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Committee rejects amendment to convert false‑certification penalty for firearm dealers to $1,000 civil fine
Summary
During reconsideration of LD 1821, lawmakers debated downgrading a false‑certification penalty for licensed firearm dealers from a criminal offense to a civil penalty; law enforcement cautioned the change could conflict with aggravated forgery and other statutes, and the committee vote on the civil‑penalty amendment failed, with the clerk reporting 5 in favor, 6 opposed and 3 absent.
The committee returned to LD 1821, an act addressing responsible business practices by licensed firearm dealers, to reconsider whether the bill should create a new criminal offense for false certification. The chair sought permission to revisit the portion creating a crime and Representative Pugh moved to amend the bill to replace the criminal penalty with a civil fine of $1,000.
Lieutenant Casavant addressed the panel and raised a practical concern: state aggravated forgery statutes define certain official documents as potentially triggering a class B forgery charge. "There’s a potential conflict with existing state law on an aggravated forgery charge, which is a class B crime," he said, adding that how a new certification is characterized could change enforcement and prosecutorial options.
Members debated enforcement discretion and whether multiple overlapping crimes create confusion or useful prosecutorial flexibility. Representative Poirier reported speaking with an ATF contact who said that even a civil penalty for recordkeeping violations could be grounds for ATF license revocation.
Representative Pugh moved that the bill ought to pass as amended to remove criminal penalties and impose a $1,000 civil fine; Representative Sato seconded. On roll call, the clerk recorded five votes in the affirmative, six in the negative and three members absent. The clerk announced that as the committee vote; members who voted no instructed their reports to show "not to pass."
What happens next: The motion to convert the offense to a civil penalty failed in committee by roll call. The committee recorded the outcome and will proceed according to the majority's direction on the underlying bill in subsequent steps.
