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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 627 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1491
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Cynthia Stone Creem
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to preventing illegal trafficking of firearms.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Cynthia Stone CreemNorfolk and Middlesex 1 of 5
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 627 FILED ON: 1/17/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1491
By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1491) of Cynthia Stone Creem for
legislation to prevent illegal trafficking of firearms. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1561 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to preventing illegal trafficking of firearms.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Subclause (j) of clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General
2Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word
3“cards”, in line 206, the following words: - , but such names and addresses shall be made
4available to law enforcement or other investigative officials, including district attorneys, assistant
5district attorneys, the attorney general and assistant attorneys general for purposes of enforcing
6subsection (c) of section 131E of chapter 140.
7 SECTION 2. Section 123 of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
8amended by striking the striking in line 27 the words “forthwith at” and inserting in place thereof
9the words: - within thirty minutes of. 2 of 5
10 SECTION 3. Section 123 of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
11amended by inserting after the word “condition.”, in line 247, the following sentences: - Twenty-
12second, That no licensee shall sell, rent or lease a firearm or large capacity weapon without first:
13(i) obtaining a signed declaration from the purchaser, renter or lessee, on a form furnished by the
14executive director of the criminal history systems board, that such individual has not purchased,
15rented or leased, as those terms are used in section 121 and subsection (c) of section 131E of this
16chapter, any firearm or large capacity weapon during the previous 30 days, or that such
17individual is an exempt person as set forth under subsection (c) of section 131E of this chapter;
18(ii) forwarding such declaration to the executive director of the criminal history systems board;
19and (iii) receiving notification from the criminal history systems board that the purchaser, renter
20or lessee has not purchased, rented or leased any firearm or large capacity weapon during the
21previous 30 days, or that such individual is an exempt person as set forth under subsection (c) of
22section 131E of this chapter. Such notification from the criminal history systems board shall be
23valid for no more than two business days after the criminal history systems board issues the
24notification, after which time the licensee must receive a new notification before completing a
25sale, rental or lease of a firearm or large capacity weapon to such purchaser, renter or lessee.
26Such declaration from the purchaser, renter or lessee shall not be a defense in any action brought
27against a licensee.
28 SECTION 4. Section 128 of said chapter 140 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
29hereby amended by replacing in lines 5 and 6 the words “or twenty-first” and inserting in place
30thereof the words “,twenty-first or twenty second”. 3 of 5
31 SECTION 5. Paragraph (1) of section 129B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is
32hereby amended by striking in line 100 the word “or” and by inserting after clause (xi) in line
33102 the following :-
34 “or (xii) has been convicted of a violation of subsection (c) of section 131E of this
35chapter.”
36 SECTION 6. Paragraph (d) of section 131 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby
37amended by striking in line 144 the word “or” and by inserting after clause (x) in line 146 the
38following :-
39 “or , (xi) has been convicted of a violation of subsection (c) of section 131E of this
40chapter.
41 SECTION 7. Section 131A of said chapter 140 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
42hereby amended by inserting after the words “proper purpose”, in lines 5 and 6, the following
43words: - and does not violate the firearm or large capacity weapon purchase, rental or lease
44limitation in subsection (c) of section 131E of this chapter.
45 SECTION 8. Section 131E of said chapter 140 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
46hereby amended by adding the following subsection: -
47 (c) no person, other than an exempt person hereinafter described, shall purchase, rent or
48lease more than one firearm or large capacity weapon in any 30 day period. The term “rent or
49lease” as used herein shall not apply to the rental or lease of a firearm or large capacity weapon
50for a duration of less than 48 hours, provided, however that such firearm is rented or leased from 4 of 5
51a licensee who is licensed under the provisions of section 122 and subject to the conditions
52described in section 123.
53 The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the following persons and uses:
54 (1) Any law enforcement agency or authority;
55 (2) Any branch of the United States military, including the national guard;
56 (3) Any persons in any branch of the United States military or police officers and other
57peace officers who are acquiring firearms for the purposes of performing their official duties or
58when duly authorized by their employer to purchase them;
59 (4) Any licensed watch, guard or patrol agency or their licensed employees in the course
60of their employment under sections 22 and 25 of chapter 147;
61 (5) Any person who has been certified as a licensed collector by the criminal history
62systems board;
63 (6) A federal, state or local historical society, museum or institutional collector open to
64the public;
65 (7) Any exchange of a firearm or large capacity weapon for another firearm or large
66capacity weapon purchased, rented or leased from the licensed dealer by the same person seeking
67the exchange within 30 days immediately before the exchange;
68 (8) A firearms surrender program authorized by and in compliance with section 131O of
69this chapter. 5 of 5
70 A non-exempt person who purchases, rents or leases more than one firearm or large
71capacity weapon in any 30 day period shall be punished, for a first offense, by a fine of not more
72than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such tine and
73imprisonment; and for any subsequent offense shall be punished by a fine of not less than $
741,000 and not more than $5,000, or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years,
75or by both such fine and imprisonment. The punishments under this subsection shall be separate
76from the procedures established for the denial, revocation or suspension of firearm identification
77cards, licenses and permits provided under this chapter.
78 Any person or licensee who sells, rents or leases a firearm or large capacity weapon to a
79non-exempt person under this section, with knowledge or reason to know that the person has
80purchased, rented or leased a firearm or large capacity weapon within the previous thirty days
81shall be punished, for a first offense, by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment of not
82more than two and one-half years, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and for any
83subsequent offense shall be punished by a tine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $10,000
84or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. These
85punishments shall be separate from the procedures established for the denial, revocation or
86suspension of firearm identification cards, licenses and permits provided under this chapter.