AB763: Bill Text

This bill creates a procedure by which a person may apply to DOJ for a license to carry a concealed weapon in most places. Specifically, the license authorizes a person to carry (defined in the bill to mean to go armed with) a concealed weapon (defined in the bill as a handgun, an electronic weapon, a knife other than a switchblade, or a billy club) anywhere in this state except in particular places specified in the bill. Accordingly, the bill amends other prohibitions relating to the use and possession of firearms that are discussed above (see Current law regarding the possession of weapons, Wisconsin law) to specify that, with the exception of the gun-free school zone law, they do not apply to licensees. The gun-free school zone law is amended in a different way. Specifically, the bill authorizes a licensee to carry a handgun in a school zone if: 1) the licensee is in a motor vehicle or on a snowmobile or bicycle; 2) the licensee has exited from a motor vehicle and is encasing the handgun or storing it in the motor vehicle; or 3) the licensee is traveling directly between any two of the following places: any person's private property, the licensee's place of employment or business, or a place outside of the school zone. These changes, however, relate only to the carrying of a concealed firearm at or within 1,000 feet of a private school and within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a public school. The bill does not affect the provisions of the gun-free school zone law that prohibit a person from possessing a firearm in a public school itself or on the grounds of a public school.

As noted in the preceding paragraph, a person licensed under the bill is permitted to carry a concealed weapon anywhere other than certain specified places. These places include a police station, sheriff's office, or state patrol station; a prison or jail; a tavern or a restaurant with a liquor license (unless: 1) the person owns or manages the tavern or restaurant; 2) the person is otherwise authorized to possess a handgun at the tavern or restaurant; or 3) the sale of alcohol at the tavern or restaurant accounts for not more than 50 percent of the proprietor's annual gross receipts from that tavern or restaurant); a school administration building; beyond the security checkpoint at an airport; a kindergarten facility; a building owned by the state or a local government if the building provides electronic screening and locked storage for weapons; and any place in which federal law prohibits the carrying of a weapon. Moreover, the bill permits a business owner or person in his or her own home to prohibit a licensee from carrying a concealed weapon into the business or home. Similarly, a private employer may prohibit an employee from carrying a concealed weapon in the course of the employee's employment unless the employee is in his or her own vehicle.

The bill also prohibits any person from carrying a concealed weapon while having a blood alcohol concentration that exceeds 0.08. A law enforcement officer who arrests a person for violating that prohibition or for carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence of an intoxicant may require the person to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test to detect the presence of alcohol, controlled substances, or any other intoxicant.

Licensing requirements and procedure

Under the bill, DOJ must issue a license to carry a concealed weapon to an applicant who meets the qualifications established in the bill for the license.

The bill specifies the requirements that a person must satisfy to qualify for a license to carry a concealed weapon. Included among the requirements are the following: 1) he or she must be at least 21 years old; 2) he or she must not have a severe physical disability that prevents him or her from safely handling a weapon; 3) he or she must be eligible to possess a firearm under federal law; 4) he or she must not be prohibited from possessing a firearm under state law due to a felony conviction, a juvenile delinquency adjudication, an order issued in a civil commitment case, or any other order prohibiting the person from possessing a firearm; 5) he or she must not have been committed for the treatment of drug dependency during the preceding three years; 6) he or she must not have been convicted of an offense relating to controlled substances during the preceding three years; 7) he or she must not chronically or habitually use alcohol or other substances to the extent that his or her normal faculties are impaired; 8) with some exceptions, he or she must have successfully completed a firearms training or safety course or class that was taught by an instructor who is certified by DOJ and that covered certain topics specified in the bill; 9) he or she must not have been subject to a finding of incompetency, been the subject of a protective placement as a minor based on a developmental disability, found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or mental defect, or involuntarily committed for treatment of mental illness during the preceding five years; 10) he or she must not have been convicted of one of a set of specified misdemeanors or be serving a sentence for committing such a misdemeanor within the preceding three years; and 11) he or she must be a Wisconsin resident.

In addition, the bill requires DOJ to conduct a background check of a person who applies for a license to carry a concealed weapon to help determine the person's eligibility for a license. The background check requirement does not apply to a person applying for a license if the person is a law enforcement officer, a correctional officer, a probation and parole agent, or a person holding a current certification from the law enforcement standards board.

