(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
EXPLOSIVE. Any compound or mixture, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion, that is, with substantially instantaneous release of gas and heat; but shall not mean or include the components for hand-loading rifle, pistol and shotgun ammunition, black powder, primers, and fuses when used for ammunition and components for antique or replica muzzle-loading rifles, pistols, muskets, shotguns and cannons, or fireworks as defined in M.S. § 624.20, nor shall it include any fertilizer product possessed, used, or sold solely for a legitimate agricultural, forestry, conservation or horticultural purposes, or petroleum products used in internal combustion engines.
EXPLOSIVE DEVICE. Any device so articulated that an ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, or by detonation of any part thereof may cause the sudden generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are capable of producing destructive effect, but shall not mean or include the components for hand-loading rifles, pistols and shotguns ammunition and/or rifles, pistols and shot-guns and cannons, or fireworks as defined in M.S. § 624.20, nor shall it include any fertilizer product possessed, used or sold solely for legitimate agricultural, forestry, conservation, or horticultural purposes.
INCENDIARY DEVICE. Any device so articulated that the ignition by fire, friction, concussion, detonation, or other method may produce destructive effects primarily through combustion rather than explosion, but shall not mean or include a manufactured device or article in common use by the general public which is designed to produce combustion for a lawful purpose, including but not limited to matches, lighters, flares, and petroleum derivatives, nor shall it include any fertilizer product possessed, used or sold solely for legitimate agricultural, forestry, conservation, or horticultural purposes.
(B) License required. No person shall manufacture, assemble, warehouse or store explosives for purposes of wholesale or retail sale, or for any other purpose other than for ultimate consumption without being licensed to do so by the State Fire Marshal.
(C) Permit required. No person shall have in his or her possession explosives, unless the person shall have obtained a valid permit for the use of explosives as hereinafter provided. The transportation of an explosive by a common carrier, for hire, shall not be deemed to be possession of an explosive for purposes of this section.
(D) Application.
(1) Any person desiring to possess explosives, other than a person licensed as provided herein, shall make application for a permit for the use of explosives to the Chief of the Fire Department.
(2) The application shall require the applicant’s name, address, purpose for acquiring explosives, place of intended acquisition, quantity required, place and time of intended use, place and means of storage until the use and whether the applicant is a person to whom no such permit may be issued pursuant to divisions (F) hereunder. Any person aggrieved by the denial of a permit may request a hearing before the State Fire Marshal. The provisions of M.S. § 14.50 et seq. shall apply to the hearings and subsequent proceedings, if any.
(E) Affirmation.
(1) A license or an explosives use permit shall have printed thereon a statement underlined that the applicant affirms under penalty of perjury that the information provided hereon is true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. No license or permit shall be issued unless the applicant signs the application.
(2) Each license or permit issued pursuant to this act shall otherwise be sufficient to identify the licensee or permittee. A duplicate of the license or permit shall be retained by the issuing authority. A license or permit shall not be issued for a period of time greater than 1 year, but may be issued for shorter periods.
(F) Issuance of a license or permit to certain persons prohibited. The following persons shall not be entitled to receive an explosives license or permit:
(1) Any person who within the past 5 years has been convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, is on parole or probation, therefor, or is currently under indictment for any such crime.
(2) Any mentally ill person or any mentally deficient person who has been confined or committed in Minnesota or elsewhere for a mental disorder or defect in any hospital; mental institution or sanitarium, or who has been certified by a medical doctor as being mentally ill or mentally deficient, unless he or she possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed to practice in this state, or other satisfactory proof that he or she is no longer suffering from this disability.
(3) Any person who is or has been hospitalized or committed for treatment for the habitual use of a narcotic drug or a depressant or stimulant drug, as defined in the M.S. § 152.01, or who has been certified by a medical doctor as being addicted to narcotic drugs or depressant or stimulant drugs, unless he or she possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed to practice in this state, or other satisfactory proof, that he or she is no longer suffering from this disability.
(4) Any person who, by reason of the habitual and excessive use of intoxicating liquors is incapable of managing himself or herself or his or her affairs or who has been confined or committed to any hospital, mental institution or sanitarium in this state or elsewhere as an “inebriate person” or who has been certified by a medical doctor as being addicted to alcohol unless he or she possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed to practice in this state, or other satisfactory proof that he or she is no longer suffering from this disability.
(5) Any person under the age of 21 years.
(G) Transfer.
(1) No person shall transfer explosives to another unless the transferee shall display to the transferror a copy of a valid license or use permit and proper identification, and unless the transferee shall present to the transferror a signed standardized form provided by the Commissioner of Public Safety, acknowledging receipt of the quantity of explosives transferred, the identifying numbers of the same explosives, or if none, the identifying numbers of the primary container from which the same explosives were distributed, and the serial number of the use permit displayed, which receipt shall be kept among the transferror’s records until authorized to dispose of it by the State Fire Marshal.
(2) No person shall purchase more than 5 pounds of black powder without providing suitable identification and such other information as the Commissioner may require. The records shall be submitted to the local Fire Marshall designated in M.S. § 299F.19, Subd. 4, at such time as the Commissioner may by rule prescribe and the records shall be open to the inspection of any peace officer acting in the normal course of his or her duties as such.
(H) Possession without a permit. Whoever has in his or her possession dynamite or other explosives commonly used for agricultural, forestry, conservation, industry or mining purposes, without a valid license or permit, with intent to use the same for legitimate agricultural, forestry, conservation, industry or mining purposes, and in only such quantities as are reasonably necessary for the intended use, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(I) Illegal transfer. Whoever illegally transfers dynamite or other explosives commonly used for agricultural, forestry, conservation, industry or mining purposes to another, personally known to the transferror, in the belief that the same shall be used for legitimate agricultural, forestry, conservation, industry or mining purposes, and in only such quantities as are reasonably necessary for such believed purpose, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Prior Code, § 112.08)