Senate Bill No. 305
(By Senators Sypolt and Barnes)
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[Introduced February 19, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Interstate Cooperation; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §15-2-25 of said code;
to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
§15-2-25c; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §30-29-11, all relating to requiring
qualifying law-enforcement officers employed by a West
Virginia law-enforcement agency to receive certification to
carry a concealed firearm nationwide as provided in the
federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004;
establishing procedure for a retired or medically discharged
member of the State Police to appeal a denial of a letter of
authorization to carry concealed handguns; providing that
certain methods of authorization for retired or medically
discharged members of the State Police to carry concealed handguns are cumulative; providing that a letter of
authorization for a retired or medically discharged member of
the State Police to carry concealed handguns is considered a
West Virginia concealed handgun license for the purpose of
participating in reciprocity with other states; providing that
law-enforcement agencies are neither prohibited from nor
required to permit an officer to carry his or her service
weapon off-duty; requiring West Virginia law-enforcement
agencies to offer access to training and certification for
honorably retired officers to be permitted to carry a
concealed firearm nationwide as a qualified retired
law-enforcement officer as provided in the federal Law
Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004; establishing program
for issuing special qualified retired law-enforcement officer
concealed firearm license by the State Police; authorizing
legislative rules; and providing that special qualified
retired law-enforcement officer concealed firearm license is
cumulative and supplemental.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; that §15-2-25 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §15-2-25c; and that said code be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated §30-29-11, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 4. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, REWARDS AND LEGAL ADVICE.
§7-4-1. Duties of prosecuting attorney; further duties upon
request of Attorney General.
(a) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall
attend to the criminal business of the state in the county in which
he the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified. and When he
the prosecuting attorney has information of the violation of any
penal law committed within such the county in which the prosecuting
attorney is elected and qualified, he the prosecuting attorney
shall institute and prosecute all necessary and proper proceedings
against the offender and may in such case issue or cause to be
issued a summons for any witness he may deem the prosecuting
attorney considers material. Every public officer shall give him
the prosecuting attorney information of the violation of any penal
law committed within his the county in which the prosecuting
attorney is elected and qualified. It shall also be the duty of
The prosecuting attorney to shall attend to civil suits in such the
county in which the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified,
in which the state or any department, commission, or board, thereof
or other instrumentality of the state is interested, and to advise,
attend to, bring, prosecute or defend, as the case may be, all matters, actions, suits and proceedings in which such the county or
any county board of education is interested.
(b) Any prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney
who elects to carry a concealed firearm pursuant to the federal Law
Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S.C. §926B, shall undergo
annual firearms training and certification established by the
sheriff's department of his or her county, similar to that which is
provided to members of the sheriff's department eligible for
training and certification under 18 U.S.C. §926B, and which shall
reasonably accommodate any physical disability of the trainee. Any
prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney who elects
to undergo training and certification pursuant to this subsection
shall provide, at his or her own expense, a suitable firearm and
any ammunition actually expended in training and certification
pursuant to this subsection. Upon completion of training and
certification pursuant to this subsection, each prosecuting
attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney shall be issued a
photographic identification and certification card, suitable to be
carried in a wallet, valid for one year, which shall contain the
name, title, official address, full-face color photograph of said
prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney, the
sheriff's signature, the expiration date, the words "qualified
law-enforcement officer under 18 U.S.C. §926B" in conspicuous type
and shall indicate completion of periodic training consistent with this subsection and 18 U.S.C. §926B. Prosecuting attorneys and
assistant prosecuting attorneys shall have all the rights and
authorities necessary in order to comply with 18 U.S.C. §926B and
receive the rights, benefits, privileges and immunities conferred
under 18 U.S.C. §926B. This subsection is supplemental and
additional to existing rights to bear arms, and nothing in this
subsection shall impair or diminish such rights.
