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PROPOSED:
Essentially, HB 319 does three things:
1. Cleans up and clarifies existing language related to Concealed Handgun Carry permits (Remember that while Alaska does not require a person to have a permit, we still offer the permit to those who want one for purposes of reciprocity with other states).
2. Requires the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) in Alaska jurisdictions to complete, in a timely manner, the required certification on an application to the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) for approval to transfer a firearm registered under the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934 to a person who is qualified under state law to possess the firearm. The local approval is required before the BATFE passes the application on to the FBI for a comprehensive background examination of the applicant.
3. Allows the Department of Public Safety to use electronic applications for Alaska Concealed Handgun Permits and post the regulations and statutes on its website, instead of providing paper copies.
PROPOSED:
CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 186(FIN) am
"An Act declaring that certain firearms and accessories are exempt from federal
regulation."
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
* Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section
to read:
FINDINGS. The legislature finds that the authority for this Act is the following:
(1) the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees
to the states and their people all powers not granted to the federal government elsewhere in
the constitution and reserves to the state and people of Alaska certain powers as they were
intended at the time that Alaska was admitted to statehood in 1959; the guaranty of those
powers is a matter of contract between the state and people of Alaska and the United States as
of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Alaska
and the United States in 1959;
(2) the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees
to the people rights not granted in the constitution and reserves to the people of Alaska certain
rights as they were intended at the time that Alaska was admitted to statehood in 1959; the
guaranty of those rights is a matter of contract between the state and people of Alaska and the
United States as of the time that the compact with the United States was agreed upon and
adopted by Alaska and the United States in 1959;
(3) the regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the
Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, particularly if not
expressly preempted by federal law; the United States Congress has not expressly preempted
state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of
firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition;
(4) the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reserves to
the people the right to keep and bear arms as that right was intended at the time that Alaska
was admitted to statehood in 1959, and the guaranty of the right is a matter of contract
between the state and people of Alaska and the United States as of the time that the compact
with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by Alaska and the United States in 1959;
(5) art. I, sec. 19, Constitution of the State of Alaska clearly secures to Alaska
citizens and prohibits government interference with the right of individual Alaska citizens to
keep and bear arms.
* Sec. 2. AS 44.99 is amended by adding a new section to read:
Article 5. Alaska Firearms Freedom Act.
Sec. 44.99.500. State policy, declarations, and requirements concerning
certain firearms not in interstate commerce and not subject to federal regulation.
(a) A personal firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that is manufactured
commercially or privately in this state and that remains in the state is not subject to
federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of the
United States Congress to regulate interstate commerce as those items have not
traveled in interstate commerce.
(b) This section applies to a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition that
is manufactured in this state from basic materials and that can be manufactured
without the inclusion of any significant parts imported from another state. Generic and
insignificant parts that have other manufacturing or consumer product applications are
not firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition, and their importation into this state
and incorporation into a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured in
this state does not subject the firearm, firearm accessory, or ammunition to federal
regulation. Basic materials, such as unmachined steel and unshaped wood, are not
firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition and are not subject to congressional
authority to regulate firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition under interstate
commerce as if they were actually firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition. The
authority of the United States Congress to regulate interstate commerce in basic
materials does not include authority to regulate firearms, firearm accessories, and
ammunition made in this state from those materials. Firearm accessories that are
imported into this state from another state and that are subject to federal regulation as
being in interstate commerce do not subject a firearm to federal regulation under
interstate commerce because they are attached to or used in conjunction with a firearm
in this state.
(c) A firearm manufactured or sold in this state and not subject to federal
regulation under this section must have the words "Made in Alaska" clearly stamped
on a central metallic part, such as the receiver or frame.
(d) The attorney general may defend a citizen of this state who is prosecuted
by the government of the United States under the congressional power to regulate
interstate commerce for violation of a federal law concerning the manufacture, sale,
transfer, or possession of a firearm, a firearm accessory, or ammunition manufactured
and retained within this state.
(e) In this section,
(1) "firearm accessory" means an item that is used in conjunction with
or mounted on a firearm but is not essential to the basic function of a firearm,
including a telescopic or laser sight, magazine, flash or sound suppressor, folding or
aftermarket stock and grip, speedloader, ammunition carrier, and light for target
illumination;
(2) "generic and insignificant parts" includes springs, screws, nuts, and
pins;
(3) "manufactured" means a firearm, a firearm accessory, or
ammunition that has been created from basic materials for functional usefulness,
including forging, casting, machining, or other processes for working materials.
* Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to
read:
APPLICABILITY. AS 44.99.500, added by sec. 2 of this Act, applies to firearms,
firearm accessories, and ammunition that are manufactured and retained in this state after
October 1, 2009.
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