FACTS SHEET: SB 2954 (Act 108, SLH 2016)
From Hawaii Attorney General December 7, 2016
● Governor Ige signed SB 2954 into law on June 23, 2016.
● This law allows the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center to access firearms registration data from each of the four counties in Hawaii as they develop a statewide query of this data for all law enforcement.
● The law authorizes people who register firearms in Hawaii to be entered in the FBI’s Rap Back service database.
● The Rap Back service allows authorized agencies to be notified of activity, such as arrests, on individuals. This eliminates the need for one agency to issue repeated background checks for a single person in the database. With Rap Back, authorized agencies can receive on-going status notifications of any criminal history reported to the FBI once the initial background check has been completed. By using fingerprints to identify people who have been arrested and prosecuted, Rap Back provides a nationwide notice to authorities regarding subsequent actions.
● People who register firearms in the county where they live will have their fingerprints retained and entered into the Rap Back service.
● People who have previously registered firearms in Hawaii will not be entered into Rap Back, unless they want to register an additional firearm in the future.
● Fingerprints and other identifying information will be entered into Rap Back. No information related to firearms registration, permit numbers, and/or serial numbers will be entered into Rap Back.
● Firearm registrants will sign a “consent and notification” form, which notifies firearm registration applicants that their fingerprints will be retained in the Rap Back service.
● Firearm registration applications will be denied for anyone who refuses to sign the “consent and notification” form.
● In addition to the $12.00 fee for the FBI background check, a fee of $30.00 will be assessed to all firearm registrants for the State background check.
● To be unenrolled from Rap Back, a registrant must show documentation that all of his or her registered firearms are no longer in Hawaii, or have been sold. Proof that firearms have been transferred to a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer will be sufficient documentation.
● The Rap Back services began retaining fingerprints for all new firearms on December 4, 2016.
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