19VAC30-115 Reporting and Tracing Firearms Confiscated or Recovered by Law-Enforcement Agencies

REGULATIONS

Vol. 33 Iss. 6 - November 14, 2016

TITLE 19. PUBLIC SAFETY

DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE

Chapter 115

Final Regulation

REGISTRAR'S NOTICE: The Department of State Police is claiming an exemption from the Administrative Process Act pursuant to § 2.2-4002 B 6 of the Code of Virginia, which exempts agency action relating to customary military, naval, or police functions.

Title of Regulation: 19VAC30-115. Reporting and Tracing Firearms Confiscated or Recovered by Law-Enforcement Agencies (adding 19VAC30-115-10).

Statutory Authority: § 52-25.1 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: November 15, 2016.

Agency Contact: Kirk Marlowe, Bureau of Administrative and Support Services, Department of State Police, P.O. Box 27472, Richmond, VA 23261-7472, telephone [phone], FAX [phone], or email [e-mail].

Summary:

Chapter 214 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly replaced the requirement that law-enforcement agencies report information regarding confiscated firearms to the Department of State Police with a requirement that such information be reported to a firearms tracing system maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice. In accordance with Chapter 214, this regulatory action promulgates 19VAC30-115 to implement reporting to the U.S. Department of Justice. In a separate regulatory action, the department is repealing 19VAC30-110, which contains the regulatory requirements regarding reporting to the Department of State Police.

CHAPTER 115
REPORTING AND TRACING FIREARMS CONFISCATED OR RECOVERED BY LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

19VAC30-115-10. Reporting.

A. A law-enforcement agency of the Commonwealth or of a political subdivision of the Commonwealth shall report information regarding firearms seized, forfeited, found, or otherwise coming into the law-enforcement agency's possession that are believed to have been used in the commission of a crime to the National Tracing Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Justice.

B. A law-enforcement agency shall request, concurrent with reporting the information pursuant to subsection A of this section, a trace of the reported firearm from the National Tracing Center.

C. A law-enforcement agency shall make the report and request the trace required by subsections A and B of this section forthwith upon taking possession of the firearm. If making the report and request could jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation, the law-enforcement agency shall make the report and request prior to the conclusion of the investigation.

D. To comply with subsections A and B of this section, a law-enforcement agency may report information or request a trace by:

1. Using eTrace, which is the paperless firearms trace submission system of the National Tracing Center (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-tracing-center); or

2. Completing and submitting a National Tracing Center Trace Request form (ATF E-form 3312.1).

NOTICE: The following form used in administering the regulation was filed by the agency. The form is not being published; however, online users of this issue of the Virginia Register of Regulations may click on the name of the form to access it. The form is also available from the agency contact or may be viewed at the Office of the Registrar of Regulations, General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

FORMS (19VAC30-115)

National Tracing Center Trace Request, ATF E-Form 3312.1, OMB No. 1140-0043 (rev. 8/2016)

VA.R. Doc. No. R17-4914; Filed October 26, 2016, 7:04 a.m.