97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB1611

 

Introduced 2/9/2011, by Sen. Don Harmon

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

    Creates the Handgun Dealer Licensing Act. Provides for the regulation of handgun dealers through licensure by the Department of State Police. Provides that no person may sell or otherwise transfer, expose for sale or transfer, or have in his or her possession with the intent to sell or transfer any concealable firearm without being licensed under the Act. Provides, however, that the prohibition does not apply to a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of concealable firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or as a hobby, or who sells all or part of his or her personal collection of firearms. Sets forth provisions concerning application, fees, duration of licensure, license retention requirements, submissions to the Department, penalties, revocation, and suspension. Grants rulemaking authority to the Department and provides that for the purpose of determining compliance with the Act, the Act may be enforced by any municipality in which a licensee is located or, if a licensee is not located in a municipality, by the county in which a licensee is located. Effective immediately.


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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning handgun regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Handgun Dealer Licensing Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7    "Department" means the Department of State Police.
8    "Handgun dealer" means any person who is:
9        (1) engaged in the business of selling concealable
10    firearms at wholesale or retail;
11        (2) engaged in the business of repairing concealable
12    firearms or making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or
13    trigger mechanisms to concealable firearms; or
14        (3) a pawnbroker whose business or occupation includes
15    the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any
16    concealable firearm as security for the payment or
17    repayment of money.
18     "Licensed dealer" means any firearms dealer who is
19licensed under both this Act and Section 923 of the federal Gun
20Control Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. 923).
21     "Person" means an individual, firm, association, society,
22partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other
23entity.

 

 

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1    "Engaged in the business" means the devotion of time,
2attention, and labor to engaging in the activity as a regular
3course of trade or business with the principal objective of
4livelihood and profit. "Engaged in the business" does not
5include the making of occasional repairs of concealable
6firearms, or the occasional fitting of special barrels, stocks,
7or trigger mechanisms to concealable firearms.
8    "Firearm" has the meaning given to that term in the Firearm
9Owners Identification Card Act.
10    "Transfer" means the actual or attempted transfer of a
11concealable firearm or concealable firearm ammunition, with or
12without consideration. "Transfer" does not include the lease of
13a concealable firearm, or the provision of ammunition
14specifically for that firearm, if the firearm and the
15ammunition are to be used on the lessor's premises, and does
16not include any transfer of possession when the transferor
17maintains supervision and control over the concealable firearm
18or ammunition.
19    "With the principal objective of livelihood and profit"
20means that the intent underlying the sale or disposition is
21predominantly one of obtaining livelihood and pecuniary gain,
22as opposed to other intents, such as improving or liquidating a
23personal firearms collection; however, proof of profit shall
24not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and
25repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal
26purposes or terrorism.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. Unlicensed dealing; exemption.
2    (a) No person may sell or otherwise transfer, expose for
3sale or transfer, or have in his or her possession with the
4intent to sell or transfer any concealable firearm without
5being licensed under this Act.
6    (b) This Section does not apply to a person who makes
7occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of concealable
8firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or as a
9hobby, or who sells all or part of his or her personal
10collection of firearms.
 
11    Section 15. License application; fees; penalty.
12    (a) The Department may grant a handgun dealer license to an
13applicant who satisfies the following requirements:
14        (1) he or she is at least 21 years of age;
15        (2) he or she possesses a valid Firearm Owner's
16    Identification Card; and
17        (3) he or she submits to a background check conducted
18    by the Department that includes the initiation and
19    completion of an automated search of its criminal history
20    record information files and those of the Federal Bureau of
21    Investigation, including the National Instant Criminal
22    Background Check System, and of the files of the Department
23    of Human Services relating to mental health and
24    developmental disabilities to obtain any felony conviction

 

 

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1    or patient hospitalization information that would
2    disqualify a person from obtaining licensure under this
3    Act.
4    (b) An application for a handgun dealer license must be
5made on forms prescribed by the Department. The application
6must be verified by the applicant under oath and must be
7accompanied by the required fee.
8    (c) The applicant must submit to the Department a license
9fee of $300, payable at the time of application, and an
10additional $300 payable every 3 years thereafter for so long as
11the license is in effect.
12    (d) The applicant must submit to fingerprinting in
13accordance with rules adopted by the Department and must pay a
14fingerprint processing fee in the amount set by the Department
15by rule.
16    (e) A person who knowingly makes a false statement or
17knowingly conceals a material fact or uses false information or
18identification in any application for a license under this Act
19commits a Class A misdemeanor.
 
20    Section 20. Duration of licensure. A license granted under
21this Act remains in effect until it is revoked, suspended, or
22otherwise withdrawn by the Department or until it is
23surrendered by the licensee.
 
