(4) The
application for a permit, or renewal of a permit, to carry a concealed
deadly weapon shall be obtained from the office of the sheriff in the county
in which the person resides. The completed application and all accompanying
material plus an application fee or renewal fee, as appropriate, of sixty
dollars ($60) shall be presented to the office of the sheriff of the county
in which the applicant resides. A retired peace officer who is a member of
the Kentucky Employees Retirement System, State Police Retirement System,[
or] County Employees Retirement System, or other
retirement system operated by or for a city, county, or urban-county in
Kentucky shall be exempt from paying the application or renewal
fees following the date of his retirement. The sheriff shall transmit the
application and accompanying material to the Department of State Police
within five (5) working days. Twenty dollars ($20) of the application fee
shall be retained by the office of the sheriff for official expenses of the
office. Twenty dollars ($20) shall be sent to the Department of State Police
with the application. Ten dollars ($10) shall be transmitted by the sheriff
to the Administrative Office of the Courts to fund background checks for
youth leaders, and ten dollars ($10) shall be transmitted to the
Administrative Office of the Courts to fund background checks for applicants
for concealed weapons. The application shall be completed, under oath, on a
form promulgated by the Department of State Police by administrative
regulation which shall only include:
(a)
The name, address, place and date of birth, gender, and Social Security
number of the applicant;
(b) A
statement that, to the best of his knowledge, the applicant is in
compliance with criteria contained within subsections (2) and (3) of this
section;
(c) A
statement that the applicant has been furnished a copy of this section and
is knowledgeable about its provisions;
(d) A
statement that the applicant has been furnished a copy of, has read, and
understands KRS Chapter 503 as it pertains to the use of deadly force for
self-defense in Kentucky; and
(e) A
conspicuous warning that the application is executed under oath and that a
materially false answer to any question, or the submission of any
materially false document by the applicant, subjects the applicant to
criminal prosecution under KRS 523.030.
(5) The
applicant, if a resident of the Commonwealth, shall submit to the sheriff of
the applicant's county of residence:
(a) A
completed application as described in subsection (4) of this section;
(b) A
recent color photograph of the applicant, as prescribed by administrative
regulation; and
(c) A
photocopy of a certificate or an affidavit or document as described in
subsection (2)(f) of this section.
(6) The
Department of State Police shall, within ninety (90) days after the date of
receipt of the items listed in subsection (5) of this section, either:
(a)
Issue the license; or
(b)
Deny the application based solely on the grounds that the applicant fails
to qualify under the criteria listed in subsection (2) or (3) of this
section. If the Department of State Police denies the application, it
shall notify the applicant in writing, stating the grounds for denial and
informing the applicant of a right to submit, within thirty (30) days, any
additional documentation relating to the grounds of denial. Upon receiving
any additional documentation, the Department of State Police shall
reconsider its decision and inform the applicant within twenty (20) days
of the result of the reconsideration. The applicant shall further be
informed of the right to seek de novo review of the denial in the District
Court of his place of residence.
(7) The
Department of State Police shall maintain an automated listing of
licenseholders and pertinent information, and this information shall be
available on-line, upon request, at all times to all Kentucky law
enforcement agencies. Except as provided in this subsection, information on
applications for licenses, names and addresses, or other identifying
information relating to license holders shall be confidential and shall not
be made available except to law enforcement agencies. Requests for
information to be provided to any requester other than a bona fide law
enforcement agency which has direct access to the Law Enforcement
Information Network of Kentucky shall be made, in writing, directly to the
commissioner of the Department of State Police, together with the fee
required for the providing of the information. The Department of State
Police shall, upon proper application and the payment of the required fee,
provide to the requester in hard copy form only, a list of names of all
holders in the Commonwealth of a license to carry a concealed deadly weapon.
No identifying information other than the name shall be provided, and
information for geographic areas or other subdivisions of any type from the
list shall not be provided and shall be confidential. The fee to be charged
shall be the same as for other public records provided by the Department of
State Police. No request for lists of local or statewide permit holders
shall be made to any state or local law enforcement agency, peace officer,
or other agency of government other than the Department of State Police, and
no state or local law enforcement agency, peace officer, or agency of
government, other than the Department of State Police, shall provide any
information not entitled to it by law. The names of all persons, other than
law enforcement agencies and peace officers, requesting information under
this section shall be a public record.
(8)
Within thirty (30) days after the changing of a permanent address, or within
thirty (30) days after the loss or destruction of a license, the licensee
shall notify the Department of State Police of the loss or destruction.
