5.2. SR 03-10-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conceal and carry bill moves forward in House Anne Finn The House Committee on Judiciary Policy and Finance last week passed a bill that would remove the authority of police chief~ to issue concealed firearm permits and would allow eligible individuals to obtain permits without demonstrating a safety need. HF 261 (Boudreau, R.-Faribault), also known as the Minnesota Citizens' Personal Protection Act of 2003, would make county sheriffs responsible for administering the permitting process. The committee amended a provision into the bill that would give property owners the right to ban guns from their premises. This language did little to comfort opponents of expanded gun rights. Under the provision, a property owner that prohibits firearms must post a notice of the ban, must provide secure storage lockers for firearms, and must assume full liability for gun-owners' safety on the premises. The liability provision does not exempt accidental or non-violent injury. In other words, if an entity such as a city chose to prohibit guns from city property, the city would then assume liability for any injury suffered by an individual that removed a firearm prior to entering. The League provided testimony opposing a reduction in municipal authority and expressing concern about the liability provisions. The bill passed to the Committee on Ways and Means by a vote of 12 to 8.The Senate Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee is expected to hear the original version of the bill, SF 222 (Pariseau, R-Farmington), later this week. ~ Shooting range bill narrowly passes House committee Craig Johnson The latest version of a bill to remove local government authority over shooting ranges was heard Feb. 19 in the House Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee. Various versions of this bill have been presented since the 1999 session and have passed the House, but not the full Legislature. At the recent hearing, shooting range advocates described HF 327, authored by Rep. Tom Hackbarth (R-Cedar), and their desire for the ranges to be exempted from local ordinance changes once sited and from having operations affected by local regulations. This bill contains numerous other limitations on local regulations, exempts shooting ranges from any claim of public nuisance~ even with changes in operation, and further requires both takings claims and relocation costs be paid by the regulating unit of government--even ifa range is closed as a result of being the cause of a proven, immediate public health risk. Staffofthe League of Minnesota Cities, Association of Minnesota Counties, and Minnesota Association of Townships all commented exten- sively against the bill. Staffpointed out both the unreasonableness of the language and the extensive permanent removal of private property rights the change would cause for anyone living near a shooting range, either now or one sited in the future. While the bill still passed narrowly on a voice vote, the problems identified by local government organizations received special notice and the author was asked to address those issues before the bill reaches the House floor. The next scheduled hearing for the bill will be in front of the House Civil Law Committee in Room 5 of the State Office Building at 2:30 p.m., March 5. To check on the status of HF 327, search the LMC Bill Tracker on the Legislative section of the LMC web site at: www. lmnc.org. ~- March 5, 2003 Page 7