Second Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2024)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
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between statutes enacted by the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1143
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning criminal law and
procedure.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 35-47-3-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.101-2017,
SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2024]: Sec. 2. (a) This section applies only to firearms which
are not required to be registered in the National Firearms Registration
and Transfer Record.
(b) Firearms shall be returned to the rightful owner at once
following final disposition of the cause if a return has not already
occurred under the terms of IC 35-33-5. If the rightful ownership is not
known the law enforcement agency holding the firearm shall make a
reasonable attempt to ascertain the rightful ownership and cause the
return of the firearm. However, nothing in this chapter shall be
construed as requiring the return of firearms to rightful owners who
have been convicted for the misuse of firearms. In such cases, the court
may provide for the return of the firearm in question or order that the
firearm be at once delivered:
(1) except as provided in subdivision (2), to the sheriff's
department of the county in which the offense occurred; or
(2) to the law enforcement agency that confiscated the firearm.
(c) If at least one hundred eighty (180) days have elapsed since the
sheriff's department or law enforcement agency received the firearm,
and:
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(1) all reasonable attempts to locate the rightful owner of the
firearm have failed; or
(2) the rightful owner has been convicted of an offense related to
the misuse of a firearm;
the sheriff's department or law enforcement agency shall dispose of the
firearm as described in subsection (d).
(d) Subject to subsection (c), the receiving law enforcement agency
shall dispose of firearms under subsection (b), at the discretion of the
law enforcement agency, by use of any of the following procedures:
(1) Public sale of the firearms to the general public as follows:
(A) Notice of the sale shall be:
(i) posted for ten (10) days in the county courthouse in a
place readily accessible to the general public; and
(ii) advertised in the principal newspaper of the county for
two (2) days in an advertisement that appears in the
newspaper at least five (5) days prior to the sale.
(B) Disposition of the firearm shall be by public auction in a
place convenient to the general public, with disposition going
to the highest bidder. However, no firearm shall be transferred
to any bidder if that bidder is not lawfully eligible to receive
and possess firearms according to the laws of the United States
and Indiana.
(C) All handguns transferred under this subdivision shall also
be transferred according to the transfer procedures set forth in
this article.
(D) Money collected pursuant to the sales shall first be used to
defray the necessary costs of administering this subdivision
with any surplus to be:
(i) deposited into the receiving law enforcement agency's
firearms training fund, other appropriate training activities
fund, or any other fund that may be used by the receiving
law enforcement agency for the purchase and maintenance
of firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively to train law enforcement
officers in the proper use of firearms or other law
enforcement duties, and to purchase and maintain firearms,
ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement equipment.
A law enforcement agency may not sell a firearm to the general
public if the firearm is unsafe to operate because it has been
damaged or altered.
(2) Sale of the firearms to a licensed firearms dealer as follows:
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(A) Notice of the sale must be:
(i) posted for ten (10) days in the county courthouse in a
place readily accessible to the general public; and
(ii) advertised in the principal newspaper of the county for
two (2) days in an advertisement that appears in the
newspaper at least five (5) days before the sale.
(B) Disposition of the firearm shall be by auction with
disposition going to the highest bidder who is a licensed
firearms dealer.
(C) Money collected from the sales shall first be used to defray
the necessary costs of administering this subdivision and any
surplus shall be:
(i) deposited into the receiving law enforcement agency's
firearms training fund, other appropriate training activities
fund, or any other fund that may be used by the receiving
law enforcement agency for the purchase and maintenance
of firearms, ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement
equipment; and
(ii) used by the agency exclusively to train law enforcement
officers in the proper use of firearms or other law
enforcement duties, and to purchase and maintain firearms,
ammunition, vests, and other law enforcement equipment.
A law enforcement agency may sell a firearm to a licensed
firearms dealer for salvage or repair, even if the firearm is unsafe
to operate because it has been damaged or altered.
(3) Sale or transfer of the firearms to another law enforcement
agency.
(4) Release to the state police department laboratory or other
forensic laboratory administered by the state or a political
subdivision (as defined in IC 36-1-2-13) for the purposes of
research, training, and comparison in conjunction with the
forensic examination of firearms evidence.
(5) Destruction of the firearms. A firearm that is to be destroyed
may be sold to a salvage company and destroyed by dismantling
the firearm for parts, scrap metal, or recycling, or for resale as
parts for other firearms.
(6) Trade with:
(A) a licensed firearms dealer;
(B) a licensed firearm manufacturer; or
(C) another law enforcement agency;
in exchange for new firearms, ammunition, vests, and other
law enforcement equipment for use by the law enforcement
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agency.
(e) A receiving law enforcement agency may, at its discretion,
jointly sell firearms it has received with another law enforcement
agency, or permit another law enforcement agency to sell firearms it
has received on behalf of the receiving law enforcement agency. In any
event, all confiscated firearms shall be disposed of as promptly as
possible.
(f) When a firearm is delivered to the state police department
laboratory or other forensic laboratory under subsection (d)(4) and the
state police department laboratory or other forensic laboratory
determines the laboratory has no further need for the firearm in
question, the laboratory shall return the firearm to the law enforcement
agency for disposal under subsection (d).
(g) A law enforcement agency that disposes of a firearm under
subsection (d)(6) shall maintain a record of each exchange made,
including identification of the:
(1) firearm that was exchanged;
(2) person with whom the exchange was made; and
(3) law enforcement equipment for which the firearm was
exchanged.
(h) A law enforcement agency's record of a firearm trade is a
public record subject to IC 5-14-3.
HEA 1143 Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
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