O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 22-102—sHB 5305
Public Safety and Security Committee
AN ACT MAKING REVISIONS TO STATUTES RELATING TO
FIREARMS PERMITS AND FIREARMS DEALERS
SUMMARY: This act makes the following changes in the gun permitting laws:
1. authorizes the chief executive officer (CEO) of any municipality without a
police chief, rather than just a town’s first selectman or borough’s warden,
to perform various firearms permitting and administrative functions or
designate the resident state trooper or relevant state police officer to do so;
2. authorizes the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot police chiefs to issue
temporary state handgun permits to applicants who are tribal reservation
residents;
3. extends to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
(DESPP) commissioner, for purposes of processing Connecticut handgun
permits for nonresidents with a valid out-of-state gun permit, the same
fingerprinting and positive identification procedures required under existing
law for local officials processing temporary state handgun permit
applications; and
4. requires the photograph that handgun permit holders must submit with their
permit renewal applications to be a full-face photo and eliminates the
requirement that it be notarized or date stamped (§ 5).
Additionally, the act authorizes the DESPP commissioner to impose a civil
penalty of up to $100 for violations of existing law’s alarm system requirement for
firearms dealers.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022
§ 1 — PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS OF ALARM SYSTEM REQUIREMENT
The act authorizes the DESPP commissioner, after notice and an opportunity
for a hearing, to impose a civil penalty of up to $100 for violations of the alarm
system requirement for firearms dealers. Under the act, each violation is a separate
offense, and, in cases of continuing violations, each day is a separate offense subject
to a total penalty of up to $4,900. The act also authorizes the commissioner to adopt
regulations to implement the alarm requirement and penalty provisions.
By law, each retail business that sells firearms as a regular course of trade must
have an alarm system on the premises if 10 or more firearms are stored or kept for
sale. The alarm system must (1) be directly connected to the local police department
or monitored by a central station and (2) activate upon unauthorized entry or system
interruption. This requirement does not apply to people who sell or exchange
firearms to enhance their personal collection or as a hobby, sell all or part of a
personal collection, or sell firearms from their residence and keep 10 or fewer for O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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sale (CGS § 29-37d(a)).
§ 2 — PERMIT ISSUANCE BY TRIBAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS
The act allows the police chiefs of federally recognized Native American tribes
in the state with a “law enforcement unit” to issue temporary state handgun permits
under the statutory permit approval process to applicants who are bona fide
permanent residents of the tribal reservations. Under the act, if the tribal law
enforcement unit accepts these applications, the police chief of any other law
enforcement unit with jurisdiction over the tribal reservation may not issue the
permits. Under prior law, tribal reservation residents were required to apply for
these permits to the local official (police chief, borough warden, or first selectman)
of the municipality in which the reservation is located.
By law, “law enforcement units” include the Mashantucket Pequot and
Mohegan tribal police departments, which are governed under a memorandum of
agreement (CGS § 7-294a).
§§ 2, 3 & 6-9 — FIREARMS PERMITTING BY LOCAL OFFICIALS
The act authorizes the CEO of any municipality (i.e., town, city, consolidated
town and city, borough, or consolidated town and borough) without a police chief
to perform the functions described below, rather than just a town’s first selectman
or borough’s warden. It also authorizes these municipal CEOs to designate the
municipality’s resident state trooper, or a state police officer from the State Police
troop with jurisdiction over the municipality, to perform these functions.
The act applies these provisions to the laws on (1) issuing gun dealer and
temporary state handgun permits and (2) receiving copies of receipts for handgun
and long gun sales and transfers. It also makes conforming changes to the law
requiring gun show promoters to notify the host town’s local official of the show
date, time, duration, and location.
§ 4 — FINGERPRINTING AND IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
By law, a nonresident with a valid out-of-state gun permit may apply directly
to the DESPP commissioner for a Connecticut handgun permit. The act extends to
the DESPP commissioner, for purposes of processing these permit applications, the
same fingerprinting and positive identification procedures required under existing
law for local officials processing temporary state handgun permit applications.
Under the act, the DESPP commissioner must take the fingerprints of
nonresident handgun permit applicants or conduct other positive identification
methods required by the State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) or Federal
Bureau of Investigation. If he determines that the applicant’s fingerprints have
previously been taken and the applicant presents identification that the
commissioner determines is valid, he does not have to take the fingerprints again.
The commissioner must record the date the fingerprints were taken in the
applicant’s file and, within five business days, forward the fingerprints or other
positive identification to SPBI for criminal history checks.