Public Safety and Security Committee
Judiciary Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECORDING OF PISTOL AND REVOLVER SALES IN A BOUND BOOK
SUMMARY: This act requires gun dealers to (1) keep their handgun (pistol or revolver) sale records in a form prescribed by federal law, rather than by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) commissioner, and (2) make the records available for inspection at the request of any sworn state or local police officer or investigator on the State-wide Firearms Trafficking Task Force. (Prior law did not specify who had access to the records; but, in practice, they were available to local and state police and other law enforcement officials. )
By law, the penalty for failing to maintain the records as required is a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to three years, or both (CGS § 29-37). The act extends the penalty to failure to grant law enforcement officials access to the records.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2012
RECORDKEEPING SYSTEM FOR GUN TRANSACTIONS
By law, gun dealers must record handgun sales in a book (commonly called a bound book) kept solely for that purpose. Under prior law, the records had to be maintained in a format the DESPP commissioner prescribed and include the (1) date the firearm was sold; (2) firearm caliber, make, model, and serial number; and (3) purchaser's name, address, and occupation. Both the dealer and purchaser were required to sign the record in each other's presence, and the dealer had to preserve it for at least six years.
The act requires gun dealers to keep their records in a form prescribed by federal law, which requires them to keep a bound book with generally the same records required by prior state law. Federal law requires the dealers to retain the records for at least 20 years for inspection by federal law enforcement officials (27 CFR §§ 27 478. 125 & 478. 129(b)).
OLR Tracking: VR: ND: CR: ro: eh