Florida Senate - 2014 SB 492
By Senator Margolis
35-00715-14 2014492__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the regulation of firearms and
3 ammunition; amending s. 790.33, F.S.; providing that,
4 except as otherwise expressly prohibited by the State
5 Constitution, a county or municipality may regulate
6 the field of possession of firearms on property owned
7 by such county or municipality; amending s. 790.251,
8 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
9 act; providing an effective date.
10
11 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 2, Article VIII of the State
12 Constitution and section 166.021, Florida Statutes,
13 municipalities have been granted broad home rule powers, and
14 WHEREAS, the Legislature has made an exception to this
15 policy by enacting section 790.33, Florida Statutes, preempting
16 the field of regulation of firearms and ammunition to itself,
17 and
18 WHEREAS, there are counties and municipalities that seek to
19 exercise their home rule powers in the field of regulation of
20 firearms and ammunition upon property owned by such counties or
21 municipalities with the same freedom that they have in other
22 fields to consider and account for local conditions and
23 sensibilities, NOW, THEREFORE,
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 790.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to
28 read:
29 790.33 Field of regulation of firearms and ammunition;
30 county and municipal ordinances preempted.—
31 (1) PREEMPTION.—Except as otherwise expressly prohibited
32 provided by the State Constitution or general law, a county or
33 municipality may enact and enforce ordinances that regulate
34 possession of firearms on property owned by such county or
35 municipality the Legislature hereby declares that it is
36 occupying the whole field of regulation of firearms and
37 ammunition, including the purchase, sale, transfer, taxation,
38 manufacture, ownership, possession, storage, and transportation
39 thereof, to the exclusion of all existing and future county,
40 city, town, or municipal ordinances or any administrative
41 regulations or rules adopted by local or state government
42 relating thereto. Any such existing ordinances, rules, or
43 regulations are hereby declared null and void.
44 (2) POLICY AND INTENT.—
45 (a) It is the intent of this section to provide uniform
46 firearms laws in the state; to declare all ordinances and
47 regulations null and void which have been enacted by any
48 jurisdictions other than state and federal, which regulate
49 firearms, ammunition, or components thereof; to prohibit the
50 enactment of any future ordinances or regulations relating to
51 firearms, ammunition, or components thereof unless specifically
52 authorized by this section or general law; and to require local
53 jurisdictions to enforce state firearms laws.
54 (b) It is further the intent of this section to deter and
55 prevent the violation of this section and the violation of
56 rights protected under the constitution and laws of this state
57 related to firearms, ammunition, or components thereof, by the
58 abuse of official authority that occurs when enactments are
59 passed in violation of state law or under color of local or
60 state authority.
61 (3) PROHIBITIONS; PENALTIES.—
62 (a) Any person, county, agency, municipality, district, or
63 other entity that violates the Legislature’s occupation of the
64 whole field of regulation of firearms and ammunition, as
65 declared in subsection (1), by enacting or causing to be
66 enforced any local ordinance or administrative rule or
67 regulation impinging upon such exclusive occupation of the field
68 shall be liable as set forth herein.
69 (b) If any county, city, town, or other local government
70 violates this section, the court shall declare the improper
71 ordinance, regulation, or rule invalid and issue a permanent
72 injunction against the local government prohibiting it from
73 enforcing such ordinance, regulation, or rule. It is no defense
74 that in enacting the ordinance, regulation, or rule the local
75 government was acting in good faith or upon advice of counsel.
76 (c) If the court determines that a violation was knowing
77 and willful, the court shall assess a civil fine of up to $5,000
78 against the elected or appointed local government official or
79 officials or administrative agency head under whose jurisdiction
80 the violation occurred.
81 (d) Except as required by applicable law, public funds may
82 not be used to defend or reimburse the unlawful conduct of any
83 person found to have knowingly and willfully violated this
84 section.
85 (e) A knowing and willful violation of any provision of
86 this section by a person acting in an official capacity for any
87 entity enacting or causing to be enforced a local ordinance or
88 administrative rule or regulation prohibited under paragraph (a)
89 or otherwise under color of law shall be cause for termination
90 of employment or contract or removal from office by the
91 Governor.
92 (f) A person or an organization whose membership is
93 adversely affected by any ordinance, regulation, measure,
94 directive, rule, enactment, order, or policy promulgated or
95 caused to be enforced in violation of this section may file suit
96 against any county, agency, municipality, district, or other
97 entity in any court of this state having jurisdiction over any
98 defendant to the suit for declaratory and injunctive relief and
99 for actual damages, as limited herein, caused by the violation.
