Firearms; secure storage, penalties.

Changed the proposing committee from 'Senate Committee for Courts of Justice' to 'Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations'

Added draft status and date markings (OFFERED FOR CONSIDERATION 2/12/2025) to the document

Reformatted line numbers and spacing throughout the document for subcommittee review

The document was truncated at the end, cutting off the fiscal impact language mid-sentence

Added phrase 'from such funds as are available' to clarify funding source for the public awareness campaign in § 18.2-308.7:3

Firearm storage in residences no longer requires firearms to be unloaded or secured with a firearm safety device; they only need to be in a locked container inaccessible to minors.

A new civil penalty of up to $500 was added for leaving visible handguns in unattended vehicles.

Criminal misdemeanor penalties for violating residence storage rules were removed entirely.

Added provisions allowing unattended vehicles with visible firearms to be treated as illegally parked and subject to removal.

Added a specific definition for 'unattended motor vehicle' to clarify when storage rules apply.

The fiscal impact section was changed from a fixed $50,000 minimum to a blank field, indicating the fiscal impact cannot be determined.

Text formatting changed from plain text to structured document format with page numbers, line numbers, and official House Substitute headers.

Expanded storage options in homes to include safes, gun safes, gun cases, lock boxes, and other devices unlocked by key, combination, or similar means, in addition to biometric storage devices.

Added requirement that theft of a firearm from premises must be reported to law enforcement.

Added requirement that theft or loss of a firearm from a vehicle must be reported to law enforcement.

Changed fiscal impact language from stating amount cannot be determined to leaving blank spaces for amounts to be filled in.

Changed vehicle storage requirement from ensuring locked container is affixed to interior of vehicle to no longer requiring it to be affixed.