(c) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall
keep his or her office open in the charge of a responsible person
during the hours polls are open on general, primary and special
county-wide election days, and the prosecuting attorney, or his
assistant prosecuting attorneys, if any, shall be available for the
purpose of advising election officials. It shall be the further
duty of The prosecuting attorney, when requested by the Attorney
General, to shall perform or to assist the Attorney General in
performing, in the county in which he the prosecuting attorney is
elected and qualified, any legal duties required to be performed by
the Attorney General, and which are not inconsistent with the
duties of the prosecuting attorney as the legal representative of
such the county. It shall also be the duty of The prosecuting
attorney, when requested by the Attorney General, to shall perform
or to assist the Attorney General in performing any legal duties
required to be performed by the Attorney General, in any county
other than that the county in which such the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified, and for the performance of any such
duties in any county other than that the county in which such the
prosecuting attorney is elected he and qualified, the prosecuting
attorney shall be paid his or her actual expenses.
(d) Upon the request of the Attorney General, the prosecuting
attorney shall make a written report of the state and condition of
the several causes all cases in which the state is a party, pending
in his the county, and upon any matters referred to him the
prosecuting attorney by the Attorney General as provided by law.
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-25. Rules generally; carrying of weapons upon retirement or
medical discharge.
(a) Subject to the written approval of the Governor and the
provisions of this article, the superintendent may make and
promulgate proper rules for the government, discipline and control
of the West Virginia State Police and shall also cause to be
established proper rules for the examinations of all applicants for
appointment thereto. The members of the West Virginia State Police
shall be permitted to carry arms and weapons and no license may be
required for the privilege.
(b) Upon retirement or medical discharge from the West
Virginia State Police and with the written consent of the superintendent, any retired or medically discharged member who is
not prohibited by federal law or section seven, article seven,
chapter sixty-one of this code from possessing or transporting a
handgun may carry a handgun handguns and concealed weapons without
a license for the life of the member following retirement or
medical discharge notwithstanding the provisions of article seven,
chapter sixty-one of this code as if the member were licensed under
section four, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code:
Provided, That the superintendent's written letter of consent
authorization to carry a handgun handguns and concealed weapons may
not last for more than five years at a time and a retired or
medically discharged member who wishes to continue to carry a
handgun handguns and concealed weapons beyond five years of the
date of his or her initial retirement or medical discharge must
request and obtain a renewal of the superintendent's written
permission authorization to carry a handgun handguns and concealed
weapons at least once every five years. A retired or medically
discharged member desiring to carry a handgun handguns and
concealed weapons after retirement or medical discharge must
provide his or her own handgun. Upon request, each member shall be
presented with a letter certificate of authorization signed by the
superintendent authorizing the retired or medically discharged
member to carry a handgun handguns and concealed weapons. The
written certificate of authorization shall be carried by the retired or medically discharged member at all times that he or she
has a handgun concealed weapon on or about his or her person. The
superintendent may not issue a letter certificate of authorization
to, and shall revoke any current certificate of authorization
issued to, any retired or medically discharged member who is
prohibited by federal law or section seven, article seven, chapter
sixty-one of this code from possessing or transporting a handgun,
who is no longer employed by the State Police due to a mental
disability or who the superintendent has reason just cause to
believe is mentally incapacitated to the extent it would present
the mental incapacity presents a threat of physical harm to one or
more persons for if the member is authorized to carry a handgun or
concealed weapon weapons. The superintendent may revoke the
authority at any time without cause and without recourse.
Conviction of the retired or medically discharged member for the
commission of any felony or for a misdemeanor involving the
improper or illegal use of a firearm shall cause this authority to
terminate immediately without a hearing or other recourse and
without any action on the part of the superintendent. The
superintendent may not withhold, deny or revoke any certificate of
authorization issued under this subsection without cause if the
retired or medically discharged member is qualified for the
authorization. The superintendent shall promulgate a legislative
rule in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, which rule shall prescribe requirements necessary for
the issuance and continuance of the authority herein granted and
procedures for appealing a denial or revocation of a certificate of
authorization to carry handguns and concealed weapons issued under
this subsection in accordance with subsection (f) of this section.
For the purpose of participation in concealed weapon license
reciprocity with other states pursuant to section six-a, article
seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, a valid certificate of
authorization issued pursuant to this subsection shall constitute
a license to carry concealed weapons issued by this state.
