| 1 | 1 | | BILL AS INTRODUCED S.131 |
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| 2 | 2 | | 2025 Page 1 of 4 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | VT LEG #381787 v.1 |
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| 6 | 6 | | S.131 1 |
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| 7 | 7 | | Introduced by Senator Baruth 2 |
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| 8 | 8 | | Referred to Committee on 3 |
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| 9 | 9 | | Date: 4 |
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| 10 | 10 | | Subject: Municipal and county government; municipal charters; City of 5 |
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| 11 | 11 | | Burlington; amendments; firearms 6 |
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| 12 | 12 | | Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to approve an 7 |
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| 13 | 13 | | amendment to the charter of the City of Burlington to prohibit the possession 8 |
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| 14 | 14 | | of firearms in any building or on any real property or parking area under the 9 |
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| 15 | 15 | | ownership or control of an establishment licensed to serve alcohol for on-10 |
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| 16 | 16 | | premises consumption. 11 |
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| 17 | 17 | | An act relating to approval of an amendment to the charter of the City of 12 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Burlington relating to the possession of firearms 13 |
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| 19 | 19 | | It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 14 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Sec. 1. CHARTER AMENDMENT APPROVAL 15 |
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| 21 | 21 | | The General Assembly approves the amendment to the charter of the City 16 |
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| 22 | 22 | | of Burlington as set forth in this act. Voters approved the proposal of 17 |
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| 23 | 23 | | amendment on March 4, 2025. 18 |
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| 24 | 24 | | Sec. 2. 24 App. V.S.A. chapter 3 is amended to read: 19 |
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| 25 | 25 | | CHAPTER 3. CITY OF BURLINGTON 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.131 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 2025 Page 2 of 4 |
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| 28 | 28 | | |
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| 29 | 29 | | VT LEG #381787 v.1 |
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| 30 | 30 | | * * * 1 |
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| 31 | 31 | | § 510. BAN ON FIREARMS IN ANY ESTABLISHMENT WITH A FIRST - 2 |
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| 32 | 32 | | CLASS LIQUOR LICENSE 3 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (a) This section expressly supersedes 24 V.S.A. §§ 2291(8) and 2295 and 4 |
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| 34 | 34 | | authorizes the City to regulate the possession and carrying of firearms pursuant 5 |
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| 35 | 35 | | to this section. 6 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (b) Ban. Within the City of Burlington, no person may carry or possess a 7 |
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| 37 | 37 | | firearm, as defined by 13 V.S.A. § 4016(a)(3), in any building or on any real 8 |
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| 38 | 38 | | property or parking area under the ownership or control of an establishment 9 |
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| 39 | 39 | | licensed to serve alcohol on its premises. 10 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (c) Exceptions. This provision shall not apply to: 11 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) any federal, State, or local law enforcement officer acting within the 12 |
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| 42 | 42 | | scope of that officer’s official duties; 13 |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) any member of the armed forces of the United States or the Vermont 14 |
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| 44 | 44 | | National Guard acting within the scope of that person’s military duties; 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | (3) any government officer, agent, or employee authorized to carry a 16 |
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| 46 | 46 | | weapon and acting within the scope of that officer’s duties; or 17 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (4) the owner or operator of an establishment licensed to serve alcohol, 18 |
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| 48 | 48 | | provided that person is not prohibited from possessing or carrying that weapon 19 |
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| 49 | 49 | | under any other federal, State, or local law. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.131 |
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| 50 | 50 | | 2025 Page 3 of 4 |
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| 52 | 52 | | |
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| 53 | 53 | | VT LEG #381787 v.1 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (d) Penalties. The penalty for any violation of this section shall be as 1 |
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| 55 | 55 | | follows: 2 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (1) Criminal offense. Any violation of this section may be considered a 3 |
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| 57 | 57 | | criminal offense, which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than 4 |
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| 58 | 58 | | $1,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days. 5 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (2) Civil offense. Any violation of this section may also be considered a 6 |
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| 60 | 60 | | civil ordinance violation punishable by a civil penalty of not less than $200.00 7 |
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| 61 | 61 | | and not more than $500.00 and civil forfeiture of the weapon pursuant to 8 |
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| 62 | 62 | | subdivision (3) of this subsection. 9 |
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| 63 | 63 | | (3) Forfeiture. Upon probable cause that a person is in violation of this 10 |
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| 64 | 64 | | provision, a law enforcement officer may seize the weapon involved in the 11 |
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| 65 | 65 | | violation. The person from whom the weapon is seized, or the owner of the 12 |
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| 66 | 66 | | weapon, may appeal the forfeiture of the weapon within 30 days following the 13 |
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| 67 | 67 | | seizure to the Civil Division of the Superior Court, pursuant to 12 V.S.A. 14 |
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| 68 | 68 | | chapter 102 and Rule 74 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure. In any 15 |
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| 69 | 69 | | appeal, the burden of proof shall rest upon the City to establish the violation by 16 |
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| 70 | 70 | | a preponderance of the evidence. If the City fails to establish the required 17 |
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| 71 | 71 | | burden of proof, the items shall be returned to the person from whom they 18 |
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| 72 | 72 | | were seized. If no appeal is taken within 30 days, or if the City prevails in the 19 |
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| 73 | 73 | | Superior Court proceedings, the seized items shall become the property of the 20 |
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| 74 | 74 | | City of Burlington. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED S.131 |
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| 75 | 75 | | 2025 Page 4 of 4 |
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| 77 | 77 | | |
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| 78 | 78 | | VT LEG #381787 v.1 |
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| 79 | 79 | | * * * 1 |
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| 80 | 80 | | Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE 2 |
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| 81 | 81 | | This act shall take effect on passage. 3 |
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