HOUSE BILL 35
54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019
INTRODUCED BY
Miguel P. Garcia
AN ACT
RELATING TO FIREARMS; REQUIRING A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE TO VERIFY IF A FIREARM PURCHASED IN THE LICENSEE'S ORDINARY COURSE OF BUSINESS IS STOLEN; PROVIDING A CIVIL PENALTY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES--REQUIREMENT TO REQUEST THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO VERIFY IF A PURCHASED FIREARM IS STOLEN--CIVIL PENALTY.--
A. A federal firearms licensee shall, within one business day of purchasing a firearm in the licensee's ordinary course of business, request the department of public safety to use resources available to the department to determine if the firearm is stolen. The department shall advise the licensee of the determination within three business days of the request. If the department determines that the firearm is stolen, the licensee shall surrender the firearm to the department or to local law enforcement. If the firearm is surrendered to local law enforcement, the licensee shall provide evidence of the surrender to the department.
B. On or before July 1 of each year, a federal firearms licensee shall pay an annual fee of two hundred dollars ($200) to the department of public safety to administer the provisions of this section.
C. A licensee that willfully or knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or the value of the firearm purchased, whichever is greater, for each violation.
D. As used in this section, "federal firearms licensee" means a person licensed by the United States bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives to engage in a business pertaining to the manufacture or importation of firearms and ammunition or the interstate and intrastate sale of firearms."
SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.
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