Monday, June 22, 2009

AZ Senate Judiciary Hearing on HB 2474 Parking Lot Bill

HB 2474 Parking Lot Storage Bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee today (Monday June 22nd). You can watch the Senate Judiciary Committee live when it begins conducting business at 1:30 PM in Senate Hearing Room 1.

Be sure to submit your testimony in favor of HB 2474 via the Arizona Request to Speak system: http://alistrack.azleg.state.az.us/rts/login.asp

Update 1: HB 2474 was scheduled but was not heard. However, HB 2439 was heard. You can watch the archive video of the hearing. See related AZCDL legislative update below:

Today (6/22/09), at about 4:30 PM, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HB 2439 out of committee by a 3-1 vote with 3 members not voting. The three members not voting were the committee’s Democrats who did not attend the hearing. The dissenting vote came from Republican John Huppenthal.

HB 2439, the AzCDL-requested CCW training reform bill, provides for an alternative 4 hour CCW course for first time permit applicants, dealing only in legal issues, mental conditioning, and judgmental shooting decisions, for qualified individuals who can show proof of prior firearms training, such as:
- Completion of an NRA pistol course.
- Completion of pistol related courses at the college level, or from private organizations like Front Sight, Gunsite, etc.
- Completion of certain law enforcement training.
- Current military service or an honorable discharge.
- A competitive rating or ranking in an organized shooting competition.
- A CCW permit from another jurisdiction that required training or testing to obtain.

An amendment was added in the committee to include the language from last year’s “Petty Offense” bill which passed in both chambers of the Legislature in 2008. Petty Offense is a step towards Constitutional Carry. It reduces the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit from the current misdemeanor to a petty offense unless the person is committing or attempting to commit a serious or violent crime. The amendment includes the language from SB 1270 exempting CCW permit holders from certain “public establishment or event” restrictions. It also would prevent the destruction of weapons seized by law enforcement.

Since HB 2439 has already been through House hearings and votes, if the full Senate votes on its passage, it will not be subject to any additional committee hearings in the House before receiving a “Final” House vote and being sent to the Governor.

We now have two similar bills working to further restore our right to keep and bear arms in Arizona. SB 1270 fully decriminalizes the lawful carrying of concealed weapons and is facing tough opposition in both chambers and the Governor’s office. SB 1270 will also have to survive more committee hearings and floor votes to get to the governor’s desk. Meanwhile, HB 2439, with less controversial language but still a major improvement over the current system, has a shorter path to travel to the Governor’s desk.

On the Senate Judiciary Committee’s agenda, but not heard today, was HB 2474 which stipulates that property owners, tenants, public or private employers, and business entities must not prohibit the transport or storage of legally owned firearms in locked and privately owned motor vehicles parked within parking lots, parking garages, and other designated parking areas. It exempts property owners, tenants, public or private employers, business entities, and their employees or agents from civil liability for damages resulting from or arising out of an act involving a legally owned firearm that is transported or stored within a locked and privately owned vehicle. It allows employers and business entities to prescribe policies mandating that owners keep firearms out of the plain view of the public when stored or transported in locked and privately owned vehicles. And, it specifies inapplicability stemming from state and federal prohibition, and motor vehicle ownership. HB 2474 is being transferred from Senate Commerce Economic and Development (CED) Committee where it is currently assigned.

Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts and Twitter.

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today!

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Also, Arizona has just taken a major step towards dismantling race and gender preferences and discrimination in state and local government. Today, The state Senate voted to place an initiative on the 2010 general election ballot barring discrimination against – or preferential treatment for – any individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. The Arizona House approved identical legislation last week.

“Today we are giving Arizonans an opportunity to tell our government to end this form of legalized discrimination once and for all,” remarked Rachel Alexander, chair of the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative.

And most people would agree with Rachel… A recent Quinnipiac University National Poll finds American voters overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing Affirmative Action. The survey also shows voters disagree by more than 3 to 1 with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor’s ruling in favor of racial preferences in a case involving firefighters in New Haven, CT.

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