|
|
|
House
Judiciary Committee Reports Reports
provided by PA Legislative Services House Judiciary The
House Judiciary Committee met to consider five bills. HB 2046 Godshall - (PN 2823) Amends Title 18
(Crimes and Offenses) further providing for the offense of sale or transfer of
firearms by adding that anyone who knowingly or intentionally sells, delivers
or transfers a firearm under circumstances intended to provide a firearm to
any person who is unqualified or ineligible to control, possess or use a
firearm would have a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment of five
years. A second or subsequent violation would result in the permanent
revocation of any license to sell, import or manufacture a firearm. - The
bill was reported as committed by a vote of 21-4 with Representatives
James, Kathy Manderino (D-Philadelphia), Greg Vitali (D- Delaware) and Jewell Williams (D-Philadelphia)
voting in the negative due to the mandatory minimum sentencing provisions. A07976,
by Williams, creates a State Police stolen firearms registry and would
mandate the reporting of a lost or stolen firearm. The amendment failed
by a vote of 6-19, with Representatives Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny), Gerber,
James, Manderino, Vitali
and Williams voting in the affirmative. On
the amendment, Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) asked
if any second amendment rights groups have taken a position on the bill.
Committee Chief Counsel Michael Piecuch said those
groups oppose the amendment as do the State Police. On
the bill, Rep. James asked the same question. Piecuch
said the PA Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs has not taken an official
position, but had concerns with the bill. HB 2047 Godshall - (PN 2824) Amends Title 42
(Judiciary) further providing for sentences for offenses committed with
firearms by adding that if, during the commission of an offense, a person
used a firearm that was stolen or discharged a firearm during the commission
of the offense, he/she would be sentenced to a minimum sentence of at least
seven years of total confinement. - The bill was reported as committed
by a vote of 21-4 with Representatives James, Manderino,
Vitali and Williams voting
in the negative. Rep.
Vitali asked if his understanding is correct that
the use of a stolen gun adds two years of mandatory sentencing onto the
existing statute. Piecuch said that is correct. Rep.
James asked how authorities are to know if guns are stolen without the
creation of a registry that tracks stolen firearms. Piecuch
said people can voluntarily report stolen firearms now, it is just not
mandatory. Rep.
Williams said the lack of a registry means hours and hours of extra work for
law enforcement in order to prove if a gun is stolen or not. He added that it
is wrong to spend all of this time and money on the back end of the issue and
none on the front end. Rep.
John Pallone (D-Westmoreland) asked if the actor needs to know that the gun
is stolen. Piecuch said there is no provision for
that. This led to a lengthy discussion between Rep. Pallone, Rep. Vitali and Chief Counsel Piecuch
regarding the differences between legally purchased firearms, illegally
purchased firearms, and stolen firearms as they relate to the bill. Rep. Vitali ultimately suggested that someone should offer an
amendment that makes it clear that a defendant must in fact know his or her firearm
is stolen in order for the increased mandatory minimum to apply. Rep.
Will Gabig (R-Cumberland) said he is concerned with
the term "used," as opposed to "visibly possessing" which
is in the original statute, as "used" is extremely vague and could invite
lawsuits. Chairman Dennis O'Brien (R-Philadelphia) agreed the language is
problematic and pledged to have a floor amendment drafted to address the
concern. Rep. Gabig added that the legally vs.
illegally purchased firearm debate can be solved by focusing on if the gun is
properly registered or not. Rep.
James commented that he would be voting against the bill as he generally
believes mandatory minimum sentencing leaves no room for judicial discretion.
HB 2708 O'Brien - (PN 4117) Amends Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) further
providing for penalty for persons convicted of felony not to possess, use,
manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms by stating it would be a
felony of the first (increased from the second) degree. - The bill was
unanimously reported as amended. A07911,
by Rep. Doug Reichley (R-Lehigh), adds "the
attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit" the crimes enumerated in
the bill to the list of crimes that are increased from a second-degree felony
to a first-degree felony. The amendment was unanimously adopted. Rep.
Williams reasserted his point that too much attention is being paid to the
back end of these issues when more consideration should be on the front end. HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
met ·
HB 1944 Dally - (PN 2689) Amends Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42
(Judiciary) providing for a Statewide registry of protective orders; further
providing for protective orders, for notice on protective orders and for
violation of orders; providing for civil protective orders; and making
editorial changes. - The bill was unanimously reported as amended by A07536 (O'Brien), which would remove provisions
relating to compensation for weapons. The amendment was unanimously adopted. Rep. Pallone commented
that it appears to him that prior to the amendment, it was mandatory that
individuals had to give up all of their weapons, but after being amended, the
bill would allow it to be up to judicial discretion. Republican staff stated
it is their belief that it was always a discretionary standard. The
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE met
|