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SF 29

Firearm hold agreement-limited liability.

2025 Regular Session

Immunity from civil liability for returning a firearm under a firearm hold agreement, with exceptions for breach or unlawful conduct; applies to holds after July 1, 2025.

S COW:Failed 2-26-3-0-0
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SF 29

Bill Summary — SF 29: "Firearm hold agreement — limited liability"

  • Bill number: SF 29
  • Title: Firearm hold agreement — limited liability (creates W.S. 1‑3‑120)
  • Sponsor: McClintock (primary); Joint Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs Interim Committee (sponsoring committee)
  • Introduced: January 14, 2025
  • Status: Senate Calendar of the Whole (COW) — Failed 2–26–3–0–0 (1/21/2025). Previously placed on General File and recommended to amend and do pass by Senate Transportation, Highways & Military Affairs (4–0–1).
  • Companion bill: HF 2450
  • Fiscal note: Judicial system fiscal impact indeterminable (unknown number of cases)

Purpose / Intent

To limit civil liability for persons who take and later return another person’s firearm under a “firearm hold agreement,” thereby providing legal protection for individuals who temporarily hold firearms for others and then return them according to the agreement’s terms.

Key provisions

  • Creates a new statute, W.S. 1‑3‑120, titled “Firearm hold agreements; limitation liability; definition.”
  • Immunity from liability: No cause of action shall arise against a person for returning a firearm to the firearm owner at the termination of a firearm hold agreement.
  • Exception to immunity: The immunity does not apply if the cause of action arises from the holder’s breach of contract or other unlawful conduct in connection with returning the firearm.
  • Definition: “Firearm hold agreement” means a written or oral agreement in which one person takes physical possession of a firearm at the owner’s request, holds it for an agreed period, and returns it according to the agreement’s terms.
  • Exclusion: The statute does not apply to firearms or other weapons regulated under the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq.) — e.g., machineguns, short‑barreled rifles/shotguns, silencers, etc.
  • Applicability/effective date: Applies to firearm hold agreements entered on or after July 1, 2025; the act is effective July 1, 2025.

Who would be affected

  • Individuals or entities who temporarily store or hold firearms for others (friends, family members, private storage arrangements, third‑party custodians).
  • Firearm owners who enter hold agreements.
  • Courts and litigants: potential reduction in civil claims tied solely to returning firearms as agreed, but preservation of claims tied to breaches or unlawful conduct.
  • Businesses or organizations involved in voluntary firearm custody could see lowered civil risk in routine returns (subject to exceptions).

Potential impact and considerations

  • May reduce civil liability risk for persons who return firearms under agreed terms, encouraging informal custody arrangements.
  • Preserves accountability where a holder acts unlawfully or breaches the agreement.
  • Excludes NFA‑regulated weapons — those returns remain subject to other laws and liabilities.
  • Fiscal note: Judicial fiscal effect indeterminable due to unknown changes in litigation volume; courts may see fewer or differently framed civil claims, but extent is uncertain.
  • Legislative history: Committee amendment (SF0029SS001) inserted language creating an immunity from liability; final COW vote resulted in failure (2 ayes, 26 nays, 3 excused) on 1/21/2025.

Note: Some uploaded document fragments contained unrelated or garbled text (appearing to reference tax exemptions); this summary focuses on the firearm hold agreement provisions as set out in W.S. 1‑3‑120.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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