Relating to merchant category codes for transactions involving firearms and ammunition, firearm registries and records, and providing civil penalties

This bill relates to records and payment card transactions of firearms and ammunition. Under the bill, except for records kept during the regular course of a criminal investigation or criminal prosecution, or as otherwise required by law, a government entity shall not knowingly keep or cause to be kept a record or registry of privately owned firearms, or of the owners of privately owned firearms. “Government entity” and “firearm” are defined in the bill. The bill prohibits a financial institution, or an agent of a financial institution, from requiring the use of a firearms code in a way that distinguishes a firearms retailer from other retailers. “Financial institution”, “firearms code”, and “firearms retailer” are defined in the bill. The bill also prohibits a financial institution from declining a payment card transaction involving a firearms retailer based on the assignment of a firearms code. “Payment card transaction” and “assignment” are defined in the bill. The bill does not prohibit a financial institution from declining or refusing to process a payment card transaction if necessary to comply with applicable state or federal laws, if requested by a customer, if necessary due to fraud controls, or for purposes of merchant category exclusions offered by a financial institution for purposes of expenditure control or corporate card control. The bill does not limit or impair the authority of a financial institution to negotiate with responsible parties or a financial institution’s actions related to dispute processing, fraud management, or protecting against illegal activities, breach, cyber risks, or from taking any action that restricts the use or availability of the firearms code. Under the bill, the attorney general shall investigate reasonable alleged violations of the bill and, if the attorney general has reasonable belief that a person is in violation of the bill, the attorney general shall provide written notice to the person determined to have committed the violation. Upon receipt of notice of a violation, a person shall have calendar days to cease the violation or, if the violation persists, the attorney general may bring civil action in district court to enjoin further violations, in addition to other remedies permitted by law. If a person knowingly or willfully fails to comply with an injunction after calendar days from the date of being served with the injunction, the attorney general may petition the district court to impose civil penalties in an amount not more than $1,000 per violation. The bill creates a defense to a proceeding initiated under the bill that a firearms code was required to be disclosed or assigned by law.