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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

267:1 New Chapter; Negligent Storage of Firearms. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 650-B the following new chapter:

I. Nothing in this section shall be construed to reduce or limit any existing right to purchase and own firearms or ammunition, or both, or to provide authority to any state or local agency to infringe upon the privacy of any family, home or business except by lawful warrant.

II. As used in this section, "child," "juvenile" or "youth" shall mean any person under 16 years of age.

III. Any person who stores or leaves on premises under that person's control a loaded firearm, and who knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or guardian, is guilty of a violation if a child gains access to a firearm and:

(a) The child has completed firearm safety instructions by a certified firearms safety instructor or has successfully completed a certified hunter safety course.

(b) The firearm is kept secured in a locked box, gun safe, or other secure locked space, or in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure, or is secured with a trigger lock or similar device that prevents the firearm from discharging.

(c) The firearm is carried on the person or within such a close proximity thereto so that the individual can readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person.

(d) The child obtains or obtains and discharges the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person.

(e) The person who keeps a loaded firearm on any premises which are under such person's custody or control has no reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and circumstances, that a child is likely to be present on the premises.

(f) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry of any premises by any person or an illegal taking of the firearm from the premises of the owner without permission of the owner.

VI. A parent or guardian of a child who is injured or who dies of an accidental shooting shall be prosecuted under this section only in those instances in which the parent or guardian behaved in a grossly negligent manner.

VII. Licensees shall conspicuously post at each purchase counter the following warning in bold type not less than one inch in height: "IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE OWNER OF A FIREARM SEEK FIREARM SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS FROM A CERTIFIED FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR AND KEEP FIREARMS SECURED FROM UNAUTHORIZED USE." A licensee failing to display this warning to the purchaser of a firearm shall be guilty of a violation.

The Administrative Office of the Courts stated this bill creates a new offense for negligently storing a firearm a Class A misdemeanor offense. The Office has determined the legislation will have little, if any, fiscal impact on the Branch, as it will not significantly impact caseload.

The Judicial Council assumed that any cases arising from the enactment of this law for which the Indigent Defense Fund may be liable, will, in the first instance be handled by the Public Defender or contract attorneys who accept these cases on a fixed fee basis of $250 for each misdemeanor charge. If an assigned counsel attorney must be used, the hourly rate of $60, with a fee cap of $1,000 for misdemeanor cases will apply. If a motion to exceed the fee cap is approved and/or "services other than counsel" are approved, these will also be chargeable to the Indigent Defense Fund. The Council is unable to predict the number of cases or trials which may arise as a result of the passage of this legislation, therefor, they are unable to estimate the dollar amount of the anticipated costs of such representation.

The Department of Corrections has stated sentences for misdemeanor are served at a county correctional facility. The Department is unable to estimate how many individuals would be sentenced under the provisions of this bill. Therefor they are unable to estimate the fiscal impact on the counties.

The Department of Justice is unable to determine the fiscal impact of this bill. Costs would be directly related to the number and severity of the offenses, both of which are unknown.