(c) In addition to any certificate of authorization under
subsection (b) of this section, the superintendent shall make
available to all eligible retired or medically discharged members
of the State Police a program for annual qualification and
certification to carry a concealed firearm nationwide under 18
U.S.C. §926C if that retired or medically discharged member is
otherwise a qualified retired law-enforcement officer as that term
is defined in 18 U.S.C. §926C, which shall reasonably accommodate
any physical disability of the retired or medically-discharged
member. The superintendent may not charge a retired or
medically-discharged member a fee for the annual qualification and
certification. However, a retired or medically-discharged member
who wishes to qualify shall provide at his or her own expense a
suitable firearm and the ammunition actually expended in the qualification. A retired or medically discharged member of the
State Police who qualifies for both a certificate of authorization
under subsection (b) of this section and qualification and
certification as a qualified retired law-enforcement officer under
18 U.S.C. §926C, shall be entitled to both and the corresponding
rights, benefits, privileges and immunities appertaining to each.
(d) Before issuing or renewing any certificate of
authorization under subsection (b) of this section or a
certification as a qualified retired law-enforcement officer under
subsection (c) of this section, the superintendent shall conduct an
investigation which shall verify that the retired or medically
discharged member of the State Police is not prohibited by federal
law or section seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code
from possessing or transporting any firearm. This investigation
shall conform to the requirements of 18 U.S.C. §922(t)(3)(A), 27
C.F.R. §478.102(d)(1) or other applicable federal law for
qualifying certificates of authorization issued under subsection
(b) of this section or certifications issued under subsection (c)
of this section as an alternative to the national instant criminal
background check system or other similar required background check
for a resident of this state to purchase a firearm through a
licensed firearms dealer within this state, including a background
check conducted through the national instant criminal background
check system and, if the retired or medically discharged member is not a citizen of the United States, an Immigration Alien Query
through the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
(e) Each certificate of authority under subsection (b) of this
section or certification under subsection (c) of this section,
issued on or after the effective date of this subsection, shall be
no larger than three and three-eighths inches wide by two and
one-eighth inches long, shall be made of a hard, laminated material
suitable for carrying in a wallet, similar to a driver's license,
and shall contain the retired or medically discharged member's
name, address, signature and full-face color photograph, the
superintendent's signature, the dates of issue and expiration, the
words "qualified retired law-enforcement officer under 18 U.S.C.
§926C" in conspicuous type in the case of a certification under
subsection (c) of this section and any other information as the
superintendent considers appropriate.
(f) Any denial, revocation or termination of a retired or
medically discharged member's certificate of authority under
subsection (b) of this section or certification as a qualified
retired law-enforcement officer under subsection (c) of this
section is subject to article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code.
(g) The superintendent shall revoke any certificate of
authorization issued under subsection (b) of this section or certification as a qualified retired law-enforcement officer issued
under subsection (c) of this section if the person to whom the
certificate or certification was issued becomes prohibited under
federal law or the laws of this state from possessing or
transporting firearms. The superintendent shall immediately notify
the person of the revocation in writing, delivered either by
personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested. The
person shall immediately surrender the revoked certificate or
certification to the superintendent if served in person with the
notice or within five business days if served by certified mail.
Any person who knowingly fails to surrender a revoked certificate
or certification as required by this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $1,000, confined in jail for not more than six months, or
both.
(h) A certificate of authority under subsection (b) of this
section and certification as a qualified retired law-enforcement
officer under subsection (c) of this section shall be cumulative
and supplemental to one another and to any license to carry
concealed weapons under section four, article seven, chapter
sixty-one or other authorization under the laws of this state to
carry concealed weapons. Subsections (b) through (f) of this
section are supplemental and additional to existing rights to bear
arms, and nothing in subsections (b) through (f) of this section shall impair or diminish such rights.
(i) Records identifying any individual retired or medically
discharged member of the State Police as holding a certificate of
authority under subsection (b) of this section or certification as
a qualified retired law-enforcement officer under subsection (c) of
this section shall be confidential and may only be copied or
inspected only by:
(1) The retired or medically discharged member of the State
Police;
(2) The duly qualified conservator or guardian of the retired
or medically discharged member of the State Police;
(3) The duly qualified executor or administrator of the estate
of the retired or medically discharged member of the State Police,
if deceased, or, in the event no executor or administrator has
qualified, the next of kin of the retired or medically discharged
member of the State Police;
(4) An attorney, attorney-in-fact or other agent or
representative acting pursuant to a written power of attorney or
other written authorization signed by the retired or medically
discharged member of the State Police;
(5) A duly authorized representative of a law-enforcement
agency for any official purpose or any other agency or
instrumentality of federal, state or local government seeking the
record in the ordinary course of performing its official duties; or
(6)(A) A person authorized an order of any court, based upon
a finding of the court that the information is sufficiently
necessary to a proceeding before the court to substantially
outweigh the importance of maintaining the confidentiality
established by this subsection, to copy or inspect the information
protected by this subsection.
