BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair S
2005-2006 Regular Session B
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SB 357 (Dunn)
As Amended April 18, 2005
Hearing date: April 26, 2005
Penal Code
SH:br
HANDGUN AMMUNITION SERIALIZATION PROGRAM
HISTORY
Source: Attorney General
Prior Legislation: SB 1152 (Scott) - Vetoed 2004
AB 1717 - Chapter 271, Statutes of 2000
SB 683 (Watson) - 1997; held on Senate
Appropriations Suspense File
Support: California Million Mom March; Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence; Coalition to Stop Gun Violence; Legal
Community Against Violence; Million Mom March of Sonoma
County; Fresno Police Department; California Reserve
Peace Officers Association; 1 individual letter
Opposition:Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute
("SAAMI"); Gun Owners of California; The Range (Grass
Valley, California); Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of
California; The California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.;
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California Association of Firearm Retailers; Crossroads
of the West Gun Shows; Safari Club International;
California Rifle and Pistol Association; NRA
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD ALL HANDGUN AMMUNITION SOLD, TRANSFERRED, MANUFACTURED, AND
POSSESSED IN PUBLIC IN CALIFORNIA AFTER JULY 1, 2007, BE
"SERIALIZED" AS SPECIFIED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE?
SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE BE REQUIRED TO CREATE "REGISTERED
AMMUNITION VENDOR" AND "REGISTERED AMMUNITION MANUFACTURER" PROGRAMS
AND REQUIREMENTS IN CALIFORNIA?
SHOULD VIOLATIONS OF THIS BILL AND ITS NEW REQUIREMENTS BE
CRIMINALIZED, AS SPECIFIED?
SHOULD A NUMBER OF RELATED ADDITIONS BE ENACTED IN LAW?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to (1) require that all handgun
ammunition sold, transferred, manufactured, and possessed in
public in California after July 1, 2007, be "serialized" as
specified by the Department of Justice; (2) create "registered
ammunition vendor" and "registered ammunition manufacturer"
programs and requirements in California; (3) criminalize
violations of this bill and its new requirements; and (4) make a
number of related additions to the law.
Existing law contains the following definitions regarding
"ammunition":
"Handgun ammunition" means ammunition principally for
use in pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of
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being concealed upon the person, as defined,
notwithstanding that the ammunition may also be used in
some rifles. (Penal Code 12323(a).)
For purposes of specified prohibitions on selling and
possessing ammunition, "ammunition" includes, but is not
be limited to, any bullet, cartridge, magazine, clip,
speed loader, autoloader, or projectile capable of being
fired from a firearm with a deadly consequence. (Penal
Code 12316(b)(2).)
Existing law makes it a crime for persons who are prohibited
from possessing firearms to possess ammunition, punished as an
alternate misdemeanor/felony. (Penal Code 12316(b)(1).)
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for any person, corporation,
or licensed firearms dealer to (1) sell ammunition to a person
"knowing" that the person is under 18 years of age and (2) sell
handgun ammunition to a person "knowing" that the person is
under 21 years of age; proof that a person, corporation, or
dealer, or his or her agent or employee, demanded, was shown,
and acted in reasonable reliance upon, bona fide evidence of
majority and identity shall be a defense to any criminal
prosecution under this law; "bona fide evidence of majority and
identity" is defined. (Penal Code 12316(a).)
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to obtain,
maintain, and make available to specified law enforcement and
others a variety of information. (Penal Code 11106.)
Existing law provides that "willfully," when applied to the
intent with which an act is done or omitted, implies simply a
purpose or willingness to commit the act, or make the omission
referred to. It does not require any intent to violate law, or
to injure another, or to acquire any advantage. (Penal Code
7.)
This bill does the following:
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Creates a handgun ammunition serialization program effective
July 1, 2007, administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ)
Requires that, commencing July 1, 2007, except as provided in
this bill, all handgun ammunition, as defined, that is
manufactured, imported into the state for sale or personal
use, kept for sale, offered or exposed for sale, sold, given,
lent, or possessed shall be serialized, as specified.
Provides that the DOJ shall enforce the requirements of the
handgun serialization program and shall have authority to
prescribe the manner in which handgun ammunition is serialized
in order to comply with the requirements of this bill,
including, but not limited to, determining how ammunition that
is loose, packaged, in lots, series, or otherwise aggregated
for purposes of manufacture or sale shall be serialized with a
unique identifier, as specified.
