Your Tax $ At work. Another useless study!

[Brick]

All these jerks need to do is put together some reports from the Commission on Sentencing and it sure as hell won't cost $350,000. Who elected these dweebs!

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

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HOUSE BILL
No. 2288 Session of 2008


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INTRODUCED BY BENNINGHOFF, BARRAR, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, EVERETT,
GRELL, JOSEPHS, R. MILLER, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, SONNEY, SURRA,
SWANGER, THOMAS, J. WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD, DENLINGER AND
SCHRODER, MARCH 5, 2008


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REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 5, 2008


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AN ACT

1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for a study by the Joint
3 State Government Commission; and making appropriations.

4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
7 Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
8 § 6111.6. Study by Joint State Government Commission.
9 (a) Study.--The Joint State Government Commission shall
10 conduct a continuing study for the purpose of evaluating:
11 (1) the extent, if any, to which legally purchased
12 firearms, as defined in section 6102 (relating to
13 definitions), are used by their purchaser in criminal
14 activity; and
15 (2) the incidence of arrests for violations of this
16 chapter as compared to convictions and adjudications of
17 delinquency for violations of this chapter within the various



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1 counties of this Commonwealth.
2 (b) Cooperation of other agencies.--Beginning on the
3 effective date of this section and ending three years from the
4 effective date of this section, the Pennsylvania State Police
5 shall provide to the Joint State Government Commission such
6 information as is necessary to conduct the study. The commission
7 may contract with such persons as appropriate for the purposes
8 of carrying out the study.
9 (c) Provision of data.--
10 (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 6111(i)
11 (relating to sale or transfer of firearms), 6111.4 (relating
12 to registration of firearms) and 9121(b)(1) (relating to
13 general regulations), for the limited purposes and during the
14 limited period of this study, the Pennsylvania State Police
15 shall provide records concerning purchases of firearms and
16 criminal history record information without fee to the Joint
17 State Government Commission.
18 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of 42 Pa.C.S. § 6308
19 (relating to law enforcement records), the Pennsylvania State
20 Police shall provide the incidence rate of adjudications of
21 delinquency for violations of this chapter within the various
22 counties of this Commonwealth without fee to the Joint State
23 Government Commission.
24 (d) Report.--The Joint State Government Commission shall
25 issue a final report on the study within three years and six
26 months after the effective date of this section. The commission
27 may issue interim reports as it deems appropriate.
28 (e) Use of information.--Neither the Joint State Government
29 Commission nor any other person may publicly release identifying
30 information obtained by the commission. The commission shall
20080H2288B3306 - 2 -


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1 make information which it compiles available to the Office of
2 Attorney General for law enforcement purposes. The Office of
3 Attorney General or any other law enforcement agency which
4 receives such information shall treat the information as
5 intelligence information subject to the provisions of Chapter 91
6 (relating to criminal history record information).
7 Section 2. The sum of $300,000 is hereby appropriated to the
8 Joint State Government Commission for the purpose of conducting
9 the study provided for under 18 Pa.C.S. § 6111.6.
10 Section 3. The sum of $50,000 is hereby appropriated to the
11 Pennsylvania State Police for the purpose of providing
12 information pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 6111.6(b) and (c).
13 Section 4. This act shall take effect in six months.

[WhiteFeather]

All these jerks need to do is put together some reports from the Commission on Sentencing and it sure as hell won't cost $350,000. Who elected these dweebs!

If they do that and the report get widely circulated to the general public, there will be some un-elected people, along with many DA and judges getting retired for their incompetence.

[FromMyColdDeadHands]

the asshats on this committee will do their best to skew the report

[Brick]

If they do that and the report get widely circulated to the general public, there will be some un-elected people, along with many DA and judges getting retired for their incompetence.

Doncha think it's time "we" started making that happen? I promise, I'll do as much as I can to help.

[Nomad]

The Commission on Sentencing does not track arrests, so independent research would be needed to provide evidence of what many of us suspect - it is arrests coupled with convictions for gun crimes which are the effective answer to gun violence. Further, this would provide evidence of those counties which routinely drop the gun charge (and possible mandatory sentences for some of the worst offenders) and then turn around and ask for gun control (wonder who that could be?).

Also, the Commission on Sentencing would not have any information on whether firearms (legally purchased) were used in a crime by the individual who purchased them.

[Brick]

The Commission on Sentencing does not track arrests, so independent research would be needed to provide evidence of what many of us suspect - it is arrests coupled with convictions for gun crimes which are the effective answer to gun violence. Further, this would provide evidence of those counties which routinely drop the gun charge (and possible mandatory sentences for some of the worst offenders) and then turn around and ask for gun control (wonder who that could be?).

Also, the Commission on Sentencing would not have any information on whether firearms (legally purchased) were used in a crime by the individual who purchased them.

Here's a link to PSP uniform crime report:
http://ucr.psp.state.pa.us/UCR/ComMain.asp
So the arrest information already exists in a standardized report format. And it's no big deal to go from the arrests report to the convictions report and work up the dispositions. And oh yeah by the way isn't it part of the Police job to INVESTIGATE crimes and wouldn't that include identifying the source of a firearm used in a crime? So if the cops are doing their job all they have to do is take the information they're already garthering and put into their standard format existing report.

The rest of this is nothing but meadow muffins!