Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 402
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 764102                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: RS            .                                
                  04/18/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Negron) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5  
    6         Section 1. Section 790.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    7  read:
    8         790.33 Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition
    9  preempted.—
   10         (1) PREEMPTION.—Except as expressly provided by the State
   11  Constitution or general law, the Legislature hereby declares
   12  that it is occupying the whole field of regulation of firearms
   13  and ammunition, including the purchase, sale, transfer,
   14  taxation, manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and
   15  transportation thereof, to the exclusion of all existing and
   16  future county, city, town, or municipal ordinances or any
   17  administrative regulations or rules adopted by local or state
   18  government relating thereto. Any such existing ordinances,
   19  rules, or regulations are hereby declared null and void. This
   20  subsection shall not affect zoning ordinances which encompass
   21  firearms businesses along with other businesses. Zoning
   22  ordinances which are designed for the purpose of restricting or
   23  prohibiting the sale, purchase, transfer, or manufacture of
   24  firearms or ammunition as a method of regulating firearms or
   25  ammunition are in conflict with this subsection and are
   26  prohibited.
   27         (2) LIMITED EXCEPTION; COUNTY WAITING-PERIOD ORDINANCES.—
   28         (a) Any county may have the option to adopt a waiting
   29  period ordinance requiring a waiting period of up to, but not to
   30  exceed, 3 working days between the purchase and delivery of a
   31  handgun. For purposes of this subsection, “purchase” means
   32  payment of deposit, payment in full, or notification of intent
   33  to purchase. Adoption of a waiting-period ordinance, by any
   34  county, shall require a majority vote of the county commission
   35  on votes on waiting-period ordinances. This exception is limited
   36  solely to individual counties and is limited to the provisions
   37  and restrictions contained in this subsection.
   38         (b) Ordinances authorized by this subsection shall apply to
   39  all sales of handguns to individuals by a retail establishment
   40  except those sales to individuals exempted in this subsection.
   41  For purposes of this subsection, “retail establishment” means a
   42  gun shop, sporting goods store, pawn shop, hardware store,
   43  department store, discount store, bait or tackle shop, or any
   44  other store or shop that offers handguns for walk-in retail sale
   45  but does not include gun collectors shows or exhibits, or gun
   46  shows.
   47         (c) Ordinances authorized by this subsection shall not
   48  require any reporting or notification to any source outside the
   49  retail establishment, but records of handgun sales must be
   50  available for inspection, during normal business hours, by any
   51  law enforcement agency as defined in s. 934.02.
   52         (d) The following shall be exempt from any waiting period:
   53         1. Individuals who are licensed to carry concealed firearms
   54  under the provisions of s. 790.06 or who are licensed to carry
   55  concealed firearms under any other provision of state law and
   56  who show a valid license;
   57         2. Individuals who already lawfully own another firearm and
   58  who show a sales receipt for another firearm; who are known to
   59  own another firearm through a prior purchase from the retail
   60  establishment; or who have another firearm for trade-in;
   61         3. A law enforcement or correctional officer as defined in
   62  s. 943.10;
   63         4. A law enforcement agency as defined in s. 934.02;
   64         5. Sales or transactions between dealers or between
   65  distributors or between dealers and distributors who have
   66  current federal firearms licenses; or
   67         6. Any individual who has been threatened or whose family
   68  has been threatened with death or bodily injury, provided the
   69  individual may lawfully possess a firearm and provided such
   70  threat has been duly reported to local law enforcement.
   71         (2)(3) POLICY AND INTENT.—
   72         (a) It is the intent of this section to provide uniform
   73  firearms laws in the state; to declare all ordinances and
   74  regulations null and void which have been enacted by any
   75  jurisdictions other than state and federal, which regulate
   76  firearms, ammunition, or components thereof; to prohibit the
   77  enactment of any future ordinances or regulations relating to
   78  firearms, ammunition, or components thereof unless specifically
   79  authorized by this section or general law; and to require local
   80  jurisdictions to enforce state firearms laws.
   81         (b) It is further the intent of this section to deter and
   82  prevent the violation of this section and the violation of
   83  rights protected under the constitution and laws of this state
   84  related to firearms, ammunition, or components thereof, by the
   85  abuse of official authority that occurs when enactments are
   86  passed in violation of state law or under color of local or
   87  state authority.
   88         (3) PROHIBITIONS; PENALTIES.—
   89         (a) Any person, county, agency, municipality, district, or
   90  other entity that violates the Legislature’s occupation of the
   91  whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, as
   92  declared in subsection (1), by enacting or causing to be
   93  enforced any local ordinance or administrative rule or
   94  regulation shall be liable as set forth herein.