(B) Before any court orders access to any records pursuant to
this subdivision, the court shall order the moving party to give
each affected applicant or licensee notice of the proceedings, the
request for confidential records under this subsection and the
opportunity of affected persons to confidentially intervene and
object to the request by directing the superintendent to print and
mail by first-class mail to each affected person, the costs for
which the moving party must prepay in full to the superintendent,
and perform this notification in a manner not inconsistent with the
confidentiality provisions of this subsection.
§15-2-25c. Certification to carry concealed firearm by qualified
retired law-enforcement officers.
(a) Not later than September 1, 2009, the superintendent shall
establish a program for training and certifying qualified retired
law-enforcement officers who reside in this state to carry
concealed firearms under the provisions of 18 U.S.C. §926C. The
superintendent shall propose legislative rules to implement this
program and shall initially promulgate those rules on an emergency basis.
(b) The rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section shall:
(1) Make all necessary provisions to create a program open to
all residents of this state entitled by virtue of past employment
to be considered qualified retired law-enforcement officers within
the meaning of 18 U.S.C §926C and who elect to become so certified
are, in fact, promptly qualified and certified so as to obtain all
rights, benefits, privileges and immunities of 18 U.S.C. §926C, on
a uniform, nondiscretionary basis;
(2) Provide that the required training and other qualification
shall be offered at least once quarterly in each county of this
state in which a State Police Troop Headquarters is located and in
any other counties of this state designated by the superintendent;
(3) Provide that the opportunities for qualification and
certification shall be advertised on-line at the official website
of the West Virginia State Police, by mail to appropriate private
organizations in contact with retired law-enforcement officers and
by publication in the State Register;
(4) Provide that the certificate issued to a qualified
law-enforcement officer under this program shall be no larger than
three and three-eighths inches wide by two and one-eighth inches
long and shall be made of a hard, laminated material suitable for
carrying in a wallet, similar to a driver's license, and shall contain the words "qualified retired law-enforcement officer under
18 U.S.C. §926C" in conspicuous type;
(5) Provide that all documents a qualified retired
law-enforcement officer is required to file with the superintendent
under this section may be filed by mailing them to the headquarters
of the State Police, by delivering them in person to the
headquarters of the State Police or any troop headquarters or
detachment or by any other method the superintendent may authorize;
(6) Provide that the provisions of article five, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code shall apply to any denial, suspension or
revocation of any certification under the program;
(7) Provide that any person who wishes to qualify under this
program shall provide, at his or her own expense, a suitable
firearm and ammunition actually expended in the qualification; and
(8) Provide that qualification under this program shall
reasonably accommodate any physical disability of an applicant.
(c) The rules promulgated pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section may establish a qualification and training fee of not more
than $25 per year per applicant. There is hereby created in the
State Treasury a special revenue revolving fund known as the State
Police Qualified Retired Law Enforcement Officer Training and
Certification Fund, which shall be an interest-bearing account.
The fee authorized under this subsection shall be deposited into
this fund. This fund may be expended solely for the purpose of defraying the costs incurred by the State Police in administering
the program established pursuant to this section.
(d) Before issuing or renewing any certificate under this
section, the superintendent shall conduct an investigation which
shall verify that the applicant is a qualified law-enforcement
officer and is not prohibited by federal law or section seven,
article seven, chapter sixty-one from possessing or transporting
any firearm. This investigation shall conform to the requirements
of 18 U.S.C. §922(t)(3)(A), 27 C.F.R. §478.102(d)(1) or other
applicable federal law for qualifying certificates issued under
this section as an alternative to the national instant criminal
background check system or other similar required background check
for a resident of this state to purchase a firearm through a
licensed firearms dealer within this state, including a background
check conducted through the national instant criminal background
check system and, if the applicant is not a citizen of the United
States, an Immigration Alien Query through the United States Bureau
of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
(e) The superintendent and any employee or agent thereof is
immune from civil liability as the result of the lawful performance
of his or her duties under this section and the rules adopted
pursuant to this section.
