45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

RELATING TO FIREARMS; ENACTING THE HANDGUN SAFETY STANDARD ACT; ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION; REQUIRING THE COMMISSION TO ADOPT A SAFETY PERFORMANCE STANDARD FOR HANDGUNS; PRESCRIBING PENALTIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Handgun Safety Standard Act".

Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Handgun Safety Standard Act:

A. "antique firearms" means:

(1) a firearm, including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap or similar type of ignition system manufactured in or before 1898; and

(2) a replica of any firearm described in Paragraph (1) of this subsection if the replica:

(a) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition; or

(b) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured in the United States and that is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade;

B. "authorized user" means the person who owns the handgun, a person to whom the owner has given consent to use the handgun or a person that the owner has enabled to use the handgun;

C. "commission" means the handgun standard commission;

D. "grace period" means a period of time, not to exceed one hundred eighty days, that a new resident of this state has to bring a handgun into compliance with the provisions of the Handgun Safety Standard Act;

E. "handgun" means a loaded or unloaded pistol, revolver or firearm that will, is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosion, and the barrel length of which, not including a revolving, detachable or magazine breech, does not exceed twelve inches;

F. "handgun manufacturer" means a person engaged in the business of manufacturing handguns for the purpose of sale or distribution;

G. "integrated mechanical safety device" means a disabling or locking device that is built into a handgun and that is designed to prevent the handgun from being discharged, unless the device is deactivated by an authorized user. "Integrated mechanical safety device" does not mean a trigger safety lock that is attached to a handgun;

H. "pawnbroker" means a person whose business or occupation includes the taking or receiving, by the way of pledge or pawn, of a firearm as security for the payment or repayment of money;

I. "person" means an individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society or joint stock company;

J. "personalized handgun" means:

(1) a handgun manufactured with an integrated mechanical safety device built into it; or

(2) a handgun that has an integrated mechanical safety device built into it following manufacture of the handgun; and

K. "seller" means a person:

(1) engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail;

(2) engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of making or fitting special barrels, stocks or trigger mechanisms to firearms; or

(3) a person who is a pawnbroker.

Section 3. HANDGUN STANDARD COMMISSION--CREATION.--

A. The "handgun standard commission" shall be established within six months following the passage of the Handgun Safety Standard Act in order to promulgate an appropriate performance standard that responds to the need for the improved safety of handguns.

B. The commission shall be composed of nine members, including:

(1) two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house, including one member of each major political party represented in the house of representatives;

(2) two members of the senate appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate, including one member of each major political party represented in the senate;

(3) the attorney general or his designee;

(4) the chief of the New Mexico state police or his designee;

(5) the secretary of health or his designee;

(6) a representative of the handgun manufacturing industry appointed by the governor; and

(7) a mechanical engineer appointed by the governor.

C. Commission members shall be reimbursed pursuant to the provisions of the Per Diem and Mileage Act.

D. Staff services for the commission shall be provided by the attorney general's office.

E. The commission shall exist for the period during which the standard is promulgated. Once the commission has ceased to exist, the governor, if he deems necessary, may reestablish the commission for a period of time designated

by the governor.

F. In addition to promulgating a performance standard, the commission shall designate the existing state government agency that will be responsible for administering, advertising, implementing and enforcing the standard. The commission's designation of an agency requires approval by the governor.

Section 4. PROMULGATION OF A SAFETY STANDARD.--

A. On or before one year after the establishment of the commission, the commission shall adopt a handgun safety performance standard for all handguns manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed or acquired within this state. The standard shall require, but is not limited to, the following:

(1) a personalized handgun must be manufactured so that it can only be fired when operated by that handgun's authorized user; and

(2) the technology creating personalized handguns shall be incorporated into the design of the handgun so that the personalized characteristics cannot be readily deactivated.

B. The commission shall formulate the necessary testing procedure to determine if a handgun complies with the commission's standard.

C. The commission shall designate one or more independent laboratories to determine whether handguns comply with the commission's standard. The laboratories shall use the test method formulated by the commission to determine

compliance.

D. In accordance with the standard promulgated by the commission, handgun manufacturers wishing to manufacture, sell, offer for sale or transfer personalized handguns in the state shall submit a prototype of the personalized handgun model for testing, at the handgun manufacturer's cost, to one of the independent laboratories designated by the commission.

