Chapter
497
2007 -- S 0197 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 10/30/07
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL
OFFENSES -- POLICE OFFICERS
Introduced By: Senator Michael J. McCaffrey
Date Introduced: January
31, 2007
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 11-47-35 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-47 entitled
"Weapons"
is
hereby amended to read as follows:
11-47-35.
Sale of concealable weapons -- Safety courses and tests -- Review board --
Issuance
of permits to certain government officers. -- (a) (1) No person shall deliver a pistol
or
revolver to a purchaser until seven (7) days shall have elapsed from twelve
o'clock (12:00)
noon of
the day following the day of application for the purchase, and when delivered,
the pistol
or
revolver shall be unloaded and securely wrapped, with the bill of sale to be
enclosed within the
wrapper
with the pistol or revolver. Any citizen of the United States and/or lawful
resident of this
state
who is twenty-one (21) years of age or older, and any nonresident member of the
armed
forces
of the United States who is stationed in this state and who is twenty-one (21)
years of age
or
older, may upon application purchase or acquire a pistol or revolver. At the
time of applying
for the purchase
of a concealable firearm, the purchaser shall: (i) complete and sign in
triplicate
and
deliver to the person selling the pistol or revolver the application form
described in this
section,
and in no case shall it contain the serial number of the pistol or revolver;
and (ii) shall
present
to the person selling the pistol or revolver a pistol/revolver safety
certificate issued by the
department
of environmental management. The certificate shall be retained in the
possession of
the
buyer. The pistol/revolver safety certificate shall certify that the purchaser
has completed a
basic
pistol/revolver safety course as shall be administered by the department of
environmental
management.
(Face
of application form)
Application
to Purchase Pistol or Revolver
Date
................................................................... Hour
.................................................................
A.M. P.M.
Name
.........................................................................
Address
......................................................................
(Street
and number) (City or town) (State)
Date
of Birth ................................................ Place of Birth
..............................................................................
Height
............................................................... Weight
..................................................................
Color hair
..............................................................................
Color
eyes ...................................................................
Scars
........................................................................
Tattoos
......................................................................
Other
identifying marks ......................................................
Are
you a citizen of the United States .......................................
Are
you a citizen of Rhode Island ............................................
How
long .....................................................................
Where
stationed ..............................................................
(Armed
Forces only) ..........................................................
Have
you ever been convicted of a crime of violence ..........................
(See
section 11-47-2)
Have
you ever been adjudicated or under confinement as addicted to
a
controlled substance .........................................................
Have
you ever been adjudicated or under confinement for alcoholism ...........
Have you ever been confined or treated for mental illness ....................
From
whom is pistol or revolver being purchased ..............................
Seller's
address .............................................................
Seller's
signature ...........................................................
Applicant's
signature ........................................................
(See
section 11-47-23 for penalty for false information on this application)
(Reverse
side of application form)
AFFIDAVIT:
I certify that I have read and am familiar with the provisions of sections
11-47-1
- 11-47-55, inclusive, of the general laws of the State of Rhode Island and
Providence
Plantations,
and that I am aware of the penalties for violation of the provisions of the
cited
sections.
I further certify that I have completed the required basic pistol/revolver
safety course.
Signed
....................................................................... (over)
County
of ....................................................................
State
of Rhode Island
Subscribed
and sworn before me this.... day of.... A.D. 20..
Notary
Public ...................................................................
(2) The person selling the pistol or revolver shall on the date of application
sign and
forward
by registered mail or by delivery in person the original and duplicate copies
of the
application
to the superintendent of the Rhode Island state police or the chief of police
in the city
or town
in which the person has his or her residence or place of business. The
superintendent of
the
Rhode Island state police or the chief of police in the city or town in which
the person has his
or her
residence or place of business shall mark or stamp the original copy of the
application form
with the
date and the time of receipt and return it by the most expeditious means to the
person
who is
selling the pistol or revolver. The triplicate copy duly signed by the person
who is selling
the pistol
or revolver shall within seven (7) days be sent by him or her by registered
mail to the
attorney
general. The person who is selling the pistol or revolver shall retain the
original copy
duly
receipted by the police authority to whom sent or delivered for a period of six
(6) years with
other
records of the sale. It shall be the duty of the police authority to whom the
duplicate copy of
the
application form is sent or delivered to make a background check of the
applicant to ascertain
whether
he or she falls under the provisions of section 11-47-5, 11-47-6, 11-47-7, or
11-47-23. If,
after
the lapse of seven (7) days from twelve o'clock (12:00) noon of the day
following
application,
no disqualifying information has been received from the investigating police
authority
by the person who is selling the pistol or revolver, he or she will deliver the
firearm
applied
for to the applicant. Upon the finding of no disqualifying information under
the
provisions
of the above cited sections of this chapter, and in no case later than thirty
(30) days
after
the date of application, the duplicate and triplicate copies of the application
will be
destroyed.
