Passed by the House April 13, 2011 Yeas 92   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 5, 2011 Yeas 48   ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Barbara Baker, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1041 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/01/11.
AN ACT Relating to including correctional employees who have completed government-sponsored law enforcement firearms training to the lists of law enforcement personnel that are exempt from certain firearm restrictions; amending RCW 9.41.060 and 9.41.300; and adding a new section to chapter 9.41 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 9.41.060 and 2005 c 453 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
The provisions of RCW 9.41.050 shall not apply to:
(1) Marshals, sheriffs, prison or jail wardens or their deputies,
correctional personnel and community corrections officers as long as
they are employed as such who have completed government-sponsored law
enforcement firearms training and have been subject to a check through
the national instant criminal background check system or an equivalent
background check within the past five years, or other law enforcement
officers of this state or another state. Correctional personnel and
community corrections officers seeking the waiver provided for by this
section are required to pay for any background check that is needed in
order to exercise the waiver;
(2) Members of the armed forces of the United States or of the
national guard or organized reserves, when on duty;
(3) Officers or employees of the United States duly authorized to
carry a concealed pistol;
(4) Any person engaged in the business of manufacturing, repairing,
or dealing in firearms, or the agent or representative of the person,
if possessing, using, or carrying a pistol in the usual or ordinary
course of the business;
(5) Regularly enrolled members of any organization duly authorized
to purchase or receive pistols from the United States or from this
state;
(6) Regularly enrolled members of clubs organized for the purpose
of target shooting, when those members are at or are going to or from
their places of target practice;
(7) Regularly enrolled members of clubs organized for the purpose
of modern and antique firearm collecting, when those members are at or
are going to or from their collector's gun shows and exhibits;
(8) Any person engaging in a lawful outdoor recreational activity
such as hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, or horseback riding, only
if, considering all of the attendant circumstances, including but not
limited to whether the person has a valid hunting or fishing license,
it is reasonable to conclude that the person is participating in lawful
outdoor activities or is traveling to or from a legitimate outdoor
recreation area;
(9) Any person while carrying a pistol unloaded and in a closed
opaque case or secure wrapper; or
(10) Law enforcement officers retired for service or physical
disabilities, except for those law enforcement officers retired because
of mental or stress-related disabilities. This subsection applies only
to a retired officer who has: (a) Obtained documentation from a law
enforcement agency within Washington state from which he or she retired
that is signed by the agency's chief law enforcement officer and that
states that the retired officer was retired for service or physical
disability; and (b) not been convicted or found not guilty by reason of
insanity of a crime making him or her ineligible for a concealed pistol
license.
Sec. 2 RCW 9.41.300 and 2008 c 33 s 1 are each amended to read as
follows:
(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places
when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her
control a weapon:
(a) The restricted access areas of a jail, or of a law enforcement
facility, or any place used for the confinement of a person (i)
arrested for, charged with, or convicted of an offense, (ii) held for
extradition or as a material witness, or (iii) otherwise confined
pursuant to an order of a court, except an order under chapter 13.32A
or 13.34 RCW. Restricted access areas do not include common areas of
egress or ingress open to the general public;
(b) Those areas in any building which are used in connection with
court proceedings, including courtrooms, jury rooms, judge's chambers,
offices and areas used to conduct court business, waiting areas, and
corridors adjacent to areas used in connection with court proceedings.
The restricted areas do not include common areas of ingress and egress
to the building that is used in connection with court proceedings, when
it is possible to protect court areas without restricting ingress and
egress to the building. The restricted areas shall be the minimum
necessary to fulfill the objective of this subsection (1)(b).
For purposes of this subsection (1)(b), "weapon" means any firearm,
explosive as defined in RCW 70.74.010, or any weapon of the kind
usually known as slung shot, sand club, or metal knuckles, or any
knife, dagger, dirk, or other similar weapon that is capable of causing
death or bodily injury and is commonly used with the intent to cause
death or bodily injury.
In addition, the local legislative authority shall provide either
a stationary locked box sufficient in size for pistols and key to a
weapon owner for weapon storage, or shall designate an official to
receive weapons for safekeeping, during the owner's visit to restricted
areas of the building. The locked box or designated official shall be
located within the same building used in connection with court
proceedings. The local legislative authority shall be liable for any
negligence causing damage to or loss of a weapon either placed in a
locked box or left with an official during the owner's visit to
restricted areas of the building.
The local judicial authority shall designate and clearly mark those
areas where weapons are prohibited, and shall post notices at each
entrance to the building of the prohibition against weapons in the
restricted areas;
(c) The restricted access areas of a public mental health facility
certified by the department of social and health services for inpatient
hospital care and state institutions for the care of the mentally ill,
excluding those facilities solely for evaluation and treatment.
