Doe v. Portland Housing Authority

• Decision Date: 04 April 1995
• Docket Number: Docket No. C,No. 7191,7191
• Citation: 656 A.2d 1200
• Parties: John DOE, et al. v. PORTLAND HOUSING AUTHORITY. DecisionLawum-94-188.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

Page 1200

656 A.2d 1200

John DOE, et al. v. PORTLAND HOUSING AUTHORITY.

Decision No. 7191.

Law Docket No. Cum-94-188.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Argued Sept. 21, 1994.

Decided April 4, 1995.

Jeffrey W. Jones (orally), Jones & Warren, P.A., Scarborough, for plaintiffs.

Robert Dowlut, Fairfax, VA, for amici curiae.

William C. Knowles (orally), Verrill & Dana, Portland, for defendant.

Before WATHEN, C.J., and ROBERTS, GLASSMAN, CLIFFORD, and RUDMAN, JJ.

CLIFFORD, Justice.

John Doe and Jane Doe ¹ appeal from the judgment entered in the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Wernick, A.R.J.) denying their request to have a provision in their lease with the Portland Housing Authority (PHA) that bans the possession of all firearms on the leased premises declared invalid and unenforceable. Because we conclude that the PHA is a political subdivision within the meaning of 25 M.R.S.A. § 2011 (Supp.1994), the lease provision, which is based on a resolution enacted by the PHA in 1975, is preempted by section 2011. Accordingly, we vacate the judgment without reaching the constitutional issues advanced by the Does.

The PHA is a municipal housing authority created pursuant to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4721 (Pamph.1994). See 30-A M.R.S.A. §§ 4701-4993 (Pamph.1994). ² In 1975, the PHA Board of Commissioners passed a resolution prohibiting tenants from possessing firearms on PHA property. The firearms ban provision is a provision in the leases of all PHA tenants. ³ The Does are married and live in Sagamore Village, a PHA development. They have lived in PHA housing since 1981. John Doe is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, a former federally licensed firearms dealer, and a licensed hunter in Maine. He works nights, and when he is away, Jane, who has used handguns for twenty-seven years and target shoots at a gun club, is fearful for her safety. In violation of the lease agreement, they own and possess hunting rifles and handguns. To remain in their home without the threat of having their lease terminated, the Does brought a declaratory judgment action seeking, inter alia, a declaration that the firearms ban in their lease is contrary to the Maine Constitution and therefore is void and unenforceable, and that the lease is preempted by state law regulating firearms.

The trial court found that the lease provision does not violate the sections of the Maine Constitution relied on the by Does: the right to keep and bear arms, ⁴ the right to defend life and liberty, ⁵ or the right to equal protection of the laws. ⁶ The court also concluded that the ban on the possession of firearms is not preempted by state law and, therefore, upheld the lease provision and denied the Does any relief. This appeal by the Does followed.

If the Legislature's preemption of the regulation of firearms includes resolutions enacted by the PHA, then the resolution, and thus the lease provision that flows from it, are void and we need not reach the constitutional issues advanced by the Does. Accordingly, we first address the issue of preemption. Whether the resolution is void depends on whether the PHA is a political subdivision within the meaning of 25 M.R.S.A. § 2011 (Supp.1994). That question is one of law that we review de novo. See Maine Beer & Wine Wholesalers Ass'n v. State, 619 A.2d 94, 97 (Me.1993) (statutory interpretation is matter for this Court).

In defending its lease provision and the decision of the Superior Court, the PHA contends, inter alia, that its lease provision is not preempted because only orders, ordinances, rules, and regulations of "political subdivisions" are preempted, and the PHA is not an enumerated political subdivision. In addition, it argues that the only purpose of the preemption statute is to make firearms regulation uniform so that hunters traveling through the state will not be subject to different regulations when they cross town lines, and thus, the Legislature did not intend to preempt PHA's lease provision. We disagree.

A federal statute preempts a state law when Congress has explicitly stated its intention to preempt state regulation of a certain field. Rozanski v. A-P-A Transp., Inc., 512 A.2d 335, 339 (Me.1986) (quoting Michigan Canners & Freezers Ass'n, Inc. v. Agricultural Mktg. & Bargaining Bd., 467 U.S. 461, 468, 104 S.Ct. 2518, 2522, 81 L.Ed.2d 399 (1984)). Likewise, a state law preempts the regulations or ordinances of constituent political units if the Legislature expresses an intent to preempt regulations in that field. In the present case, the Legislature passed a statute in 1989 that provides, in pertinent part:

1. Preemption. The State intends to occupy and preempt the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of firearms, components, ammunition and supplies.... [A]ny existing or future order, ordinance, rule or regulation in this field of any political subdivision of the State is void.

