House Study Bill 671 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE BILL BY CHAIRPERSON LUNDGREN) A BILL FOR An Act relating to government records of firearms, and payment 1 card transactions involving firearms and ammunition, and 2 providing civil penalties. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko
H.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 554H.1 Definitions. 1 1. Ammunition means the same as defined in section 683.1. 2 2. Assign or assignment means a financial institutions 3 policy, process, or practice that labels, links, or otherwise 4 associates a firearms code with a merchant or a payment card 5 transaction in a manner that allows the financial institution, 6 or other entity facilitating or processing the payment card 7 transaction, to identify whether a merchant is a firearms 8 retailer or whether a transaction involves the sale of firearms 9 or ammunition. 10 3. Customer means a person engaged in a payment 11 card transaction facilitated or processed by a financial 12 institution. 13 4. Financial institution means a person other than a 14 merchant involved in facilitating or processing a payment card 15 transaction, including but not limited to any bank incorporated 16 under the provisions of any state or federal law, an acquirer, 17 a payment card issuer, a payment card network, a payment 18 gateway, or a payment card processor. 19 5. Firearm means any weapon that is capable of expelling, 20 designed to expel, or that may readily be converted to expel 21 ammunition, and includes a firearm component or accessory. 22 6. Firearms code means a merchant category code approved 23 by the international organization for standardization that is 24 specifically for firearms retailers and that is assigned to a 25 retailer by the retailers acquirer. 26 7. Firearms retailer means a person physically located 27 within the state who engages in the lawful selling or trading 28 of firearms or ammunition. 29 8. Government entity means the state, any political 30 subdivision of the state, or any court, agency, or 31 instrumentality of the state. Government entity includes a 32 government official or an agent or employee of a government 33 entity. 34 9. a. Payment card means any card that is issued pursuant 35 -1- LSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko 1/ 5
H.F. _____ to an agreement or arrangement that provides for all of the 1 following: 2 (1) One or more issuers of the payment card. 3 (2) A network of persons unrelated to each other and to the 4 issuer who agree to accept a payment card as payment. 5 (3) Standards and mechanisms for settling the transactions 6 between the merchandise-acquiring person and the merchant that 7 agrees to accept the payment card as payment. 8 b. Payment card includes credit cards, debit cards, 9 stored-value cards including gift cards, and payment through 10 any distinctive marks of a payment card including a credit card 11 number. The acceptance as payment of any account number or 12 other indicia associated with a payment card shall be treated 13 in the same manner as accepting the payment card as payment. 14 10. Payment card transaction means any transaction in 15 which a payment card is accepted as payment. 16 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 554H.2 Government entities firearm 17 registry or record. 18 Except for records kept during the regular course of a 19 criminal investigation or criminal prosecution, or as otherwise 20 required by law, a government entity shall not knowingly keep 21 or cause to be kept a record or registry of privately owned 22 firearms or of the owners of privately owned firearms. 23 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION . 554H.3 Financial institutions. 24 1. A financial institution or agent of a financial 25 institution shall not do any of the following: 26 a. Require the use of a firearms code in a manner that 27 distinguishes a firearms retailer from other retailers. 28 b. Subject to subsection 2, decline a payment card 29 transaction involving a firearms retailer based solely on 30 the acquirers assignment of a firearms code to the firearms 31 retailer. 32 2. This section shall not be construed to prohibit a 33 financial institution from declining or otherwise refusing to 34 process a payment card transaction for any of the following 35 -2- LSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko 2/ 5