If DOJ determines that an applicant for a license is ineligible under one of these requirements, DOJ must deny the person's application. Otherwise, DOJ must issue the person a license within 21 days of receiving the completed application.

Furthermore, the bill does all of the following:

1. Allows DOJ to issue an emergency license to an individual if DOJ determines that immediate licensure is warranted to protect the individual from death or great bodily harm.

2. Provides that a license to carry a concealed weapon is valid for five years, with the exception that a license held by a member of the U.S. armed forces, a reserve unit of the armed forces, or the national guard who is deployed overseas while on active duty may not expire until at least 90 days after the end of his or her overseas deployment.

3. Establishes a renewal procedure that includes a background check of the person renewing the license.

4. Requires DOJ to revoke a license to carry a concealed weapon if the licensee no longer meets all of the requirements for licensure.

5. Requires DOJ to suspend a license to carry a concealed weapon if the licensee is the subject of a civil or criminal case that may ultimately lead to the revocation of the license or if the licensee, after being charged with a misdemeanor, is ordered by the court not to possess a firearm.

6. Provides that a person whose application for a license is denied or whose license is suspended or revoked by DOJ may appeal DOJ's action to circuit court for review by a judge.

7. Specifies the information that must be on a license to carry a concealed weapon and an application for such a license and requires DOJ to design the form of the license and the license application and renewal forms.

8. Requires DOJ to keep a computerized list of licensees but specifies that DOJ may provide information from that list regarding a specific licensee only to law enforcement agencies and only in certain specified circumstances.

9. Requires each circuit court, through its computer system, or the clerk of the court or the register in probate if the court's computer system cannot do so, to notify DOJ of court proceedings relating to licensees and nonlicensees (including juvenile delinquency and mental health commitment proceedings that are closed to the public) if those proceedings will require suspension or revocation of the person's license if he or she is a licensee.

10. Requires each licensee to notify DOJ within ten days after being charged with a crime or a drunk driving offense under federal law or the law of another state.

11. Requires a person who applies for a license to carry a concealed weapon to pay the following: (a) a $52 application fee to be deposited into the general fund of the state; (b) a $15 shooting range improvement fee, to be deposited with the county in which the applicant resides, to be used for shooting range improvement grants awarded by the county; and (c) an $8 background check fee (unless, in the case of a person applying for an emergency license, DOJ waives the fee) to be deposited into the general fund of the state. A person who applies to renew his or her license must pay the same fees except the application fee; instead, he or she must pay a $27 renewal fee.

12. Grants immunity from liability for conduct undertaken in good faith under the bill to DOJ and its employees; various court employees; persons providing firearm training or safety classes; businesses, nonprofit organizations, or individuals that permit persons to carry concealed weapons on their property; and employers that permit their employees to carry concealed weapons.

13. Treats a license or permit issued by another state in the same manner as a license issued under this bill if the other state required the person to submit to a background check as a condition of licensure.

New and revised penalties for certain weapons offenses

The bill establishes new penalties and changes certain others for offenses relating to concealed weapons or committed by licensees. First, a licensee who fails to carry his or her license document or photo identification or who fails to display either upon the request of a law enforcement officer while the person is carrying a concealed weapon may be required to forfeit $25. Second, a licensee who carries a concealed weapon in a place where the license does not authorize him or her to do so, other than a home or business where a resident or business owner has imposed his or her own restriction on carrying a concealed weapon, may be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 90 days or both. Third, if a person has a blood alcohol concentration that exceeds 0.08 while carrying a concealed weapon, the person may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 9 months or both. The same penalties apply if, after a person is arrested for carrying a concealed weapon while having a prohibited alcohol concentration, he or she refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test. Fourth, under current law, possession of a firearm in a school zone is a Class I felony (punishable by a maximum fine of $10,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of three and one-half years or both), while possessing other types of dangerous weapons on school grounds is a Class A misdemeanor or, for a repeat offender, a Class I felony. A conviction under either of these provisions would also make a person ineligible for a license (generally for three years but permanently for a repeat offender). This bill exempts licensees from these penalties. Instead, licensees who unlawfully carry handguns in a school zone or who carry electric weapons, knives, or billy clubs on school grounds are subject to a maximum fine of $1,000 or a maximum term of imprisonment of 90 days or both. Fifth, a person who does any of the following must be fined not less than $500 nor more than $10,000, may be imprisoned for not more than nine months, and becomes permanently ineligible for a license: 1) intentionally makes a false statement in an application for a license; 2) intentionally fails to report being charged under federal law or the law of another state with any crime or any drunk driving offense within ten days after being charged; or 3) intentionally fails to relinquish a license document to DOJ after the license has been revoked.

