Purpose

Provides for the distribution of revenues derived from the sale or lease of real property owned by the Game and Fish Commission for use as public shooting ranges to the firearms safety and ranges fund.

Background

In 1999, legislation was passed that created a shooting range relocation and assistance fund for the purpose of acquiring state trust lands for the voluntary location or relocation of government-owned shooting ranges and to assist in noise abatement, range realignment and acquisition of range buffer areas (Laws 1999, Chapter 322). The fund consists of an annual distribution of $50,000 from retail sales tax collections. To date, this distribution has never been appropriated to this fund

During the summer and fall of 1999, a working group of interested parties was convened to study and make recommendations to further address the problems associated with the location and operation of shooting ranges. Legislation was passed in 2000 to implement some of the working group’s recommendations (Laws 2000, Chapter 167). In particular, the bill renamed the shooting range relocation and assistance fund the fire arms safety and ranges fund and restructured the shooting range grant program. The 2000 legislation additionally created the Shooting Range Project Advisory Board to review grant applications and to make grant recommendations to the Game and Fish Commission.

The proposed strike everything amendment to S.B. 1250 would add an additional source of funding for the firearms safety and ranges fund from revenues derived from the sale or lease of real property owned by the Game and Fish Commission for use as public shooting ranges. The amendment additionally eliminates the grant program as the mechanism for distribution of monies in the fund and instead allows the Commission to distribute the monies in the fund for authorized uses.

This amendment has no anticipated fiscal impact to the state general fund.

Provisions

1. Requires revenues derived from the sale or lease of real property owned by the Game and Fish Commission for use as public shooting ranges to be deposited to the firearms safety and ranges fund.

2. Eliminates the grant process for distribution of monies in the firearms safety and ranges fund and allows the Commission to distribute the funds for the authorized purposes.

3. Eliminates the shooting range project advisory board which reviewed grant applications and made recommendations for grant awards to the Commission.

4. Expands the allowed uses of monies in the firearms safety and ranges fund to include funding for new shooting range sites and funding for the maintenance of a shooting range under good practices and management.

5. Reconciles a dual enactment of the firearms safety and ranges fund statute that resulted from unblendable amendments passed during the 2000 regular session.

6. Makes technical and conforming changes.

SA/TM/ac