2. Regulation restricted. ... [N]o political subdivision of the State, including, but not limited to, municipalities, counties, townships and village corporations, may adopt any order, ordinance, rule or regulation concerning the sale, purchase, purchase delay, transfer, ownership, use, possession, bearing, transportation, licensing, permitting, registration, taxation or any other matter pertaining to firearms, components, ammunition or supplies.

25 M.R.S.A. § 2011 (Supp.1994) (emphasis added).

The preemption statute is not clear on its face as to whether the PHA is a political subdivision. The term "political subdivision" is not defined within the statute, and authorities are not named specifically as one of the enumerated examples of a political subdivision in the statute. See id. § 2011(2). It is significant that the statute makes it clear that the recited examples of political subdivisions are nonexclusive. Although the term political subdivision is defined in five other chapters, ⁷ the different definitions do not lead to a consistent conclusion as to whether a municipal housing authority is a political subdivision. Compare 22 M.R.S.A. § 2601(7) (1992) (political subdivision defined as municipality, county, district, or any portion or combination thereof) with 37-B M.R.S.A. § 703(4) (1989) (authorities are explicitly enumerated as political subdivisions).

Because section 2011 is not clear on its face as to whether an authority is a political subdivision, we look to the legislative history of section 2011 to determine the legislative intent. See Jordan v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 651 A.2d 358, 360 (Me.1994) (when plain meaning of statutory language is ambiguous, we examine other evidence of legislative intent, including legislative history). The legislative history of section 2011 supports the conclusion that the legislature intended to preempt the regulation of firearms by the PHA. Lewiston Daily Sun, Inc. v. City of Auburn, 544 A.2d 335, 337 (Me.1988) (courts look to legislative history to resolve ambiguity as to what public entities fall within purview of statute). Although the PHA correctly points out that one purpose of the legislation is to make firearms regulation uniform so that hunters traveling through the state will not be subject to different regulations in different municipalities, the legislative record reveals that this was not by any means the sole reason for passing that law. In fact, the statement of fact accompanying the statute makes no mention of an intent to protect those who travel from town to town with firearms.

The principal thrust of the preemption statute voiced in the legislative record was to make the regulation of firearms uniform for all residents of Maine. Concern was expressed for laws in different communities imposing waiting periods on the purchase of firearms, different procedures for purchasing ammunition, and the resurrection of an old ordinance in Portland restricting the ability to carry a loaded firearm. Passed on the heels of a constitutional amendment changing Maine's constitutional right to bear arms from a collective to an individual right, ⁸ section 2011 was enacted to reinforce the amendment and to ensure uniformity in the regulation of guns for all Maine citizens. ⁹ The legislative history is consistent with the statute's expressed intent to "occupy and preempt the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of firearms," and to void any "order, ordinance, rule or regulation in this field." 25 M.R.S.A. § 2011 (emphasis added).

Only two exceptions were made to the Legislature's preemption of firearms regulation, and the PHA's lease provision does not fall within either of them. See 25 M.R.S.A. § 2011(3) & (4). Section 2011(3) allows ordinances, orders, rules, or regulations that conform exactly with state law, or that regulate the discharge of firearms. 25 M.R.S.A. § 2011(4) allows a law enforcement agency to regulate the type and use of firearms issued or authorized for use by its employees. There is no mention in the legislative record that firearms regulations like that promulgated by PHA would escape preemption. Instead, the record is replete with statements that the preemption is sweeping and will make the laws uniform for all Maine citizens. ¹⁰ In fact, the Legislature addressed whether municipalities with over 15,000 citizens should be exempted from the preemption, and such an exemption was rejected. A cosponsor of the bill stated that a purpose of the preemption statute was to protect the citizens of large communities from discriminatory firearms regulations, because there are "law-abiding gun owners in large communities who are often innocent victims of restrictive gun control measures." Legis.Rec. H-784 (1989) (statement of Rep. Rotondi). PHA's lease provision is contrary to the Legislature's intent to ensure that all Maine citizens are treated equally with regard to firearms regulation. Moreover, the governmental entities listed in the statute as political subdivisions are examples only, and nonexclusive. The PHA...