24    Section 25. License retention requirements. A license

 

 

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1granted under this Act is subject to all of the following
2requirements:
3        (1) A licensed dealer may only transact business under
4    this Act at an address that has a zoning classification
5    that permits the operations of a retail establishment.
6        (2) A licensed dealer may not transact business in any
7    place other than the premises specified on his or her
8    license, except that a licensed dealer may display, sell,
9    or transfer firearms at a gun show open to the general
10    public or at any regular meeting of an incorporated
11    collectors club in accordance with this Act and federal
12    law.
13        (3) A licensed dealer may not violate any provision of
14    any federal or State law pertaining to the possession, use,
15    sale, or delivery of firearms.
16        (4) A licensed dealer must strictly adhere to the
17    provisions of all applicable federal and State laws and
18    local ordinances and local business license requirements.
19        (5) A separate license must be obtained for each
20    separate place of business. Before a licensed dealer moves
21    his or her place of business, he or she must promptly apply
22    to the Department for an amended license.
23        (6) The license, or a copy of the license certified by
24    the Department, must be conspicuously displayed at the
25    business premises.
26        (7) No concealable firearm may be displayed in any

 

 

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1    outer window of the business premises or in any other place
2    where it can readily be seen from the outside.
3        (8) Every concealable firearm must be unloaded when
4    delivered.
5        (9) A licensee must obtain a certificate of
6    registration issued under the Retailers' Occupation Tax
7    Act.
8        (10) The licensee must take reasonable precautions to
9    ensure that all concealable firearms that the licensee
10    sells will not be used illegally. These precautions
11    include, but are not limited to, the following:
12            (A) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a
13        person the licensee knows or has reason to know is
14        purchasing the firearm on behalf of another person who
15        could not legally purchase the firearm;
16            (B) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a
17        person who has provided a home address in a
18        municipality or county in which possession of that type
19        of concealable firearm is illegal, unless the
20        transferee presents reasonably satisfactory evidence
21        that the concealable firearm will not be used or
22        possessed unlawfully in that municipality or county;
23        and
24            (C) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a
25        person who has provided a home address in a
26        municipality or county that requires registration of

 

 

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1        the firearm, unless the purchaser presents
2        satisfactory evidence of compliance with the
3        registration requirement.
4        (11) A licensee must make his or her records relating
5    to the sale of concealable firearms available to any
6    officer or employee of the Department or of any unit of
7    local government in this State whenever the officer or
8    employee is authorized to enforce laws or ordinances
9    pertaining to firearms, provided that no officer or
10    employee may conduct any search or seizure other than an
11    inspection of a licensee's records relating to firearms
12    sales without a warrant and that nothing in this Section
13    shall authorize any search or seizure forbidden by the
14    United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution.
 
15    Section 30. Submission to Department.
16    (a) A licensed dealer must, within 24 hours after making a
17sale or transfer of a concealable firearm to a person who is
18not licensed as a handgun dealer, submit a report concerning
19that sale to the Department. The report must contain the
20following information:
21        (1) the date of the sale or transfer;
22        (2) the identity and address of the dealer;
23        (3) the name, address, age, and occupation of the
24    transferee;
25        (4) the price of the firearm; and

 

 

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1        (5) the type, description, and number of the firearm.
2    (b) All records of the reports submitted under this Section
3must be maintained by the Department on a computer database
4capable of allowing the retrieval of information for each
5dealer and each transferee. The computer database must also
6contain a listing of each county or municipality that prohibits
7one or more types of concealable firearm, and the type or types
8of concealable firearms that are prohibited in that county or
9municipality. Information in the database must be made
10available to any law enforcement agency responsible for the
11enforcement of any federal, State, or local law or ordinance
12relating to firearms, and to any licensed dealer who requests
13information relating to a person who is seeking to purchase one
14or more firearms from that dealer. Except as specifically
15provided in this Section, information in the database is deemed
16the confidential record of the Department and is not subject to
17disclosure under any other law.
18    (c) Any licensee who is required to keep a record of
19transfer under subsection (b) of Section 3 of the Firearm
20Owners Identification Card Act must report any transfer of a
21firearm that occurred within the 24-month period immediately
22preceding the effective date of this Act to the Department no
23later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act. The
24report must contain that information required by subsection (b)
25of Section 3 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. The
26Department must include this report in the computer database

 

 

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1required to be maintained under this Section.
 
2    Section 35. Penalty. Any person who sells, or who possesses
3with intent to sell, trade, or transfer, any firearm without
4being licensed under this Act is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
 
5    Section 40. Enforcement; rulemaking.
6    (a) This Act must be enforced by the Department, and may be
7enforced, for the purpose of determining compliance with this
8Act, by any municipality in which the licensee is located or,
9if the licensee is not located in a municipality, by the county
10in which the licensee is located.
11    (b) The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the
12implementation and administration of this Act.
 
13    Section 45. Revocation; suspension. The Department, after
14due notice to the licensee and reasonable opportunity for the
15licensee to be heard, may revoke a license or may suspend a
16license for a period of time that the Department may deem
17proper upon satisfactory proof that the licensee has violated
18or permitted a violation of any requirement of this Act or is
19no longer eligible to obtain a license under this Act. A person
20whose license has been revoked by the Department is
21disqualified from receiving a license under this Act for 10
22years after the revocation. Any person who has substantially
23participated in the operation or management of a licensee that

 

 

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1has had a license revoked may not be employed by or participate
2in the business of any other licensee for 10 years after the
3revocation. Proceedings for revocation or suspension under
4this Section may be initiated by the Department or by any
5municipality or county.
 
6    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
7becoming law.