WSP firearms records system

AN ACT Relating to Washington state patrol providing firearm 1
background checks when state record systems are unavailable; and 2
amending RCW 43.43.580 and 9.41.090. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 43.43.580 and 2024 c 289 s 7 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) The Washington state patrol shall establish a firearms 7
background check program to serve as a centralized single point of 8
contact for dealers to conduct background checks for firearms sales 9
or transfers required under chapter 9.41 RCW and the federal Brady 10
handgun violence prevention act (18 U.S.C. Sec. 921 et seq.). The 11
Washington state patrol shall establish an automated firearms 12
background check system to conduct background checks on applicants 13
for the purchase or transfer of a firearm. The system must include 14
the following characteristics: 15
(a) Allow a dealer to contact the Washington state patrol through 16
a web portal or other electronic means and by telephone to request a 17
background check of an applicant for the purchase or transfer of a 18
firearm; 19
(b) Provide a dealer with a notification that a firearm purchase 20
or transfer application has been received; 21
S-0232.1
SENATE BILL 5056
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Wagoner, Christian, Fortunato, and Gildon
Prefiled 12/16/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Law & Justice.
p. 1 SB 5056
(c) Assign a unique identifier to the background check inquiry;1
(d) Provide an automated response to the dealer indicating 2
whether the transfer may proceed or is denied, or that the check is 3
indeterminate and will require further investigation;4
(e) Include measures to ensure data integrity and the 5
confidentiality and security of all records and data transmitted and 6
received by the system; and 7
(f) Include a performance metrics tracking system to evaluate the 8
performance of the background check system. 9
(2) Upon receipt of a request from a dealer for a background 10
check in connection with the sale or transfer of a firearm, the 11
Washington state patrol shall: 12
(a) Provide the dealer with a notification that a firearm 13
transfer application has been received; 14
(b) Conduct a check of the national instant criminal background 15
check system and the following additional records systems to 16
determine whether the transferee is prohibited from possessing a 17
firearm under state or federal law: (i) The Washington crime 18
information center and Washington state identification system; (ii) 19
the health care authority electronic database; (iii) the federal 20
bureau of investigation national data exchange database and any 21
available repository of statewide local law enforcement record 22
management systems information; (iv) the administrative office of the 23
courts case management system; and (v) other databases or resources 24
as appropriate; 25
(c) Perform an equivalency analysis on criminal charges in 26
foreign jurisdictions to determine if the applicant has been 27
convicted as defined in RCW 9.41.040(3) and if the offense is 28
equivalent to a Washington felony as defined in RCW 9.41.010;29
(d) Notify the dealer without delay that the records indicate the 30
individual is prohibited from possessing a firearm and the transfer 31
is denied or that the individual is approved to complete the 32
transfer. If the results of the background check are indeterminate, 33
the Washington state patrol shall notify the dealer of the delay and 34
conduct necessary research and investigation to resolve the inquiry; 35
and 36
(e) Provide the dealer with a unique identifier for the inquiry.37
(3) ((The Washington state patrol may hold the delivery of a 38
firearm to an applicant under the circumstances provided in RCW 39
9.41.090 (4) and (5))) Notwithstanding subsection (2)(b)(i) through 40
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(iv) of this section, whenever a Washington state record system is 1
inaccessible or unavailable in such a manner as to prevent the 2
Washington state patrol background check program from complying with 3
subsection (2)(b)(i) through (iv) of this section for a period of 4
seven consecutive days, the Washington state patrol background check 5
program may process the background check by complying with subsection 6
(2)(c) of this section and conducting a check of: 7
(a) The national instant criminal background check system;8
(b) Any relevant Washington state record systems that are 9
available at the time of the background check; and10
(c) Any other databases or resources as appropriate.11
(4)(a) The Washington state patrol shall require a dealer to 12
charge each firearm purchaser or transferee a fee for performing 13
background checks in connection with firearms transfers. The fee must 14
be set at an amount necessary to cover the annual costs of operating 15
and maintaining the firearm background check system but shall not 16
exceed eighteen dollars. The Washington state patrol shall transmit 17
the fees collected to the state treasurer for deposit in the state 18
firearms background check system account created in RCW 43.43.590. 19
((It is the intent of the legislature that once the state firearm 20
background check system is established, the fee established in this 21
section will replace the fee required in RCW 9.41.090(7).))22
(b) The background check fee required under this subsection does 23
not apply to any background check conducted in connection with a 24
pawnbroker's receipt of a pawned firearm or the redemption of a 25
pawned firearm. 26
(5) The Washington state patrol shall establish a procedure for a 27
person who has been denied a firearms transfer as the result of a 28
background check to appeal the denial to the Washington state patrol 29
and to obtain information on the basis for the denial and procedures 30
to review and correct any erroneous records that led to the denial.31
(6) The Washington state patrol shall work with the 32
administrative office of the courts to build a link between the 33
firearm background check system and the administrative office of the 34
courts case management system for the purpose of accessing court 35
records to determine a person's eligibility to possess a firearm.36
(7) Upon establishment of the firearm background check system 37
under this section, the Washington state patrol shall notify each 38
