Gun safety bill expands licensing, limits sales

Summary#

HF 5160 would amend Minnesota statutes and add new provisions; it also appropriates money. Its stated goal is to address firearm safety and related public-safety and mental-health issues. The bill is at first reading, so it is not law; the supplied material does not show a separate short title.

• Starting July 1, 2027, most people who own or possess a covered semiautomatic military-style assault weapon or large-capacity magazine would have to obtain certification from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and renew it every three years. The BCA may charge a fee.
• The bill would generally bar licensed dealers from selling these items. Private sales would be limited to specified exceptions and transfer rules. Selling more than ten covered items in 180 days would be a felony, punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both.
• Starting August 1, 2026, the bill would create crimes involving ghost guns, including possessing, selling, or transferring them. It would also restrict making firearms with 3D printers or computer-controlled milling machines and distributing certain digital firearm design files.
• School districts and charter schools would be encouraged, not required, to set up local anonymous threat-reporting systems. If they do, the systems must meet listed standards, and districts and charter schools would have reporting duties.
• The bill would change rules for firearms at school property and negligent firearm storage. It would also provide one-time funding for school safety, mental-health services, and related activities.

What it means for you#

• People who own or possess covered weapons or magazines: You would have to request BCA certification and renew it every three years. People who lawfully acquire one would generally have 120 days to request certification. The bill makes possession without required certification a crime; a second or later conviction would be a felony.
• People transferring these items: Private transfers would be limited. The bill requires permits and identification in specified transfers, proof that a transferred item was legally acquired, and records that must be kept for ten years. It lists exceptions, including certain family transfers, gifts, transfers at death, and short-term loans.
• Gun owners with unserialized firearms: The bill gives people possessing certain unserialized firearms on August 1, 2026, 180 days to have a federal firearms licensee add a serial number, remove the item from Minnesota, make it permanently inoperable, or surrender it for destruction. Different deadlines apply to inherited items and new residents.
• People making firearms: A person who is not a federal firearms licensee could not assemble or manufacture more than three firearms in a calendar year. The bill also requires serialization in specified cases and prohibits non-licensees from using a 3D printer or computer-controlled milling machine to make a firearm.
• Schools and school staff: A district or charter school that chooses a local reporting system would have to meet the bill’s requirements, including 24-hour anonymous reporting, trained school teams, and student violence-prevention training. Nonpublic schools may set up a system but are not subject to those requirements.
• People carrying firearms at schools: The bill adds exceptions for some authorized school security workers and retired peace officers, subject to conditions. When no longer on authorized duty, those firearms must be unloaded, locked in a secure container, and stored in a locked trunk or out of sight in a vehicle.
• Parents, caregivers, and gun owners: Negligently leaving a loaded firearm where a child or a person barred from possessing firearms is likely to access it would be a gross misdemeanor, unless reasonable steps are taken to secure it.

Money#

The supplied bill text appropriates $35.796 million for fiscal year 2027 and $34,000 for fiscal year 2026; it does not provide a total cost estimate for later years.

• The fiscal year 2027 amounts include $19 million for school safety aid, $1 million in grants for nonpublic school safety, and $484,000 for the BCA’s ownership-certification work.
• Other fiscal year 2027 funding includes $100,000 for an extreme-risk-order public awareness campaign, $500,000 for a violence-prevention research center, and $14.675 million for listed mental-health programs and reimbursement-rate increases.
• The bill authorizes the BCA to charge certification fees but does not set their amount. Other costs to agencies, schools, firearm owners, and licensees are not estimated in the supplied material.

What is unclear#

• The supplied bill text ends partway through the extreme risk protection order changes. It does not show the full changes to that law or the operative text for other topics named in the bill title, including binary triggers and law-enforcement firearm-discharge reporting. No publicly available information.
• The current statutes being amended were not supplied, so the full change from current law could not be verified.
• The bill does not set BCA certification fees or give a full estimate of the staffing and operating costs of certification, enforcement, or required reporting.
• It is unclear from the supplied text how certification applications would be decided, what timelines would apply, and what review or appeal process would be available.
• The bill does not explain how the appropriations would cover ongoing costs after the listed one-time grants and appropriations end.

Case for#

• A possible argument for the bill is that certification and transfer records could help identify covered items and document their ownership and transfer.
• The bill sets limits on sales and defines exceptions, rather than treating every transfer the same way.
• A local anonymous reporting system could give students and others a way to report a safety concern at any time. The bill also requires staff training and response coordination if a school chooses such a system.
• Funding for school safety, mental-health services, and violence-prevention research could support work in those areas.

Case against#

• The bill would create criminal penalties for possession without certification and restrict sales, transfers, and some forms of firearm making. A possible trade-off is that lawful owners and sellers would face new legal duties and fees.
• The bill does not set the certification fee or explain the application and appeal process, leaving important details to later implementation.
• Schools that choose a local reporting system would face detailed requirements and ongoing reporting duties; the bill does not estimate their related costs.
• The supplied text does not show all provisions named in the bill title, making it difficult to assess the bill’s full reach and effects.