7597.1. (a) A licensee, qualified manager, branch office manager, or alarm agent shall not carry, use, or possess a loaded or unloaded firearm in the course and scope of his or her employment, whether or not it is serviceable or operative, unless he or she has in his or her possession a valid and current firearms qualification card issued to him or her by the bureau. The card shall be shown to any peace officer or bureau representative upon demand.
(b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a duly appointed peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, or a federal qualified law enforcement officer, as defined in Section 926B of Title 18 of the United States Code, who meets all of the following:
(1) He or she has successfully completed a course of study in the use of firearms.
(2) He or she is authorized to carry a concealed firearm in the course and scope of his or her employment pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 25450) of Chapter 2 of Division 5 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code.
(3) He or she has proof that he or she has applied to the bureau for a firearms qualification card.
(c) A fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) may be assessed for the first violation of this section and a fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for each subsequent violation.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 800, Sec. 52. (SB 1196) Effective January 1, 2017.)