Retention of the duplicate and triplicate copies in violation of this section
or any
unauthorized
use of the information contained in the copies by a person or agency shall be
punishable
by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). The provisions of
this
section
shall not apply to bona fide sales at wholesale to duly licensed retail
dealers, nor to
purchases
by retail dealers duly licensed under the provisions of section 11-47-39.
(b)
(1) The department of environmental management shall establish the basic
pistol/revolver
safety course required by this section. The safety course shall consist of not
less
than two
(2) hours of instruction in the safe use and handling of pistols and revolvers
and the
course
shall be available to buyers continually throughout the year at convenient
times and places
but at
least monthly at locations throughout the state, or more frequently as
required. Proficiency
in the
use of pistols or revolvers shall not be prerequisite to the issuance of the
safety certificate.
No
person shall be required to complete the course more than once; provided, that
any person
completing
the course who is unable to produce the safety certificate issued by the
department of
environmental
management shall be required to take the course again unless the person
provides
evidence
to the department that he or she has successfully completed the course.
(2)
The administration of the basic pistol/revolver safety course required by this
section
shall
not exceed the cost of thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000) in any fiscal
year.
(c)
Proof of passage of the department of environmental management's basic hunter
safety
course will be equivalent to the pistol/revolver safety certificate mandated by
this section.
(d) Any
person who has reason to believe that he or she does not need the required
handgun
safety course may apply by any written means to the department of environmental
management
to take an objective test on the subject of matter of the handgun safety
course. The
test
shall be prepared, as well as an instruction manual upon which the test shall
be based, by the
department.
The manual shall be made available by any means to the applicant who may,
within
the time
limits for application, take the objective test at the department or at any
location where
the
handgun safety course is being given. Any person receiving a passing grade on
the test shall
be
issued a pistol/revolver safety certificate by the department.
(e)
[Deleted by P.L. 2005, ch. 20, section 11 and P.L. 2005, ch. 27, section 11].
(f)
The following persons shall be issued basic pistol/revolver permits by the
department
of
environmental management: sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, the superintendent and
members of the
state
police, prison or jail wardens or their deputies, members of the city or town
police force,
members
of the park police, conservation officers, members of the airport police
and officers of
the
United States government authorized by law to carry a concealed firearm and, at
the
discretion
of the department of environmental management, any person who can
satisfactorily
establish
that he or she formerly held one of these offices or were so authorized.
(g)
Any person who is serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast
Guard on
active duty shall not be required to obtain a basic pistol/revolver safety
certificate or
basic
pistol/revolver permit under this section so long as he or she remains on
active duty.
(h)
Any person who is serving in the active reserve components of the Army, Navy,
Air
Force,
Marine Corps or Coast Guard, or any person in an active duty paid status in the
Rhode
Island
National Guard, shall not be required to obtain a basic pistol/revolver safety
certificate
under
this section so long as he or she remains in active status.
SECTION
2. Section 42-28.6-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-28.6 entitled "Law
Enforcement
Officers' Bill of Rights" is hereby amended to read as follows:
42-28.6-1.
Definitions -- Payment of legal fees. -- As used in this chapter, the
following
words have
the meanings indicated:
(1) "Law enforcement officer" shall mean any permanently employed
city or town police
officer,
state police officer, or permanent law enforcement officer of the
department of
environmental
management;, or those employees of the airport corporation of Rhode
Island who
have
been granted the authority to arrest by the director of said corporation. hHowever this shall
not
include the chief of police and/or the highest ranking sworn officer of any of
the departments
including
the director and deputy director of the airport corporation of Rhode Island.