(f) In this section, the definitions specified in 18 U.S.C.
§926C shall apply.
(g) A certification as a qualified retired law-enforcement
officer under this section is cumulative and supplemental to any
license to carry concealed weapons under section four, article
seven, chapter sixty-one of this code or other authorization under
the laws of this state to carry concealed weapons. This section is
supplemental and additional to existing rights to bear arms, and
nothing in this section shall impair or diminish such rights.
(h) The superintendent shall revoke any certification as a
qualified retired law-enforcement officer under this section if the
person to whom the certification was issued becomes prohibited by
federal law or the laws of this state from possessing or
transporting firearms. The superintendent shall immediately notify
the person of the revocation in writing, delivered either by
personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested. The
person shall immediately surrender the revoked certification to the
superintendent if served in person with the notice or within five
business days if served by certified mail. Any person who
knowingly fails to surrender a revoked certification as required by
this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, confined in jail for
not more than six months, or both.
(i) The names, addresses and other personally-identifying
information of any qualified retired law-enforcement officer who
applies for or has been issued a certificate of qualification under this section or otherwise participates in a program under
this section is not a public record and may only be copied or
inspected only by:
(1) The qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(2) The duly qualified conservator or guardian of the
qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(3) The duly qualified executor or administrator of the estate
of the qualified retired law-enforcement officer, if deceased, or,
in the event no executor or administrator has qualified, the next
of kin of the deceased qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(4) An attorney, attorney-in-fact or other agent or
representative acting pursuant to a written power of attorney or
other written authorization signed by the qualified retired
law-enforcement officer;
(5) A duly authorized representative of a law-enforcement
agency for any official purpose or any other agency or
instrumentality of federal, state or local government seeking the
record in the ordinary course of performing its official duties; or
(6)(A) A person authorized an order of any court, based upon
a finding of the court that the information is sufficiently
necessary to a proceeding before the court to substantially
outweigh the importance of maintaining the confidentiality
established by this subsection, to copy or inspect the information
protected by this subsection.
(B) Before any court orders access to any records pursuant to
this subdivision, the court shall order the moving party to give
each affected person notice of the proceedings, the request for
confidential records under this subsection and the opportunity of
affected persons to confidentially intervene and object to he
request by directing the superintendent to print and mail by
first-class mail to each affected person, the costs for which the
moving party must prepay in full to the superintendent, and perform
this notification in a manner not inconsistent with the
confidentiality provisions of this subsection.
CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
ARTICLE 29. LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.
30-29-11. Law-enforcement officers to receive certification to
carry concealed firearms under federal Law
Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.
(a) Every qualified law-enforcement officer employed by a West
Virginia law-enforcement agency shall receive the training and
certification required to be considered a qualified law-enforcement
officer under 18 U.S.C. §926B to carry a concealed firearm
nationwide as provided therein. It is the duty of each
law-enforcement official to provide to each qualified
law-enforcement officer under his or her command the identification
prescribed therein. A West Virginia law-enforcement agency may not charge any officer any fees or costs for issuing the certification.
This subsection may not be construed to require nor prohibit a
law-enforcement agency from permitting, requiring or prohibiting a
law-enforcement officer to carry his or her agency-owned service
weapon off-duty.
(b)(1) Every West Virginia law-enforcement agency shall, at
least once annually, notify each honorably retired law-enforcement
officer who retired from that agency of the provisions of 18 U.S.C.
§926C that permit a qualified retired law-enforcement officer to
carry a concealed firearm nationwide. Each agency shall permit a
retired officer who meets the eligibility requirements of this law
to receive the training and certification required for the retired
officer to qualify as a qualified retired law-enforcement officer
as provided in 18 U.S.C. §926C. Each qualifying retired officer
shall be offered the required annual recertification as provided in
18 U.S.C. §926C, which shall reasonably accommodate any physical
disability of the retired officer.
