REPORT TITLE:
Nonresident gun possession


DESCRIPTION:
Allows nonresident aliens to bring firearms into the State for
recreational target shooting or game hunting, subject to certain
conditions.  (SB607 HD2)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        607
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO FIREARMS.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Hawaii is widely
 
 2 recognized as a community relatively free of violence involving
 
 3 firearms.  The legislature further finds that this low rate of
 
 4 violence is attributable to strict controls on the possession and
 
 5 use of firearms within the State.  However, the legislature
 
 6 recognizes that there is a need to expand the State's visitor
 
 7 industry by developing niche markets, such as recreational
 
 8 hunting, to encourage visitors who may want to enjoy Hawaii's
 
 9 optimal climate and scenic landscapes while also engaging in
 
10 legal recreational firearms activities.
 
11      The purpose of this Act is to allow nonresident aliens, who
 
12 are visiting the State to engage in recreational target shooting
 
13 or game hunting, to bring legal firearms into the State under
 
14 certain conditions for these limited purposes.
 
15      SECTION 2.  Section 134-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
16 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
17      "(a)  Every person arriving in the State who brings or by
 
18 any other manner causes to be brought into the State a firearm of
 
19 any description, whether usable or unusable, serviceable or
 
20 unserviceable, modern or antique, shall register the firearm
 

 
Page 2                                                     607
                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
                                                        H.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1 within three days after arrival of the person or of the firearm,
 
 2 whichever arrives later, with the chief of police of the county
 
 3 of the person's place of business or, if there is no place of
 
 4 business, [such] the person's residence or, if there is neither a
 
 5 place of business nor residence, the person's place of sojourn[;
 
 6 provided that no].  A nonresident alien [shall be allowed to] may
 
 7 bring [a firearm of any description into the State.] firearms not
 
 8 otherwise prohibited by law into the State for a continuous
 
 9 period not to exceed ninety days; provided that the person meets
 
10 the registration requirement of this section and the person
 
11 possesses:
 
12      (1)  A valid Hawaii hunting license procured under chapter
 
13           183D, part II, or a commercial or private shooting
 
14           preserve permit issued pursuant to section 183D-34;
 
15      (2)  A written document indicating the person has been
 
16           invited to the State to shoot on private land; or
 
17      (3)  Written notification from a firing range or target
 
18           shooting business indicating that the person will
 
19           actually engage in target shooting.
 
20 The nonresident alien shall be limited to a nontransferable
 
21 registration of not more than ten firearms for the purpose of the
 
22 above activities."
 

 
 
 
Page 3                                                     607
                                     S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
                                                        H.D. 2
                                                        

 
 1      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 2 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 3      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.