Specifically authorizes the DOJ - effective January 1, 2006 -
to:
(1) Adopt regulations to collect end-user fees in an amount
not to exceed one-half of one cent per round of ammunition or
per bullet, where the accumulated fee amount will not exceed
the cost to pay for the infrastructure, implementation,
operational, enforcement, and future development costs of the
program; and,
(2) Adopt regulations relating to the implementation and
furtherance of a retail ammunition vendor's registry and the
assessment and collection of fees associated with the
registration program in an amount not to exceed fifty dollars
($50) per year per retail location, adjusted annually for
inflation based upon the California Consumer Price Index, as
specified, and where the accumulated fee amount will not
exceed the cost to pay for the infrastructure, implementation,
operation, enforcement, and future development costs of this
bill.
Authorizes the DOJ to adopt or amend regulations relating to
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this bill in an effort to incorporate new technologies as they
become available.
Handgun ammunition included and definition of serialization
Handgun ammunition is defined in this bill to mean:
(A) Ammunition principally for use in pistols,
revolvers, and other firearms capable of being
concealed upon the person, as specified,
notwithstanding that the ammunition may also be used in
some rifles - included in this bill.
(B) 22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
(C) Assembled handgun ammunition packaged for retail
sale.
(D) Bullets used for reloading or handloading handgun
ammunition that are packaged for retail sale.
(2) Serialized handgun ammunition does not include
blank cartridges, shot-shells, or projectiles used in
black powder handguns.
"Serialized" means that all of the following have been met:
(1) The ammunition has been identified in a manner
prescribed by the DOJ so that all assembled ammunition
contained within a package provided for retail sale, or
as otherwise specified by the department, is uniquely
identified.
(2) Bullets used for reloading or handloading contained
within a package provided for retail sale, or as
otherwise specified by the department, are uniquely
identified.
(3) Identification of the manufacturer of the
ammunition.
(4) Identification on the exterior of the ammunition in
a manner that permits visual inspection for the purpose
of determining if the assembled ammunition or bullet
complies with the serialization requirement.
(5) Identification on the exterior of the ammunition in
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a manner that is maintained subsequent to the discharge
of the ammunition and subsequent to the impact of the
bullet, based on standards prescribed by the department.
(6) Identification on the exterior of every package or
container of serialized ammunition, as prescribed by the
department, with the same unique identifiers used on the
assembled ammunition or bullets contained within the
packaging or container. No package or container shall be
labeled with the same unique identifiers as any other
package or container by the same manufacturer.
Effective July 1, 2007, criminalizes manufacture, importation,
sale, transferring, or possession "in any public place" of
handgun ammunition not serialized
Commencing July 1, 2007, makes it a crime punishable and an
alternate misdemeanor/felony for any person to manufacture,
cause to be manufactured, import into the state for sale or
personal use, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, or to
give or lend any handgun ammunition that is not serialized
pursuant to this bill.
Commencing July 1, 2007, makes any person who possesses
in any public place any handgun ammunition that is not
serialized guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine
not exceeding $500, or a misdemeanor (punishable by
imprisonment up to six months in jail, a fine of up to
$1,000, or both).
Defines "public place" to mean an area open to the public
and includes streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas,
parks, driveways, front yards, parking lots, automobiles,
whether moving or not, and buildings open to the general
public, including those that serve food or drink, or
provide entertainment, and the doorways and entrances to
buildings or dwellings.
Provides exceptions to the "public place" and other
possession restrictions on handgun ammunition without
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"serialization," including for (1) forensic laboratories
and agencies such as law enforcement and employees within
the course and scope of their official duties; (2) law
enforcement and other agencies charged with the
administration of justice for purpose of investigation,
evidence, or disposition; (3) possession for purposes of
disposition by an executor or administrator of an estate,
as specified; (4) possession for purposes of transporting
it to a law enforcement agency for disposition, as
specified; possession by peace officers from other states
in California on official duties; and members of the
California National Guard during their official duties.
Registered Ammunition Vendors - requirements and new crimes (no
specific effective date in the bill for this provision)
No person engaged in the retail sale of handgun ammunition
shall sell, lease, or transfer serialized ammunition unless
he or she is a registered ammunition vendor as described in
this bill.
Any person that is not a registered ammunition vendor and
engages in the retail sale of ammunition shall be guilty of
an infraction or a misdemeanor.
Defines "vendor," "ammunition vendor," or "registered
ammunition vendor" to mean any person, business, or
corporation that is engaged in the retail sale of handgun
ammunition as defined in this bill and who has all of the
following:
(A) Any regulatory or business license, or licenses,
required by local government.
(B) A valid seller's permit issued by the State Board of
Equalization.
(C) Is among those recorded in the centralized ammunition
vendor's registry created by this bill.
Requires the DOJ to keep a centralized registry of all
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persons engaged in the retail sale of serialized ammunition
and authorizes the department to remove from this registry
any person who violates the provisions of this bill.
