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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 59th Legislature (2023)
ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 721 By: Alvord of the Senate
and
Gann of the House
An Act relating to firearm training; amend ing 21 O.S.
2021, Sections 1290.14 and 1290.15, which relate to
safety and training course and persons exempt fro m
training course; clarifying language; directing
certain approval; removing certain time inclusion;
removing certain exemption requirement; and providing
an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 1290.14, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1290.14.
SAFETY AND TRAINING COURSE
A. Each applicant for a license to carry a concealed or
unconcealed handgun pursuant to the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act must
successfully complete a firearms safety and training course in this
state conducted by a register ed and approved firearms instructor as
provided by the provisions of this section or from an interactive
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online firearms safety and training course availabl e electronically
via the Internet approved and certified by the C ouncil on Law
Enforcement Education and Training. The applicant must further
demonstrate competence an d qualification with an authorized pistol
of the type or types that the applicant desire s to carry as a
concealed or unconcealed handgun pursuant to the provisions of the
Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, except certain persons may be exempt from
such training requirement as provided by the provisions of Section
1290.15 of this title.
B. The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training
(CLEET) shall establi sh criteria for approving firearms instructors
and interactive online firearms safety and training cour ses
available electronically via the Internet for purpos es of training
and qualifying individuals for a handgun license pursuant to the
provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act. Prior to submitting an
application for CLEET approval as a firearms instru ctor, applicants
shall attend a firearms instructor scho ol, meeting the following
minimum requirements:
1. Firearms instructor training conducted by on e of the
following entities:
a. Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training,
b. National Rifle Association,
c. Oklahoma Rifle Association,
d. federal law enforcement agencies, or
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e. other professionally recognized organizations;
2. The course shall be at least sixteen (16) hours in l ength;
3. Upon completion of the course, the applicant shall be
qualified to provide instruction on revolvers, semiautomatic
pistols, or both; and
4. Receive a course completion certificate.
All firearms instructors sha ll be required to meet the
eligibility requirements for a handgun license as provided in
Sections 1290.9, 1290.10, and 1290.11 of this title and the
application shall be processed as provided for applicants in Section
1290.12 of this title, including the s tate and national criminal
history records search and fingerprint search. A firearms
instructor shall be required to pay a fee of One Hundred Dollars
($100.00) to the Council on Law Enforceme nt Education and Training
(CLEET) each time the person makes app lication for CLEET approval as
a firearms instructor pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma
Self-Defense Act. The fee shall be retained by CLEET and shall be
deposited into the Firearms I nstructors Revolving Fund. CLEET shall
promulgate the rules, fo rms and procedures necessary to imp lement
the approval of firearms instructors as authorized by the prov isions
of this subsection. CLEET shall periodically rev iew each approved
instructor during a training and qualification course to assure
compliance with the rules and course contents. A ny violation of the
rules may result in the revocation or suspension of CLEET and
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Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation appr oval. Unless the
approval has been revoked or suspended, a firearms instructor ’s
CLEET approval shall be for a term of five (5) ye ars. Beginning on
July 1, 2003, any firearms instructor who has been issued a four-
year CLEET approval shall not be eligible for the five-year approval
until the expiration of the approval previously issued. CLEET shall
be responsible for notifying all a pproved firearms instructors of
statutory and policy changes related to the Oklahoma Self-Defense
Act. A firearms instructor shall not be required to submit his or
her fingerprints for a fingerprint search when renewing a firearms
instructor’s CLEET approval.
