73rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2005 Regular Session
 
NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .
 
LC 2673
 
                         Senate Bill 956
 
Sponsored by COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
 
 
                             SUMMARY
 
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
 
  Allows school district boards to prohibit persons with
concealed handgun licenses from carrying firearms in certain
public buildings.
  Expands definition of 'public building' for purposes of laws
relating to possession of weapons on public property.
 
                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to weapons in a public building; amending ORS 166.262,
  166.360 and 166.370.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1. ORS 166.370 is amended to read:
  166.370. (1) Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or
unloaded firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous
weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction
be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this
subsection, a person who intentionally possesses:
  (A) A firearm in a court facility is guilty, upon conviction,
of a Class C felony. A person who intentionally possesses a
firearm in a court facility shall surrender the firearm to a law
enforcement officer.
  (B) A weapon, other than a firearm, in a court facility may be
required to surrender the weapon to a law enforcement officer or
to immediately remove it from the court facility. A person who
fails to comply with this subparagraph is guilty, upon
conviction, of a Class C felony.
  (b) The presiding judge of a judicial district may enter an
order permitting the possession of specified weapons in a court
facility.
  (3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
  (a) A sheriff, police officer, other duly appointed peace
officers or a corrections officer while acting within the scope
of employment.
  (b) A person summoned by a peace officer to assist in making an
arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is
engaged in assisting the officer.
  (c) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this
state or the United States, when engaged in the performance of
duty.
 