Requires that upon removal of a vendor from the registry,
notification shall be provided to local law enforcement
and licensing authorities in the jurisdiction where the
vendor's business is located.
Authorizes the DOJ to inspect ammunition vendors to ensure
compliance with this chapter.
Provides that nothing in this bill shall prohibit any
local jurisdiction from adopting one or more ordinances
relating to the inspection of ammunition vendors.
Information a registered ammunition vendor shall obtain, forward
to DOJ, and maintain
Any vendor, agent or employee of the vendor that sells or
otherwise transfers ownership of any serialized handgun
ammunition shall record the following information in a format
prescribed by the DOJ:
(1) The date of the transaction.
(2) The name of the transferee.
(3) The transferee's driver license number or other
government issued identification card number and the
governmental agency that issued the identification.
(4) In order to validate a transferee's age and ensure
compliance with Section 12316 [prohibition on the sale of
handgun ammunition to a person under the age of 21], the
date of birth of the transferee.
(5) The unique identifier of all handgun ammunition or
bullets transferred.
(6) All other information prescribed by the DOJ.
On the date the vendor delivers the handgun ammunition to
the transferee, he or she shall report the required
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information to the DOJ in a manner prescribed by the
department.
A copy of the required information records shall be
maintained on the premises of the vendor for a period of
not less than three years from the date of the recorded
transfer and shall be subject to inspection at any time
during normal business hours by any peace officer, or by
any authorized employee of the DOJ, if the inspection
relates to an investigation where access to those records
is or may be relevant to that investigation, is seeking
information about persons prohibited from owning a firearm
or ammunition, or is engaged in ensuring compliance with
the Dangerous Weapons Control Law or any other laws
pertaining to firearms.
Any vendor or employee or agent of a vendor that willfully
fails to comply with, or falsifies the records required to
be kept by this bill is guilty of a public offense
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding
one year or in the state prison.
Proof that a vendor or his or her agent or employee
demanded, was shown, and acted in reliance upon, bona fide
evidence of identity shall be a defense to any criminal
prosecution under this subdivision so long as reliance
upon the proof of identity was reasonable.
Any person that presents false identification to a vendor
with the intent to avoid the recording requirements of
this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any vendor that refuses to permit an authorized person to
examine any record prepared in accordance with this
section during any inspection conducted pursuant to this
section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Commercial Manufacture of Serialized Handgun Ammunition -
requirements and new crimes (no specific effective date in the
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bill for this provision)
No person engaged in the commercial manufacture of
serialized handgun ammunition shall sell, loan, or
transfer serialized ammunition, unless that person is a
registered ammunition manufacturer as defined in this
bill; a violation is punishable as a misdemeanor.
"Manufacturer," "ammunition manufacturer," or "registered
ammunition manufacturer" mean any person, business, or
corporation that manufactures handgun ammunition within
California or manufacturers handgun ammunition with the
intent to distribute that ammunition for purposes, within
California, of sale, loan, or transfer.
Manufacturers shall do all of the following:
(1) Register with the DOJ in a manner prescribed by the
department.
(2) Maintain records on the business premises for a
period of seven years concerning all sales, loans, and
transfers of ammunition, to, from, or within California.
(3) Comply with all other regulations concerning
ammunition manufacture and sale adopted by the
department.
Any manufacturer that fails to comply with the provisions
of this section shall be liable for a civil fine of not
more than one $1,000 for a first violation, not more than
five $5,000 for a second violation, and not more $10,000
for a third and subsequent violation. A civil action to
enforce this section may be brought by a city attorney or
district attorney, or the Attorney General. These
provisions shall not preclude any other remedy available
under California law.
The DOJ may inspect ammunition manufacturers to ensure
compliance with this bill.
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Related additions to law in this bill include
For purposes of this chapter, every 50 pieces or fewer of
assembled ammunition or bullets used for reloading or
handloading shall constitute a separate and distinct
offense.
Any person who willfully destroys, obliterates, or
otherwise renders unreadable, the serialization required
pursuant to this bill, on any bullet or assembled
ammunition is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail,
not to exceed one year, or in the state prison.
Commencing July 1, 2007, the Department of Justice shall
maintain a centralized registry of all reports of handgun
ammunition transactions reported to the department
pertaining to "serialized handgun ammunition" and shall
make that information available to specified law
enforcement and to the persons listed in the registry.
Provides that nothing in the new Penal Code Section 12315
added by this bill pertaining to registered ammunition
vendors shall prohibit any local jurisdiction from
adopting one or more ordinances relating to the inspection
of ammunition vendors.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
Background provided by the author includes the following:
Senate Bill 357 requires all ammunition manufactured
or sold in California to be marked with a unique
identifier - essentially bringing ammunition controls
and law enforcement investigative tools into the
modern age.