Restricted access areas do not include common areas of egress and
ingress open to the general public;
(d) That portion of an establishment classified by the state liquor
control board as off-limits to persons under twenty-one years of age;
or
(e) The restricted access areas of a commercial service airport
designated in the airport security plan approved by the federal
transportation security administration, including passenger screening
checkpoints at or beyond the point at which a passenger initiates the
screening process. These areas do not include airport drives, general
parking areas and walkways, and shops and areas of the terminal that
are outside the screening checkpoints and that are normally open to
unscreened passengers or visitors to the airport. Any restricted
access area shall be clearly indicated by prominent signs indicating
that firearms and other weapons are prohibited in the area.
(2) Cities, towns, counties, and other municipalities may enact
laws and ordinances:
(a) Restricting the discharge of firearms in any portion of their
respective jurisdictions where there is a reasonable likelihood that
humans, domestic animals, or property will be jeopardized. Such laws
and ordinances shall not abridge the right of the individual guaranteed
by Article I, section 24 of the state Constitution to bear arms in
defense of self or others; and
(b) Restricting the possession of firearms in any stadium or
convention center, operated by a city, town, county, or other
municipality, except that such restrictions shall not apply to:
(i) Any pistol in the possession of a person licensed under RCW
9.41.070 or exempt from the licensing requirement by RCW 9.41.060; or
(ii) Any showing, demonstration, or lecture involving the
exhibition of firearms.
(3)(a) Cities, towns, and counties may enact ordinances restricting
the areas in their respective jurisdictions in which firearms may be
sold, but, except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a business
selling firearms may not be treated more restrictively than other
businesses located within the same zone. An ordinance requiring the
cessation of business within a zone shall not have a shorter
grandfather period for businesses selling firearms than for any other
businesses within the zone.
(b) Cities, towns, and counties may restrict the location of a
business selling firearms to not less than five hundred feet from
primary or secondary school grounds, if the business has a storefront,
has hours during which it is open for business, and posts
advertisements or signs observable to passersby that firearms are
available for sale. A business selling firearms that exists as of the
date a restriction is enacted under this subsection (3)(b) shall be
grandfathered according to existing law.
(4) Violations of local ordinances adopted under subsection (2) of
this section must have the same penalty as provided for by state law.
(5) The perimeter of the premises of any specific location covered
by subsection (1) of this section shall be posted at reasonable
intervals to alert the public as to the existence of any law
restricting the possession of firearms on the premises.
(6) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
(a) A person engaged in military activities sponsored by the
federal or state governments, while engaged in official duties;
(b) Law enforcement personnel, except that subsection (1)(b) of
this section does apply to a law enforcement officer who is present at
a courthouse building as a party to an action under chapter 10.14,
10.99, or 26.50 RCW, or an action under Title 26 RCW where any party
has alleged the existence of domestic violence as defined in RCW
26.50.010; or
(c) Security personnel while engaged in official duties.
(7) Subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), and (e) of this section does not
apply to correctional personnel or community corrections officers, as
long as they are employed as such, who have completed government-sponsored law enforcement firearms training, except that subsection
(1)(b) of this section does apply to a correctional employee or
community corrections officer who is present at a courthouse building
as a party to an action under chapter 10.14, 10.99, or 26.50 RCW, or an
action under Title 26 RCW where any party has alleged the existence of
domestic violence as defined in RCW 26.50.010.
(8) Subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply to a person
licensed pursuant to RCW 9.41.070 who, upon entering the place or
facility, directly and promptly proceeds to the administrator of the
facility or the administrator's designee and obtains written permission
to possess the firearm while on the premises or checks his or her
firearm. The person may reclaim the firearms upon leaving but must
immediately and directly depart from the place or facility.
(((8))) (9) Subsection (1)(c) of this section does not apply to any
administrator or employee of the facility or to any person who, upon
entering the place or facility, directly and promptly proceeds to the
administrator of the facility or the administrator's designee and
obtains written permission to possess the firearm while on the
premises.
(((9))) (10) Subsection (1)(d) of this section does not apply to
the proprietor of the premises or his or her employees while engaged in
their employment.
(((10))) (11) Government-sponsored law enforcement firearms
training must be training that correctional personnel and community
corrections officers receive as part of their job requirement and
reference to such training does not constitute a mandate that it be
provided by the correctional facility.
(12) Any person violating subsection (1) of this section is guilty
of a gross misdemeanor.
(((11))) (13) "Weapon" as used in this section means any firearm,
explosive as defined in RCW 70.74.010, or instrument or weapon listed
in RCW 9.41.250.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 9.41 RCW
to read as follows:
The exemptions from firearms restrictions in RCW 9.41.060 and
9.41.300 for correctional personnel and community corrections officers
who complete government-sponsored law enforcement firearms training do
not create a duty on the part of the state or local governmental
entities with respect to the off-duty conduct of correctional personnel
and community corrections officers involving the use or misuse of a
firearm.
The state of Washington, local governmental entities, and their
officers, employees, and agents are not liable for any civil damages
caused by the use or misuse of a firearm by off-duty correctional
personnel or community corrections officers based on any act or
omission in the provision of government-sponsored firearms training to
the correctional personnel or community corrections officers.