SB70

ENGROSSED

By Senator Holley

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

To amend Section 13A-11-61.2 of the Code of Alabama 1975, prohibiting the possession of firearms in certain places; to specify that a qualified retired law enforcement officer would be exempt from the prohibition in that section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Section 13A-11-61.2 of the Code of Alabama 1975, is amended to read as follows:

§13A-11-61.2.

"(a) In addition to any other place limited or prohibited by state or federal law, a person, including a person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not knowingly possess or carry a firearm in any of the following places without the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises:

"(1) Inside the building of a police, sheriff, or highway patrol station.

"(2) Inside or on the premises of a prison, jail, halfway house, community corrections facility, or other detention facility for those who have been charged with or convicted of a criminal or juvenile offense.

"(3) Inside a facility which provides inpatient or custodial care of those with psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorders.

"(4) Inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a building in which a district attorney's office is located, or a building in which a county commission or city council is currently having a regularly scheduled or specially called meeting.

"(5) Inside any facility hosting an athletic event not related to or involving firearms which is sponsored by a private or public elementary or secondary school or any private or public institution of postsecondary education, unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.

"(6) Inside any facility hosting a professional athletic event not related to or involving firearms, unless the person has a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.

"(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a person, including a person with a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85, may not, without the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises, knowingly possess or carry a firearm inside any building or facility to which access of unauthorized persons and prohibited articles is limited during normal hours of operation by the continuous posting of guards and the use of other security features, including, but not limited to, magnetometers, key cards, biometric screening devices, or turnstiles or other physical barriers. Nothing in this subsection otherwise restricts the possession, transportation, or storage of a lawfully possessed firearm or ammunition in an employee's privately owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or private parking area provided the employee complies with the requirements of Section 13A-11-90.

"(c) The person or entity with authority over the premises set forth in subsection (a)(1)-(6) and subsection (b) shall place a notice at the public entrances of such premises or buildings alerting those entering that firearms are prohibited.

"(d) Except as provided in subsections (a)(5) and (a)(6), any firearm on the premises of any facility set forth in subsection (a)(1), or subsection (a)(4)-(6), or subsection (b) must be kept from ordinary observation and locked within a compartment or in the interior of the person's motor vehicle or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the motor vehicle.

"(e) A violation of subsections (a), (b), or (d) is a Class C misdemeanor.

"(f) This section shall not prohibit any person from possessing a firearm within the person's residence or during ingress or egress thereto.

"(g) Prohibitions regarding the carrying of a firearm under this section shall not apply to law enforcement officers engaged in the lawful execution of their official duties or a qualified retired law enforcement officer as defined in the federal Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act of 2004, 18 U.S.C §926C.

"(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the carrying or possession of a firearm where prohibited by federal law."

Section 2. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Firearms

Pistol Permits

Law Enforcement Officers

Property, Real and Personal

Retirement

Code Amended