1Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2Consolidated Statutes, in firearms and other dangerous
3articles, providing for the offense of unlawful firearm
4records; and prescribing a penalty.

5The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6hereby enacts as follows:

7Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
8Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

9§ 6143. Unlawful firearm records.

10(a) Prohibition.--Except as otherwise provided under
11subsection (b), no State governmental agency or political
12subdivision or official, agent or employee thereof or any other
13person, public or private, may knowingly and willfully keep or
14cause to be kept any list, database, record or registry of
15privately owned firearms or any list, database, record or
16registry of the owners of those firearms.

17(b) Exceptions.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to any of
18the following:

1(1) Records of firearms that have been used in
2committing a crime.

3(2) Records relating to a person who has been convicted
4of a crime.

5(3) Records of firearms that have been reported stolen.
6These records may be retained for a period not in excess of
7ten days after such firearms are recovered and any criminal
8prosecution related to the stolen firearms has ended,
9including any period during which an appeal may be filed.
10Official documentation recording the theft of a recovered
11weapon may be maintained no longer than the balance of the
12year entered plus two years.

13(4) Firearm records that are required to be retained by
14firearms dealers or manufacturers under Federal or State law,
15including copies of such records transmitted to law
16enforcement agencies, provided that no State governmental
17agency or political subdivision or official, agent or
18employee thereof or any other person, private or public, may
19accumulate, compile, computerize or otherwise collect or
20convert such written records into any form of list, database
21or registry for any purpose.

22(5) Records kept by the Pennsylvania State Police to the
23extent required by Federal law and a log of dates of requests
24for criminal history record checks, unique approval and
25nonapproval numbers, license identification numbers and
26transaction numbers corresponding to such dates.

27(6) Records of an insurer that, as a condition to
28providing insurance against theft or loss of a firearm,
29identify such firearm, provided that the records are not
30sold, commingled with records relating to other firearms or

1transferred to any person or entity other than the insured
2and that the insurer does not keep a record of the firearm,
3unless part of an ongoing claim, more than 60 days after
4either the policy of insurance expires or notification by the
5insured that the insured is no longer the owner of the
6firearm.

7(7) Lists of customers of a firearms dealer retained by
8the dealer, provided that the lists do not disclose the
9particular firearms purchased, and lists or any parts thereof
10are not sold, commingled with records relating to other
11firearms or transferred to any other person or entity.

12(8) Sales receipts retained by the seller of firearms or
13by a person providing credit for the purchase, provided that
14the receipts do not serve as or are used for the creation of
15a database for registration of firearms.

16(9) Personal records of firearms maintained by the owner
17of the firearms or at the request of the owner of the
18firearms.

19(10) Records maintained by a business or person that
20stores or acts as the selling agent of firearms on behalf of
21the lawful owner of the firearms.

22(11) Membership lists of organizations comprised of
23owners of firearms.

24(12) Records maintained by an employer or contracting
25entity of the firearms owned or used by its officers,
26employees or agents, if the firearms are used in the course
27of business performed on behalf of the employer or
28contracting entity.

29(13) Records of firearms involved in criminal
30investigations, criminal prosecutions, criminal appeals and

1postconviction motions, civil proceedings relating to the
2ownership, surrender, seizure or safekeeping of firearms,
3including protection orders and sheriff executions, and
4voluntary surrender by the owner or custodian of the firearm
5for safekeeping or otherwise.

6(14) Paper documents relating to firearms involved in
7criminal cases, criminal investigations and criminal
8prosecutions, civil proceedings relating to the ownership,
9surrender, seizure or safekeeping of firearms, including
10protection orders and sheriff executions, and voluntary
11surrender by the owner or custodian of the firearm for
12safekeeping or otherwise.

13(15) Noncriminal records relating to the receipt,
14storage or return of firearms, including, but not limited to,
15records relating to firearms impounded or surrendered for
16storage or safekeeping, receipts proving that a firearm was
17returned to its lawful owner and supporting records of
18identification and proof of ownership, or records relating to
19firearms impounded pursuant to sheriff execution or court
20orders, provided that the records are not compiled, sorted or
21otherwise arranged into any lists, indexes or registries of
22firearms or owners of firearms.

23(16) Records required to be maintained and reported by
24eligible organizations licensed under the act of December 19,
251988 (P.L.1262, No.156), known as the Local Option Small
26Games of Chance Act, provided that the records are not
27compiled, sorted or otherwise arranged into any lists,
28indexes or registries of firearms or owners of firearms.

29(c) Right of action.--A person adversely affected by a
30violation of subsection (a) may seek declarative and injunctive

1relief and the actual damages attributable to the violation in
2an appropriate court.

3(d) Attorney fees and costs.--The court shall award
4reasonable expenses to a person adversely affected if an action
5under subsection (c) results in a final determination by a court
6in favor of the person adversely affected.

7(e) Construction.--This section shall be construed to
8effectuate its remedial and deterrent purposes. This section may
9not be construed to grant any substantive, procedural privacy
10right or civil claim to any criminal defendant, and a violation
11of this section may not be grounds for the suppression of
12evidence in any criminal case.

13(f) Destruction of existing records.--Unless otherwise
14prohibited by law, a list, database, record or registry subject
15to subsection (a) and kept on the effective date of this section
16shall be destroyed within 60 days after the effective date of
17this section. After that 60-day time period, the failure to
18destroy such list, database, record or registry may result in
19prosecution under this section.

20(g) Confidentiality.--Information retained in compliance
21with subsection (b)(3), (4), (5), (12), (13), (14), (15) and
22(16) shall not be subject to public access under the act of
23February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law.

24(h) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
25words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
26subsection:

27"Firearm." Any weapon which is designed to or may readily be
28converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive
29or the frame or receiver of such weapon.

30"Person adversely affected." Any of the following:

1(1) A person who has standing under the laws of this
2Commonwealth to bring an action under subsection (c).

3(2) A membership organization, the members of which
4include a person described under paragraph (1).

5"Reasonable expenses." The term includes, but is not limited
6to, attorney fees, expert witness fees, court costs and
7compensation for loss of income.

8Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.