E. The laboratory shall issue a report directly to the agency designated by the commission to oversee the administration and implementation of the standard, and send a copy of the report to the handgun manufacturer indicating whether the submitted personalized handgun met or did not meet the safety standard. If the submitted personalized handgun did not meet the safety standard, the report shall describe the reasons therefor.

F. If the personalized handgun model fails to meet the safety standard, it shall not be manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed or acquired by anyone in this state until it has been modified to meet the commission's standard and has passed the independent laboratory test on resubmission.

G. If the personalized handgun model meets the safety standard, the designated agency shall issue a certificate stating that the personalized handgun model meets the commission's standard, and the words "certified personalized handgun" or an equivalent label, as established by the commission, shall be imprinted on the approved personalized handguns at the handgun manufacturer's expense.

H. Once the personalized handgun model is deemed to meet the safety standard, the handgun manufacturer, seller or possessor shall not alter the design of the personalized handgun in any manner affecting the safety of the personalized handgun.

Section 5. ENFORCEMENT.--

A. On or after four years from the date of the adoption of the commission's safety standard, handguns that do not meet the standard prescribed by the commission pursuant to the provisions of the Handgun Safety Standard Act shall not be manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed or acquired in this state.

B. If any police officer, during the course of official duties and operating within existing constitutional constraints on police searches and seizures, discovers

a handgun that does not meet the commission's safety standard and that is not exempt pursuant to Section 6 of the Handgun Safety Standard Act, that officer shall take possession of the handgun. The handgun shall be forfeited to the state in accordance with state law and shall be destroyed.

C. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the state against sellers, manufacturers or possessors of handguns to enjoin violations of the Handgun Safety Standard Act and for such other relief as may be appropriate.

Section 6. EXEMPTIONS.--The following handguns are exempt from the provisions of the Handgun Safety Standard Act:

A. antique firearms legally purchased or acquired in accordance with current laws;

B. handguns manufactured prior to four years from the date of the adoption of the commission's safety standard. However, such handguns shall not be sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased or distributed by dealers after four years from the date of the adoption of the commission's safety standard, unless the seller is not the owner of the handgun and is selling the handgun as the sales agent for a private party;

C. handguns purchased for official use by police departments, sheriffs and law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces of the state and the United States;

D. handguns possessed by law enforcement officers on official assignment in this state from any state that by agreement permits police officers from this state while on assignment in that state to carry firearms without registration;

E. handguns that are a part of the official equipment of a state or federal agency;

F. handguns that are inherited by a person pursuant to a will or an intestate proceeding;

G. handguns possessed by a nonresident when the nonresident is traveling through this state or if the nonresident is in this state for less than one hundred eighty days; and

H. handguns that are covered by the grace period provided to new residents of this state.

Section 7. PENALTIES.--

A. A person who knowingly violates the provisions of the Handgun Safety Standard Act by manufacturing, possessing, selling, offering for sale, trading, transferring or acquiring a handgun that has not been certified by an independent testing laboratory as meeting the standard, and does not fall within the exemptions stated in the Handgun Safety Standard Act, is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

B. A person who violates the provisions of the Handgun Safety Standard Act by deactivating the personalized characteristics of a personalized handgun manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed or acquired after four years from the date of the adoption of the commission's original standard is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

C. The penalties set forth in this section apply to all public and private manufacturers, possessors, sales, offers for sale, trades, transfers, shipments, leases, distributions or acquisitions of handguns.

Section 8. LIABILITY.--

A. A person who discharges a handgun that does not meet the commission's standard, and does not fall within the exemptions stated in the Handgun Safety Standard Act, and thereby causes personal injury to another person, shall be absolutely liable for damages that resulted from the handgun not meeting the commission's standard.

B. A person who owns a handgun that does not meet the commission's standard, and that is discharged by an unauthorized person, and does not fall within the exemptions stated in the Handgun Safety Standard Act, and thereby causes personal injury to another person, shall be absolutely liable for damages that resulted from the handgun not meeting the commission's standard. The provisions of this subsection do not apply when the handgun is stolen from its owner.

C. This section shall not apply when the discharge of the handgun was legally justified, including when the discharge of the handgun was by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty or when the discharge of the handgun was for self-defense.

D. Compliance with the safety standard issued pursuant to the Handgun Safety Standard Act does not exempt a person from liability under common law.

Section 9. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of the Handgun Safety Standard Act is held invalid, the remainder of its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.

Section 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2001.