98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
SB3229
 
Introduced 2/11/2014, by Sen. Don Harmon
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:



New Act

 Creates the Handgun Dealer Licensing Act. Provides for the regulation of handgun dealers through licensure by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Provides that no person may sell or otherwise transfer, expose for sale or transfer, or have in his or her possession with the intent to sell or transfer any concealable firearm without being licensed under the Act. Provides, however, that the prohibition does not apply to a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of concealable firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or as a hobby, or who sells all or part of his or her personal collection of firearms. Sets forth provisions concerning application, fees, duration of licensure, license retention requirements, submissions to the Department, penalties, revocation, and suspension. Grants rulemaking authority to the Department and provides that for the purpose of determining compliance with the Act, the Act may be enforced by any municipality in which a licensee is located or, if a licensee is not located in a municipality, by the county in which a licensee is located.



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A BILL FOR
 


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1 AN ACT concerning handgun regulation.


2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3represented in the General Assembly:



4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
5Handgun Dealer Licensing Act.

6 Section 5. Definitions. In this Act:
7 "Department" means the Department of Financial and 
8Professional Regulation.

9 "Handgun dealer" means any person who is: 
10  (1) engaged in the business of selling concealable 
11 firearms at wholesale or retail; 
12  (2) engaged in the business of repairing concealable 
13 firearms or making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or 
14 trigger mechanisms to concealable firearms; or 
15  (3) a pawnbroker whose business or occupation includes 
16 the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any 
17 concealable firearm as security for the payment or 
18 repayment of money.
19 
"Licensed dealer" means any firearms dealer who is 
20licensed under both this Act and Section 923 of the federal Gun 
21Control Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. 923).
22 
"Person" means an individual, firm, association, society, 
23partnership, limited liability company, corporation, or other 
 
 
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1entity.

2 "Engaged in the business" means the devotion of time, 
3attention, and labor to engaging in the activity as a regular 
4course of trade or business with the principal objective of 
5livelihood and profit. "Engaged in the business" does not 
6include the making of occasional repairs of concealable 
7firearms, or the occasional fitting of special barrels, stocks, 
8or trigger mechanisms to concealable firearms.

9 "Firearm" has the meaning given to that term in the Firearm 
10Owners Identification Card Act.

11 "Transfer" means the actual or attempted transfer of a 
12concealable firearm or concealable firearm ammunition, with or 
13without consideration. "Transfer" does not include the lease of 
14a concealable firearm, or the provision of ammunition 
15specifically for that firearm, if the firearm and the 
16ammunition are to be used on the lessor's premises, and does 
17not include any transfer of possession when the transferor 
18maintains supervision and control over the concealable firearm 
19or ammunition.

20 "With the principal objective of livelihood and profit" 
21means that the intent underlying the sale or disposition is 
22predominantly one of obtaining livelihood and pecuniary gain, 
23as opposed to other intents, such as improving or liquidating a 
24personal firearms collection; however, proof of profit shall 
25not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and 
26repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal 
 
 
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1purposes or terrorism.


2 Section 10. Unlicensed dealing; exemption. 
3 (a) No person may sell or otherwise transfer, expose for 
4sale or transfer, or have in his or her possession with the 
5intent to sell or transfer any concealable firearm without 
6being licensed under this Act. 
7 (b) This Section does not apply to a person who makes 
8occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of concealable 
9firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or as a 
10hobby, or who sells all or part of his or her personal 
11collection of firearms.

12 Section 15. License application; fees; penalty.
13 (a) The Department may grant a handgun dealer license to an 
14applicant who satisfies the following requirements:

15  (1) he or she is at least 21 years of age;
16  (2) he or she possesses a valid Firearm Owner's 
17 Identification Card; and
18  (3) he or she submits to a background check conducted 
19 by the Department that includes the initiation and 
20 completion of an automated search of its criminal history 
21 record information files and those of the Federal Bureau of 
22 Investigation, including the National Instant Criminal 
23 Background Check System, and of the files of the Department 
24 of Human Services relating to mental health and 
 
 
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1 developmental disabilities to obtain any felony conviction 
2 or patient hospitalization information that would 
3 disqualify a person from obtaining licensure under this 
4 Act.
5 (b) An application for a handgun dealer license must be 
6made on forms prescribed by the Department. The application 
7must be verified by the applicant under oath and must be 
8accompanied by the required fee.
9 (c) The applicant must submit to the Department a license 
10fee of $300, payable at the time of application, and an 
11additional $300 payable every 3 years thereafter for so long as 
12the license is in effect.
13 (d) The applicant must submit to fingerprinting in 
14accordance with rules adopted by the Department and must pay a 
15fingerprint processing fee in the amount set by the Department 
16by rule.
17 (e) A person who knowingly makes a false statement or 
18knowingly conceals a material fact or uses false information or 
19identification in any application for a license under this Act 
20commits a Class A misdemeanor.


21 Section 20. Duration of licensure. A license granted under 
22this Act remains in effect until it is revoked, suspended, or 
23otherwise withdrawn by the Department or until it is 
24surrendered by the licensee.

 
 
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1 Section 25. License retention requirements. A license 
2granted under this Act is subject to all of the following 
3requirements:

4  (1) A licensed dealer may only transact business under 
5 this Act at an address that has a zoning classification 
6 that permits the operations of a retail establishment.

7  (2) A licensed dealer may not transact business in any 
8 place other than the premises specified on his or her 
9 license, except that a licensed dealer may display, sell, 
10 or transfer firearms at a gun show open to the general 
11 public or at any regular meeting of an incorporated 
12 collectors club in accordance with this Act and federal 
13 law.