C. 1. All firearms instructors approved by CLEET to train and
qualify individuals for a handgun license shall be requi red to apply
for registration with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation
after receiving CLEET approval. All firearms instruc tors teaching
the approved course for a handgun license must display their
registration certificate during each training and qualification
course. Each approved firearms instructor shall complete a
registration form prov ided by the Bureau and shall have t he option
to pay a registration fee of either One Hundred Dollars ($1 00.00)
for a five-year registration certificate or Two H undred Dollars
($200.00) for a ten-year registration certificate to the Bureau at
the time of each application for registration, ex cept as provided in
paragraph 2 of this subsection. Registration cer tificates issued by
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the Bureau shall be valid for a peri od of five (5) years or ten (10)
years from the date of issuance. The Bureau shall issue a five -year
or ten-year handgun license t o an approved firearms instructor at
the time of issuance of a regist ration certificate and no additional
fee shall be required or charged. The Bureau shall maintain a
current listing of all registered firearms instructo rs in this
state. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to eliminate
the requirement for registr ation and training with CLEET as provided
in subsection B of this section. Failure to r egister or be trained
as required shall result in a revocation o r suspension of the
instructor certificate by the Bureau.
2. On or after July 1, 2003, the registered Registered
instructors listed in subparagraphs a and b of this paragraph shall
not be required to renew the firearms instructor registration
certificate with the Ok lahoma State Bureau of I nvestigation at the
expiration of the registration term, provided the instructor is not
subject to any suspension or revocati on of the firearms instructor
certificate. The firearms instructor registration with the Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation sh all automatically renew together
with the handgun license authorized in paragraph 1 of this
subsection for an additional five -year term and no additional cos t
or fee may be charged for the following individuals:
a. an active duty law enforcement officer of this state
or any of its political subdivisions or of the federal
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government who has a valid CLEET approval as a
firearms instructor pursuant to the Oklahom a Self-
Defense Act, and
b. a retired law enforcement officer authorized to carry
a firearm pursuant to Section 1289.8 of this title who
has a valid CLEET approval as a firearms instructor
pursuant to the Oklahoma Self -Defense Act.
D. The Oklahoma State Bu reau of Investigation shall approve
registration for a firearms instructor applicant who is in full
compliance with CLEET rules regarding firearms instructors and the
provisions of subsection B of this section, if completion of the
federal fingerprint sear ch is the only reason for delay of
registration of that firearms instructor applicant. Upon receip t of
the federal fingerprint search information, if the Bureau receiv es
information which precludes the person from having a handgun
license, the Bureau shal l revoke both the registration and the
handgun license previously issued to the firearms instructor .
E. The required firearms safety and training course and the
actual demonstration of competency and qualification required of the
applicant shall be design ed and conducted in such a manner that the
course can be reasonably complet ed by the applicant with in an eight-
hour period. CLEET shall establish the course content an d
promulgate rules, procedures and forms necessary to im plement the
provisions of this s ubsection. For the training and qualification
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course, an applicant may be charged a fee which shal l be determined
by the instructor or entity that is conducting the co urse. The
maximum class size shall be determined by the instructor conducting
the course; provided, however, practice shooting sessions shall not
have more than ten participating student s at one time. CLEET may
establish criteria for assistant instructor s and any other
requirements deemed necessary to conduct a safe and effective
training and qualification course. The course content shall include
a safety inspection of the firearm to be used by the applicant in
the training course; instruction on pistol handling, safety and
storage; dynamics of ammunition and firing; methods or positions fo r
firing a pistol; information about the criminal provisions of the
Oklahoma law relating to firear ms; the requirements of the Oklahoma
Self-Defense Act as it relates t o the applicant; self-defense and
the use of appropriate force; a practice shooting sess ion; and a
familiarization course. The firearms instructor shall refuse to
train or qualify any pe rson when the pistol to be used or carried by
the person is either de emed unsafe or unfit for firing or is a
weapon not authorized by the Oklahoma Self -Defense Act. The course
shall provide an opportunity for the applicant to quali fy himself or
herself on either a derringer, a revolver, a semiautomatic with a
pistol or any combination of a derringer, a revolver and a
semiautomatic pistol,; provided, no pistol shall be capable of
firing larger than .45 caliber ammunition. Any applicant who
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successfully trains and qualifies himself or herself with a
semiautomatic pistol may shall be approved by the firearms
instructor on the trai ning certificate for a semiautomatic pistol, a
revolver and a derringer upon request of the applicant. Any person
who qualifies on a derringer or revolver shall not be eligible for a
semiautomatic rating until the person has demonstrated competence
and qualifications on a semiautomatic pistol. Upon successful
completion of the training and qualification course, a certificat e
of training and a certificate of competency and qualification shall
be issued to each applicant who successfully completes the cours e.
