| 1 | The Judiciary Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 |
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| 6 | A bill to be entitled |
| 7 | An act relating to lawful ownership, possession, and use |
| 8 | of firearms; amending s. 790.25, F.S., relating to lawful |
| 9 | ownership, possession, and use of firearms and other |
| 10 | weapons; providing definitions; authorizing an employee or |
| 11 | invitee in lawful possession of a firearm to transport and |
| 12 | store a firearm in a motor vehicle under certain |
| 13 | conditions; authorizing an employer or its lessor to |
| 14 | prohibit an employee or invitee from transporting, |
| 15 | storing, or possessing a firearm under certain conditions |
| 16 | when reasonably necessary for the safety and welfare of |
| 17 | employees, invitees, or the general public, or to |
| 18 | safeguard business operations; providing nonapplicability; |
| 19 | providing for specified immunity from liability; providing |
| 20 | enforcement by the Attorney General; providing |
| 21 | construction; providing applicability of the act; |
| 22 | providing an effective date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Subsection (6) is added to section 790.25, |
| 27 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 28 | 790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms |
| 29 | and other weapons.-- |
| 30 | (6) STORAGE AND TRANSPORT OF FIREARMS LOCKED INSIDE OR |
| 31 | LOCKED TO A MOTOR VEHICLE IN A PARKING LOT; IMMUNITY FROM |
| 32 | LIABILITY.-- |
| 33 | (a) As used in this subsection, the term: |
| 34 | 1. "Motor vehicle" means any automobile, truck, minivan, |
| 35 | sports utility vehicle, motorcycle, motor scooter, or any other |
| 36 | similar vehicle required to be registered under Florida law. |
| 37 | 2. "Employee" means any person who: |
| 38 | a. Works for an employer for salary, wages, or other |
| 39 | remuneration; |
| 40 | b. Is an independent contractor employed by an employer; |
| 41 | or |
| 42 | c. Is a volunteer or intern, or other individual acting in |
| 43 | a similar capacity, for an employer. |
| 44 | 3. "Employer" means any business with employees that is a |
| 45 | sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability |
| 46 | company, professional association, cooperative, joint venture, |
| 47 | trust, firm, institution, or association. |
| 48 | 4. "Invitee" means any business invitee, including a |
| 49 | customer or visitor lawfully on the premises. |
| 50 | 5. "Parking lot" means any property that is owned or |
| 51 | leased by an employer or a landlord of an employer, used for |
| 52 | parking motor vehicles, and available to customers, employees, |
| 53 | or invitees for temporary or long-term parking or storage of |
| 54 | motor vehicles. |
| 55 | (b) Except as prohibited pursuant to paragraph (c) or |
| 56 | paragraph (d), an employee or invitee in lawful possession of a |
| 57 | firearm may transport and store a firearm locked inside or |
| 58 | locked to his or her motor vehicle in a parking lot designated |
| 59 | by the employer or its lessor if the firearm is stored in a |
| 60 | manner so as not to be visible. |
| 61 | (c) An employer or its lessor may prohibit an employee or |
| 62 | invitee from transporting, storing, or possessing a firearm on |
| 63 | property owned, leased, or controlled by the employer or its |
| 64 | lessor, or from transporting, storing, or possessing a firearm |
| 65 | in any motor vehicle owned, leased, or rented by the employer, |
| 66 | when reasonably necessary for the safety and welfare of |
| 67 | employees, invitees, or the general public, or to safeguard |
| 68 | business operations. |
| 69 | (d) The provisions of this subsection do not apply to: |
| 70 | 1. School property as defined and regulated under s. |
| 71 | 790.115. |
| 72 | 2. Prison facility grounds as defined and regulated under |
| 73 | s. 944.47. |
| 74 | 3. Property on which an employee or invitee is otherwise |
| 75 | prohibited from transporting, storing, or possessing a firearm |
| 76 | pursuant to any federal or state law. |
| 77 | (e) No employer or its lessor, or any employee of an |
| 78 | employer or its lessor, shall be liable for any harm that |
| 79 | directly or indirectly arises out of or results from the |
| 80 | discharge or threatened use of a firearm that was transported or |
| 81 | stored by an employee or invitee in a motor vehicle on property |
| 82 | owned or leased by the employer or its lessor. The immunity |
| 83 | provided in this paragraph shall not apply to any person who |
| 84 | discharges or threatens to use the firearm, but it shall extend |
| 85 | to the vicarious liability of an employer or its lessor for the |
| 86 | actions or inactions of others. The immunity provided in this |
| 87 | paragraph shall not apply if the harm involved was caused, in |
| 88 | whole or in part, by the employer's or lessor's willful or |
| 89 | criminal misconduct or by the employer's or lessor's conscious |
| 90 | and flagrant indifference to the safety of the person or persons |
| 91 | harmed. |
| 92 | (f) The Attorney General shall enforce the protections of |
| 93 | this subsection on behalf of an aggrieved employee or invitee if |
| 94 | there is reasonable cause to believe that the rights of the |
| 95 | employee or invitee under this act have been willfully violated |
| 96 | by an employer or its lessor. |
| 97 | (g) The provisions of this subsection shall not be |
| 98 | construed in derogation of the state's employment-at-will |
| 99 | doctrine. |
| 100 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law |
| 101 | and shall apply to causes of action that accrue on or after that |
| 102 | date. |