14  (3) A licensed dealer may not violate any provision of 
15 any federal or State law pertaining to the possession, use, 
16 sale, or delivery of firearms.

17  (4) A licensed dealer must strictly adhere to the 
18 provisions of all applicable federal and State laws and 
19 local ordinances and local business license requirements.

20  (5) A separate license must be obtained for each 
21 separate place of business. Before a licensed dealer moves 
22 his or her place of business, he or she must promptly apply 
23 to the Department for an amended license.

24  (6) The license, or a copy of the license certified by 
25 the Department, must be conspicuously displayed at the 
26 business premises.

 
 
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1  (7) No concealable firearm may be displayed in any 
2 outer window of the business premises or in any other place 
3 where it can readily be seen from the outside.

4  (8) Every concealable firearm must be unloaded when 
5 delivered.

6  (9) A licensee must obtain a certificate of 
7 registration issued under the Retailers' Occupation Tax 
8 Act.

9  (10) The licensee must take reasonable precautions to 
10 ensure that all concealable firearms that the licensee 
11 sells will not be used illegally. These precautions 
12 include, but are not limited to, the following: 
13   (A) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a 
14 person the licensee knows or has reason to know is 
15 purchasing the firearm on behalf of another person who 
16 could not legally purchase the firearm; 
17   (B) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a 
18 person who has provided a home address in a 
19 municipality or county in which possession of that type 
20 of concealable firearm is illegal, unless the 
21 transferee presents reasonably satisfactory evidence 
22 that the concealable firearm will not be used or 
23 possessed unlawfully in that municipality or county; 
24 and 
25   (C) the refusal to sell a concealable firearm to a 
26 person who has provided a home address in a 
 
 
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1 municipality or county that requires registration of 
2 the firearm, unless the purchaser presents 
3 satisfactory evidence of compliance with the 
4 registration requirement.

5  (11) A licensee must make his or her records relating 
6 to the sale of concealable firearms available to any 
7 officer or employee of the Department or of any unit of 
8 local government in this State whenever the officer or 
9 employee is authorized to enforce laws or ordinances 
10 pertaining to firearms, provided that no officer or 
11 employee may conduct any search or seizure other than an 
12 inspection of a licensee's records relating to firearms 
13 sales without a warrant and that nothing in this Section 
14 shall authorize any search or seizure forbidden by the 
15 United States Constitution or the Illinois Constitution.


16 Section 30. Submission to Department. 
17 (a) A licensed dealer must, within 24 hours after making a 
18sale or transfer of a concealable firearm to a person who is 
19not licensed as a handgun dealer, submit a report concerning 
20that sale to the Department. The report must contain the 
21following information: 
22  (1) the date of the sale or transfer; 
23  (2) the identity and address of the dealer; 
24  (3) the name, address, age, and occupation of the 
25 transferee; 
 
 
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1  (4) the price of the firearm; and 
2  (5) the type, description, and number of the firearm. 
3 (b) All records of the reports submitted under this Section 
4must be maintained by the Department on a computer database 
5capable of allowing the retrieval of information for each 
6dealer and each transferee. The computer database must also 
7contain a listing of each county or municipality that prohibits 
8one or more types of concealable firearm, and the type or types 
9of concealable firearms that are prohibited in that county or 
10municipality. Information in the database must be made 
11available to any law enforcement agency responsible for the 
12enforcement of any federal, State, or local law or ordinance 
13relating to firearms, and to any licensed dealer who requests 
14information relating to a person who is seeking to purchase one 
15or more firearms from that dealer. Except as specifically 
16provided in this Section, information in the database is deemed 
17the confidential record of the Department and is not subject to 
18disclosure under any other law.
19 (c) Any licensee who is required to keep a record of 
20transfer under subsection (b) of Section 3 of the Firearm 
21Owners Identification Card Act must report any transfer of a 
22firearm that occurred within the 24-month period immediately 
23preceding the effective date of this Act to the Department no 
24later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act. The 
25report must contain that information required by subsection (b) 
26of Section 3 of the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act. The 
 
 
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1Department must include this report in the computer database 
2required to be maintained under this Section.

3 Section 35. Penalty. Any person who sells, or who possesses 
4with intent to sell, trade, or transfer, any firearm without 
5being licensed under this Act is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

6 Section 40. Enforcement; rulemaking. 
7 (a) This Act must be enforced by the Department, and may be 
8enforced, for the purpose of determining compliance with this 
9Act, by any municipality in which the licensee is located or, 
10if the licensee is not located in a municipality, by the county 
11in which the licensee is located.
12 (b) The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the 
13implementation and administration of this Act.

14 Section 45. Revocation; suspension. The Department, after 
15due notice to the licensee and reasonable opportunity for the 
16licensee to be heard, may revoke a license or may suspend a 
17license for a period of time that the Department may deem 
18proper upon satisfactory proof that the licensee has violated 
19or permitted a violation of any requirement of this Act or is 
20no longer eligible to obtain a license under this Act. A person 
21whose license has been revoked by the Department is 
22disqualified from receiving a license under this Act for 10 
23years after the revocation. Any person who has substantially 
 
 
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1participated in the operation or management of a licensee that 
2has had a license revoked may not be employed by or participate 
3in the business of any other licensee for 10 years after the 
4revocation. Proceedings for revocation or suspension under 
5this Section may be initiated by the Department or by any 
6municipality or county.