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Quite simply, SB 357 is to ballistic imaging what DNA
is to fingerprints. Current technology for matching a
bullet used in a crime to the gun that fired it has
worked moderately well for years, but bullet
serialization is a new, fast and effective way for law
enforcement and forensics to find and convict
murderers. Essentially, this means that every bullet
will have a number or other identifier stamped,
engraved, affixed or in some way attached to it.
SB 357 has been drafted to allow the adaptation of
future technologies. This identifier would be
associated with the purchaser of the bullet at the
point of sale. Law enforcement then would be able to
read the serial number of a discharged bullet -
without the aid of expensive specialized tools - and
immediately be able to determine the name and address
of the individual who purchased the bullet by
accessing a database maintained by the Department of
Justice.
In addition, manufacturers, vendors and purchasers of
handgun ammunition will be required to submit
information to the Department of Justice; fees will be
assessed for the registration of vendors and the
purchase of handgun ammunition; and penalties will be
set for individuals and corporations who circumvent
the requirements of SB 357.
According to Crime in California: 2003, by the
Criminal Justice Statistics Center of the California
Department of Justice, there were 2,402 homicides
reported in California during 2003. Of these crimes,
72.8 percent (1,733) were committed with a firearm.
Only 55.1 percent of these homicides were solved in
2003, which was a 3.2 percent decrease from 2002. The
victims of homicide in California during 2003, were
predominately Hispanic (44 percent), 18-24 years old
(31.2 percent) and male (82.1 percent). Gang related
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activities made up over one-third (33.6 percent) of
all contributing factors in these homicides.
Additionally, 63,597 robberies were reported in 2003,
with armed robbery accounting for 53.9 percent
(34,252) of these crimes. A firearm was used in 64.7
percent (22,161) of all armed robberies. Only 27.1
percent of robberies were solved in 2003.
Bullet serialization gives us the opportunity to take
advantage of new and emerging technologies that
enhance the ability of law enforcement to reduce the
time it takes to arrest and convict murderers.
2. Is the Technology Available
The DOJ provided Committee staff with a 3-page list of patents
related to bullet identification, not all of which pertain to
"ammunition serialization" but some of the patents do. In
addition, one system is described on the web at:
http://www.ammocoding.com/index.php
That is a website for Ammunition Coding System (ACS) with a
Seattle address and includes the following:
Bullet Identification Technology: A modern crime
fighting tool
In an effort to provide law enforcement with modern
crime fighting tools, a new patentpending bullet
identification technology known as the Ammunition
Coding System (ACS) has been developed. ACS assigns a
unique code to every round of ammunition manufactured,
and by recording sales records, law enforcement
personnel will be able to easily trace the ammunition
involved in a crime and have an avenue to pursue and
solve even the most difficult cases. The key to ACS is
the unique code that is micro-laser engraved on
factory-produced ammunition. This laser engraving is
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etched on both the projectile and the inside of the
cartridge casing. Each code will be common to a single
box of cartridges and unique from all other ammunition
sold. The unique ACS codes will be tracked and records
maintained to identify individual ammunition purchases.
The ACS technology will provide a method for law
enforcement personnel to trace ammunition purchases and
link bullets and cartridge cases found at crime scenes
to the initial retail ammunition purchaser. This
system will not necessarily prove who pulled the
trigger, but it will provide law enforcement with a
valuable lead and a starting point to quickly begin
their investigations. The design of the ACS laser
engraving system will allow law enforcement personnel
to identify the bullet code in cases where as little as
20% of the bullet base remains intact after recovery.
Since bullets are designed to keep the base solid and
in its original configuration, the likelihood of ACS
codes remaining legible after recovery is very high.
Law enforcement testing has already shown a 99% success
rate in identifying the ACS code after bullet recovery.
What are the costs to manufacturers
There are several well known manufacturers currently
producing a significant portion of the current
commercially available ammunition in the United States.
Each ammunition producer would be required to purchase
at least one, if not more, laser engraving machines and
ammunition material handlers to produce ACS coded
ammunition. There are several manufacturers who can
design and build this equipment. Reliable estimates
for a complete set of engraving/material handling
equipment range from $300,000 to $500,000 each. A
licensing fee for each bullet sold would also be
required. However, since approximately 10 billion
bullets are sold in the United States alone each year,
equipment costs, once amortized over the number of
bullets produced and sold are not significant.
