Summary — HB 4139 (Weapons: firearms; update to reflect repeal of Extreme Risk Protection Order Act)
Status & procedural history (as provided)
- Bill number: HB 4139. Introduced/first read 02/26/2025; filed 03/10/2025 (per provided timeline). Referred to the House Judiciary committee. Committee activity and floor actions in May 2025 are recorded (committee substitute, amendments, reported, passed by the House 05/08/2025 and received 05/09/2025).
- Tie bar noted with HB 4140 (both referenced in title).
- Important note: the supplied document contains mixed/erroneous material (an Illinois “Latinx studies” school-code bill and later Michigan statute text). The summary below focuses on the Michigan firearms material that matches the bill title.
Purpose / intent
- To amend Michigan’s firearms licensing statute (1927 PA 372; MCL 28.422 et seq.) to reflect the repeal of the “extreme risk protection order” (ERPO) statute and to make related technical and substantive changes to licensing and disqualification provisions.
Key provisions (based on supplied text)
- Licensing expansion/clarification:
- Revises Section 2 to require a license not only to purchase, carry, possess, or transport a pistol but (per new subdivision) to purchase a firearm that is not a pistol in this state without a license. The text includes an effective/transition reference to purchases occurring before February 13, 2024.
- Requires individuals who bring a firearm into the state while on or recently on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces to obtain a state firearm license within 30 days of arrival.
- Qualification and disqualification rules:
- Continues to require licensing authorities (city/town/village police chiefs or sheriffs) to issue licenses promptly to qualified applicants unless there is probable cause to deny.
- Enumerates disqualifying entries/orders that render an applicant unqualified. In the supplied language these include several adjudications and orders (mental-health and protective orders, certain criminal orders). The text as provided still lists “The extreme risk protection order act” among those entries (section 2(3)(a)(viii) in the draft), but the bill title indicates the purpose is to amend the statute to reflect repeal of the ERPO act — i.e., to remove or otherwise modify references to ERPOs.
- Application, form, and recordkeeping procedures:
- Applicants must sign forms under oath on department-provided forms; licensing authorities issue licenses in triplicate and sign them.
- Licenses are void if not used within 30 days of issuance.
- Sellers must complete license forms describing the firearm at sale, sign them, and provide/retain copies; pistol purchases require the seller to return one copy of the license to the licensing authority within 10 days. Failure to comply can create civil liability.
Who is affected
- Prospective firearm purchasers and current firearm owners (especially those acquiring non-pistol firearms).
- Licensing authorities (municipal police chiefs, sheriffs) — increased/clarified duties to issue licenses and monitor compliance.
- Firearm sellers/dealers — expanded paperwork/notification/recordkeeping obligations.
- Individuals subject to orders previously issued under the ERPO statute — their disqualification status may change if references to ERPOs are removed following repeal.
- Active-duty or recently discharged service members bringing firearms into Michigan.
Potential impacts and considerations
- If the ERPO statute is repealed, individuals previously subject to ERPOs may no longer be automatically disqualified from obtaining firearm licenses under the updated statutory list — this would change how risk orders intersect with licensing.
- Expanding licensing requirements to non-pistol firearms (if retained in final bill) would broaden the pool of transactions requiring licensing and increase administrative workload for local law enforcement and sellers.
- Sellers’ recordkeeping and reporting duties (and associated penalties) could increase compliance costs.
- The draft contains mixed/duplicated and out-of-state text; users should consult the final enrolled bill and legislative fiscal analyses for precise language and any appropriation/mandate notes.
Recommended next step
- Review the final enrolled/official Michigan Legislative Council (or Secretary of State) text for HB 4139 and associated fiscal/legal analyses to confirm whether ERPO references are removed, and to see the finalized scope (especially the apparent expansion to non-pistol purchase licensing).