Active duty and retired law enforcement officers

This bill codifies in the state concealed weapons statute the provisions of federal law that make the statute inapplicable to active duty and retired law enforcement officers under the circumstances specified in federal law (and described above). To implement federal law, the bill also makes certain other state law prohibitions regarding the carrying of firearms inapplicable to an active duty or retired law enforcement officer if he or she is carrying a firearm under those same circumstances. These include the prohibition on going armed with a handgun in a tavern, the prohibition regarding the possession, transportation, or loading of a handgun in vehicles, motorboats, and aircraft, and the prohibition on possessing a firearm that may be imposed through an injunction entered in certain domestic abuse cases. (Depending on the facts, however, a person who is subject to such an injunction may, as a result of that case, also be prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm, which means that the federal law regarding the carrying of a concealed firearm would not apply.) Similarly, the bill modifies the state's prohibition on possessing a firearm in a school zone to create an exemption for active duty and retired law enforcement officers who are carrying firearms. But as is the case with a person who is issued a license to carry a concealed weapon, these changes do not affect the provisions of the gun-free school zone law that, in general, prohibits a person, including an off-duty or retired law enforcement officer, from possessing a firearm in a public school itself or on the grounds of a public school.

In addition, under the bill, DOJ must provide a qualified retired law enforcement officer, upon his or her request, an ID card that, in combination with a photo ID issued by the retired officer's former employer, permits the retired officer to carry a concealed firearm. The ID card that DOJ issues must indicate all of the following: 1) that DOJ has found that the officer has met the state's standards for training and qualification for active duty law enforcement officers to carry firearms; 2) the date on which DOJ made that finding; and 3) that, as a result of the finding, the officer is qualified to carry any firearm other than a machine gun or a firearm bearing a silencer. DOJ, however, must issue the ID card only if: 1) the retired officer satisfies the first three criteria listed above for being a "qualified retired law enforcement officer" under federal law (see Current law regarding the possession of weapons, Federal law); 2) DOJ determines that its records do not indicate that the retired officer is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law or (with the exception of the prohibition based on a domestic abuse injunction) state law; and 3) the retired officer is a Wisconsin resident. DOJ may charge a retired officer a fee to cover the costs of issuing an ID card and determining the person's eligibility.

The bill requires an active duty or retired law enforcement officer who is carrying a concealed firearm to also carry the documentation that, under federal law, qualifies him or her to do so. A person who violates this requirement is subject to a forfeiture of not more than $25. (In contrast to the requirements of federal law, the exemption that the bill creates in the state's concealed weapons statute for an active duty or retired law enforcement officer is not dependent on the person carrying his or her credentials. The person only needs to have been issued the credentials, for the exemption to apply.)

Identification cards issued to Wisconsin law enforcement officers

Under the bill, if a Wisconsin law enforcement agency issues photo ID cards to its officers, it may not require an officer to relinquish his or her ID card upon retirement unless the person is not a qualified retired law enforcement officer (for example, if the retired officer is not eligible for benefits under the agency's retirement plan).

