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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1629
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE HALEY .
5200H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 407, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to tracking of
firearms purchases by financial institutions, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 407, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 407.439, to read as follows:
407.439. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Customer", a person who uses, pur chases, or obtains an account, extension
3 of cr edit, or prod uct of a financial institution or for whom a financial institution acts as
4 a fiduciary , agent, or custodian or in another repr esentative capacity;
5 (2) "Disclosur e", the transfer , publication, or distribution of pr otected financial
6 information to another person or entity for any purpose other than to pro cess or
7 facilitate a payment card transaction;
8 (3) "Financial institution", any state bank, state trust company , savings and loan
9 association, federally chartered cred it union doing business in this state, cr edit union
10 charter ed by the state of Missouri, national bank, bro ker -dealer , mutual fund, insurance
11 company , or other similar financial entity qualified to do business in this state;
12 (4) "Financial reco rd", a reco rd held by a financial institution r elated to a
13 payment card transaction that the financial institution has pr ocessed or facilitated;
14 (5) "Fir earms code", the Merch ant Category Code 5723 appr oved in September
15 of 2022 by the International Organization for Standardization for fir earms r etailers;
16 (6) "Fir earms ret ailer", any person or entity engaged in the lawful business of
17 selling or trading fir earms or ammunition to be used in fir earms.
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 2. (1) A financial institution or its agent shall not req uire the usage of the
19 fir earms code in a way that distinguishes a fir earms ret ailer physically located in the
20 state of Missouri fr om Missouri general mer chandise r etailers or sporting goods
21 r etailers.
22 (2) A financial institution shall not discriminate against a fir earms re tailer by:
23 (a) Declining a lawful payment card transaction based solely on the assignment
24 or nonassignment of a fir earms code to the mer chant or transaction;
25 (b) Limiting or declining to do business with a customer , potential customer , or
26 mer chant based on the assignment or nonassignment of a fir earms code to pr evious
27 lawful transactions involving the customer , potential customer , or mer chant;
28 (c) Charging a higher transaction or interch ange fee to any mer chant or for a
29 lawful transaction based on the assignment or nonassignment of a fir earms code; or
30 (d) Otherwise taking any action against a customer or mer chant that is intended
31 to suppr ess lawful commer ce involving fir earms, fir earm accessories or components, or
32 ammunition, which action is based solely or in part on the customer's or mer chant's
33 business involving fir earms, fir earm accessories or components, or ammunition.
34 (3) Except as otherwise requ ired by law , a financial institution shall not disclose
35 a financial reco rd, including a fir earms code, that was collected in violation of this
36 section.
37 3. (1) The attorney general shall investigate alleged violations of this section and,
38 upon finding a violation, shall provi de written notice to any individual or entity , public
39 or private, believed to be in violation of this section. Upon recei pt of such written notice
40 fr om the attorney general, the individual or entity shall cease any violation of this
41 section within thirty calendar days.
42 (2) Either a fir earms reta iler physically located in Missouri whose business was
43 the subject of an alleged violation of this section or a customer who transacted at a
44 fir earms r etailer physically located in Missouri whose business was the subject of an
45 alleged violation of this section may petition the attorney general to investigate the
46 alleged violation in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection.
47 (3) If the attorney general does not commence an action within ninety days of
48 r eceiving a petition under this subsection, the fir earms ret ailer or customer may file an
49 action in court to enjoin the violation.
50 (4) If an individual or entity is found to be in violation of this section and fails to
51 cease the violation after the expiration of thirty calendar days from the receipt of
52 written notice by the attorney general's office, the attorney general shall pursue an
53 injunction against any such individual or entity , public or private, alleged to be in
54 violation of this section. The attorney general shall pursue an injunction under this
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55 subdivision in a court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the alleged violation
56 occurr ed against the individual or entity in alleged violation of this section.
57 (5) If a court finds that an individual or entity continues to be in violation of this
58 section after thirty calendar days fro m r eceiving written notice fr om the attorney
59 general in accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection or fro m a finding by the
60 court of a violation of this section in an action commenced under subdivision (3) of this
61 subsection, the court shall enjoin the individual or entity fr om continuing to commit the
62 violation.
63 (6) If an individual or entity knowingly and willfully fails to comply with an
64 injunction as pr ovided in subdivision (5) of this subsection within thirty days after being
65 served with the injunction, the court shall impose a civil penalty in a sum not to exceed
66 ten thousand dollars per violation of an injunction issued under subdivision (5) of this
67 subsection committed after the expiration of the period of thirty days after the
68 individual or entity was served with the injunction. In assessing such a penalty , the
69 court shall consider factors including the financial res ources of the violator and the
70 harm or risk of harm to Second Amendment rights res ulting fr om the violation. Any
71 order assessing a penalty for violation of this section in accordance with this subdivision
72 shall be stayed pending appeal of the order .
73 (7) In addition to the r emedies pr ovided in this subsection, the attorney general
74 or a petitioner who pr evails in an action under this subsection shall recov er reas onable
75 expenses incurr ed in obtaining the civil penalty , including court costs, reas onable
76 attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition expenses.
77 (8) It shall not be a defense to a civil action filed under this subsection that such
78 information was disclosed to a federal government entity unless such disclosur e or
79 action was made based on a good-faith conclusion that the disclosure or action was
80 r equir ed by federal law or regu lation.
✔
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