‘An Act To Require Firearms Used in the Commission of Certain Acts To Be Civilly Forfeited to the State’
| HP0497 LD 724 |
Session - 126th Maine Legislature H "A", Filing Number H-183, Sponsored by Long
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LR 439 Item 4 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Require Firearms Used in the Commission of Certain Acts To Be Civilly Forfeited to the State’
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 3-B by striking out all of paragraph A (page 1, lines 32 to 39 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 3-B by inserting after paragraph B the following:
(1) The person who commits the criminal act, following that act, commits suicide or is killed as the result of a justifiable use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer, in which case the property right to the firearm is retained by the estate of the deceased; or
(2) The person who commits the criminal act, as a result of commission of the criminal act, becomes ineligible to possess or own firearms under federal law, in which case the property right to the firearm is transferred to the person or persons who would lawfully inherit the estate of the person who commits the criminal act under the laws governing probate.
Amend the bill in section 2 in subsection 3-B by striking out all of the last blocked paragraph (page 2, lines 7 to 9 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘ If a firearm subject to forfeiture pursuant to this subsection is declared by a court to be forfeited pursuant to section 5822, the law enforcement agency that has custody of the firearm is authorized to determine the disposition of the firearm.’
summary
The bill requires the forfeiture and destruction of a firearm used in the commission of a crime that causes death or serious bodily injury by a person who then, either due to suicide or attempted suicide or the justifiable actions of a law enforcement officer, dies or becomes incompetent to stand trial. This amendment makes the following changes to the bill.
1. It provides that if the person commits suicide or is killed as a result of justifiable actions of a law enforcement officer, the property right to the firearm is retained by the estate of the deceased.
2. It provides that if the person who commits the criminal act, as a result of commission of the criminal act, becomes ineligible to possess or own firearms under federal law, the property right to the firearm is transferred to the person or persons who would lawfully inherit the estate of the person who committed the crime if that person who committed the crime were deceased.
3. It eliminates the requirement that a firearm subject to forfeiture be destroyed and instead authorizes the law enforcement agency that has custody of the firearm to determine the disposition of the firearm.