AN ACT relating to confiscated firearms.

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AN ACT relating to confiscated firearms. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 16.220 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Subject to the duty to return confiscated firearms to innocent owners pursuant to 4
KRS 500.090, and subsection (7) of this section, all firearms confiscated by the 5
Department of Kentucky Sta te Police and not retained for official use pursuant to 6
KRS 500.090 shall be[ sold at public auction to]: 7
(a) Sold at public auction to federally licensed firearms dealers holding a license 8
appropriate for the type of firearm sold; or 9
(b) For a firearm whi ch was used in a criminal homicide, destroyed[any person 10
who certifies on a form provided by the Department of Kentucky State Police 11
prior to placing a bid that he or she will, upon completion of the auction, leave 12
the firearm with the Department of Kentuc ky State Police for destruction. A 13
state or local government or agency thereof shall not purchase a firearm under 14
this paragraph]. 15
(2) Any provision of KRS Chapte r 45 or 45A relating to disposition of property to the 16
contrary notwithstanding, the Department of Kentucky State Police shall: 17
(a) Conduct any auction specified by this section; 18
(b) Retain for departmental use twenty percent (20%) of the gross proceeds fr om 19
any auction specified by this section; and 20
(c) Transfer remaining proceeds of the sale to the account of the Kentucky Office 21
of Homeland Security for use as provided in subsection (5) of this section [; 22
and 23
(d) For any sale pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section, destroy the firearm]. 24
(3) Prior to the destruction or sale of any firearm, the Department of Kentucky State 25
Police shall make an attempt to determine if the firearm to be destroyed or sold has 26
been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained from an innocent owner and return the 27
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firearm to its lawful innocent owner, unless that person is ineligible to purchase a 1
firearm under federal law. 2
(4) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall receive firearms and ammunition 3
confiscated by or abandon ed to every law enforcement agency in Kentucky. The 4
department shall dispose of the firearms received in the manner specified in 5
subsections (1) and (2) of this section. However, firearms that[which] are not 6
retained for official use, returned to an innoce nt lawful owner, destroyed, or 7
transferred to another government agency or public museum shall be sold as 8
provided in subsection (1) of this section. 9
(5) The proceeds of firearms sales shall be utilized by the Kentucky Office of 10
Homeland Security to provid e grants to city, county, charter county, unified local 11
government, urban -county government, and consolidated local government police 12
departments; university safety and security departments organized pursuant to KRS 13
164.950; school districts that employ sp ecial law enforcement officers as defined in 14
KRS 61.900; airport safety and security departments established under KRS 15
183.880; and sheriff's departments for the purchase of: 16
(a) Body armor for sworn peace officers of those departments and service 17
animals, as defined in KRS 525.010, of those departments; 18
(b) Firearms or ammunition; 19
(c) Electronic control devices, electronic control weapons, or electro -muscular 20
disruption technology; and 21
(d) Body-worn cameras. 22
In awarding grants under this section, the Kent ucky Office of Homeland Security 23
shall give first priority to providing and replacing body armor and second priority to 24
providing firearms and ammunition, with residual funds available for the purchase 25
of body -worn cameras, electronic control devices, elec tronic control weapons, or 26
electro-muscular disruption technology. Body armor purchased by the department 27
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receiving grant funds shall meet or exceed the standards issued by the National 1
Institute of Justice for body armor. No police or sheriff's department shall apply for 2
a grant to replace existing body armor unless that body armor has been in actual use 3
for a period of five (5) years or longer. Any department applying for grant funds for 4
body-worn cameras shall develop a policy for their use and shall sub mit that policy 5
with its application for the grant funds to the Office of Homeland Security as part of 6
the application process. 7
(6) The Department of Kentucky State Police may transfer a machine gun, short -8
barreled shotgun, short -barreled rifle, silencer, pistol with a shoulder stock, any 9
other weapon, or destructive device as defined by the National Firearms Act in 26 10
U.S.C. sec. 5845(f), which is subject to registration under the National Firearms 11
Act, 26 U.S.C. ch. 53, and is not properly registered in the national firearms transfer 12
records for those types of weapons, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, [and 13
]Firearms and Explosives of the United States Department of Justice, after a 14
reasonable attempt has been made to transfer the firearm to an eligible s tate or local 15
law enforcement agency or to an eligible museum and no eligible recipient will take 16
the firearm or weapon. National Firearms Act firearms and weapons which are 17
properly registered and not returned to an innocent lawful owner or retained for 18