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This bill provides that the DOJ "shall have authority to
prescribe the manner in which handgun ammunition is serialized
in order to comply with the requirements of Section 12314 [the
new misdemearnor/felony crime of manufacturing, selling,
importing, or giving handgun ammunition that is not serialized],
including, but not limited to, determining how ammunition that
is loose, packaged, in lots, series, or otherwise aggregated for
purposes of manufacture or sale shall be serialized with a
unique identifier, pursuant to Section 12314."
This bill also further authorizes the DOJ to "adopt or amend"
regulations to implement this bill and mentions amending
regulations to "incorporate new technologies as they become
available" without any limits to future changes which could
affect both manufacturers and vendors. For example, a required
technology could be replaced in the future with another
technology at the discretion of the DOJ.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE ACS WEBSITE MATERIALS, ARE THE TECHNOLOGIES
AVAILABLE AT THE PRESENT TIME FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS
BILL BY JULY 1, 2007?
IS THERE STILL A POSSIBLE "BETA VS. VHS" ISSUE TO BE RESOLVED
BEFORE SUCH TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE APPROPRIATELY IMPLEMENTED IN
CALIFORNIA?
IF SO, SHOULD THAT DECISION OR CHOICE BE MADE ADMINISTRATIVELY?
3. Possible Issues (Drafting and Substantive) Presented by This
Bill
No requirement that DOJ complete regulations needed to
implement this bill prior to the effective date for the
prohibition on "non-serialized handgun ammunition" effective
July 1, 2007.
This bill grants broad authority to the DOJ to implement a
program which requires all handgun ammunition vendors and
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manufacturers to comply with new requirements by July 1, 2007,
in order to stay in the business of selling and manufacturing
handgun ammunition after that date. However, no where in this
bill is there any requirement that the DOJ adopt regulations to
allow such compliance - or specify the technology - prior to the
July 1, 2007, effective date.
IF THIS BILL IS ENACTED, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO SPECIFY A
DATE BY WHICH THE DOJ SHALL ADOPT THE NECESSARY REGULATIONS TO
ALLOW COMPLIANCE WITH THIS BILL?
No delayed effective date of the provisions related to
"registered ammunition vendors" and "registered ammunition
manufacturers"
The provisions of this bill pertaining to ammunition vendors and
ammunition manufactures do not contain a delayed effective date
of July 1, 2007. For example, on page 8, lines 16-18, the bill
states:
Any person that is not a registered ammunition
vendor and engages in the retail sale of
ammunition shall be guilty of an infraction or a
misdemeanor.
That requirement would take effect on January 1, 2006, if this
bill is enacted in its current form. In addition, while the
preceding sentence does mention that "no person engaged in the
retail sale of handgun ammunition" shall deal in serialized
ammunition - not limited to handgun ammunition - unless he or
she is a registered vendor, the penalty sentence, above, is not
limited to handgun ammunition, serialized or not.
SHOULD SECTION 4 - NEW PENAL CODE SECTION 12315(a) - BE
APPROPRIATELY AMENDED TO REFER TO "HANDGUN" AMMUNITION ONLY AND
SHOULD THAT ENTIRE NEW SECTION BE PREFACED BY "COMMENCING JULY
1, 2007"?
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On page 10, lines 15-18, the bill states that:
No person engaged in the commercial manufacture of
serialized handgun ammunition shall sell, loan, or
transfer serialized ammunition, unless that person
is a registered ammunition manufacturer as defined
in paragraph (2) [of the bill]. Violation of this
subdivision is punishable as a misdemeanor.
That section would also take effect on January 1, 2006, and
would appear to prevent any manufacturer from transferring
serialized ammunition - which one could presumably decide to
make prior to July 1, 2007, if one decided to do so - unless
registered with the DOJ.
WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO AMEND THAT SECTION AS WELL TO REFER
TO BOTH HANDGUN AMMUNTION - PAGE 10, LINE 17 - AND TO ADD
"COMMENCING JULY 1, 2007"?
Exception for law enforcement from other states on "official
business"
This bill does exempt peace officers from other states from its
provisions while they are discharging their official duties.
There is no exemption in this bill for California law
enforcement officers from it's provisions regarding the use of
"serialized handgun ammunition" commencing July 1, 2007, in
their service or private handguns, whether on duty or off. That
may be entirely appropriate since any such exemption would not
only result in more "non-serialized" handgun ammunition in use
in the state but the use of such ammunition might be useful in
circumstances where a law enforcement officer does use a
firearm. Nor is there any exception for federal law enforcement
officers nor other military in this state.
No authorization to charge fees for the manufacturers
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This bill does contain explicit authority for the DOJ to charge
a fee to both "end users" to pay for the overall program and to
vendors for the registry program (page 5, lines 20-35).
