VSSA Legislative Update for February 17

We are approaching the end of the 2023 Session of the Virginia General Assembly with the session scheduled to end on February 25th.  The final group of House firearm related bills are scheduled to be heard on Monday in the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Based on last week's action, there is no reason to believe that this group of bills will fare better than the first group of bills.  The only House bill that survived this past Monday's meeting was HB 1422, the House bill that adds additional options for training to qualify for a concealed handgun permit (CHP).  The Senate had already passed a Senate companion bill doing the same thing.  HB1422 passed the full Senate yesterday and now heads to the Governor for his signature.  The following bills will be on the Senate Judiciary docket on Monday:

H.B. 1407 - Carrying a firearm or explosive material within Capitol Square and the surrounding area, into a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth, etc.; exception for concealed handgun permit holders.

H.B. 1462 - Criminal history record information check required for the transfer of certain firearms; photo identification.

H.B. 1570 - Carrying a firearm or explosive material into a building owned or leased by the Commonwealth; exception for highway rest areas.

H.B. 2228 - Renewal of concealed handgun permit; demonstrated competence. Provides that a person who was previously issued a concealed handgun permit is not required to provide any proof of training or demonstration of competence to be issued a renewal permit.

H.B. 2298 - Carrying concealed weapons; exceptions; penalty. Removes switchblade knives from the list of concealed weapons the carrying of which is prohibited in public.

H.B. 2420 - Nonresident concealed handgun permits. Provides that if the Department of State Police has not issued a nonresident concealed handgun permit nor determined that the applicant for such permit is disqualified within 90 days of receipt of the completed application for such permit, the Department shall immediately issue the permit.

H.B. 2460 - Control of firearms by state agencies; rights of employees.

H.B. 2467 - Purchase of firearms; special identification without a photograph. (The bill will likely be reported as it allows those who have religious reasons for not being photographed to have a special ID and was not opposed by the gun ban lobby when the bill was heard in the House.)

The following bills have passed both houses and are headed to Governor Youngkin for his signature:

HB1422/SB898 - Concealed handgun permit; demonstrated competence. Adds a firearms safety or training course conducted by the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) or by a USCCA-certified firearms instructor, or any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher education, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the USCCA to those programs that satisfy the demonstration of competence requirement for the issuance of a Virginia resident or nonresident concealed handgun permit.

HB2387 - Firearm safety device tax credit. Establishes a refundable income tax credit for taxable years 2023 through 2027 for individuals who purchase one or more firearm safety devices, as defined in the bill, in an eligible transaction, as defined in the bill. An individual who properly claims this credit shall be allowed a credit in the amount of up to $300 for the cost incurred in such purchase. The aggregate amount of credits allowable under the provisions of the bill shall not exceed $20 million per taxable year.

Finally, all but one of the gun control bills passed by the State Senate have been defeated in the House of Delegates.  The bill that remains is SB1067 - a bill to expand Virginia's "red flag" bill.  The bill has been assigned to the House Courts of Justice Subcommittee #1 where it is expected to have the same fate as all of the other Senate gun control bills.

The one big take-away that gun owners can read from this year's session is we need pro-rights majorities in both houses of the legislature before we can repeal the gun control that passed in 2020.  Further, it is very clear based on the bills that were introduced in the State Senate that 2020 was only the beginning.  The Democrats want to make Virginia's gun laws just like California.  Elections have consequences which makes this year's elections for both the State Senate and the House of Delegates more important than at any other time in recent memory.