An Act prohibiting State-sponsored travel to states lacking permit to purchase firearms laws and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law or rule or regulation to the contrary, a State agency shall not permit a State officer or employee, special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature to engage in any travel to be paid, in whole or in part, out of State funds, or to be otherwise sponsored by the State, to any state of the United States if that state has not enacted a permit to purchase firearms law. This prohibition shall also apply to any organization that receives aid from the State.

The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to any travel required for the following purposes:

the enforcement of any New Jersey law, including auditing and revenue collection;

litigation;

any contractual obligation incurred prior to the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);

compliance with any request to appear before any congressional committee or other committee of the federal government;

participation in any meeting or training required by a grant or that is required to maintain grant funding;

completion of any job-required training necessary to maintain licensure or similar standards required for holding a position, if comparable training cannot be obtained in New Jersey or in another state not subject to this travel prohibition; or

when the travel is necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, as determined by the affected State agency.

b. The Attorney General shall compile and maintain on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety a list of states that are subject to the travel ban imposed by subsection a. of this section. The Attorney General may waive the ban on travel for a period not to exceed one year in the case of any state if the Attorney General determines that the state is likely to pass a law within that year that would allow travel pursuant to the provisions of this section. Such a waiver may be issued only once in the case of any state.

c. As used in this section,

"firearm" means a firearm as defined in N.J.S.2C:39-1.

"permit to purchase firearms law" means a law providing that:

no firearm shall be transferred to any person unless that person holds a valid permit to purchase a firearm;

a prospective firearm purchaser shall apply for a permit in person with the local police regardless of whether the firearm is to be received from a licensed dealer or a private individual;

a prospective firearm purchaser shall be fingerprinted;

the duration of a permit shall be for one year;

a prospective firearm purchaser shall not be eligible for more than one firearm purchase or acceptance per calendar month;

every firearms dealer or individual shall report the transfer or sale of every firearm to the state which shall verify a buyers compliance with firearm purchase limits; and

the owner of any firearm shall report the loss or theft thereof to the police within 36 hours of discovering that loss or theft.

"prospective firearm purchaser" means any person who seeks to have ownership of a firearm transferred to that person regardless of whether any consideration is paid therefor;

"special State officer or employee" means a special State officer or employee as defined in section 2 of P.L.1971, c.182 (C.52:13D-13.

"State agency" means any of the principal departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and any division, board, bureau, office, commission or other instrumentality within or created by such department, the Legislature of the State and any office, board, bureau or commission within or created by the Legislative Branch, and any independent State authority, commission, instrumentality or agency, including, but not limited to, any public institution of higher education that receives State funds.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill prohibits a State agency, including any public institution of higher education that receives State funds, from permitting a State officer or employee, special State officer or employee, or member of the Legislature to travel at State expense or with State sponsorship to any other state of the United States if that state has not enacted a "permit to purchase" firearms law. This prohibition would also apply to any organization that receives State aid. This would make the bill applicable to schools, for-profit organizations, and not-for-profit organizations receiving State aid, but not to companies engaged in State contracts such as those involving infrastructure construction.

Exceptions will be allowed when travel is in connection with:

the enforcement of any New Jersey law, including auditing and revenue collection;

litigation;

any contractual obligation incurred prior to the bill's effective date;

compliance with any request to appear before any congressional committee or other committee of the federal government;

participation in any meeting or training required by a grant or that is required to maintain grant funding;

a trip that is necessary in order to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, as determined by the affected State agency.

The Attorney General will compile and maintain on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety a list of states that are subject to the travel ban imposed by this bill. The Attorney General may waive the ban on travel for a period not to exceed one year in the case of any state that the Attorney General determines is likely to pass a law within that year that would allow travel pursuant to the bill's provisions. Such a waiver may be issued only once in the case of any state.

Under the bill, a "permit to purchase firearms law" means a law providing that:

no firearm will be transferred to any person unless that person holds a valid permit to purchase a firearm;

a prospective firearm purchaser will apply for a permit in person with the local police regardless of whether the firearm is to be received from a licensed dealer or a private individual;

a prospective firearm purchaser will be fingerprinted;

the duration of a permit will be for one year;

a prospective firearm purchaser will not be eligible for more than one firearm purchase or acceptance per calendar month;

every firearm dealer or individual sells or transfers ownership of a firearm to a prospective firearm purchaser will report the sale or transfer the state which will verify a buyers compliance with firearm purchase limits; and

the owner of any firearm will report the loss or theft thereof to the police within 36 hours of discovering that loss or theft.

The bill provides that a "prospective firearm purchaser" is any person who seeks to have ownership of a firearm transferred to that person regardless of whether any consideration is paid therefor.

The bill may be cited as "The Iron Pipeline Protection Act (IPPA)." The "Iron Pipeline" is a term used by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to refer to the route from 10 states, mostly in the South, along which illegal firearms are smuggled for sale in the Mid-Atlantic states and New England.