official use as provided in this section shall be destroyed or sold in accordance with 19
subsection (1) of this section. 20
(7) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may order the destruction of 21
any firearm confiscated by the Department of Kentucky Sta te Police and not 22
retained for official use, or any firearm coming into the custody of another law 23
enforcement agency and transferred to the Department of Kentucky State Police 24
for disposition as required by Section 2 of this Act, if the commissioner or th e 25
commissioner's designee determines in his or her sole discretion that the firearm: 26
(a) Has been defaced so as to render illegible, or partially illegible, the serial 27
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number or other markings required by state or federal law to be placed on 1
such firearm p rior to its sale by a licensed manufacturer or licensed 2
importer; 3
(b) Is contaminated with a hazardous substance or biological materials 4
including body tissue, organs, or body parts, to an extent that would make 5
the firearm hazardous to health or the environment; 6
(c) Is unsafe to discharge in the manner for which it was designed, due to 7
damage or alteration; or 8
(d) Is subject to return to an innocent owner who has requested, in writing, that 9
the Department of Kentucky State Police destroy the firearm. 10
Section 2. KRS 500.090 is amended to read as follows: 11
(1) Except as provided in KRS 500.092, all property which is subject to forfeiture 12
under any section of the Kentucky Penal Code shall be disposed of in the following 13
manner:[accordance with this section.] 14
(a) Property other than firearms which is forfeited under any section of this code 15
may, upon order of the trial court, be destroyed by the sheriff of the county in 16
which the conviction was obtained;[.] 17
(b) Property other t han firearms which is forfeited under any section of this code 18
may, upon order of the trial court, be sold at public auction. The expenses of 19
keeping and selling such property and the amount of all valid recorded liens 20
that are established by intervention as being bona fide shall be paid out of the 21
proceeds of the sale. The balance shall be paid to: 22
1. The state, if the property was seized by an agency of the state or peace 23
officer thereof; 24
2. The county, if the property was seized by the sheriff or an agen cy or 25
peace officer of the county; 26
3. The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, if the property was 27
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seized by a peace officer of the Department of Fish and Wildlife or was 1
seized by any other officer for violation of KRS Chapter 150; 2
4. The city, if the property was seized by the city or by an agency or peace 3
officer thereof and the property was delivered to the city property clerk; 4
5. The city (ninety percent (90%) of the proceeds) and the sheriff (ten 5
percent (10%) of the proceeds), if the property was seized by the city or 6
by an agency or peace officer thereof and the property was delivered to 7
the sheriff or the county police; or 8
6. The state, if the property was seized by any combination of agencies 9
listed above;[.] 10
(c) 1. Subject to t he duty to return confiscated firearms and ammunition to 11
innocent owners pursuant to this section, all firearms and ammunition 12
confiscated by a state or local law enforcement agency, all firearms 13
ordered forfeited by a court, and all abandoned firearms and ammunition 14
coming into the custody of a state or local law enforcement agency and 15
not retained for official use shall be transferred to the Department of 16
Kentucky State Police for disposition as provided by KRS 16.220 , 17
except as provided in paragraph (d) of this subsection. 18
2. a. The transfer shall occur not more than ninety (90) days after the 19
abandonment of the firearm or ammunition to the law enforcement 20
agency or not more than ninety (90) days after its confiscation, 21
unless a court requires the firearm or ammunition for use as 22
evidence, in which case it shall be transferred to the Department of 23
Kentucky State Police not more than ninety (90) days following 24
the order of forfeiture by the court or after the court returns the 25
firearm or ammunition from use as evidence. 26
b. Firearms transferred to the Department of Kentucky State Police 27
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for disposition under this paragraph shall not be intentionally 1
damaged, modified, or disabled by the agency having custody of 2
the firearm, prior to the firearm transfer, exce pt as may be 3
necessary for forensic testing or examination in the course of 4
criminal investigation or prosecution or civil proceedings. 5
3. Prior to the destruction or sale of any firearm or ammunition, the law 6
enforcement agency shall make a bona fide attempt to determine if the 7
firearm or ammunition to be destroyed or sold has been stolen or 8
otherwise unlawfully obtained from an innocent owner and return the 9
firearm and ammunition to its lawful innocent owner, unl ess that person 10
is ineligible to purchase a firearm under federal law. 11
4. This subsection relating to auction of firearms and ammunition shall not 12
apply to firearms and ammunition auctioned by the Department of Fish 13
and Wildlife that may be sold to individ ual purchasers residing in 14
Kentucky who are eligible under federal law to purchase firearms and 15
ammunition of the type auctioned;[.] 16