Background checks for handgun purchasers

This bill makes certain changes in the law relating to background checks for handgun purchasers. Under current law, when a person seeks to purchase a handgun from a licensed handgun dealer, the dealer must ask DOJ to conduct a background check on the person. In conducting the background check, DOJ searches DOJ records to determine whether the person is ineligible to possess a firearm under state law, but it does not attempt to determine whether federal law bars the person from possessing a firearm based on criteria not covered by state law. This bill requires DOJ, when conducting a background check on a prospective handgun purchaser, to determine whether the person has been the subject of a court order or finding in a Wisconsin court based on the person's mental health that would render the person ineligible to possess a firearm under federal law. Specifically, DOJ must determine whether: 1) the person was the subject of a court order committing the person for treatment in an inpatient mental health facility or a finding by a court that the person is a danger to himself or herself or others or lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his or her own affairs; 2) the person did not commence the proceeding in which the order was entered or the finding was made; and 3) the order or finding was based on the person having markedly subnormal intelligence or the person's mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease. If DOJ determines that the prospective purchaser was the subject of such an order or finding, the dealer may not sell the person a handgun.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB763, s. 1 Section 1. 23.33 (3) (e) of the statutes is renumbered 23.33 (3) (e) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB763,10,5 23.33 (3) (e) (intro.) With any firearm in his or her possession unless it is unloaded and enclosed in a carrying case, or any bow unless it is unstrung or enclosed in a carrying case. This paragraph does not apply to any of the following:

AB763, s. 2 Section 2. 23.33 (3) (e) 1. of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,10,8 23.33 (3) (e) 1. A person who is employed in this state by a public agency as a law enforcement officer and to whom s. 941.23 (1) (e) 2. to 5. and (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 3 Section 3. 23.33 (3) (e) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,10,11 23.33 (3) (e) 2. A qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (e), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 4 Section 4. 23.33 (3) (e) 3. of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,10,14 23.33 (3) (e) 3. A retired law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (f), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (c) 1. to 7. applies.

AB763, s. 5 Section 5. 23.33 (3) (e) 4. of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,10,18 23.33 (3) (e) 4. A licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (d) or an out-of-state licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (g), who possesses a handgun, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (bm).

AB763, s. 6 Section 6. 23.33 (3) (em) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,10,20 23.33 (3) (em) With any bow unless it is unstrung or enclosed in a carrying case.

AB763, s. 7 Section 7. 29.089 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 29.089 (2) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB763,11,6 29.089 (2) (intro.) Except as provided in sub. (3), no person may have in his or her possession or under his or her control a firearm on land located in state parks or state fish hatcheries unless the firearm is unloaded and enclosed within a carrying case. This subsection does not apply to any of the following:

AB763, s. 8 Section 8. 29.089 (2) (a) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,11,9 29.089 (2) (a) A person who is employed in this state by a public agency as a law enforcement officer and to whom s. 941.23 (1) (e) 2. to 5. and (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 9 Section 9. 29.089 (2) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,11,12 29.089 (2) (b) A qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (e), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 10 Section 10. 29.089 (2) (c) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,11,15 29.089 (2) (c) A retired law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (f), firearm to whom s. 941.23 (2) (c) 1. to 7. applies.

AB763, s. 11 Section 11. 29.089 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,11,19 29.089 (2) (d) A licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (d), or an out-of-state licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (g), if the firearm is a handgun, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (bm).

AB763, s. 12 Section 12. 29.091 of the statutes is renumbered 29.091 (1) and amended to read:

AB763,12,4 29.091 (1) No person may hunt or trap within any wildlife refuge established under s. 23.09 (2) (b) or 29.621 (1), or, except as provided in sub. (2), have possession or control of any gun, firearm, bow or crossbow unless the gun or firearm is unloaded, the bow or crossbow is unstrung and the gun, firearm, bow or crossbow is enclosed within a carrying case. The taking of predatory game birds and animals shall be done as the department directs. All state wildlife refuge boundary lines shall be marked by posts placed at intervals of not over 500 feet and bearing signs with the words "Wisconsin Wildlife Refuge".

AB763, s. 13 Section 13. 29.091 (2) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,12,8 29.091 (2) The prohibition in sub. (1), as it relates to the possession or control of a loaded or unencased gun or firearm within a game refuge established under s. 23.09 (2) (b), does not apply to any of the following:

AB763,12,10 (a) A person who is employed in this state by a public agency as a law enforcement officer and to whom s. 941.23 (1) (e) 2. to 5. and (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763,12,12 (b) A qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (e), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763,12,14 (c) A retired law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (f), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (c) 1. to 7. applies.

