Hello everyone,
The 2025 legislative session is more than two-thirds over. This week the Long Bill will be introduced and debated in the Senate.
Last Monday was gun bill day at the Capitol. The House debated SB 003 Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices for more than six and a half hours on third reading before it passed 36 to 28. In my almost 25 years working in the Capitol, I have never seen a bill debated for that long on third reading. SB 003 prohibits the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms unless the purchaser has a permit and has completed certain firearm-related courses. At the same time over in the Senate, the Senate was debating two other gun-related bills on second reading. For more than five hours the Senate debated HB 1133 Requirements for Sale of Firearms Ammunition which prohibits the sale of ammunition to persons under 21 except under certain circumstances and requires ammunition to be kept behind the counter. The Senate then debated HB 1238 Gun Show Requirements for about two hours. HB 1238 adds additional requirements on gun shows including but not limited to requiring promoters to carry liability insurance and prohibiting persons under 18 from entering gun shows without a parent, grandparent or guardian unless they are in the military. By the end of the week all three bills had passed both chambers and were on their way to the Governor for his consideration.
On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee considered HB 1031 Law Enforcement Whistleblower Protection. HB 1031 is one of the bills that resulted from the HB 24-1460 stakeholder process during the interim. The CSPA has a monitor position on HB 1031. As expected, the Judiciary Committee amended HB 1031 to exclude state peace officers since there is already a state whistleblower statute that covers state employees.
So far, there have been 517 bills introduced – 312 in the House and 205 in the Senate. Only 37 more days until the General Assembly is required to adjourn sine die.
Bill Skewes
Lobbyist