However, there is no authorization to collect a fee from
manufacturers to set up a registry program. The sponsors may
wish to consider adding such an authorization.
New crime to "destroy" serialization effective January 1, 2006
This bill makes it an alternate misdemeanor/felony to destroy
serialization information with that provision taking effect on
January 1, 2006, if the bill is enacted this year. While it may
be that no such ammunition will be available prior to July 1,
2007, it is arguably not clear why that provision should take
effect ahead of the primary provisions of this bill.
4. Is there a "Taking" Issue Raised by This Bill
This bill makes it a crime to possess handgun ammunition which
is not serialized - effective July 1, 2007 - in a public place.
At the present time such handgun ammunition is not generally
illegal to possess or transfer or use. This bill does not make
such handgun ammunition absolutely illegal to possess after July
1, 2007. However, it makes transporting it in a public place -
including in "automobiles, whether moving or not" - generally a
crime with an exception for transporting it to a law enforcement
agency for disposition (without any compensation mentioned).
It would not be legal to transport that ammunition in public to
a shooting range and use it after July 1, 2007. Nor would
business owners - and "buildings open to the general public" are
included as public places in this bill - be immune from criminal
penalties if they had a handgun legally at their place of
business but with handgun ammunition which is otherwise required
to be serialized but is pre-July 1, 2007, handgun ammunition.
Another example might be that this bill would make it a crime
if a person moved from one house or apartment to another and
transported handgun ammunition which was not serialized after
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July 1, 2007. Or some persons might collect ammunition,
including handgun ammunition, and those collections could
subject a collector to criminal penalties under the provisions
of this bill after July 1, 2007.
While handgun ammunition may not be especially "expensive" in
smaller quantities, it does have value and it is property. It
is not clear to Committee staff whether or not there would be a
valid "governmental taking without compensation" argument to be
made pertaining to this bill, it is at least conceivable that
such a claim could be made.
NOTE : The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
provides that "no person shall be . . . deprived of . . .
property, without due process of law, nor shall private property
be taken for public use, without just compensation. Also,
Article I, Section 19, of the California Constitution, provides
that "private property may be taken or claimed for public use
only when just compensation ascertained by a jury, unless
waived, has been paid to, or into the court for, the owner."
WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO CRIMINALIZE THE POSSESSION OF HANDGUN
AMMUNITION WHICH IS NOT SERIALIZED AS PROPOSED BY THIS BILL?
5. It is Not Now Illegal to bring Ammunition across a State Line
This bill would criminalize the importation of handgun
ammunition into this state from other states, whether by a
citizen of this State or not. It is assumed that any person in
California is familiar with the laws of this State and court
interpretations of those laws. However, it may be presumed that
not everyone traveling into this State will be familiar with the
provisions of this bill if it is enacted and in effect on July
1, 2007.
6. All Ammunition Sales and All Vendors in This State Included
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Both licensed firearms dealers and any other entity which sells
ammunition would be subject to the "registered ammunition
vendor" requirements of this bill. Licensed firearms dealers in
California are already required to submit background check
information to the DOJ as well as to maintain information
pertaining to firearm sales and transfers, as well as to obtain
a thumbprint.
This bill would also apply to entities which sell ammunition but
are not otherwise licensed firearms dealers.
This Committee's analysis of SB 1152 last year stated that the
DOJ indicated at that time that there were then 1,683 licensed
firearms dealerships in California and that there were 1,733
licensed firearms dealers in California. The DOJ had no record
or estimate of how many businesses sell ammunition in this
state. That information would be generally correct today, as
well.
7. Support for This Bill
The letter in support from the Legal Community Against Violence
includes:
SB 357 will provide an outstanding crime-fighting
tool because it will allow law enforcement to
quickly determine the identity of the purchaser of
ammunition found at a crime scene. Thus, it will
help law enforcement solve gun crimes even when the
guns themselves have not been recovered. It will
also provide much-needed oversight over ammunition
sales and ammunition sellers and manufacturers -
areas which are, under current law, almost
completely unregulated.
The Attorney General's sponsor's letter includes:
Senate Bill 357 will require all handgun ammunition
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manufactured and sold in California to be marked with
a unique identifier. This identifier will then be
associated with the purchaser of the ammunition at
the point of sale. When a fired round of ammunition
is recovered at a crime scene, the identifier will be
readable without the need for expensive, specialized
equipment, and the name and address of the purchaser
of the bullet will be accessible by law enforcement
from a database maintained by the Department of
Justice. In short, by linking a round of ammunition
to a specific purchaser, SB 357 will allow law
enforcement to solve firearms crimes without having
to rely on complicated ballistics testing.