Failure to notify the Department of State Police shall constitute a
noncriminal violation with a penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25) payable to
the clerk of the district court. When
a licensee makes application to change his or her residence address or other
information on the license, neither the sheriff nor the Department of State
Police shall require a surrender of the license until a new license is in
the office of the applicable sheriff and available for issuance. Upon the
issuance of a new license, the old license shall be destroyed by the
sheriff.
(9) If
a license is lost or destroyed, the license shall be automatically invalid,
and the person to whom the same was issued may, upon payment of fifteen
dollars ($15) to the Department of State Police, obtain a duplicate, upon
furnishing a notarized statement to the Department of State Police that the
license has been lost or destroyed.
(10) A
license issued under this section shall be suspended or revoked if the
licensee becomes ineligible to be issued a license under the criteria set
forth in subsection (2)(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), or (h) of this section. When
a domestic violence order or emergency protective order is issued pursuant
to the provisions of KRS Chapter 403 against a person holding a license
issued under this section, the holder of the permit shall surrender the
license to the court or to the officer serving the order. The officer to
whom the license is surrendered shall forthwith transmit the license to the
court issuing the order. The license shall be suspended until the order is
terminated, or until the judge who issued the order terminates the
suspension prior to the termination of the underlying domestic violence
order or emergency protective order, in writing and by return of the
license, upon proper motion by the license holder. Subject to the same
conditions as above, a peace officer against whom an emergency protective
order or domestic violence order has been issued shall not be permitted to
carry a concealed deadly weapon when not on duty, the provisions of KRS
527.020 to the contrary notwithstanding.
(11)
Not less than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date of the license,
the Department of State Police shall mail to each licensee a written notice
of the expiration and a renewal form prescribed by the Department of State
Police. The licensee may renew his license on or before the expiration date
by filing with the sheriff of his county of residence the renewal form, a
notarized affidavit stating that the licensee remains qualified pursuant to
the criteria specified in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, and the
required renewal fee. The license shall be renewed to a qualified applicant
upon receipt of the completed renewal application and appropriate payment of
fees. When a licensee makes application for a renewal of his or her
license, neither the sheriff nor the Department of State Police shall
require a surrender of the license until the new license is in the office of
the applicable sheriff and available for issuance. Upon the issuance of a
new license, the old license shall be destroyed by the sheriff.
A licensee who fails to file a renewal application on or before its
expiration date may renew his license by paying, in addition to the license
fees, a late fee of fifteen dollars ($15). No license shall be renewed six
(6) months or more after its expiration date, and the license shall be
deemed to be permanently expired six (6) months after its expiration date. A
person whose license has permanently expired may reapply for licensure
pursuant to subsections (4), (5), and (6) of this section.
(12) No
license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry
a concealed firearm into:
(a)
Any police station or sheriff's office;
(b)
Any detention facility, prison, or jail;
(c)
Any courthouse, solely occupied by the Court of Justice courtroom, or
court proceeding, except that nothing in this section shall preclude a
judge from carrying a concealed weapon;
(d)
Any meeting of the governing body of a county, municipality, or special
district; or any meeting of the General Assembly or a committee of the
General Assembly, except that nothing in this section shall preclude a
member of the body, holding a concealed deadly weapon license, from
carrying a concealed deadly weapon at a meeting of the body of which he is
a member;
(e)
Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense beer or alcoholic
beverages for consumption on the premises, which portion of the
establishment is primarily devoted to that purpose;
(f)
Any elementary or secondary school facility without the consent of school
authorities as provided in KRS 527.070, any child-caring facility as
defined in KRS 199.011, any day-care center as defined in KRS 199.894, or
any certified family child-care home as defined in KRS 199.8982, except
however, any owner of a certified child-care home may carry a concealed
firearm into the owner's residence used as a certified child-care home;
(g)
An area of an airport to which access is controlled by the inspection of
persons and property;
(h)
Any church, synagogue, house of worship, or other property owned, leased,
or otherwise used and operated by a religious organization in the
furtherance of a religious purpose; or
(i)
Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law.