AB763, s. 14 Section 14. 29.091 (2) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,12,18 29.091 (2) (d) A licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (d), or an out-of-state licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (g), if the gun or firearm is a handgun, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (bm).

AB763, s. 15 Section 15. 29.621 (4) of the statutes is renumbered 29.621 (4) (intro.) and amended to read:

AB763,13,4 29.621 (4) Protection. (intro.) Except as provided in s. 29.091 (1), no owner of a wildlife refuge, and no other person, may hunt or trap within the boundaries of any wildlife refuge or have in his or her possession or under his or her control in the wildlife refuge a gun, firearm, bow or crossbow, unless the gun or firearm is unloaded, the bow or crossbow is unstrung and the gun, firearm, bow or crossbow is enclosed within a carrying case. Nothing in this section may prohibit, prevent or interfere with the department in the destruction of injurious animals. This subsection, as it relates to the possession or control of a loaded or unencased firearm, does not apply to any of the following:

AB763, s. 16 Section 16. 29.621 (4) (a) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,13,7 29.621 (4) (a) A person who is employed in this state by a public agency as a law enforcement officer and to whom s. 941.23 (1) (e) 2. to 5. and (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 17 Section 17. 29.621 (4) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,13,10 29.621 (4) (b) A qualified out-of-state law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (e), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (b) 1. to 3. applies.

AB763, s. 18 Section 18. 29.621 (4) (c) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,13,13 29.621 (4) (c) A retired law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 941.23 (1) (f), to whom s. 941.23 (2) (c) 1. to 7. applies.

AB763, s. 19 Section 19. 29.621 (4) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,13,17 29.621 (4) (d) A licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (d), or an out-of-state licensee, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (g), if the gun or firearm is a handgun, as defined in s. 175.50 (1) (bm).

AB763, s. 20 Section 20. 29.621 (6) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,13,20 29.621 (6) Injurious animals. Nothing in this section may prohibit, prevent, or interfere with the department in the destruction of injurious animals.

AB763, s. 21 Section 21. 51.20 (13) (cv) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB763,14,6 51.20 (13) (cv) 4. If the court prohibits a subject individual from possessing a firearm under subd. 1. or cancels a prohibition under subd. 2., the court clerk shall notify the department of justice of that fact and provide any information identifying the subject individual that is necessary to permit an accurate involuntary commitment history record search under s. 175.35 (2g) (c) or a background check under s. 175.50 (9g) (b). No other information from the subject individual's court records may be disclosed to the department of justice except by order of the court. The department of justice may disclose information provided under this subdivision only as part of an involuntary commitment history record search under s. 175.35 (2g) (c).

AB763, s. 22 Section 22. 51.20 (16) (gm) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB763,14,18 51.20 (16) (gm) Upon a request under par. (a), a court may cancel the prohibition under sub. (13) (cv) 1. if the court determines, based on evidence presented on the issue of the subject individual's dangerousness, that there no longer is a substantial probability that the individual may use a firearm to cause physical harm to himself or herself or endanger public safety. If a court cancels a prohibition under sub. (13) (cv) 1. under this paragraph, the court clerk shall notify the department of justice of that fact and provide any information identifying the subject individual that is necessary to permit an accurate involuntary commitment record search under s. 175.35 (2g) (c) or a background check under s. 175.50 (9g) (b). No other information from the subject individual's court records may be disclosed to the department of justice except by order of the court.

AB763, s. 23 Section 23. 51.30 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB763,14,24 51.30 (3) (a) Except as provided in pars. (b) and (c) and s. 175.50 (11) (d) 2. g. and 3. and under rules that the department of justice promulgates under s. 175.35 (2g) (c) 3. or 175.50 (9g) (f), the files and records of the court proceedings under this chapter shall be closed but shall be accessible to any individual who is the subject of a petition filed under this chapter.

AB763, s. 24 Section 24. 55.06 (17) (d) of the statutes is created to read:

AB763,15,3 55.06 (17) (d) Notwithstanding par. (a), information from records described in par. (a) may be disclosed under rules that the department of justice promulgates under s. 175.35 (2g) (c) 3. or 175.50 (9g) (f).

AB763, s. 25 Section 25. 59.25 (3) (u) of the statutes is created to read: