AL
Alabama Senate Bill SB281

Alabama 2024 Regular Session

Alabama Senate Bill SB281 Compare Versions

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33 SB281
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55 By Senator Melson
66 RFD: Banking and Insurance
77 First Read: 04-Apr-24
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12-5 SB281 Enrolled
12+5 SB281 Engrossed
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1414 First Read: 04-Apr-24
15-Enrolled, An Act,
15+A BILL
16+TO BE ENTITLED
17+AN ACT
1618 Relating to financial institutions; to provide
1719 definitions; to prohibit a governmental agency from creating
1820 or maintaining a list or registry of privately owned firearms
1921 or owners of firearms; to prohibit the use of firearms codes
2022 in certain circumstances; to prohibit a financial institution
2123 from declining a payment card transaction relating to a
2224 firearm retailer in certain circumstances; and to provide for
2325 civil remedies.
2426 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
2527 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2628 the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act.
2729 Section 2. For the purposes of this act, the following
2830 terms have the following meanings:
2931 (1) AMMUNITION. Any cartridge, shell, or projectile, or
3032 a component of any of the previous, designed for use in a
3133 firearm.
3234 (2) ASSIGN or ASSIGNMENT. A financial institution's
3335 policy, process, or practice that labels, links, or otherwise
3436 associates a firearms code with a merchant or a payment card
3537 transaction in a manner that allows the financial institution
36-or any other entity facilitating or processing the payment
37-card transaction to identify whether a merchant is a firearm
38-retailer or whether a transaction involves the sale of a
39-firearm or ammunition.
40-(3) CUSTOMER. Any person or entity engaged in a payment
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67+transaction in a manner that allows the financial institution
68+or any other entity facilitating or processing the payment
69+card transaction to identify whether a merchant is a firearm
70+retailer or whether a transaction involves the sale of a
71+firearm or ammunition.
7072 (3) CUSTOMER. Any person or entity engaged in a payment
7173 card transaction facilitated or processed by a financial
7274 institution.
7375 (4) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION. A person or entity other
7476 than a merchant involved in facilitating or processing a
7577 payment card transaction, including any bank, credit union as
7678 defined in Section 5-17-1, Code of Alabama 1975, acquirer, or
7779 payment card issuer.
7880 (5) FIREARM. As defined in Section 13A-11-59, Code of
7981 Alabama 1975. The term also includes any component or
8082 accessory of a firearm.
8183 (6) FIREARM RETAILER. Any person or entity that is
8284 physically located in this state and is engaged in the lawful
8385 selling or trading of firearms, antique firearms, or
8486 ammunition.
8587 (7) FIREARMS CODE. A merchant category code approved by
8688 the international organization for standardization or an
8789 equivalent successor organization and specifically assigned to
8890 a firearm retailer.
8991 (8) GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY. The state, or any political
9092 subdivision thereof, or any agency or instrumentality of the
9193 state.
9294 (9) PAYMENT CARD. A credit card, charge card, debit
9395 card, or any other card that is issued to an authorized card
94-user and allows the user to purchase goods or services from a
95-merchant.
96-(10) PAYMENT CARD NETWORK. An entity that provides
97-proprietary services, infrastructure, and software to conduct
98-payment card transaction authorizations, clearances, and
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125+card, or any other card that is issued to an authorized card
126+user and allows the user to purchase goods or services from a
127+merchant.
128+(10) PAYMENT CARD NETWORK. An entity that provides
129+proprietary services, infrastructure, and software to conduct
128130 payment card transaction authorizations, clearances, and
129131 settlements, and software that an entity uses in order to
130132 accept as a form of payment a brand of payment card or other
131133 device that may be used to carry out payment card
132134 transactions. The term does not include any financial
133135 institution.
134136 (11) PAYMENT CARD TRANSACTION. Any transaction in which
135137 a payment card is accepted as payment.
136138 Section 3. (a) Except for records kept during the
137139 regular course of a criminal investigation or prosecution, or
138140 as otherwise required by law, a governmental entity, or agent
139141 or employee of a governmental entity, shall not knowingly keep
140142 or cause to be kept any list, record, or registry of privately
141143 owned firearms or the owners of firearms.
142144 (b) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), a
143145 payment card network, or agent of a payment card network,
144146 shall not require the use of a firearms code in a way that
145147 distinguishes a firearm retailer from other retailers.
146148 (c) Except as provided in subsections (d) and (e), a
147149 financial institution, or agent of a financial institution,
148150 shall not decline a payment card transaction involving a
149151 firearm retailer based solely on an assignment of a firearms
150152 code.
151153 (d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a payment
152-card network or financial institution from declining or
153-otherwise refusing to process a payment card transaction for
154-any of the following reasons:
155-(1) To comply with applicable state or federal law.
156-(2) To comply with a request by a customer.
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183+(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a payment
184+card network or financial institution from declining or
185+otherwise refusing to process a payment card transaction for
186+any of the following reasons:
187+(1) To comply with applicable state or federal law.
186188 (2) To comply with a request by a customer.
187189 (3) To comply with fraud, credit, or compliance
188190 controls.
189191 (4) For the purpose of merchant category exclusions
190192 offered by a financial institution for expenditure control or
191193 corporate card control.
192194 (5) To restrict the use or availability of a firearms
193195 code in this state.
194196 (e) Nothing in this section shall limit the authority
195197 of a financial institution or payment card network to
196198 negotiate with responsible parties or otherwise impair a
197199 financial institution's actions related to any of the
198200 following:
199201 (1) Dispute processing.
200202 (2) Fraud risk, compliance, credit management, or other
201203 controls in the ordinary course of business operations.
202204 (3) Protecting against illegal activities, breach, or
203205 cyber risks.
204206 (4) Restricting the use or availability of a firearms
205207 code in this state.
206208 Section 4. (a) The Attorney General shall investigate
207209 reasonable allegations that a person or entity, including a
208210 governmental entity, has violated this act and, upon finding a
209211 violation, shall provide written notice to the person or
210-entity believed to have committed the violation. The person or
211-entity shall cease the violation within 60 business days after
212-receiving written notice from the Attorney General pursuant to
213-this section.
214-(b)(1) If a person or entity does not cease the
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241+violation, shall provide written notice to the person or
242+entity believed to have committed the violation. The person or
243+entity shall cease the violation within 60 business days after
244+receiving written notice from the Attorney General pursuant to
245+this section.
244246 (b)(1) If a person or entity does not cease the
245247 violation within 60 business days after receiving written
246248 notice from the Attorney General pursuant to this section, the
247249 Attorney General shall file an action against the person or
248250 entity seeking an injunction.
249251 (2) If the court finds that the person or entity
250252 violated this act and has not ceased the activity constituting
251253 the violation, the court shall enjoin the person or entity
252254 from continuing the activity and shall award court costs and
253255 reasonable attorney fees.
254256 (3) If a person or entity purposefully fails to comply
255257 with an injunction issued pursuant to this section after 30
256258 business days of being served with the injunction, the
257259 Attorney General, upon petition to the court, shall seek to
258260 impose on the person or entity a civil fine in an amount not
259261 to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per violation. In
260262 assessing a civil fine, the court shall consider factors
261263 including, but not limited to, the financial resources of the
262264 violator and the harm or risk of harm to the rights under the
263265 Second Amendment to the United States Constitution resulting
264266 from the violation.
265267 (4) Any order assessing a civil fine pursuant to this
266268 section shall be stayed pending appeal of the order.
267269 (c) The Attorney General shall have exclusive authority
268-to enforce this act. The remedies set forth in this section
269-are the exclusive remedies for any violation of this act.
270-(d) It shall be a defense to a proceeding initiated
271-pursuant to this section that a firearms code was required to
272-be disclosed or assigned by law.
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299+(c) The Attorney General shall have exclusive authority
300+to enforce this act. The remedies set forth in this section
301+are the exclusive remedies for any violation of this act.
302+(d) It shall be a defense to a proceeding initiated
303+pursuant to this section that a firearms code was required to
302304 be disclosed or assigned by law.
303305 Section 5. This act shall become effective on October
304306 1, 2024.
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309-________________________________________________
310-President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
311-________________________________________________
312-Speaker of the House of Representatives
313-SB281
314-Senate 23-Apr-24
315-I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
316-the Senate, as amended.
317-Patrick Harris,
318-Secretary.
319-House of Representatives
320-Passed: 30-Apr-24
321-By: Senator Melson
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315+1, 2024.
316+Senate
317+Read for the first time and referred
318+to the Senate committee on Banking
319+and Insurance
320+................04-Apr-24
321+Read for the second time and placed
322+on the calendar:
323+ 0 amendments
324+................11-Apr-24
325+Read for the third time and passed
326+as amended
327+Yeas 32
328+Nays 0
329+Abstains 0
330+................23-Apr-24
331+Patrick Harris,
332+Secretary.
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