(2) Each retired officer who qualifies under this subsection
shall be issued a photo identification that shall be no larger than
three and three-eighths inches wide by two and one-eighth inches
long, shall be made of a hard, laminated material suitable for
carrying in a wallet, similar to a driver's license, and shall
contain the qualified retired law-enforcement officer's name,
address, signature and full-face color photograph, the signature of the chief law-enforcement official of the issuing agency, the dates
of issue and expiration, the words "Qualified retired
law-enforcement officer under 18 U.S.C. §926C" in conspicuous type
and any other information as the chief law-enforcement official of
the issuing agency considers appropriate.
(3) Before issuing or renewing any certification as a
qualified retired law-enforcement officer under this subsection,
the certifying agency shall conduct an investigation which shall
verify that the retired officer is not prohibited by federal law or
section seven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code from
possessing or transporting any firearm. This investigation shall
conform to the requirements of 18 U.S.C. §922(t)(3)(A), 27 C.F.R.
§478.102(d)(1) or other applicable federal law for qualifying
certifications issued under this subsection as an alternative to
the national instant criminal background check system or other
similar required background check for a resident of this state to
purchase a firearm through a licensed firearms dealer within this
state, including a background check conducted through the national
instant criminal background check system and, if the retired
officer is not a citizen of the United States, an Immigration Alien
Query through the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement.
(4) A West Virginia law-enforcement agency may not charge its
retired officers a fee for annual qualification and certification under this subsection. However, the person who wishes to qualify
shall provide, at his or her own expense, a suitable firearm and
any ammunition actually expended in the qualification.
(5) The law-enforcement official who issued a certification
under this subsection shall revoke any certification under this
subsection if the retired officer to whom the certification was
issued becomes prohibited by federal law or the laws of this state
from possessing or transporting firearms. The issuing
law-enforcement official shall immediately notify the retired
officer of the revocation in writing, delivered either by personal
service or certified mail, return receipt requested. The person
shall immediately surrender the revoked certification to the
issuing law-enforcement official if served in person with the
notice or within five business days if served by certified mail.
Any person who knowingly fails to surrender a revoked certification
as required by this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, confined
in jail for not more than six months, or both.
(c) A certification as a qualified law-enforcement officer or
qualified retired law-enforcement officer under this section shall
be cumulative and supplemental to any license to carry concealed
weapons under section four, article seven, chapter sixty-one of
this code
or other authorization under the laws of this state to
carry concealed weapons. This section is supplemental and additional to existing rights to bear arms, and nothing in this
section impairs or diminishes these rights.
(d) The names, addresses and other personally-identifying
information of any qualified retired law-enforcement officer who
applies for or has been issued a certificate of qualification
under subsection (b) of this section or otherwise participates in
a program under subsection (b) of this section is not public record
and may only be copied or inspected only by:
(1) The qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(2) The duly qualified conservator or guardian of the
qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(3) The duly qualified executor or administrator of the estate
of the qualified retired law-enforcement officer, if deceased, or,
in the event no executor or administrator has qualified, the next
of kin of the deceased qualified retired law-enforcement officer;
(4) An attorney, attorney-in-fact or other agent or
representative acting pursuant to a written power of attorney or
other written authorization signed by the qualified retired
law-enforcement officer; or
(5) A duly authorized representative of a law-enforcement
agency for any official purpose or any other agency or
instrumentality of federal, state or local government seeking the
record in the ordinary course of performing its official duties;
(6)(A) A person authorized an order of any court, based upon a finding of the court that the information is sufficiently
necessary to a proceeding before the court to substantially
outweigh the importance of maintaining the confidentiality
established by this subsection, to copy or inspect the information
protected by this subsection.
(B) Before any court orders access to any records pursuant to
this subdivision, the court shall order the moving party to give
each affected person notice of the proceedings, the request for
confidential records under this subsection and the opportunity of
affected persons to confidentially intervene and object to the
request by directing the applicable law-enforcement official to
print and mail by first-class mail to each affected person, the
costs for which the moving party must prepay in full to the
law-enforcement official, and perform this notification in a manner
not inconsistent with the confidentiality provisions of this
subsection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all
law-enforcement agencies in this state to certify qualified
law-enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms nationwide as
provided by the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004
and require law-enforcement agencies to provide qualified retired
law-enforcement officers the opportunity to be certified to carry
concealed firearms nationwide, as provided in the Act.
Strike-throughs indicate language which would be eliminated;
underscoring indicates new language which would be added.
§15-2-25c and §30-29-11 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
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