House
Study
Bill
671
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
COMMERCE
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
LUNDGREN)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
government
records
of
firearms,
and
payment
1
card
transactions
involving
firearms
and
ammunition,
and
2
providing
civil
penalties.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
554H.1
Definitions.
1
1.
“Ammunition”
means
the
same
as
defined
in
section
683.1.
2
2.
“Assign”
or
“assignment”
means
a
financial
institution’s
3
policy,
process,
or
practice
that
labels,
links,
or
otherwise
4
associates
a
firearms
code
with
a
merchant
or
a
payment
card
5
transaction
in
a
manner
that
allows
the
financial
institution,
6
or
other
entity
facilitating
or
processing
the
payment
card
7
transaction,
to
identify
whether
a
merchant
is
a
firearms
8
retailer
or
whether
a
transaction
involves
the
sale
of
firearms
9
or
ammunition.
10
3.
“Customer”
means
a
person
engaged
in
a
payment
11
card
transaction
facilitated
or
processed
by
a
financial
12
institution.
13
4.
“Financial
institution”
means
a
person
other
than
a
14
merchant
involved
in
facilitating
or
processing
a
payment
card
15
transaction,
including
but
not
limited
to
any
bank
incorporated
16
under
the
provisions
of
any
state
or
federal
law,
an
acquirer,
17
a
payment
card
issuer,
a
payment
card
network,
a
payment
18
gateway,
or
a
payment
card
processor.
19
5.
“Firearm”
means
any
weapon
that
is
capable
of
expelling,
20
designed
to
expel,
or
that
may
readily
be
converted
to
expel
21
ammunition,
and
includes
a
firearm
component
or
accessory.
22
6.
“Firearms
code”
means
a
merchant
category
code
approved
23
by
the
international
organization
for
standardization
that
is
24
specifically
for
firearms
retailers
and
that
is
assigned
to
a
25
retailer
by
the
retailer’s
acquirer.
26
7.
“Firearms
retailer”
means
a
person
physically
located
27
within
the
state
who
engages
in
the
lawful
selling
or
trading
28
of
firearms
or
ammunition.
29
8.
“Government
entity”
means
the
state,
any
political
30
subdivision
of
the
state,
or
any
court,
agency,
or
31
instrumentality
of
the
state.
“Government
entity”
includes
a
32
government
official
or
an
agent
or
employee
of
a
government
33
entity.
34
9.
a.
“Payment
card”
means
any
card
that
is
issued
pursuant
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to
an
agreement
or
arrangement
that
provides
for
all
of
the
1
following:
2
(1)
One
or
more
issuers
of
the
payment
card.
3
(2)
A
network
of
persons
unrelated
to
each
other
and
to
the
4
issuer
who
agree
to
accept
a
payment
card
as
payment.
5
(3)
Standards
and
mechanisms
for
settling
the
transactions
6
between
the
merchandise-acquiring
person
and
the
merchant
that
7
agrees
to
accept
the
payment
card
as
payment.
8
b.
“Payment
card”
includes
credit
cards,
debit
cards,
9
stored-value
cards
including
gift
cards,
and
payment
through
10
any
distinctive
marks
of
a
payment
card
including
a
credit
card
11
number.
The
acceptance
as
payment
of
any
account
number
or
12
other
indicia
associated
with
a
payment
card
shall
be
treated
13
in
the
same
manner
as
accepting
the
payment
card
as
payment.
14
10.
“Payment
card
transaction”
means
any
transaction
in
15
which
a
payment
card
is
accepted
as
payment.
16
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
554H.2
Government
entities
——
firearm
17
registry
or
record.
18
Except
for
records
kept
during
the
regular
course
of
a
19
criminal
investigation
or
criminal
prosecution,
or
as
otherwise
20
required
by
law,
a
government
entity
shall
not
knowingly
keep
21
or
cause
to
be
kept
a
record
or
registry
of
privately
owned
22
firearms
or
of
the
owners
of
privately
owned
firearms.
23
Sec.
3.
NEW
SECTION
.
554H.3
Financial
institutions.
24
1.
A
financial
institution
or
agent
of
a
financial
25
institution
shall
not
do
any
of
the
following:
26
a.
Require
the
use
of
a
firearms
code
in
a
manner
that
27
distinguishes
a
firearms
retailer
from
other
retailers.
28
b.
Subject
to
subsection
2,
decline
a
payment
card
29
transaction
involving
a
firearms
retailer
based
solely
on
30
the
acquirer’s
assignment
of
a
firearms
code
to
the
firearms
31
retailer.
32
2.
This
section
shall
not
be
construed
to
prohibit
a
33
financial
institution
from
declining
or
otherwise
refusing
to
34
process
a
payment
card
transaction
for
any
of
the
following
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reasons:
1
a.
If
necessary
to
comply
with
applicable
state
or
federal
2
laws.
3
b.
If
requested
by
a
customer.
4
c.
If
necessary
due
to
fraud
controls.
5
d.
For
purposes
of
merchant
category
exclusions
offered
by
6
a
financial
institution
for
expenditure
control
or
corporate
7
card
control.
8
3.
This
section
shall
not
be
construed
to
limit
the
9
authority
of
a
financial
institution
to
negotiate
with
10
responsible
parties,
or
to
otherwise
impair
a
financial
11
institution’s
actions
related
to
dispute
processing,
fraud
12
management,
protection
from
illegal
activities,
breach,
cyber
13
risks,
or
from
taking
any
action
that
restricts
the
use
or
14
availability
of
the
firearms
code
in
the
state.
