 11 elapsed since the date of the person's restoration to capacity by court order. 12 * Sec. 7. AS 28.15.111(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) Upon successful completion of the application and all required 14 examinations, and upon payment of the required fee, the department shall issue to 15 every qualified applicant a driver's license indicating the type or general class of 16 vehicles that the licensee may drive. The license must display (1) a distinguishing 17 number assigned to the license; (2) the licensee's full name, address, date of birth, 18 brief physical description, and color photograph; (3) either a facsimile of the signature 19 of the licensee or a space upon which the licensee must write the licensee's usual 20 signature with pen and ink; (4) a holographic symbol intended to prevent illegal 21 alteration or duplication; [AND] (5) for a qualified applicant who is under age 21, the 22 words "UNDER 21"; and (6) a magnetic reader strip encoded with the information 23 required under AS 18.65.340. A license is not valid until signed by the licensee. If 24 facilities are not available for the taking of the photograph required under this section, 25 the department shall endorse on the license, the words "valid without photograph." 26 * Sec. 8. AS 28.15.111 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (c) A person whose driver's license is seized under AS 12.55.015(g) for 28 conviction of a felony may apply for and receive a replacement license, to the extent 29 the person is not ineligible or prohibited from possessing a license under another 30 provision of law. The magnetic reader strip of the replacement license must be 31 encoded to show that the person is ineligible to purchase a handgun. The department
01 shall charge a fee for replacement of a license under this subsection. The fee shall 02 be set by regulation and must cover the department's costs in issuing the replacement 03 license. 04 * Sec. 9. The requirement that all driver's licenses and identification cards issued by the 05 Department of Public Safety have a magnetic reader strip under sec. 7 of this Act applies to 06 all driver's licenses and identification cards issued by the Department of Public Safety after 07 the effective date of this section, regardless of whether the license or card is a new, 08 replacement, or reinstated license or identification card. 09 * Sec. 10. Within two years of the effective date of this section, the Department of Public 10 Safety shall have achieved a currency rate of entry of felony criminal case dispositions from 11 the previous five-year period into the computer data base created under AS 18.65.340(a) of 12 at least 80 percent. 13 * Sec. 11. Sections 1 and 2 of this Act take effect two years after the effective date of 14 secs. 3 - 10 of this Act.