Currently, in order for law enforcement to link a
bullet found at a crime scene to the person who fired
the bullet, the firearm that was used in the crime
must be recovered. A test bullet fired from the
recovered firearm is then compared at a microscopic
level to the bullet recovered. Unfortunately, since
the barrel of a firearm and other firearms parts can
change over time, two bullets fired from the same
firearm may not have the same characteristics.
Moreover, since firearms used in crimes are often
never recovered, such ballistics comparisons often
cannot be done. The use of ballistics databases have
improved traditional forensics investigations, but,
as explained below, have not solved the problem of
linking a recovered bullet to the person who fired
it.
. . . Unlike traditional ballistics, SB 357 will
allow law enforcement officers to quickly match
ammunition recovered from a crime scene to the
purchaser of that ammunition without the need to
recover the firearm, and without the need for a
forensics specialist. When a serialized bullet is
recovered from a crime scene, the serial number will
be readable using an ordinary magnifying glass, and
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the information regarding the purchaser will be
accessible from law enforcement computer terminals.
The Attorney General's Office believes that such
information will be invaluable in investigating and
solving firearms crimes. Thank you again for
carrying this measure. We look forward to working
with you on this important piece of legislation.
8. Opposition to This Bill
The letter in opposition from the Sporting Arms and Ammunition
Manufacturers' Institute ("SAAMI") includes:
At the present time, and based on information
currently available to us, SAAMI is strongly opposed
to SB 357 for a number of reasons. SAAMI is proud of
its support of law enforcement in its efforts to
reduce the criminal misuse of firearms. Like the
proposal for "ballistic imaging" recently considered
in California, SAAMI believes there are important
cost/benefit and public policy questions that must be
fully examined and answered before "bullet
serialization" of ammunition is imposed upon our
industry by the Legislature.
Our paramount problem with this bullet serialization
proposal is that, as a practical matter, ammunition
manufacturers simply could not comply with the
requirements of such a legislative mandate. Modern
ammunition production processes and distribution
practices are utilized by the ammunition industry to
manufacture and distribute approximately 8 billion
rounds of ammunition each year. Some factories are
capable of, and do, manufacture as many as 1 million
rounds of ammunition in a single day. To implement
the bullet serialization system contemplated by this
proposal would require nothing less than
manufacturers having to build new factories at the
cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. It is far
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more likely that ammunition manufactures would
abandon the California marketplace rather than incur
such costs which they cannot afford to bear.
Any attempt to comply with the proposed requirements
would result in a massive slow down in production. A
massive reduction in production translates into a
massive reduction in sales and profitability. It is
not an overstatement to say that complying with the
mandate would result in bankruptcy for any ammunition
manufacturer that tried. While the proposal may have
some initial appeal and sound reasonable, when
subjected to closer scrutiny it is completely
unrealistic to believe that serialization can be
accomplished on the various types of equipment being
used by the manufacturers for less than a cost that
far outweighs any possible benefit.
It is also absolutely clear that ammunition
manufacturers will be unable to guarantee that,
within a carton of ammunition, all cartridges will
have the identical serial numbers. They will also be
unable to guarantee that the bullet or cartridge case
serial numbers will be identical, or even present.
Once this inevitable consequence of manufacturing
reality is admitted as fact in the courts, the whole
serialization mandate becomes suspect.
Maintaining integrity in packaging is even more
dubious. Despite the best efforts of humans and
machines, loaded rounds will be mixed between boxes.
Even at the retail/consumer level the loaded rounds
can be moved between boxes, deliberately or
inadvertently. This reality, when admitted as fact
in court, will make the matching of serial numbers on
ammunition components to their original box equally
suspect.
. . . In addition, there are other more generalized
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public policy considerations. We are unaware of a
single study by a criminologist that has examined the
question of whether bullet serialization would be an
effective means of reducing the criminal misuse of
firearms. Similarly, we are unaware of any study
that attempts to compare the costs to taxpayers,
consumers and industry, of such a system relative to
other proven and effective crime reduction
strategies. Assuming arguendo a manufacturer could
somehow comply with the requirements of the proposal,
the potential impact on municipal budgets that would
result from the necessarily dramatic increase in the
cost of ammunition for law enforcement agencies is an
appropriate subject for the Legislature. There is no
bona fide reason to exempt law enforcement ammunition
from the requirements, as the theory behind this
proposal would be equally of assistance in law
enforcement involved shootings.
