SB 1

This bill would repeal certain restrictions on the carrying or possession of a firearm on certain property or in a motor vehicle by persons with or without a concealed pistol permit

This bill would also revise certain restrictions on the carrying or possession of firearms at certain locations

Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment

Relating to firearms; to repeal Sections 9-11-304, 13A-11-50, 13A-11-51, 13A-11-52, 13A-11-71, 13A-11-73, and 13A-11-74, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying or possession of a firearm or pistol, to repeal certain restrictions on the carrying or possession of a firearm on certain property or in a motor vehicle; to amend Section 13A-11-61.2, Code of Alabama 1975, to revise certain restrictions on the carrying or possession of firearms at certain locations; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.

Section 1

The following sections of the Code of Alabama 1975, are repealed: (1) Section 9-11-304, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying of a firearm in wildlife management areas. (2) Sections 13A-11-50 and 13A-11-51, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying of concealed weapons. (3) Section 13A-11-52, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the carrying of a pistol on private property. (4) Section 13A-11-71, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the commission of a crime when armed. (5) Sections 13A-11-73 and 13A-11-74, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to pistols and pistol permits.

Section 2

Section 13A-11-61.2, Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows:

§13A-11-61.2.

(a) In addition to any other place limited or prohibited by state or federal law, a person, including a person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not knowingly possess or carry a firearm in any of the following places without the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises:

(1) Inside the building of a police, sheriff, or highway patrol station.

(2) Inside or on the premises of a prison, jail, halfway house, community corrections facility, or other detention facility for those who have been charged with or convicted of a criminal or juvenile offense. It is not a violation of this subsection to knowingly possess or carry a firearm at a location described in this subdivision if the location is also a sheriff's office that issues pistol permits and the pistol remains inside of a locked vehicle at all times while the person is on the premises.

(3) Inside a facility which provides inpatient or custodial care of those with psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorders.

(4) a. Inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a building in which a district attorney's office is located, or a building in which a county commission or city council is currently having a regularly scheduled or specially called meeting.

b. For the purposes of this subdivision,

courthouse annex" means a building which is currently having regularly scheduled or specially called court hearings.

(5) Inside any facility hosting an athletic event not related to or involving firearms which is sponsored by a private or public elementary or secondary school or any private or public institution of postsecondary education, unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.

(6) Inside any facility hosting a professional athletic event not related to or involving firearms, unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a person, including a person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not, without the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises, knowingly possess or carry a firearm inside any building or facility to which access of unauthorized persons and prohibited articles is limited during normal hours of operation by the continuous on-site posting of guards who are responsible for the prevention of prohibited items from entering the facility, and the use of other security features, including , but not limited to, magnetometers, key cards, biometric screening devices, or turnstiles or other physical barriers that prevent all persons entering the facility from bringing prohibited items into the facility. Nothing in this subsection otherwise restricts the possession, transportation, or storage of a lawfully possessed firearm or ammunition in an employee's privately owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or private parking area provided the employee complies with the requirements of Section 13A-11-90.

(c) The person or entity with authority over the premises set forth in subdivisions (1) to (6), inclusive, of subsection (a) and subsection (b) shall place a notice at the public entrances of such premises or buildings alerting those entering that firearms are prohibited.

(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (5) and (6) of subsection (a), any firearm on the premises of any facility set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a), or subdivisions (4) to (6) inclusive, of subsection (a), or subsection (b) must be kept from ordinary observation and locked within a compartment or in the interior of the person's motor vehicle or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the motor vehicle.

(e) A violation of subsection (a), (b), or (d) is a Class C misdemeanor.

(f) This section shall not prohibit any person from possessing a firearm within the person's residence or during ingress or egress thereto.

(g) Prohibitions regarding the carrying of a firearm under this section shall not apply to law enforcement officers engaged in the lawful execution of their official duties or a qualified retired law enforcement officer. For purposes of this section, qualified retired law enforcement officer shall mean a retired officer who meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Was separated from service in good standing from service with a public agency as a law enforcement officer.

(2) Before separation, was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of arrest.

(3) Before separation, served as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 10 years or more and separated from service with such agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by the agency.

(4) During the most recent 12-month period, has met, at the expense of the individual, the standards for qualification in firearms training for active law enforcement officers, as determined by the former agency of the individual, the state in which the individual resides or, if the state has not established such standards, either a law enforcement agency within the state in which the individual resides or the standards used by a certified firearms instructor that is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for active duty officers within that state.

(5) Has not been officially found by a qualified medical professional employed by the agency to be unqualified for reasons relating to mental health, and as a result, will not be issued the photographic identification described in subdivision (8) and has not entered into an agreement with the agency from which the individual is separating from service in which that individual acknowledges he or she is not qualified under this section for reasons relating to mental health and for those reasons will not receive or accept the photographic identification as described in subsection (8).

(6) Is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance.

(7) Is not prohibited by state or federal law from receiving a firearm.

(8) Is carrying any of the following identification documents:

a. A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the individual separated from service as a law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer and indicates that the individual has, not less recently than one year before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, been tested or otherwise found by the agency to meet the active duty standards for qualification in firearms training as established by the agency to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.

b. A photographic identification issued by the agency from which the individual separated from service as a law enforcement officer that identifies the person as having been employed as a police officer or law enforcement officer, and a certification issued by the state in which the individual resides or by a certified firearms instructor who is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for active duty officers within that state that indicates that the individual, not less than one year before the date the individual is carrying the concealed firearm, has been tested or otherwise found by the state or a certified firearms instructor who is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for active duty officers within that state to have met either of the following:

1. The active duty standards for qualification in firearms training, as established by the state, to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.

2. If the state has not established such standards, standards set by any law enforcement agency within that state to carry a firearm of the same type as the concealed firearm.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the carrying or possession of a firearm where prohibited by federal law."

Section 3

Although this bill would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds, the bill is excluded from further requirements and application under Amendment 621, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, because the bill defines a new crime or amends the definition of an existing crime.

Section 4

This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.