dealer in the state of the existence of the system, and the dealer 39
must use the system to conduct background checks for firearm sales or 40
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transfers beginning on the date that is thirty days after issuance of 1
the notification. 2
(8) The Washington state patrol shall consult with the Washington 3
background check advisory board created in RCW 43.43.585 in carrying 4
out its duties under this section. 5
(9) No later than July 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the 6
Washington state patrol firearms background check program shall 7
report to the appropriate committees of the legislature the average 8
time between receipt of request for a background check and final 9
decision. 10
(10) All records and information prepared, obtained, used, or 11
retained by the Washington state patrol in connection with a request 12
for a firearm background check are exempt from public inspection and 13
copying under chapter 42.56 RCW. 14
(11) The Washington state patrol may adopt rules necessary to 15
carry out the purposes of this section. 16
(12) For the purposes of this section, "dealer" has the same 17
meaning as given in RCW 9.41.010. 18
Sec. 2. RCW 9.41.090 and 2023 c 161 s 1 are each amended to read 19
as follows: 20
(1) In addition to the other requirements of this chapter, no 21
dealer may deliver a firearm to the purchaser thereof until:22
(a) The purchaser provides proof of completion of a recognized 23
firearm safety training program within the last five years that 24
complies with the requirements in RCW 9.41.1132, or proof that the 25
purchaser is exempt from the training requirement;26
(b) The dealer is notified by the Washington state patrol 27
firearms background check program that the purchaser is eligible to 28
possess a firearm under state and federal law; and29
(c) The requirements and time periods in RCW 9.41.092 have been 30
satisfied. 31
(2) In determining whether the purchaser is eligible to possess a 32
firearm, the Washington state patrol firearms background check 33
program shall check with the national instant criminal background 34
check system, provided for by the Brady handgun violence prevention 35
act (18 U.S.C. Sec. 921 et seq.), the Washington state patrol 36
electronic database, the health care authority electronic database, 37
the administrative office of the courts, LInX-NW, and with other 38
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agencies or resources as appropriate, to determine whether the 1
applicant is ineligible under RCW 9.41.040 to possess a firearm.2
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, whenever a 3
Washington state record system is inaccessible or unavailable in such 4
a manner as to prevent the Washington state patrol background check 5
program from conducting a background check for a period of seven 6
consecutive days, the Washington state patrol background check 7
program may process the background check by and conducting a check 8
of: The national instant criminal background check system; any 9
relevant Washington state record systems that are available at the 10
time of the background check; and any other relevant agencies, 11
databases, or resources as appropriate.12
(4)(a) At the time of applying for the purchase of a firearm, the 13
purchaser shall sign and deliver to the dealer an application 14
containing: 15
(i) His or her full name, residential address, date and place of 16
birth, race, and gender; 17
(ii) The date and hour of the application; 18
(iii) The applicant's driver's license number or state 19
identification card number; 20
(iv) A description of the firearm including the make, model, 21
caliber and manufacturer's number if available at the time of 22
applying for the purchase of the firearm. If the manufacturer's 23
number is not available at the time of applying for the purchase of a 24
firearm, the application may be processed, but delivery of the 25
firearm to the purchaser may not occur unless the manufacturer's 26
number is recorded on the application by the dealer and transmitted 27
to the Washington state patrol firearms background check program; and28
(v) A statement that the purchaser is eligible to purchase and 29
possess a firearm under state and federal law. 30
(b) The dealer shall provide the applicant with information that 31
contains two warnings substantially stated as follows:32
(i) CAUTION: Although state and local laws do not differ, federal 33
law and state law on the possession of firearms differ. If you are 34
prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm, you may be 35
prosecuted in federal court. State permission to purchase a firearm 36
is not a defense to a federal prosecution; and 37
(ii) CAUTION: The presence of a firearm in the home has been 38
associated with an increased risk of death to self and others, 39
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including an increased risk of suicide, death during domestic 1
violence incidents, and unintentional deaths to children and others.2
The purchaser shall be given a copy of the department of fish and 3
wildlife pamphlet on the legal limits of the use of firearms and 4
firearms safety. 5
(c) The dealer shall, by the end of the business day, transmit 6
the information from the application through secure automated 7
firearms e-check (SAFE) to the Washington state patrol firearms 8
background check program. The original application shall be retained 9
by the dealer for six years. 10
(d) The dealer shall deliver the firearm to the purchaser once 11
the requirements and period of time specified in this chapter are 12
satisfied. The application shall not be denied unless the purchaser 13
is not eligible to purchase or possess the firearm under state or 14
federal law or has not complied with the requirements of this 15
section. 16
(e) The Washington state patrol firearms background check program 17
shall retain or destroy applications to purchase a firearm in 18
accordance with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 922.19
(((4))) (5) A person who knowingly makes a false statement 20
regarding identity or eligibility requirements on the application to 21
purchase a firearm is guilty of false swearing under RCW 9A.72.040.22
(((5))) (6) This section does not apply to sales to licensed 23
dealers for resale or to the sale of antique firearms.24
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