(13)
The owner, business or commercial lessee, or manager of a private business
enterprise, day-care center as defined in KRS 199.894 or certified or
licensed family child-care home as defined in KRS 199.8982, or a health-care
facility licensed under KRS Chapter 216B, except facilities renting or
leasing housing, may prohibit persons holding concealed deadly weapon
licenses from carrying concealed deadly weapons on the premises and may
prohibit employees, not authorized by the employer, holding concealed deadly
weapons licenses from carrying concealed deadly weapons on the property of
the employer. If the building or the premises are open to the public, the
employer or business enterprise shall post signs on or about the premises if
carrying concealed weapons is prohibited. Possession of weapons in a vehicle
on the premises shall not be a criminal offense so long as the weapons are
not removed from the vehicle or brandished while the vehicle is on the
premises. An employer may prohibit employees or other persons holding a
concealed deadly weapons license from carrying concealed deadly weapons in
vehicles owned by the employer, but may not prohibit employees or other
persons holding a concealed deadly weapons license from carrying concealed
deadly weapons in vehicles owned by the employee. Carrying of a concealed
weapon in a location specified in this subsection by a license holder shall
not be a criminal act but may subject the person to denial from the premises
or removal from the premises, and, if an employee of an employer,
disciplinary measures by the employer.
(14)
All moneys collected by the Department of State Police pursuant to this
section shall be used to administer the provisions of this section. By March
1 of each year, the Department of State Police and the Administrative Office
of the Courts shall submit reports to the Governor, the President of the
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, indicating the
amounts of money collected and the expenditures related to this section and
KRS 237.115, 244.125, 527.020, and 527.070, and the administration of the
provisions of this section and KRS 237.115, 244.125, 527.020, and 527.070.
(15)
The General Assembly finds as a matter of public policy that it is necessary
to provide statewide uniform standards for issuing licenses to carry
concealed firearms and to occupy the field of regulation of the bearing of
concealed firearms to ensure that no person who qualifies under the
provisions of this section is denied his rights. The General Assembly does
not delegate to the Department of State Police the authority to regulate or
restrict the issuing of licenses provided for in this section beyond those
provisions contained in this section. This section shall be liberally
construed to carry out the constitutional right to bear arms for
self-defense.
(16)
(a) A person who has a valid license issued by another state of the United
States to carry a concealed deadly weapon in that state[ and whose
state grants to Kentucky residents the right to carry a concealed deadly
weapon in the state of the licensee without requiring a separate license
to carry a concealed deadly weapon issued by that state,] may,
subject to provisions of Kentucky law, carry a concealed deadly weapon in
Kentucky, and his license shall be considered as valid in Kentucky.
(b) A
person who holds a valid license issued by another state of the United
States [whose home state permits Kentucky residents to obtain a
license to carry a concealed deadly weapon in that state] may
apply directly to the Department of State Police for a license to carry
concealed deadly weapons in Kentucky. The Department of State Police shall
take whatever steps are necessary to verify that the person applying has a
valid license to carry a concealed deadly weapon issued by his home state.
(c)
The Department of State Police shall, not later than thirty (30) days
after the effective date of this amendment and not less than once every
six (6) months thereafter, make written inquiry of the concealed deadly
weapon carrying licensing authorities in each other state as to whether a
Kentucky resident may carry a concealed deadly weapon in their state based
upon having a valid Kentucky concealed deadly weapon license, or whether a
Kentucky resident may apply for a concealed deadly weapon carrying license
in that state based upon having a valid Kentucky concealed deadly weapon
license. The Department of State Police shall attempt to secure from each
other state permission for Kentucky residents who hold a valid Kentucky
concealed deadly weapon license to carry concealed deadly weapons in that
state, either on the basis of the Kentucky license or on the basis that
the Kentucky license is sufficient to permit the issuance of a similar
license by the other state. The Department of State Police shall enter
into a written reciprocity agreement with the appropriate agency in each
state that agrees to permit Kentucky residents to carry concealed deadly
weapons in the other state on the basis of a Kentucky-issued concealed
deadly weapon license or that will issue a license to carry concealed
deadly weapons in the other state based upon a Kentucky concealed deadly
weapon license. If a reciprocity agreement is reached, the requirement to
recontact the other state each six (6) months shall be eliminated as long
as the reciprocity agreement is in force. The information shall be a
public record and shall be available to individual requesters free of
charge for the first copy and at the normal rate for open records requests
for additional copies.
(17) By
March 1 of each year, the Department of State Police shall submit a
statistical report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, indicating the number of licenses
issued, revoked, suspended, and denied since the previous report and in
total and also the number of licenses currently valid. The report shall also
include the number of arrests, convictions, and types of crimes committed
since the previous report by individuals licensed to carry concealed
weapons.