The certificate of training and certificate of competency and
qualification shall comply with the forms established by CLEET and
shall be submitted with an application for a handgun license
pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2 of subsection A of S ection
1290.12 of this title. T he certificate of training and certificate
of competency and qualification issued to an ap plicant shall be
valid for a period of three (3) years.
F. There is hereby cr eated a revolving fund for the Council on
Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) , to be designated the
“Firearms Instructors Revolving Fund ”. The fund shall be a
continuing fund, not subject to fiscal year limitations, and shall
consist of all funds received for approval of firearms instructors
for purposes of the Oklahoma Self -Defense Act. All funds received
shall be deposited to the fund. All monies accruing to the cr edit
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of said the fund are hereby appropriated and may be budgeted and
expended by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Trainin g,
for implementation of the tra ining and qualification course
contents, approval of firearms instructors and any other CLEET
requirement pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Self -Defense
Act or as may otherwise be deemed appropriate by CLEET.
Expenditures from said the fund shall be made upon warrants issued
by the State Treasurer against claims filed as prescribed by law
with the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise
Services for approval and payment.
G. Firearms instructors shall ke ep on file for a period of not
less than three (3) years a roster of each training class, the
safety test score of each individual , the caliber and type of the
weapon each individual used when qualify ing and whether or not each
individual successfully comp leted the training course. Fire arms
instructors shall be authorized to destroy all training documents
and records upon expiration of the three-year time period.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 21 O.S. 2021, Section 1290.15, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 1290.15.
PERSONS EXEMPT FROM TRAINING COURSE
A. The following individuals may be exempt from all or part of
the required training and qualification course established pursuant
to the provisions of Section 1290.14 of this title:
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1. A firearms instructor registere d with the Oklahoma State
Bureau of Investigation for purposes of the Oklahoma Self -Defense
Act;
2. An active duty or reserve duty law enforcement officer of
this state or any of its political subdivisions or of the federal
government;
3. A retired law enforcement officer authorized by this state
pursuant to Section 1289.8 of this title to carry a firearm;
4. A Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET)
certified armed security officer, armed guard, correctional officer,
or any other person having a CLEET certification to carry a firearm
in the course of their employment;
5. A person on active military duty, National Guard duty or
regular military reser ve duty who is a legal resident of this state
and who is trained and qualified in the use of handguns;
6. A person honorably discharged from active military duty,
National Guard duty or military reserves within twenty (20) years
preceding the date of the application for a handgun license pursuant
to the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act, who is a legal
resident of this state , and who has been trained and qualified in
the use of handguns;
7. A person retired as a peace officer in good standing fr om a
law enforcement agency located in another state, who is a legal
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resident of this state, and who has received training equivalent to
the training required for CLEET certification in this state; and
8. Any person who is otherwise deemed qualified for a training
exemption by CLEET.
B. No person who is determined to be exempt from training or
qualification may carry a concealed or unconcealed firearm pursuant
to the authority of the Oklahoma Self -Defense Act until issued a
valid handgun license or posses ses a valid military identification
card as provided for qualified persons in Section 12 90.8 of this
title.
C. Nothing contained in any provision of the Oklahoma Self -
Defense Act shall be construed to alter, amend, or modify the
authority of any active du ty law enforcement officer, or any person
certified by the Council on Law Enforcement Ed ucation and Training
to carry a pistol during the course of their employment, to carry
any pistol in any manner authorized by law or authorized by the
employing agency.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effec tive November 1, 2023.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY, dated 04/11/2023 -
DO PASS.