100 A court shall award the prevailing plaintiff in any such suit:
101 1. Reasonable attorney’s fees and costs in accordance with
102 the laws of this state, including a contingency fee multiplier,
103 as authorized by law; and
104 2. The actual damages incurred, but not more than $100,000.
105
106 Interest on the sums awarded pursuant to this subsection shall
107 accrue at the legal rate from the date on which suit was filed.
108 (4) EXCEPTIONS.—This section does not prohibit:
109 (a) Zoning ordinances that encompass firearms businesses
110 along with other businesses, except that zoning ordinances that
111 are designed for the purpose of restricting or prohibiting the
112 sale, purchase, transfer, or manufacture of firearms or
113 ammunition as a method of regulating firearms or ammunition are
114 in conflict with this subsection and are prohibited;
115 (b) A duly organized law enforcement agency from enacting
116 and enforcing regulations pertaining to firearms, ammunition, or
117 firearm accessories issued to or used by peace officers in the
118 course of their official duties;
119 (c) Except as provided in s. 790.251, any entity subject to
120 the prohibitions of this section from regulating or prohibiting
121 the carrying of firearms and ammunition by an employee of the
122 entity during and in the course of the employee’s official
123 duties;
124 (d) A court or administrative law judge from hearing and
125 resolving any case or controversy or issuing any opinion or
126 order on a matter within the jurisdiction of that court or
127 judge; or
128 (e) The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
129 from regulating the use of firearms or ammunition as a method of
130 taking wildlife and regulating the shooting ranges managed by
131 the commission.
132 (5) SHORT TITLE.—As created by chapter 87-23, Laws of
133 Florida, this section may be cited as the “Joe Carlucci Uniform
134 Firearms Act.”
135 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 790.251, Florida
136 Statutes, is amended to read:
137 790.251 Protection of the right to keep and bear arms in
138 motor vehicles for self-defense and other lawful purposes;
139 prohibited acts; duty of public and private employers; immunity
140 from liability; enforcement.—
141 (4) PROHIBITED ACTS.—No public or private employer may
142 violate the constitutional rights of any customer, employee, or
143 invitee as provided in paragraphs (a)-(e):
144 (a) No public or private employer may prohibit any
145 customer, employee, or invitee from possessing any legally owned
146 firearm when such firearm is lawfully possessed and locked
147 inside or locked to a private motor vehicle in a parking lot and
148 when the customer, employee, or invitee is lawfully in such
149 area.
150 (b) No public or private employer may violate the privacy
151 rights of a customer, employee, or invitee by verbal or written
152 inquiry regarding the presence of a firearm inside or locked to
153 a private motor vehicle in a parking lot or by an actual search
154 of a private motor vehicle in a parking lot to ascertain the
155 presence of a firearm within the vehicle. Further, no public or
156 private employer may take any action against a customer,
157 employee, or invitee based upon verbal or written statements of
158 any party concerning possession of a firearm stored inside a
159 private motor vehicle in a parking lot for lawful purposes. A
160 search of a private motor vehicle in the parking lot of a public
161 or private employer to ascertain the presence of a firearm
162 within the vehicle may only be conducted by on-duty law
163 enforcement personnel, based upon due process and must comply
164 with constitutional protections.
165 (c) No public or private employer shall condition
166 employment upon either:
167 1. The fact that an employee or prospective employee holds
168 or does not hold a license issued pursuant to s. 790.06; or
169 2. Any agreement by an employee or a prospective employee
170 that prohibits an employee from keeping a legal firearm locked
171 inside or locked to a private motor vehicle in a parking lot
172 when such firearm is kept for lawful purposes.
173 (d) No public or private employer shall prohibit or attempt
174 to prevent any customer, employee, or invitee from entering the
175 parking lot of the employer’s place of business because the
176 customer’s, employee’s, or invitee’s private motor vehicle
177 contains a legal firearm being carried for lawful purposes, that
178 is out of sight within the customer’s, employee’s, or invitee’s
179 private motor vehicle.
180 (e) No public or private employer may terminate the
181 employment of or otherwise discriminate against an employee, or
182 expel a customer or invitee for exercising his or her
183 constitutional right to keep and bear arms or for exercising the
184 right of self-defense as long as a firearm is never exhibited on
185 company property for any reason other than lawful defensive
186 purposes.
187
188 This subsection applies to all public sector employers,
189 including those already limited in their ability to regulate
190 prohibited from regulating firearms under the provisions of s.
191 790.33.
192 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.