Bill would restrict sales of certain firearms and require owner certification

Dealers generally could not sell covered firearms or magazines, and owners would have to request state certification. Covered items include listed firearms and certain semiautomatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns with specified features, plus magazines that hold more than 17 rounds. Some magazines are excluded. Exceptions cover certain sales, including to law enforcement, people acting in specified official roles, and immediate family members, as well as some gifts, inheritances, and short-term loans. People who lawfully acquire a covered item must request certification within 120 days. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension may charge a fee. These rules would apply to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2027. The bureau's duty to set up a certification system would begin the day after final enactment.

A person could face criminal penalties for possessing, selling, or distributing a defined ghost gun; some owners would have to add a serial number or take another listed step. The definition covers certain firearms and unfinished frames or receivers that lack unique serial numbers, are undetectable by metal detectors, or are made with a 3D printer or milling machine by someone who is not a federally licensed maker. The definition excludes permanently inoperable and antique firearms, and firearms made before 1968. People with an unnumbered firearm or unfinished frame on August 1, 2026, would have 180 days to add a serial number, remove it from Minnesota, disable it, or surrender it. Separate 30-day and 60-day deadlines apply after inheritance and for new residents. These provisions would apply to crimes committed on or after August 1, 2026. The 180-day deadline applies to people possessing an unnumbered firearm or unfinished frame on that date.

A court could order a person to give up firearms under an extreme risk protection order; the provisions describe who may petition and how hearings and transfers work. A petition may allege that a person poses a significant danger of bodily harm to others or a significant risk of suicide by possessing a firearm. For an order after a hearing, the court must find clear and convincing evidence of significant danger to others or significant suicide risk involving a firearm. An emergency order requires probable cause of that risk and an immediate, present danger. If the petitioner does not request a hearing, the person may request one within five days after service. An emergency order would last 14 days unless an earlier hearing leads the court to issue or end an order.

School districts and charter schools would be encouraged to set up local anonymous threat reporting systems that meet listed requirements. The provisions address Minnesota school districts, charter schools, and nonpublic schools, along with their students and staff. A nonpublic school may use a local system but would not have to follow these requirements. Schools that do not set up a local system would be encouraged to share information about the state's system. Schools that issue student ID cards must include the applicable system's contact information. The Department of Education would have to share a list of eligible system providers by September 1, 2027.