H.F. _____ reasons: 1 a. If necessary to comply with applicable state or federal 2 laws. 3 b. If requested by a customer. 4 c. If necessary due to fraud controls. 5 d. For purposes of merchant category exclusions offered by 6 a financial institution for expenditure control or corporate 7 card control. 8 3. This section shall not be construed to limit the 9 authority of a financial institution to negotiate with 10 responsible parties, or to otherwise impair a financial 11 institutions actions related to dispute processing, fraud 12 management, protection from illegal activities, breach, cyber 13 risks, or from taking any action that restricts the use or 14 availability of the firearms code in the state. 15 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION . 554H.4 Enforcement penalties. 16 1. The attorney general shall investigate reasonable 17 alleged violations of this chapter. If the attorney general 18 has reasonable belief that a person is in violation of this 19 chapter, the attorney general shall provide written notice to 20 the person determined to have committed the violation. 21 2. Upon receipt of notice of a violation under subsection 22 1, the person shall have ninety calendar days to cease the 23 violation. 24 3. If the violation persists after the expiration of the 25 ninety-day period under subsection 2, the attorney general has 26 the sole authority to bring civil action in district court to 27 enjoin further violations by a person found to be in violation 28 of this chapter, in addition to other remedies permitted by 29 law. 30 4. If a person knowingly or willfully fails to comply 31 with an injunction issued under subsection 3, after thirty 32 calendar days of the date the person is served with the 33 injunction, the attorney general may petition the district 34 court to impose civil penalties in an amount not to exceed one 35 -3- LSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko 3/ 5
H.F. _____ thousand dollars per violation, taking into consideration the 1 financial resources of the violator and the harm or risk of 2 harm to the violators rights under the second amendment to the 3 Constitution of the United States and Article I, section 1A, 4 of the Constitution of the State of Iowa resulting from the 5 violation. 6 5. It shall be a defense to a proceeding initiated pursuant 7 to this section that a firearms code was required to be 8 disclosed or assigned by law. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill relates to records and payment card transactions 13 of firearms and ammunition. 14 Under the bill, except for records kept during the regular 15 course of a criminal investigation or criminal prosecution, or 16 as otherwise required by law, a government entity shall not 17 knowingly keep or cause to be kept a record or registry of 18 privately owned firearms, or of the owners of privately owned 19 firearms. Government entity and firearm are defined in the 20 bill. 21 The bill prohibits a financial institution, or an agent of 22 a financial institution, from requiring the use of a firearms 23 code in a way that distinguishes a firearms retailer from other 24 retailers. Financial institution, firearms code, and 25 firearms retailer are defined in the bill. The bill also 26 prohibits a financial institution from declining a payment 27 card transaction involving a firearms retailer based on the 28 assignment of a firearms code. Payment card transaction 29 and assignment are defined in the bill. The bill does not 30 prohibit a financial institution from declining or refusing to 31 process a payment card transaction if necessary to comply with 32 applicable state or federal laws, if requested by a customer, 33 if necessary due to fraud controls, or for purposes of merchant 34 category exclusions offered by a financial institution for 35 -4- LSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko 4/ 5
H.F. _____ purposes of expenditure control or corporate card control. The 1 bill does not limit or impair the authority of a financial 2 institution to negotiate with responsible parties or a 3 financial institutions actions related to dispute processing, 4 fraud management, or protecting against illegal activities, 5 breach, cyber risks, or from taking any action that restricts 6 the use or availability of the firearms code. 7 Under the bill, the attorney general shall investigate 8 reasonable alleged violations of the bill and, if the attorney 9 general has reasonable belief that a person is in violation of 10 the bill, the attorney general shall provide written notice 11 to the person determined to have committed the violation. 12 Upon receipt of notice of a violation, a person shall have 13 90 calendar days to cease the violation or, if the violation 14 persists, the attorney general may bring civil action in 15 district court to enjoin further violations, in addition to 16 other remedies permitted by law. If a person knowingly or 17 willfully fails to comply with an injunction after 30 calendar 18 days from the date of being served with the injunction, 19 the attorney general may petition the district court to 20 impose civil penalties in an amount not more than $1,000 21 per violation. The bill creates a defense to a proceeding 22 initiated under the bill that a firearms code was required to 23 be disclosed or assigned by law. 24 -5- LSB 6307YC (1) 90 nls/ko 5/ 5