(d) 1. Subject to the duty to return confiscated firearms to innocent owners 17
pursuant to this section, all firearms used in a criminal homicide 18
shall, upon order of the trial court, be destroyed by the agency having 19
custody of the firearm. 20
2. The agency having custody of the firearm shall not retain the firearm 21
for official use or transfer it to the Department of Kentucky Stat e 22
Police for disposition. The agency shall destroy the firearm not more 23
than ninety (90) days after the court orders the destruction; 24
(e) If property which is forfeited under any section of this code is determined by 25
the trial court to be worthless, encumb ered with liens in excess of its value, or 26
otherwise a burdensome asset, the court may abandon any interest in such 27
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property. Property which is abandoned pursuant to this section shall be 1
returned to the lawful claimant upon payment of expenses for keeping the 2
property; and[.] 3
(f)[(e)] 1. Property which is forfeited under any section of this code may, 4
upon order of the trial court, be retained for official use in the following 5
manner:[.] 6
a. Property which has been seized by an agency of the state may be 7
retained for official state use;[.] 8
b. Property which has been seized by an agency of county, city, or 9
urban-county government may be retained for official use by the 10
government whose agency seized the property or for official state 11
use; and[.] 12
c. Property seized by any other unit of government may be retained 13
only for official state use. 14
2. The expenses for keeping and transferring such property shall be paid by 15
the unit of government by which the property is retained. 16
(2) Money which has been obtained or conferred in violation of any section of this code 17
shall, upon conviction, be forfeited for the use of the state. This subsection shall not 18
apply when, during the course of the proceeding in which the conviction is 19
obtained, the person from whom said money was unlawfully acquired is identified. 20
(3) Property forfeited under any section of this code shall be disposed of in accordance 21
with this section only after being advertised pursuant to KRS Chapter 424. This 22
subsection shall not apply to property which is de signed and suitable only for 23
criminal use or to money forfeited under subsection (2) of this section. 24
(4) The trial court shall remit the forfeiture of property when the lawful claimant: 25
(a) Asserts his or her claim before disposition of the property pursu ant to this 26
section; 27
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(b) Establishes his or her legal interest in the property; and 1
(c) Establishes that the unlawful use of the property was without his or her 2
knowledge and consent. This subsection shall not apply to a lienholder of 3
record when the trial court elects to dispose of the property pursuant to 4
subsection (1)(b) of this section. 5
(5) For purposes of this section, "lawful claimant" means owner or lienholder of record. 6
(6) (a) Before property which has had its identity obscured in violation of KRS 7
514.120 may be sold or retained for official use as provided in this section, the 8
court shall cause a serial or other identifying number to be placed thereon, and 9
a record of the number assigned shall be placed in the court order authorizing 10
the sale or retention of the property. 11
(b) This number shall be assigned, whenever applicable, in consultation with the 12
Department of Kentucky State Police and any other state or federal regulatory 13
agency. 14
(c) The purchaser of the property shall be given a document stating that the 15
property had bee n forfeited pursuant to law and that a number, shown on the 16
document, has been assigned which shall be deemed as compliance of the 17
owner with KRS 514.120. 18
(d) When property is returned to an owner pursuant to this section and its identity 19
has been obscured by another person in violation of KRS 514.120, the court 20
shall provide a document to the owner relieving him or her of liability for its 21
continued possession. 22
(e) This document shall serve as evidence of compliance with KRS 514.120 by 23
the owner or any per son to whom he or she lawfully disposes of the property. 24
This section shall not apply to any person after property has been sold or 25
returned in compliance with this section who violates the provisions of KRS 26
514.120 with respect to that property. 27
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(7) (a) Before forfeiture of any property under this section, [it shall be the duty of 1
]the trial court shall[to] determine if a lawful owner or claimant to the 2
property has been identified or is identifiable. 3
(b) If a lawful owner or claimant has been identified o r is identifiable, the court 4
shall notify the owner or claimant that the property is being held and specify a 5
reasonable period of time during which the claim may be made or may, in lieu 6
thereof, order the return of the property to the lawful owner or claimant. 7
(c) If the lawful owner or claimant does not assert his or her claim to the property 8
after notification or if he or she renounces his or her claim to the property, the 9
property shall be disposed of as provided in this section. 10
(d) [It shall be the duty of ]All peace officers and other public officers or officials 11
having knowledge of the lawful owner or claimant of property subject to 12
forfeiture shall[to] report the same to the trial court before the act of forfeiture 13
