06 LC 21
8626
House
Bill 1032
By:
Representatives Lunsford of the
110th,
Ralston of the
7th,
Forster of the
3rd,
England of the
108th,
Ehrhart of the
36th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Code Section 16-11-129 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to license to carry a pistol or revolver and temporary renewal permit, so as to
provide for certain restrictions on the issuance of such permit; to provide for
a background check for permit renewals; to provide for a check of United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement records for noncitizen applicants; to
provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 16-11-129 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to license
to carry a pistol or revolver and temporary renewal permit, is amended by
striking in its entirety subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
∀(b)
Licensing
exceptions. No license shall be granted
to:
(1)
Any person under 21 years of age;
(2)
Any person who is a fugitive from justice or against whom proceedings are
pending for any felony, forcible misdemeanor, or violation of Code Section
16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128 until such time as the proceedings are
adjudicated;
(3)
Any person who
is under
indictment for or has been convicted of a
felony by a court of this state or any other state; by a court of the United
States including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or by a court of
any foreign nation and has not been pardoned for such felony by the President of
the United States, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the person or
agency empowered to grant pardons under the constitution or laws of such state
or nation or any person who has been convicted of a forcible misdemeanor and has
not been free of all restraint or supervision in connection therewith for at
least five years or any person who has been convicted of a violation of Code
Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128 and has not been free of all
restraint or supervision in connection therewith for at least three years,
immediately preceding the date of the application;
(4)
Any individual who has been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital
or alcohol or drug treatment center within five years of the date of his or her
application. The probate judge may require any applicant to sign a waiver
authorizing any mental hospital or treatment center to inform the judge whether
or not the applicant has been an inpatient in any such facility in the last five
years and authorizing the superintendent of such facility to make to the judge a
recommendation regarding whether a license to carry a pistol or revolver should
be issued. When such a waiver is required by the probate judge, the applicant
shall pay to the probate judge a fee of $3.00 for reimbursement of the cost of
making such a report by the mental health hospital, alcohol or drug treatment
center,
or the Department of Human Resources, which the probate judge shall remit to the
hospital, center, or department. The judge shall keep any such hospitalization
or treatment information confidential. It shall be at the discretion of the
probate judge, considering the circumstances surrounding the hospitalization and
the recommendation of the superintendent of the hospital or treatment center
where the individual was a patient, to issue the license;
or
(5)(A)
Any person, the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection notwithstanding,
who has been convicted of an offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture,
distribution, possession, or use of a controlled substance or other dangerous
drug.;
or
(B)
Any person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled
substance.
(B)(C)
As used in this paragraph, the term:
(i)
'Controlled substance' means any drug, substance, or immediate precursor
included in the definition of controlled substances in paragraph (4) of Code
Section 16-13-21.
(ii)
'Convicted' means a plea of guilty, a finding of guilt by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere, or the affording of
first offender treatment by a court of competent jurisdiction irrespective of
the pendency or availability of an appeal or an application for collateral
relief.
(iii)
'Dangerous drug' means any drug defined as such in Code Section
16-13-71.;
(6)
Any person who available information shows has ever been adjudicated as a mental
defective or who has ever been committed to a mental institution;
(7)
Any person who, being an
alien:
(A) Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or
(A) Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or
(B)
Has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa, as that term
is defined in paragraph 101(a)(26) of the federal Immigration and Nationality
Act, 8 U.S.C. Section 1101(a)(26). The provisions of this subparagraph shall
not apply to any alien who has been lawfully admitted to the United States under
a nonimmigrant visa, if that alien is:
(i)
Admitted to the United States for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or is in
possession of a hunting license or permit lawfully issued in the United
States;
(ii) An official representative of a foreign government who is accredited to the United States government or the government́s mission to an international organization having its headquarters in the United States or is en route to or from another country to which that alien is accredited;
(ii) An official representative of a foreign government who is accredited to the United States government or the government́s mission to an international organization having its headquarters in the United States or is en route to or from another country to which that alien is accredited;
(iii)
An official of a foreign government or a distinguished foreign visitor who has
been so designated by the United States Department of State; or
(iv)
A foreign law enforcement officer of a friendly foreign government entering the
United States on official law enforcement business;
(8)
Any person who has been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable
conditions;
(9)
Any person who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his or
her citizenship;
(10)
Any person who is subject to a court order that:
(A)
Was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice and at
which such person had an opportunity to participate;
(B)
Restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate
partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging
in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of
bodily injury to the partner or child; and
(C)(i)
Includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical
safety of such intimate partner or child; or
(ii)
By its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of
physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be
expected to cause bodily injury; or
(11)
Any person who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of
domestic violence and has not been free of all restraint or supervision in
connection with such conviction for at least five years; provided, however, that
at the end of such five-year period,such conviction shall be deemed to have been
set aside for purposes of 18 U.S.C. Section
921(a)(33)(B)(ii).∀
SECTION
2.
Said
Code section is further amended by striking in its entirety subsection (c) and
inserting in lieu thereof the following:
∀(c)
Fingerprinting.
(1)
Following completion of the application, the judge of the probate court shall
require the applicant to proceed to an appropriate law enforcement agency in the
county with the completed application. The appropriate local law enforcement
agency in each county shall then make two sets of classifiable fingerprints of
the applicant for a license to carry a pistol or revolver, place the fingerprint
required by subsection (f) of this Code section on a blank license form which
has been furnished to the law enforcement agency by the judge of the probate
court, and place the name of the applicant on the blank license form. The law
enforcement agency shall be entitled to a fee of $5.00 from the applicant for
its services in connection with the application.
(2)
In the case of each applicant who is applying for a license
or renewal of
a license under this Code section
for the
first time, the judge of the probate court
shall direct the law enforcement agency to transmit one set of the
applicant́s
fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center for a search of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation records and an appropriate report.
In such
cases, the
The
applicant shall submit an additional fee in an amount established by the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation but not to exceed $30.00 for a search of records of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and an appropriate report, payable in such form
as the judge may direct, to cover the cost of the records search.
(3)
Applications for renewal of licenses issued under this Code section shall be
made to the judge of the probate court of the county in which the applicant is
domiciled or, if the applicant is a member of the United States armed forces,
the county in which he or she resides or in which the military reservation on
which the applicant resides is located in whole or in part at the time of making
the renewal application.
In the case
of an applicant for a renewal of a license, the judge of the probate court may,
in his or her discretion, direct that the local county law enforcement agency
request a search of the criminal history file and wanted persons file of the
Georgia Crime Information Center by computer access from that county in lieu of
transmitting the application and forms.
(4)
When any person who is not a United States citizen applies for a license or
renewal of a license under this Code section, the judge of the probate court
shall direct the law enforcement agency to transmit one set of the
applicant́s
fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center for a search of the United
States Immigration and Customs Enforcement records and an appropriate
report.∀
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.