We also believe there needs to be further
independent, objective study of the technology and
its feasibility. As you may know, the National
Academy of Sciences is currently conducting a
feasibility study of "ballistics imaging." SAAMI
supported federal legislation introduced in the 107th
Congress calling for such a study, and we support
NAS's study. To our knowledge, the very limited
testing of this technology has been done primarily by
the company, Ravensforge ( www.ravensforge.com ), which
has a vested financial interest in the outcome of any
testing. In conducting what limited testing it did,
Ravensforge did not consult with any ammunition
manufacturer as to the feasibility, or lack thereof,
of incorporating its technology into the production
process and the impact it would have on the
manufacturer. The issue of whether the Legislature
would be creating a monopoly for Ravensforge must
also be considered. This appears to be a "sole
source" technology.
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(More)
9. Other Efforts to Trace Firearms and Ammunition
This bill is one of several bills in the past years and current
Session which attempt to facilitate law enforcement efforts to
"trace" firearms, not only ammunition.
For example:
AB 352 (Koretz) would, commencing January 1, 2007,
expand the definition of unsafe handgun to include
semiautomatic pistols that are not designed and
equipped with a microscopic array of characters, that
identify the make, model, and serial number of the
pistol, etched into the interior surface or internal
working parts of the pistol, and which are transferred
by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm
is fired. AB 352 is currently on the Assembly Floor
awaiting a vote.
SB 1152 (Scott) would have required that any person
engaged in the retail sale of handgun ammunition, as
defined, to record the date, the name, address, and
date of birth of the transferee, a thumbprint, and
other specified information concerning the transaction,
and to make the information available to peace
officers, except as specified. SB 1152 was vetoed by
the Governor on September 20, 2004.
AB 1717 (Chapter 271, Statutes of 2000) required the
Department of Justice to require the Attorney General
to conduct a study to evaluate ballistics
identification systems, as defined, to determine the
feasibility and potential benefits to law enforcement
of utilizing a statewide ballistics identification
system capable of maintaining a data base of ballistic
images and information from test fired and sold
firearms, as specified. Prior to the May 6, 2000,
amendments to the bill, the measure required the DOJ to
determine the date after which no handgun could be
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transferred in California without ballistic information
being made available to the DOJ.
SB 683 (Watson) was introduced in 1997 - and held on
the Senate Appropriations Suspense File - and would
have required the Attorney General to conduct research
concerning the latest technological developments
related to bullet or handgun ammunition identification
numbers and other taggants.
10. Comment in This Committee's Analysis of SB 683 in 1997
This Committee's analysis of SB 683 from 1997 included (Comment
#3) the following which is of possible general interest today:
At the present time, there are few restrictions placed on
the sale of ammunition at either the federal or the state
level. The federal laws were changed in 1986 to allow
almost anyone to sell most ammunition in the United States.
Ammunition may be sold in California by almost anyone
subject to normal local business licensing requirements.
Federal laws do place some restriction on federal firearms
dealers regarding the sale of ammunition to minors.
Federal law does also prohibit the sale of armor piercing
ammunition and ammunition which contains an explosive
projectile. Federal law does prohibit dealer sales to
known persons in certain prohibited classes and the knowing
sale of stolen ammunition is prohibited by anyone.
However, there are few other limitations on the sale of
ammunition.
Components of ammunition for a rifle or handgun generally
include a "bullet" or projectile which is the portion which
is discharged out of the barrel of the weapon; a cartridge
or shell "casing" which holds the explosive powder inside
and which has the "bullet" connected at one end; the
explosive powder (smokeless powder in modern weapons) which
is essentially granular; and a "primer" inserted in the
center/bottom of the shell casing which contains a small
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portion of solid explosive material which explodes and
ignites the powder when struck by the firing pin of the
weapon. Small caliber ammunition such as .22 caliber is
slightly different since the primer is molded into the solid
bottom of a shell casing and is ignited by the firing pin
striking the rim of the shell bottom; such small caliber
ammunition is not commonly reloaded or made by firearms
owners themselves.
A number of firearm owners do "load" or make completed
ammunition at home, often from purchased components,
although some do melt lead to make their own "bullets."
Shotgun ammunition contains essentially the same components
but "shot" - similar to BB's of varying sizes - is the
projectile (although solid "slugs" may be used as well).
Older antique weapons which use ammunition components
loaded separately are owned by a number of persons. It may
also be anticipated that there are those who are trying to
develop alternative approaches to ammunition construction,
such as a solid molded design without a shell casing which
could be used in firearms also developed for such a use.
It may be anticipated that if technology is available to
trace any or all components of ammunition, then proposals
would be made that the manufacture and sale of those
components should be controlled in a manner similar to
firearms sales and that it seems likely that proposals
would be made to make owning or possessing ammunition or
its components without complying with such regulations a
crime.
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