occurs. 14
Section 3. KRS 15.440 is amended to read as follows: 15
(1) Each unit of government that meets the following requirements shall be eligible to 16
share in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program 17
fund: 18
(a) Employs one (1) or more police officers; 19
(b) Pays every police officer at least the minimum federal wage; 20
(c) Requires all police officers to have, at a minimum, a high school degree, or its 21
equivalent as determined by the council, except that each police officer 22
employed prior to the date on which the officer's police department was 23
included as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 24
met the requirements of this subsection; 25
(d) 1. Requires all police officers to successfully complete a basic training 26
course of nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours' duration within one (1) 27
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year of the date of employment at a school certified or recognized by the 1
council, which may provide a different number of hours of instruction as 2
established in this paragraph, except that each police officer employed 3
prior to the date on which t he officer's police department was included 4
as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 5
met the requirements of this subsection. 6
2. As the exclusive method by which the number of hours required for 7
basic training courses shall be mo dified from that which is specifically 8
established by this paragraph, the council may, by the promulgation of 9
administrative regulations in accordance with the provisions of KRS 10
Chapter 13A, explicitly set the exact number of hours for basic training 11
at a number different from nine hundred twenty -eight (928) hours based 12
upon a training curriculum approved by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 13
Council as determined by a validated job task analysis. 14
3. If the council sets an exact number of hours different from nin e hundred 15
twenty-eight (928) in an administrative regulation as provided by this 16
paragraph, it shall not further change the number of hours required for 17
basic training without promulgating administrative regulations in 18
accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A. 19
4. Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted to prevent the council, 20
pursuant to its authority under KRS 15.330, from approving training 21
schools with a curriculum requiring attendance of a number of hours 22
that exceeds nine hundred twenty -eight (928) hours or the number of 23
hours established in an administrative regulation as provided by 24
subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. However, the training 25
programs and schools for the basic training of law enforcement 26
personnel conducted by the department pursuant to KRS 15A.070 shall 27
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not contain a curriculum that requires attendance of a number of hours 1
for basic training that is different from nine hundred twenty -eight (928) 2
hours or the number of hours established in an administrative regulati on 3
promulgated by the council pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 4
13A as provided by subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. 5
5. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph 6
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 7
promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 8
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 9
a. Years of service credit as a law enforcement officer with previous 10
service in another state; and 11
b. Basic training completed in another state. 12
6. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph 13
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 14
promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 15
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 16
a. Completion of eight hundred forty -eight (848) hours of training at 17
a school established pursuant to KRS 15A.070; 18
b. A minimum of fifteen (15) years of experience as a certified law 19
enforcement instructor at a school established pursuant to KRS 20
15A.070; 21
c. Completion of an average of forty (40) hours of Kentucky Law 22
Enforcement Council approved in -service training annually from 23
January 1, 1997, through January 1, 2020; 24
d. Three (3) years of active, full-time service as a: 25
i. City, county, urban -county, charter county, consolidated 26
local, or unified local government police officer; 27
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ii. Sheriff's deputy, excluding special deputies appointed under 1
KRS 70.045; 2
iii. Department of Kentucky State Police officer; or 3
iv. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game 4
warden exercising peace officer powers under KRS 150.090; 5
and 6
e. Completion of the: 7
i. Twenty-four (24) hour legal update Penal Code course; 8
ii. Sixteen (16) h our legal update constitutional procedure 9
course; and 10
iii. Forty (40) hour basic officer skills course within one (1) year 11
prior to applying for certification; 12
(e) Requires all police officers to successfully complete each calendar year an in -13
service training course, appropriate to the officer's rank and responsibility and 14
the size and location of the officer's police department, of forty (40) hours' 15
duration, at a school certified or recognized by the council which may include 16
