Legislative Report: July 2017 Updates

Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2014 is enacted to read:

§2014. Government firearm or firearm owner registry prohibited Notwithstanding and other provision of law to the contrary, a government agency of this

State or a political subdivision of this State may not keep or cause to be kept a comprehensive registry of privately owned firearms and the owners of those firearms within its jurisdiction.

SUMMARY

This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill and provides that a government agency of the State or a political subdivision of the State may not keep or cause to be kept a comprehensive registry of privately owned firearms and the owners of those firearms within its jurisdiction.

SAM Bill LD 350 – “An Act to Repeal Certain Requirements Concerning the Sale and Purchase of Firearms.” (Update – Passed and now law.)

Sponsored by Rep. Harvell, LD 350 is a SAM sister bill to LD 9. Current state law (Title 15, Chapter 17, subsection 455) establishes a current “de-facto” state gun owner database by requiring Federal Firearm License (FFL) dealers in Maine to make an additional “state copy” of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Form 4473 that contains confidential personal information about individuals who purchase firearms.

This second “state copy” Form 4473 must be stamped “state copy” and be kept separately by FFL dealers, and produced, without restriction, to law enforcement upon request. There are no protections from potential governmental abuse, like those built into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) system.

This “state copy” Form 4473 process violates the intent of federal laws and rules as it relates to databases and the NICS system. Gun owners readily accept FBI background checks for firearm sales because we know federal law prohibits the establishment of federal databases containing information about law-abiding gun owners; in addition, we understand documents like the Form 4473 are housed, not with the federal government, but with the licensed FFL dealers, and are only accessible by the federal government when there is an active investigation of a specific crime and firearm.

Because copies of the 4473 forms are retained by non-governmental FFL dealers, they act as a reasonable firewall between gun owners and the potential abuses of government. For this reason, we support repeal of subsection 455 of Title 15, Chapter 17.

The LD 350 language is below:

An Act To Repeal Certain Requirements Concerning the Sale and Purchase of Firearms

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §455, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. H, §1 and affected by Pt. X, §2, is amended to read:

§ 455.Record of sales of firearms

 1.  Forms.     A dealer may not:

 A.  Sell, let or loan a firearm to a person without making a copy of the form a dealer must keep as prescribed by 18 United States Code, Section 923. The copy must be made and marked as “STATE COPY” before the firearm is delivered; or

 B.  Refuse to show or refuse to allow inspection of a copy of the form described in paragraph A to a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer, constable, game warden or prosecuting attorney.

A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of $50 may be adjudged.

1-A.  Form. A firearms dealer may not refuse to show or refuse to allow inspection of the form a dealer must keep as prescribed by 18 United States Code, Section 923 to a law enforcement officer as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 17 upon presentation of a formal written request for inspection stating that the form relates to an active criminal investigation.

A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of $50 may be adjudged.

2. False or fictitious name. A person may not give a false or fictitious name to a firearms dealer. A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of $50 may be adjudged.

3. Exception. This section does not apply to a firearms wholesaler who sells only to other firearms dealers or to a firearms manufacturer who sells only at wholesale.

Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 128th Legislature, First Regular Session, unless otherwise indicated.

Two SAM Constitutional Amendments Still in Committee

Two important SAM Constitutional Amendments are still in committee. LD 31, a Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Require that Signatures on a Direct Initiative Come from Each Congressional District.

Update – This bill was voted Ought-to-Pass with 11 Veteran and Legal Affairs Committee members voting in support and 2 voting against. This is a strong committee vote and the bill now will go to the House for further votes. A 2/3 vote of both chambers is required, and if that occurs, it will then go out to the voters on a fall referendum for a vote by the citizens of Maine.

Update – Another SAM bill sponsored by Rep. Wood to make hunting, fishing, and trapping a right has been carried over until next session. The bill remains alive and we will push for it next year.

Moose/Youth Hunting Issue Fixed – LD 222, Combined with Rep. Hilliard’s Legislation Is Now Law

The last SAM bill to receive a hearing and action is LD 222, “An Act Regarding Maine’s Moose Lottery.” This SAM bill was designed to fix a problem created two years ago when the legal age to hunt was changed from a minimum of 10 to no age requirement at all. At the time, James Cote, lobbyist for the United States Sportsmen’s Alliance, was advocating strongly to eliminate the age altogether. SAM’s position at the time was reduce the age to 8 and allow 8-10 year-olds to shoot small game only, and smaller caliber firearms.

At the time we pointed out that children as young as 1 could apply for a moose permit, and give parents an extra chance.

Update: Rep. Hilliard, the original sponsor of this legislation, also, with SAM’s support, submitted legislation to fix the problem. The committee decided to combine the two bills. The final amendment raised the age to 10 to shoot a moose, but allowed kids to submit applications after birth and collect bonus points until they are finally drawn. The committee put an emergency preamble on the bill so it would take effect this year.

Turkey Hunting Laws Amended Slightly to Allow more Opportunity

LD 98, sponsored by SAM Board member Senator Paul Davis, was amended to give the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife the authority to set bag limits and seasons; in addition, to schedule special hunts in areas where turkey-related complaints are a problem. This power is new, as these management tools were always set by law.

Landowner Liability Laws and Legislation Requiring Written Permission to Forage for Wild Plants – (Update – Killed)

Two bills that would have expanded waivers of liability for landowners and their agents, when they allow recreational use of their land, (current law) to include lease holders, sub-leases and easement holders, were killed by the Judiciary Committee.

These changes would have likely meant more “Pay to Play” for sportsmen. We are very sympathetic to needs of landowners as access to land is crucial for sportsmen, but these two proposed changes would have opened up a huge can of worms and ultimately were voted down by the committee.

Very controversial legislation, LD 128, An Act to Prohibit Foraging on Private Land without Permission”, sponsored by Senator Thomas Saviello, was killed by the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry committee after they learned there were already laws on the books that addressed the taking of private property without permission.