State and municipal buildings that legally qualify and wish to exclude concealed firearms under terms of a new state law will have to post new and different signage starting next Monday, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said today.
In order to make clear to concealed carry license holders that a state or municipal building has been exempted, the Attorney General’s office has proposed temporary regulations that would require a modified “No Guns” sign be posted at the entrance to exempted buildings.
The modified signs will state that the posted building is a state or municipal building and that it is exempt from the new statutory requirement that concealed carry be allowed.
The proposed regulations and new signs are available to download and print from the Attorney General’s website, www.ag.ks.gov.
The old signs, which have been in use for years, may still be used on locations other than state or municipal buildings, but they no longer will have any legal effect on state or municipal buildings on and after Monday, July 1.
The Legislature in April approved House Bill 2052, which includes a requirement that state and municipal buildings allow concealed carry licensees to carry concealed handguns unless the building is exempt. One way to be exempt is for the building to have adequate security measures in place.
The Legislature allowed for several other exemptions to this rule, including allowing the governing body or administrator of a state or municipal building to seek six-month and four-year exemptions by sending notice to the Attorney General’s office. Many local governments have already submitted notices to the Attorney General’s office of these exemptions.
In order to exercise its exemption, an exempt state or municipal building also must post an appropriate sign.
The only sign that will satisfy the requirement will be the new, modified sign that expressly identifies the building as a state or municipal building that is exempt from the new law and, therefore, concealed carry permit holders may not lawfully carry their handguns in the building.
The proposed temporary regulations are pending approval by the State Rules and Regulations Board, which will meet on Friday.
If adopted, they will take effect the following Monday, July 1. Permanent regulations have also been proposed and are in the process of being considered. Members of the public will have at least 60 days to submit comments on the proposed permanent regulations to the Attorney General’s office. A public hearing on the proposed permanent regulations will be announced at a later date.
Other changes to the concealed carry law during the 2013 legislative session included the recognition of out-of-state licenses and the privacy of concealed carry records. A Frequently Asked Questions document has been posted on the Attorney General’s website, www.ag.ks.gov, outlining some of these changes.
