By Scout Hudson and Kat Ramkumar, Missouri News Network

JEFFERSON CITY — Senate Republicans renewed pushing a bill Tuesday that would bar local law enforcement agencies in the state from enforcing federal firearm policies.

House Bill 1175, the Second Amendment Preservation Act, passed the House in late March.

Sponsored by Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, the bill would penalize state authorities for enforcing federal gun laws. Any state or local law enforcement agency found to be enforcing federal gun politics would be subject to pay $50,000 for every employee hired by the agency.

In February 2022, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit alleging the 2021 law obstructed the federal government from solving crimes.

The law later was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that ruling, signaling that the federal decision stood.

The law was found to violate the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, which places federal laws above state laws.

The law’s proponents claimed gun regulation is out of the federal government’s scope of authority.

Brattin said earlier this session that this iteration of the bill is a “reshuffling” of the original bill’s language to be in accordance with the federal court’s ruling.

Support for the bill has been mixed among conservatives. The National Rifle Association declined to back the bill, and law enforcement officers across the states raised concerns about the limits the bill placed on their ability to counter violent crime and drug trafficking.

When the 2021 law was enacted, the Kansas City Police Department began to limit federal access to their investigative resources.

The Columbia Police Department withdrew from a national database cataloging weapons recovered from crime scenes.

Law enforcement officers have said they are worried about a new category of lawsuits that this bill will create.

Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish testified in committee that, “This type of legislation will create major obstacles for our officers and deputies throughout the state.”

In 2021, O’Fallon Police Chief Philip Dupois resigned over the law, explaining in a statement that it would prohibit officers from seizing weapons in emergency situations.

On Tuesday, Democratic senators proposed several amendments to the bill that would incorporate various aspects of gun regulation.

Brattin temporarily tabled the bill after about three hours of debate, but it was brought up again, and Democrats continued to speak on the floor in opposition into the evening.