Senate Bill No. 378
(By Senators Kessler, Prezioso, Deem, Plymale and Williams)
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[Introduced February 25, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Interstate Cooperation; then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §61-7-6a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to reciprocity agreements with
other states related to concealed handgun licenses being
honored; removing the requirement that licensees of other
states be residents of said state; and requiring that a
potential reciprocating state's licensure standards be similar
to or greater than this state's.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-7-6a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-6a. Reciprocity; out-of-state concealed handgun permits.
(a) A holder of a valid out-of-state permit or license to
carry a concealed handgun, as issued by another state with which
the State of West Virginia has executed a reciprocity agreement,
shall be recognized as valid in this state, if the following
conditions are met:
(1) The permit or license holder is a resident of the issuing
state;
(2) (1) The permit or license holder is 21 years or older;
(3) (2) The permit or license is in his or her immediate
possession;
(4) (3) The permit or license holder is not a resident of the
State of West Virginia; and,
(5) (4) The State of West Virginia has executed a valid and
effective reciprocity agreement with the issuing state pertaining
to the carrying and verification of concealed handgun licenses and
permits issued in the respective states.
(b) A holder of a valid permit or license from another state
who is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in this state
pursuant to provisions of this section is subject to the same laws
and restrictions with respect to carrying a concealed handgun as a
resident of West Virginia who is so permitted, and must carry the
concealed handgun in compliance with the laws of this state.
(c) No license or permit from another state is valid in this
state if the holder is or becomes prohibited by law from possessing
a firearm.
(d) The West Virginia Attorney General shall seek to enter
into and may execute reciprocity agreements on behalf of the State
of West Virginia with states which meet the following standards and
requirements:
(1) The standards applied by the other state before issuing a
concealed handgun license or permit must be
equal similar to or greater than the standards imposed by this article;
(2) This state's law-enforcement officers have continuous
access to data bases on the criminal information network,
twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, to verify the
continued validity of any license or permit to carry a concealed
handgun that has been granted by the issuing state;
(3) The other state agrees to grant the right to carry a
concealed handgun to residents of West Virginia who have valid
concealed handgun permits issued pursuant to this article in their
possession while carrying concealed weapons in that state; and
(4) The states agree to apprise one another of changes in
permitting standards and requirements, to provide for a prompt
reexamination of whether any adopted change in licensing or
permitting standards negates the states' ability to continue with
the reciprocity agreement.
(e) The West Virginia State Police shall maintain a registry
of states with which the State of West Virginia has entered into
reciprocity agreements on the criminal information network and make
the registry available to law-enforcement officers for
investigative purposes.
(f) Every twelve months after the effective date of this
section, the West Virginia Attorney General shall make written
inquiry of the concealed handgun permitting authorities in each
other state as to: (i) Whether a West Virginia resident may carry
a concealed handgun in their state based upon having a valid West
Virginia concealed handgun permit; and (ii) whether a West Virginia resident may carry a concealed handgun in that state based upon
having a valid West Virginia concealed handgun permit, pursuant to
the laws of that state or by the execution of a valid reciprocity
agreement between the states.
(g) The West Virginia State Police shall make available to the
public a list of states which have entered into reciprocity
agreements with the State of West Virginia.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize reciprocity
agreements with other states related to concealed handgun licensees
of this and other states being honored; removing the requirement
that licensees of other states be residents of said state; and
requiring that a potential reciprocating state's licensure
standards be similar to or greater than this state's
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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