The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 20 : Internal Security and Public Safety

Chapter 145 : Disposition and Fee for Storage of Unlawful Firearms

• § 2305. Disposition of unlawful firearms

  (a) Any firearm the possession of which is unlawful per se shall either be destroyed, or if the Commissioner of Public Safety deems it appropriate, retained by the Department of Public Safety for purposes of forensic science reference. In no event shall the Commissioner of Public Safety dispose of such a firearm in any other manner or to any other person.

  (b)(1) Except as provided in section 2306 of this title, all unlawful and abandoned firearms shall either be:

  (A) delivered to the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services as directed by him or her for sale to a federally licensed firearms dealer pursuant to the Commissioner’s authority under Title 29;

  (B) at the discretion of the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, transferred to the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife for disposition; or

  (C) if the Commissioner of Public Safety deems it appropriate, retained by the Department of Public Safety for purposes of forensic science reference.

  (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (1) of this subsection, an unlawful firearm used in the commission of a homicide shall not be delivered to the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services, but shall be disposed of only in accordance with:

  (A) the provisions of subsection (a) of this section in the same manner as unlawful per se firearms; or

  (B) section 2306 of this title.

  (c) When the firearms sold under this section have been delivered by a local law enforcement agency, the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services shall return two-thirds of the net proceeds from the sale to the appropriate municipality. The remaining proceeds shall be allocated pursuant to the authority of the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services under 29 V.S.A. § 1557. Proceeds allocated to a municipality under this subsection shall, to the extent needed by the municipality, be used to offset the costs of storing nonevidentiary firearms.

  (d) No State agency or department or State official shall be subject to any civil, criminal, administrative, or regulatory liability for any act taken or omission made in reliance on the provisions of this chapter. (Added 1983, No. 132 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 1995, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 16; 2001, No. 80 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2017, No. 94 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 11, 2018.)