Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee
HB 1903
Brief Description: Reporting lost or stolen firearms.
Sponsors: Representatives Berry, Taylor, Stonier, Fitzgibbon, Reed, Street, Callan, Walen, Peterson, Fosse, Reeves, Simmons, Kloba, Mena, Senn, Hackney, Goodman, Thai, Ryu, Cortes, Tharinger, Alvarado, Ramel, Duerr, Ramos, Bateman, Ormsby, Fey, Rule, Macri, Gregerson, Doglio, Orwall, Bergquist, Berg, Farivar, Ortiz-Self, Lekanoff, Nance, Riccelli, Pollet and Davis.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires a person who suffers a loss or theft of a firearm to report the loss or theft to local law enforcement within 24 hours.
  • Requires law enforcement to enter information received in a report of the loss or theft of a firearm into the National Crime Information Center database.
Hearing Date: 1/16/24
Staff: Matt Sterling (786-7289).
Background:

Law provides that a person is guilty of community endangerment due to unsafe storage of a firearm if the person stores or leaves a firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law may gain access to the firearm.  If a prohibited person accesses a firearm as a result of an unlawful entry, the unauthorized access or theft of the firearm must be reported to a local law enforcement agency within five days of when the victim of the unlawful entry knew or reasonably should have known that the firearm had been taken.  The crime of community endangerment due to unsafe storage of a firearm in the first degree is a class C felony and is a gross misdemeanor in the second degree.

 

The civil infraction system allows minor offenses to be decriminalized and to receive a civil fine or infraction.  A person found to have committed a civil infraction is assessed a monetary penalty that is generally $250 for a class 1 civil infraction.
Summary of Bill:

An owner or person lawfully in possession of a firearm who suffers the loss or theft of the firearm must report the loss or theft to the local law enforcement agency where the loss or theft occurred within 24 hours after the person first discovered the loss or theft.  The report must include, to the extent known:

  • the firearm's caliber, make, model, manufacturer, and serial number;
  • any other distinguishing number or identification mark on the firearm; and
  • the circumstances of the loss or theft, including the date, place, and manner.

 

A law enforcement agency that receives a report of a lost or stolen firearm must enter the firearm's caliber, make, model, manufacturer, and serial number and any other distinguishing number or identification mark on the firearm, to the extent known, into the National Crime Information Center database.

 

Any person who fails to report a lost or stolen firearm commits a civil infraction and is subject to a monetary penalty of up to $1,000.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Not requested.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.