Establishes a handgun safety performance standard commission to adopt a safety performance standard for manufacture of all handguns. Prohibits any handgun not meeting this standard after 12/31/06.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"CHAPTER

§ -1 Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter:

"Antique firearms" has the same meaning as in section 134-1.

"Authorized user" means the person who owns the handgun or a person to whom the owner has given consent to use the handgun.

"Commission" means the handgun safety performance standard commission.

"Firearm" means any weapon for which the operating force is an explosive.

"Handgun" means:

"Handgun manufacturer" is any person engaged in the business of manufacturing handguns for the purpose of sale or distribution.

"Pawnbroker" is any person whose business or occupation includes the taking or receiving, by way of pledge or pawn, of any firearm as security for the payment or repayment of money.

"Person" includes any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, or joint stock company.

"Seller" or "dealer" is any person:

§ -2 Creation of the handgun safety performance standard commission. (a) The handgun safety performance standard commission is established to adopt an appropriate safety performance standard that responds to and is consistent with the need for the improved safety of handguns.

(b) The commission shall be composed of seven members:

(2) The director of health or the director's designee;

(3) A county chief of police or the chief's designee;

(4) An injury prevention specialist;

(5) A handgun industry representative;

(6) A mechanical engineer; and

(7) A citizen-at-large.

The members shall be appointed by the governor before September 1, 2001. The chairperson of the commission shall be selected from among the members by the governor.

(c) Commission members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses including travel expenses.

(d) The attorney general's office shall provide staff services for the commission.

(e) The commission shall cease to exist once it has adopted the safety performance standard; provided that the governor may reestablish the commission for a period of time designated by the governor.

(f) The commission also shall recommend an existing state government agency that will be responsible for administering, advertising, implementing, and enforcing the safety performance standard.

§ -3 Adoption of a safety performance standard. (a) Before January 1, 2003, the commission shall adopt a handgun safety performance standard for all handguns manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed, or acquired within this State. The standard shall require at least the following:

(b) The commission shall formulate the necessary testing procedure to determine if a handgun complies with the commission's safety performance standard.

(c) The commission shall designate one or more independent laboratories for determining whether handguns comply with the commission's safety performance standard. The laboratories shall use the test method formulated by the commission to determine compliance.

(d) In accordance with the safety performance standard adopted by the commission, handgun manufacturers wishing to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, or transfer handguns in the State shall submit a prototype of the handgun model for testing, at the manufacturer's cost, to one of the independent laboratories designated by the commission.

The laboratory shall issue a report directly to the agency designated by the commission to oversee the administration and implementation of the safety performance standard, and a copy to the manufacturer indicating whether the submitted handgun met or did not meet the safety performance standard. If the submitted handgun did not meet the safety performance standard, the report shall state the reasons.

If the handgun model fails to meet the safety performance standard, it shall not be manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed, or acquired by anyone in the State, until it has been modified to meet the commission's standard and has passed the independent laboratory test on resubmission.

If the handgun model meets the safety performance standard, the designated agency shall issue a certificate stating that the handgun model meets the commission's standard, and the words, "certified personalized handgun" or an equivalent label, as established by the commission, shall be imprinted on the approved handguns at the manufacturer's expense.

Once the handgun model is deemed to meet the safety performance standard, the manufacturer, seller, or possessor shall not alter the design of the handgun in any manner affecting the safety of the handgun.

(e) The commission shall follow the procedures set forth in Chapter 91 in adopting and amending the safety performance standard.

(f) Any rules or orders issued by the agency designated to oversee the administration and implementation of the safety performance standard shall be subject to review in accordance with chapter 91.

§ -4 Enforcement. (a) After December 31, 2006, handguns that do not meet the safety performance standard adopted by the commission pursuant to this chapter shall not be manufactured, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed, or acquired in this State. After December 31, 2006, handguns that do not meet the standard adopted by the commission shall not be possessed, except as provided in section    -5(2).

(b) Any lawfully seized handgun that does not meet the commission's safety performance standard as adopted in this State shall be forfeited to the State according to chapter 712A and shall be destroyed.

(c) The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the State against sellers, manufacturers, or possessors of handguns to enjoin further violations of this chapter and for any other relief as may be appropriate.

§ -5 Exemptions. The following handguns are exempt from this chapter:

§ -6 Penalties. (a) Any person who violates this chapter by manufacturing, possessing, selling, offering for sale, trade, transfer, or acquiring a handgun that has not been certified by an independent testing laboratory as meeting the safety performance standard, and does not fall within the exemptions stated in this chapter, shall be guilty of a class C felony.

(b) Any person who violates this chapter by altering the personalized characteristics of a handgun manufactured, possessed, sold, offered for sale, traded, transferred, shipped, leased, distributed, or acquired after December 31, 2006, shall be guilty of a class C felony.

(c) These penalties shall apply to all public and private manufacturers, possessors, sales, offers for sale, trades, transfers, shipments, leases, distributions, or acquisitions of handguns.

§ -7 Liability. (a) Any person who discharges a handgun that:

and thereby causes personal injury to any person, shall be absolutely liable for any damages that resulted from the handgun not meeting the commission's standard.

(b) Any person who owns a handgun that:

(2) Is discharged by an unauthorized person; and

and thereby causes personal injury to any person, shall be absolutely liable for any damages that resulted from the handgun not meeting the commission's safety performance standard.

(c) This section shall apply regardless of whether the discharge of the handgun was legally justified, except when the discharge of the handgun was by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty or when the discharge is for self-defense as defined by state or federal law.

(d) Compliance with any safety performance standard issued under this chapter shall not exempt any person from liability under common law."

SECTION 2. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.