a four (4) hour course which meets the requirements of paragraph (j) of this 17
subsection. This in-service training requirement shall be waived for the period 18
of time that a peace officer is serving on active duty in the United States 19
Armed Forces. This waiver shall be retroactive for p eace officers from the 20
date of September 11, 2001; 21
(f) Complies with all provisions of law applicable to police officers or police 22
departments, including transmission of data to the centralized criminal history 23
record information system as required by KRS 17.150 and transmission of 24
reports as required by KRS 15.391; 25
(g) Complies with all rules and regulations, appropriate to the size and location of 26
the police department issued by the cabinet to facilitate the administration of 27
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the fund and further the purposes of KRS 15.410 to 15.510; 1
(h) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual related to domestic violence 2
for law enforcement agencies that has been approved by the cabinet. The 3
policy shall comply with the provisions of KRS 403.715 to 403.785. The 4
policy shall include a purpose statement; definitions; supervisory 5
responsibilities; procedures for twenty -four (24) hour access to protective 6
orders; procedures for enforcement of court orders or relief when protective 7
orders are violated; procedures for t imely and contemporaneous reporting of 8
adult abuse and domestic violence to the Cabinet for Health and Family 9
Services, Department for Community Based Services; victim rights, 10
assistance, and service responsibilities; and duties related to timely 11
completion of records; 12
(i) Possesses by January 1, 2023, a written policy and procedures manual related 13
to sexual assault examinations that meets the standards provided by, and has 14
been approved by, the cabinet, and which includes: 15
1. A requirement that evidence co llected as a result of an examination 16
performed under KRS 216B.400 be taken into custody within five (5) 17
days of notice from the collecting facility that the evidence is available 18
for retrieval; 19
2. A requirement that evidence received from a collecting fac ility relating 20
to an incident which occurred outside the jurisdiction of the police 21
department be transmitted to a police department with jurisdiction 22
within ten (10) days of its receipt by the police department; 23
3. A requirement that all evidence retrieved from a collecting facility under 24
this paragraph be transmitted to the Department of Kentucky State 25
Police forensic laboratory within thirty (30) days of its receipt by the 26
police department; 27
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4. A requirement that a suspect standard, if available, be tran smitted to the 1
Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory with the 2
evidence received from a collecting facility; 3
5. A process for notifying the victim from whom the evidence was 4
collected of the progress of the testing, whether the testing re sulted in a 5
match to other DNA samples, and if the evidence is to be destroyed. The 6
policy may include provisions for delaying notice until a suspect is 7
apprehended or the office of the Commonwealth's attorney consents to 8
the notification, but shall not au tomatically require the disclosure of the 9
identity of any person to whom the evidence matched; and 10
6. A requirement that DNA samples collected as a result of an examination 11
performed under KRS 216B.400 that are voluntarily submitted solely for 12
elimination purposes shall not be checked against any DNA index, 13
retained, or included in any DNA index;[ and] 14
(j) Possesses by January 1, 2027, a written policy and procedures manual 15
related to destruction of firearms used in criminal homicides, which 16
includes a requ irement that all firearms used in a criminal homicide are 17
destroyed in a manner which deems the firearm inoperable and disposed of 18
in a manner so that no parts of the firearm are functional; and 19
(k) Requires all police officers to successfully complete by December 31, 2022, 20
and every two (2) years thereafter, a training course certified by the council of 21
not less than four (4) hours in emergency vehicle operation. 22
(2) A unit of government which meets the criteria of this section shall be eligible to 23
continue sharing in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation 24
Program fund only if the police department of the unit of government remains in 25
compliance with the requirements of this section. 26
(3) Deputies employed by a sheriff's office shall b e eligible to participate in the 27
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distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund 1
regardless of participation by the sheriff. 2
(4) Failure to meet a deadline established in a policy adopted pursuant to subsection 3
(1)(i) of this section for the retrieval or submission of evidence shall not be a basis 4
for a dismissal of a criminal action or a bar to the admissibility of the evidence in a 5
criminal action. 6
Section 4. KRS 15.512 is amended to read as follows: 7
Each law enforcement agency or other employing agency whose officers are required to 8
meet the training requirements of KRS 15.440(1) (k)[(j)] shall retain a record of each of 9
its officers having met the biennial training. These records shall be made availab le upon 10
request to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council and to the Justice and Public Safety 11
Cabinet. 12