BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 357|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 357
Author: Dunn (D), et al
Amended: 5/18/05
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-2, 4/26/05
AYES: Alquist, Cedillo, Migden, Romero
NOES: Poochigian, Margett
NO VOTE RECORDED: Perata
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-5, 5/26/05
AYES: Migden, Alarcon, Alquist, Escutia, Florez, Murray,
Ortiz, Romero
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton, Poochigian
SUBJECT : Handgun ammunition serialization program
SOURCE : Attorney General
DIGEST : This bill (1) requires 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) creates
"registered handgun ammunition vendor" and "registered
handgun ammunition manufacturer" programs and requirements
in California, (3) criminalizes violations of this bill and
its new requirements, and (4) makes a number of related
additions to the law.
ANALYSIS : Existing law contains the following
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definitions regarding ammunition:
1. "Handgun ammunition" means ammunition principally for
use in pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of
being concealed upon the person, as defined,
notwithstanding that the ammunition may also be used in
some rifles.
2. 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.
Existing law makes it a crime for persons who are
prohibited from possessing firearms to possess ammunition,
punished as an alternate misdemeanor/felony.
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/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.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to
obtain, maintain, and make available to specified law
enforcement and others a variety of information.
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.
This bill:
1. Creates a handgun ammunition serialization program
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effective July 1, 2007, administered by DOJ.
A. 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.
B. Provides that 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.
DOJ is required to adopt regulations implementing
these provisions by January 1, 2007.
C. Specifically authorizes 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. This amount may be adjusted
not more than once a year for inflation.
(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 $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
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bill.
(3) Provides that all fees collected are to be
deposited into the "Serialized Handgun Ammunition
Fund" to be used by DOJ for infrastructure,
implementation, operational, enforcement and
future development costs relative to this program.
D. Authorizes DOJ to adopt or amend regulations
relating to this bill in an effort to incorporate new
technologies as they become available.
2. Includes handgun ammunition and defines serialization.
A. Handgun ammunition is defined in this bill to
mean:
(1) 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.
(2) 22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
(3) Assembled handgun ammunition packaged for retail
sale.
(4) Bullets used for reloading or handloading
handgun ammunition that are packaged for retail
sale.
(5) Serialized handgun ammunition does not include
blank cartridges, shot-shells, or projectiles used
in black powder handguns.
B. "Serialized" means that all of the following have
been met:
(1) The ammunition has been identified in a
manner prescribed by DOJ so that all assembled
ammunition contained within a package provided for
retail sale, or as otherwise specified by DOJ, is
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uniquely identified.
(2) Bullets used for reloading or handloading
contained within a package provided for retail
sale, or as otherwise specified by DOJ, 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 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 DOJ.
(6) Identification on the exterior of every
package or container of serialized ammunition, as
prescribed by DOJ, 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.
3. Effective July 1, 2007, criminalizes manufacture,
importation, sale, transferring, or possession "in any
public place" of handgun ammunition not serialized.
A. Commencing July 1, 2007, makes it a crime
punishable as 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.
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B. 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).
C. 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.
D. Provides exceptions to the "public place" and
other possession restrictions on handgun ammunition
without "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, (5) possession by peace
officers from other states in California on official
duties, and (6) members of the California National
Guard during their official duties.
4. Creates requirements and new crimes for registered
ammunition vendors, commencing July 1, 2007.
A. No person engaged in the retail sale of handgun
ammunition shall sell, lease, or transfer serialized
ammunition unless he/she is a handgun ammunition
vendor as described in this bill.
B. Any person that is not a registered handgun
ammunition vendor and engages in the retail sale of
ammunition shall be guilty of an infraction or a
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misdemeanor.
C. Defines "vendor," "ammunition vendor," or
"registered handgun 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:
(1) Any regulatory or business license, or
licenses, required by local government.
(2) A valid seller's permit issued by the Board of
Equalization.
(3) Is among those recorded in the centralized
ammunition vendor's registry created by this bill.
D. Requires DOJ, commencing July 1, 2007, to keep a
centralized registry of all 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.
E. 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.
F. Authorizes DOJ to inspect ammunition vendors to
ensure compliance with this chapter.
G. Provides that nothing in this bill shall prohibit
any local jurisdiction from adopting one or more
ordinances relating to the inspection of ammunition
vendors.
5. Establishes the information a registered handgun
ammunition vendor shall obtain, forward to DOJ, and
maintain.
A. 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 DOJ:
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(1) The date of the transaction.
(2) The name of the transferee.
(3) The transferee's driver's 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.
B. On the date the vendor delivers the handgun
ammunition to the transferee, he/she shall report the
required information to DOJ in a manner prescribed by
DOJ.
C. 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 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.
D. 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
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county jail not exceeding one year or in the state
prison.
E. Proof that a vendor or his/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.
F. 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.
G. 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.
6. Creates requirements and new crimes for the commercial
manufacture of serialized handgun ammunition, commencing
July 1, 2007.
A. No person engaged in the commercial manufacture of
serialized handgun ammunition shall sell, loan, or
transfer serialized handgun ammunition, unless that
person is a registered handgun ammunition
manufacturer, as defined in this bill, a violation is
punishable as a misdemeanor.
B. "Manufacturer," "ammunition manufacturer," or
"registered handgun 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.
C. Manufacturers shall do all of the following:
(1) Register with DOJ in a manner prescribed by DOJ.
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(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 DOJ.
D. 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.
E. DOJ may inspect ammunition manufacturers to ensure
compliance with this bill.
7. Includes related additions to law in this bill.
A. 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.
B. Commencing July 1, 2007, 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.
C. Commencing July 1, 2007, DOJ 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.
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D. Provides that nothing in the new Section 12315 of
the Penal Code, 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fund
Increased ammunition Estimated $300 per year
beginning Various
costs in 2007-08
DOJ: implementation $1,041
$2,015** Special*
Fee revenues <$1,039>
Special*
"Wobbler" penalties Likely in excess of $150
beginning General
in 2007-08
* Serialized Handgun Ammunition Fund, created in the
bill, and $2 million from the Wal-Mart Settlement
Trust Fund
** Ongoing costs are estimated at
$1.015 million annually
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/05)
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (source)
Alameda County Sheriff Charles Plummer
American College of Emergency Physicians, California
Chapter
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
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California Million Mom March
California Reserve Police Officers Association
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer
Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca
Legal Community Against Violence
Million Mom March of Sonoma County
Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas
Sacramento Police Chief Albert Najera
Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters
Violence Coalition of Orange County
Women Against Gun Violence
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/27/05)
California Association of Firearm Retailers
California Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc.
County of Mendocino Office of the Sheriff-Coroner
Crossroads of the West Gun Show
Duncan Hunter, United States House of Representatives,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Forces
Fresno County Sportsmen's Club
Herb Bauer Sporting Goods
National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers
National Rifle Association of America
Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Remington
Royal Arms International
Safari Club International
Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, Inc.
The California Sportsman's Lobby
The Law Enforcement Alliance of America
The Range
Winchester Ammunition
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Attorney General's letter
includes:
"Senate Bill 357 will require all handgun ammunition
manufactured and sold in California to be marked with a
unique identifier. This identifier will then be
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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 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."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The opposition letter from the
Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute
(SAAMI) includes:
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"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 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.
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"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."
RJG:mel 5/28/05 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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