S-3554               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4756

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Senators Williams, Newhouse and DeJarnatt

Read first time 1/22/86 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to electronic weapons; amending RCW 9.41.010; adding a new section to chapter 9.41 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.101 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 172, Laws of 1935 as last amended by section 1, chapter 232, Laws of 1983 and RCW 9.41.010 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) "Short firearm" or "pistol" as used in this chapter means any firearm with a barrel less than twelve inches in length.

          (2) "Crime of violence" as used in this chapter means:

          (a) Any of the following felonies, as now existing or hereafter amended:  Any felony defined under any law as a class A felony or an attempt to commit a class A felony, criminal solicitation of or criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, indecent liberties if committed by forcible compulsion, rape in the second degree, kidnapping in the second degree, arson in the second degree, assault in the second degree, extortion in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, and robbery in the second degree;

          (b) Any conviction for a felony offense in effect at any time prior to July 1, 1976, which is comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence in subsection (2) (a) of this section; and

          (c) Any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense comparable to a felony classified as a crime of violence under subsection (2) (a) or (b) of this section.

          (3) "Firearm" as used in this chapter means a weapon or device from which a projectile may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.

          (4) "Commercial seller" as used in this chapter means a person who has a federal firearms license.

(5) "Electric weapon" means any device that is designed, redesigned, used, or intended to be used, offensively or defensively, to immobilize or incapacitate persons by the use of electric current.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) Any person who sells, transports, manufacturers, possesses, or goes armed with an electric weapon is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by both the fine and imprisonment.

          (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:

          (a) Any law enforcement officer;

          (b) Any armed forces or national guard personnel while on official duty;

          (c) Any manufacturer or seller whose electric weapons are used in this state solely by persons specified in (a) and (b) of this subsection;

          (d) Any common carrier transporting electric weapons.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:

          The commission shall adopt rules establishing training standards for law enforcement officers using electric weapons.