   95         (b) If any county, city, town, or other local government
   96  violates this section, the court shall declare the improper
   97  ordinance, regulation, or rule invalid and issue a permanent
   98  injunction against the local government prohibiting it from
   99  enforcing such ordinance, regulation, or rule. It is no defense
  100  that in enacting the ordinance, regulation, or rule the local
  101  government was acting in good faith or upon advice of counsel.
  102         (c) If the court determines that a violation was knowing
  103  and willful, the court shall assess a civil fine of up to $5,000
  104  against the elected or appointed local government official or
  105  officials or administrative agency head under whose jurisdiction
  106  the violation occurred.
  107         (d) Except as required by s. 16, Art. I of the State
  108  Constitution or the Sixth Amendment to the United States
  109  Constitution, public funds may not be used to defend the
  110  unlawful conduct of any person charged with a knowing and
  111  willful violation of this section.
  112         (e) A knowing and willful violation of any provision of
  113  this section by a person acting in an official capacity for any
  114  entity enacting or causing to be enforced a local ordinance or
  115  administrative rule or regulation prohibited under paragraph (a)
  116  or otherwise under color of law shall be cause for termination
  117  of employment or contract or removal from office by the
  118  Governor.
  119         (f) A person or an organization whose membership is
  120  adversely affected by any ordinance, regulation, measure,
  121  directive, rule, enactment, order, or policy promulgated or
  122  caused to be enforced in violation of this section may file suit
  123  against any county, agency, municipality, district, or other
  124  entity in any court of this state having jurisdiction over any
  125  defendant to the suit for declaratory and injunctive relief and
  126  for all actual damages attributable to the violation. A court
  127  shall award the prevailing plaintiff in any such suit:
  128         1. Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs in accordance with
  129  the laws of this state, including a contingency fee multiplier,
  130  as authorized by law; and
  131         2. The actual damages incurred, but not more than $100,000.
  132  
  133  Interest on the sums awarded pursuant to this subsection shall
  134  accrue at the legal rate per annum from the date on which suit
  135  was filed.
  136         (4) EXCEPTIONS.—This section does not prohibit:
  137         (a) Zoning ordinances that encompass firearms businesses
  138  along with other businesses, except that zoning ordinances that
  139  are designed for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting the
  140  sale, purchase, transfer, or manufacture of firearms or
  141  ammunition as a method of regulating firearms or ammunition are
  142  in conflict with this subsection and are prohibited;
  143         (b) A duly organized law enforcement agency from enacting
  144  and enforcing regulations pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or
  145  firearm accessories issued to or used by peace officers in the
  146  course of their official duties;
  147         (c) Except as provided in s. 790.251, any entity subject to
  148  the prohibitions of this section from regulating or prohibiting
  149  the carrying of firearms and ammunition by an employee of the
  150  entity during and in the course of the employee’s official
  151  duties;
  152         (d) A court or administrative law judge from hearing and
  153  resolving any case or controversy or issuing any opinion or
  154  order on a matter within the jurisdiction of that court or
  155  judge; or
  156         (e) The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
  157  from regulating the use of firearms or ammunition as a method of
  158  taking wildlife and regulating the shooting ranges managed by
  159  the commission.
  160         (5)(b)SHORT TITLE.—As created by chapter 87-23, Laws of
  161  Florida, this section shall be known and may be cited as the
  162  “Joe Carlucci Uniform Firearms Act.”
  163         Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2011.
  164  
  165  
  166  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  167         And the title is amended as follows:
  168         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  169  and insert:
  170                        A bill to be entitled                      
  171         An act relating to the regulation of firearms and
  172         ammunition; amending s. 790.33, F.S.; clarifying and
  173         reorganizing provisions that preempt to the state the
  174         entire field of regulation of firearms; prohibiting
  175         the violation of the Legislature’s occupation of the
  176         whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition
  177         by the enactment or causation of enforcement of any
  178         local ordinance or administrative rule or regulation;
  179         providing additional intent of the section;
  180         eliminating provisions authorizing counties to adopt
  181         an ordinance requiring a waiting period between the
  182         purchase and delivery of a handgun; providing
  183         injunctive relief from the enforcement of an invalid
  184         ordinance, regulation, or rule; providing a civil
  185         penalty for knowing and willful violation of
  186         prohibitions; providing that public funds may not be
  187         used to defend the unlawful conduct of any person
  188         charged with a knowing and willful violation of the
  189         section; providing for termination of employment or
  190         contract or removal from office of a person acting in
  191         an official capacity who knowingly and willfully
  192         violates any provision of the section; providing for
  193         declaratory and injunctive relief for specified
  194         persons or organizations; providing for specified
  195         damages and interest; providing exceptions to
  196         prohibitions of the section; providing an effective
  197         date.