(2) (i) "Hearing committee" means a committee which is authorized to
hold a hearing on
a
complaint against a law enforcement officer and which consists of three (3) active
or retired law
enforcement
officers from within the state of Rhode Island, other than chiefs of police,
who have
had no
part in the investigation or interrogation of the law enforcement officer. The
committee
shall be
composed of three (3) members; one member selected by the chief or the highest
ranking
officer
of the law enforcement agency, one member selected by the aggrieved law
enforcement
officer
and the third member shall be selected by the other two (2) members. In the
event that the
other two
(2) members are unable to agree within five (5) days, then either member will
make
application
to the presiding justice of the superior court and the presiding justice shall
appoint the
third
member who shall be an active law enforcement officer. Upon written application
by a
majority
of the hearing committee, the presiding justice, in his or her discretion, may
also appoint
legal
counsel to assist the hearing committee.
(ii) The law enforcement agency and the law enforcement officer under investigation
shall
each be responsible to pay fifty percent (50%) of the legal fee of the
appointed legal counsel
for the
hearing committee; provided, however, that on motion made by either party, the
presiding
justice
shall have the authority to make a different disposition as to what each party
is required to
pay
toward the appointed legal counsel's legal fee.
(3) "Hearing" means any meeting in the course of an investigatory
proceeding, other than
an interrogation
at which no testimony is taken under oath, conducted by a hearing committee for
the
purpose of taking or adducing testimony or receiving evidence.
SECTION
3. Section 45-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-19 entitled "Relief
of
Injured
and Deceased Fire Fighters and Police Officers" is hereby amended to read
as follows:
45-19-1.
Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury. -- (a) Whenever any
police
officer of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation or whenever any police officer, fire
fighter,
crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy
fire marshal of
any
city, town, fire district, or the state of Rhode Island is wholly or partially
incapacitated by
reason
of injuries received or sickness contracted in the performance of his or her
duties, the
respective
city, town, or fire district, or state of Rhode Island or
Rhode Island Airport Corporation
by which
the police officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief
deputy fire
marshal,
or deputy fire marshal, is employed, shall, during the period of the
incapacity, pay the
police
officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire
marshal, or
deputy
fire marshal, the salary or wage and benefits to which the police officer, fire
fighter, crash
rescue
crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal,
would be
entitled
had he or she not been incapacitated, and shall pay the medical, surgical,
dental, optical,
or other
attendance, or treatment, nurses, and hospital services, medicines, crutches,
and
apparatus
for the necessary period, except that if any city, town, fire district, or
the state of Rhode
Island or
Rhode Island Airport Corporation provides the police officer, fire fighter,
crash rescue
crewperson,
fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, with insurance
coverage
for the related treatment, services, or equipment, then the city, town, fire
district, or the
state of
Rhode Island or Rhode Island Airport Corporation is only obligated to
pay the difference
between
the maximum amount allowable under the insurance coverage and the actual cost
of the
treatment,
service, or equipment. In addition, the cities, towns, fire districts, or
the state of Rhode
Island or
Rhode Island Airport Corporation shall pay all similar expenses incurred by
a member
who has
been placed on a disability pension and suffers a recurrence of the injury or
illness that
dictated
his or her disability retirement.
(b) As used in this section, "police officer" means and includes any
chief or other
member
of the police department of any city or town regularly employed at a fixed
salary or wage
and any
executive high sheriff, sheriff, deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task
force, or
capitol
police officer. or airport police officer.
(c) As used in this section, "fire fighter" means and includes any
chief or other member
of the
fire department or rescue personnel of any city, town, or fire district, and
any person
employed
as a member of the fire department of the town of North Smithfield, or fire
department
or
district in any city or town.
(d) As used in this section, "crash rescue crewperson" means and
includes any chief or
other
member of the emergency crash rescue section, division of airports, or
department of
transportation
of the state of Rhode Island regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage.
(e) As used in this section, "fire marshal," "chief deputy fire
marshal", and "deputy fire
marshal"
mean and include the fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, and deputy fire
marshals
regularly
employed by the state of Rhode Island pursuant to the provisions of chapter
28.2 of title
23.
(f) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island, except for sworn
employees of
the
Rhode Island State Police, who is otherwise entitled to the benefits of chapter
19 of this title
shall be
subject to the provisions of chapters 29 -- 38 of title 28 for all case
management
procedures
and dispute resolution for all benefits.
SECTION
4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00678/SUB A
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