 
  (d)  { + Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5) of this
section, + } a person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and
166.292 to carry a concealed handgun.
  (e) A person who is authorized by the officer or agency that
controls the public building to possess a firearm or dangerous
weapon in that public building.
  (f) Possession of a firearm on school property if the firearm:
  (A) Is possessed by a person who is not otherwise prohibited
from possessing the firearm; and
  (B) Is unloaded and locked in a motor vehicle.
  (4) The exceptions listed in subsection (3)(b) to (f) of this
section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating
subsection (1) of this section.
   { +  (5) A school district board may prohibit persons licensed
under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 from possessing firearms in or on a
public building that is a public school, school bus or school
activity vehicle controlled by the school district board. A
notice of a prohibition on the possession of a firearm adopted
under this subsection must be posted outside the public entrances
to each school to which the prohibition applies. + }
    { - (5)(a) - }   { + (6)(a) + } Any person who knowingly, or
with reckless disregard for the safety of another, discharges or
attempts to discharge a firearm at a place that the person knows
is a school shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to the
discharge of a firearm:
  (A) As part of a program approved by a school in the school by
an individual who is participating in the program; or
  (B) By a law enforcement officer acting in the officer's
official capacity.
    { - (6) - }   { + (7) + } Notwithstanding the fact that a
person's conduct in a single criminal episode constitutes a
violation of both subsections (1) and   { - (5) - }   { + (6) + }
of this section, the district attorney may charge the person with
only one of the offenses.
    { - (7) - }   { + (8) + } As used in this section, 'dangerous
weapon' means a dangerous weapon as that term is defined in ORS
161.015.
  SECTION 2. ORS 166.370, as amended by section 36, chapter 666,
Oregon Laws 2001, and section 6, chapter 614, Oregon Laws 2003,
is amended to read:
  166.370. (1) Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or
unloaded firearm or any other instrument used as a dangerous
weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction
be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this
subsection, a person who intentionally possesses:
  (A) A firearm in a court facility is guilty, upon conviction,
of a Class C felony. A person who intentionally possesses a
firearm in a court facility shall surrender the firearm to a law
enforcement officer.
  (B) A weapon, other than a firearm, in a court facility may be
required to surrender the weapon to a law enforcement officer or
to immediately remove it from the court facility. A person who
fails to comply with this subparagraph is guilty, upon
conviction, of a Class C felony.
  (b) The presiding judge of a judicial district may enter an
order permitting the possession of specified weapons in a court
facility.
  (3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
  (a) A sheriff, police officer, other duly appointed peace
officers or a corrections officer while acting within the scope
of employment.
  (b) A person summoned by a peace officer to assist in making an
arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is
engaged in assisting the officer.
  (c) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this
state or the United States, when engaged in the performance of
duty.
  (d)  { + Except as otherwise provided in subsection (5) of this
section, + } a person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and
166.292 to carry a concealed handgun.
  (e) A person who is authorized by the officer or agency that
controls the public building to possess a firearm or dangerous
weapon in that public building.
  (f) Possession of a firearm on school property if the firearm:
  (A) Is possessed by a person who is not otherwise prohibited
from possessing the firearm; and
  (B) Is unloaded and locked in a motor vehicle.
  (4) The exceptions listed in subsection (3)(b) to (f) of this
section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating
subsection (1) of this section.
   { +  (5) A school district board may prohibit persons licensed
under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 from possessing firearms in or on a
public building that is a public school, school bus or school
activity vehicle controlled by the school district board. A
notice of a prohibition on the possession of a firearm adopted
under this subsection must be posted outside the public entrances
to each school to which the prohibition applies. + }
    { - (5)(a) - }   { + (6)(a) + } Any person who knowingly, or
with reckless disregard for the safety of another, discharges or
attempts to discharge a firearm at a place that the person knows
is a school shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class C felony.
  (b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to the
discharge of a firearm:
  (A) As part of a program approved by a school in the school by
an individual who is participating in the program; or
  (B) By a law enforcement officer acting in the officer's
official capacity.
    { - (6) - }   { + (7) + } Any weapon carried in violation of
this section is subject to the forfeiture provisions of ORS
166.279.
    { - (7) - }   { + (8) + } Notwithstanding the fact that a
person's conduct in a single criminal episode constitutes a
violation of both subsections (1) and   { - (5) - }   { + (6) + }
of this section, the district attorney may charge the person with
only one of the offenses.
    { - (8) - }   { + (9) + } As used in this section, 'dangerous
weapon' means a dangerous weapon as that term is defined in ORS
161.015.
  SECTION 3. ORS 166.360 is amended to read:
  166.360. As used in ORS 166.360 to 166.380, unless the context
requires otherwise:
  (1) 'Capitol building' means the Capitol, the State Office
Building, the State Library Building, the Labor and Industries
Building, the State Transportation Building, the Agriculture
Building or the Public Service Building and includes any new
buildings which may be constructed on the same grounds as an
addition to the group of buildings listed in this subsection.
  (2) 'Court facility' means a courthouse or that portion of any
other building occupied by a circuit court, the Court of Appeals,
the Supreme Court or the Oregon Tax Court or occupied by
personnel related to the operations of those courts, or in which
activities related to the operations of those courts take place.
  (3) 'Loaded firearm' means:
  (a) A breech-loading firearm in which there is an unexpended
cartridge or shell in or attached to the firearm including but
not limited to, in a chamber, magazine or clip which is attached
to the firearm.
  (b) A muzzle-loading firearm which is capped or primed and has
a powder charge and ball, shot or projectile in the barrel or
cylinder.
  (4) 'Public building' means a hospital, a capitol building, a
public or private school, as defined in ORS 339.315, a college or
university, a city hall   { - or - }  { + , + } the residence of
any state official elected by the state at large, and the grounds
adjacent to each such building { + , a school bus or a school
activity vehicle + }.  The term also includes that portion of any
other building occupied by an agency of the state or a municipal
corporation, as defined in ORS 297.405, other than a court
facility.
   { +  (5) 'School activity vehicle' has the meaning given that
term in ORS 801.455.
  (6) 'School bus' has the meaning given that term in ORS
801.460. + }
    { - (5) - }   { + (7) + } 'Weapon' means:
  (a) A firearm;
  (b) Any dirk, dagger, ice pick, slingshot, metal knuckles or
any similar instrument or a knife other than an ordinary pocket
knife, the use of which could inflict injury upon a person or
property;
  (c) Mace, tear gas, pepper mace or any similar deleterious
agent as defined in ORS 163.211;
  (d) An electrical stun gun or any similar instrument;
  (e) A tear gas weapon as defined in ORS 163.211;
  (f) A club, bat, baton, billy club, bludgeon, knobkerrie,
nunchaku, nightstick, truncheon or any similar instrument, the
use of which could inflict injury upon a person or property; or
  (g) A dangerous or deadly weapon as those terms are defined in
ORS 161.015.
  SECTION 4. ORS 166.262 is amended to read:
  166.262.  { + (1) + } A peace officer may not arrest or charge
a person for violating ORS 166.250 (1)(a) or (b) or { + , except
as provided in subsection (2) of this section, for violating
ORS + } 166.370 (1) if the person has in the person's immediate
possession a valid license to carry a firearm as provided in ORS
166.291 and 166.292.
   { +  (2) If a school district board has prohibited the
possession of firearms under ORS 166.370 (5), a peace officer may
arrest or charge a person for violating ORS 166.370 (1),
notwithstanding the fact that the person has in the person's
immediate possession a valid license to carry a firearm as
provided in ORS 166.291 and 166.292. + }
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