15
Sec.
4.
NEW
SECTION
.
554H.4
Enforcement
——
penalties.
16
1.
The
attorney
general
shall
investigate
reasonable
17
alleged
violations
of
this
chapter.
If
the
attorney
general
18
has
reasonable
belief
that
a
person
is
in
violation
of
this
19
chapter,
the
attorney
general
shall
provide
written
notice
to
20
the
person
determined
to
have
committed
the
violation.
21
2.
Upon
receipt
of
notice
of
a
violation
under
subsection
22
1,
the
person
shall
have
ninety
calendar
days
to
cease
the
23
violation.
24
3.
If
the
violation
persists
after
the
expiration
of
the
25
ninety-day
period
under
subsection
2,
the
attorney
general
has
26
the
sole
authority
to
bring
civil
action
in
district
court
to
27
enjoin
further
violations
by
a
person
found
to
be
in
violation
28
of
this
chapter,
in
addition
to
other
remedies
permitted
by
29
law.
30
4.
If
a
person
knowingly
or
willfully
fails
to
comply
31
with
an
injunction
issued
under
subsection
3,
after
thirty
32
calendar
days
of
the
date
the
person
is
served
with
the
33
injunction,
the
attorney
general
may
petition
the
district
34
court
to
impose
civil
penalties
in
an
amount
not
to
exceed
one
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thousand
dollars
per
violation,
taking
into
consideration
the
1
financial
resources
of
the
violator
and
the
harm
or
risk
of
2
harm
to
the
violator’s
rights
under
the
second
amendment
to
the
3
Constitution
of
the
United
States
and
Article
I,
section
1A,
4
of
the
Constitution
of
the
State
of
Iowa
resulting
from
the
5
violation.
6
5.
It
shall
be
a
defense
to
a
proceeding
initiated
pursuant
7
to
this
section
that
a
firearms
code
was
required
to
be
8
disclosed
or
assigned
by
law.
9
EXPLANATION
10
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
11
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
12
This
bill
relates
to
records
and
payment
card
transactions
13
of
firearms
and
ammunition.
14
Under
the
bill,
except
for
records
kept
during
the
regular
15
course
of
a
criminal
investigation
or
criminal
prosecution,
or
16
as
otherwise
required
by
law,
a
government
entity
shall
not
17
knowingly
keep
or
cause
to
be
kept
a
record
or
registry
of
18
privately
owned
firearms,
or
of
the
owners
of
privately
owned
19
firearms.
“Government
entity”
and
“firearm”
are
defined
in
the
20
bill.
21
The
bill
prohibits
a
financial
institution,
or
an
agent
of
22
a
financial
institution,
from
requiring
the
use
of
a
firearms
23
code
in
a
way
that
distinguishes
a
firearms
retailer
from
other
24
retailers.
“Financial
institution”,
“firearms
code”,
and
25
“firearms
retailer”
are
defined
in
the
bill.
The
bill
also
26
prohibits
a
financial
institution
from
declining
a
payment
27
card
transaction
involving
a
firearms
retailer
based
on
the
28
assignment
of
a
firearms
code.
“Payment
card
transaction”
29
and
“assignment”
are
defined
in
the
bill.
The
bill
does
not
30
prohibit
a
financial
institution
from
declining
or
refusing
to
31
process
a
payment
card
transaction
if
necessary
to
comply
with
32
applicable
state
or
federal
laws,
if
requested
by
a
customer,
33
if
necessary
due
to
fraud
controls,
or
for
purposes
of
merchant
34
category
exclusions
offered
by
a
financial
institution
for
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purposes
of
expenditure
control
or
corporate
card
control.
The
1
bill
does
not
limit
or
impair
the
authority
of
a
financial
2
institution
to
negotiate
with
responsible
parties
or
a
3
financial
institution’s
actions
related
to
dispute
processing,
4
fraud
management,
or
protecting
against
illegal
activities,
5
breach,
cyber
risks,
or
from
taking
any
action
that
restricts
6
the
use
or
availability
of
the
firearms
code.
7
Under
the
bill,
the
attorney
general
shall
investigate
8
reasonable
alleged
violations
of
the
bill
and,
if
the
attorney
9
general
has
reasonable
belief
that
a
person
is
in
violation
of
10
the
bill,
the
attorney
general
shall
provide
written
notice
11
to
the
person
determined
to
have
committed
the
violation.
12
Upon
receipt
of
notice
of
a
violation,
a
person
shall
have
13
90
calendar
days
to
cease
the
violation
or,
if
the
violation
14
persists,
the
attorney
general
may
bring
civil
action
in
15
district
court
to
enjoin
further
violations,
in
addition
to
16
other
remedies
permitted
by
law.
If
a
person
knowingly
or
17
willfully
fails
to
comply
with
an
injunction
after
30
calendar
18
days
from
the
date
of
being
served
with
the
injunction,
19
the
attorney
general
may
petition
the
district
court
to
20
impose
civil
penalties
in
an
amount
not
more
than
$1,000
21
per
violation.
The
bill
creates
a
defense
to
a
proceeding
22
initiated
under
the
bill
that
a
firearms
code
was
required
to
23
be
disclosed
or
assigned
by
law.
24
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