TRENTON – More firearms control bills will be considered this week. The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing for eight bills, dealing with a range of issues from motor vehicle seizures to cash bail to identification cards.
A3853: Clarifies that motor vehicles used in firearms trafficking are subject to seizure and forfeiture..
A3854: Makes crime of firearms trafficking subject to No Early Release Act.
A4152: Upgrades unlawful possession of firearms to first-degree crime; revises penalties under the “Graves Act,” extending parole ineligibility from three years to 42 months. The Senate version was passed unanimously in the upper chamber last week.
A4178: Requires a presumption that any bail paid by defendant charged with weapons offenses will be in the form of full cash. This is actually one of the older proposals in the set. The Senate version of this legislation goes back in various forms to 2006.
The latest Senate version, S1133, passed in the upper chamber last week.
A4179: Upgrades penalty for unlawfully transferring a firearm to an underage person. This also passed in the Senate last week. Likewise, earlier incarnations of the Senate bill date to 2005.
A4180: Authorizes impoundment of motor vehicles for certain crimes and offenses. The Senate passed it 36-0 last week.
A4181: Clarifies that information concerning the total number of firearms purchaser identification cards and permits to purchase a handgun issued in a municipality are public records. The Senate approved this last month 35-2.
A4182: Revises statutes concerning firearms purchaser identification cards and handgun purchase permits; makes handgun purchase permit valid for four years.
This is probably the most controversial of the bills. The Senate version passed 23-17 last month. This is the one that had to be held from a previous session when the GOP withheld needed votes, prompting Senate President Steve Sweeney to pull GOP bills from committee agendas.
Also on the Assembly committee docket is one Senate bill:
S2719: This bill enhances the penalties for certain firearms offenses.
