BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 302|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 302
Author: Beall (D), et al
Amended: 6/22/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/15/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Firearms: reports of prohibited persons
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires that by July 1, 2012,
specified mental health facilities shall report to the
Department of Justice exclusively by electronic means when
a person is admitted to that facility either because that
person was found to be a danger to themselves or others, or
was certified for intensive treatment for a mental
disorder, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing Federal law states that it shall be
unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any
firearm or ammunition to persons if that person is under
indictment or has been convicted of specified crimes, is
under a restraining order, has been committed to a mental
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institution, and other specified disqualifying factors.
(18 U.S.C. Section 922.)
Existing California law :
Requires that persons who sell, lease, or transfer firearms
be licensed by California. (Penal Code Sections 12070 and
12071.)
Sets forth a series of requirements to be state licensed by
the Department of Justice (DOJ), which provides that to be
recognized as state licensed a person must be on a
centralized list of gun dealers and allows access to the
centralized list by authorized persons for various reasons.
(Penal Code Section 12071.)
Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying
information from firearms purchasers and forward that
information, via electronic transfer to DOJ to perform a
background check on the purchaser to determine whether he
or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. The record
of applicant information must be transmitted to the DOJ in
Sacramento by electronic transfer on the date of the
application to purchase. The original of each record of
electronic transfer shall be retained by the dealer in
consecutive order. Each original shall become the
permanent record of the transaction that shall be retained
for not less than three years from the date of the last
transaction and shall be provided for the inspection of any
peace officer, DOJ employee designated by the Attorney
General, or agent of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives upon the presentation of
proper identification, but no information shall be compiled
there-from regarding the purchasers or other transferees of
firearms that are not pistols, revolvers, or other firearms
capable of being concealed upon the person. (Pen Code
Section 12076.)
Requires handguns to be centrally registered at time of
transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally
compiled by the DOJ. DOJ is required to keep a registry
from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what handgun by
make, model, and serial number and the date thereof.
(Penal Code Section 11106(a) and (c).)
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Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information,
DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records
that it is authorized to request from the State Department
of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the
purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because
of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously
purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because
they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health
disorder, as specified. (Penal Code Section 12076(d)(1).)
States that, to the extent funding is available, the DOJ
may participate in the National Instant Criminal Background
Check System (NICS), as specified, and, if that
participation is implemented, shall notify the dealer and
the chief of the police department of the city, or city and
county in which the sale was made, or if the sale was made
in a district in which there is no municipal police
department, the sheriff of the county in which the sale was
made, that the purchaser is a person prohibited from
acquiring a firearm under federal law. (Penal Code Section
12076(d)(2).)
States that if the department determines that the purchaser
is prohibited from possessing a firearm, as specified, it
shall immediately notify the dealer and the chief of the
police department of the city, or city and county in which
the sale was made, or if the sale was made in a district in
which there is no municipal police department, the sheriff
of the county in which the sale was made, of that fact.
(Penal Code Section 12076(d)(3).)
States that no person who has been taken into custody,
found to be a danger to himself, herself, or others, and,
as a result, admitted to a specified mental health
facility, shall own, possess, control, receive, or
purchase, or attempt to own, possess, control, receive, or
purchase any firearm for a period of five years after the
person is released from the facility, except as specified.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8103(f)(1).) For
each such person, the facility shall immediately, on the
date of admission, submit a report to the DOJ, on a form
prescribed by the DOJ, containing information that
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includes, but is not limited to, the identity of the person
and the legal grounds upon which the person was admitted to
the facility. (Welfare and Institutions Code Section
8103(f)(2)(A).)
No person who has been certified for intensive treatment
for a mental disorder, as specified, shall own, possess,
control, receive, or purchase, or attempt to own, possess,
control, receive, or purchase any firearm for a period of
five years and relevant treatment facilities shall report
the identities of such persons to DOJ, as specified.
(Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8103(g).)
This bill requires that commencing July 1, 2012, the mental
health care facilities is required to report to DOJ persons
taken into custody or treated for mental disorders, as
specified above, shall submit reports pursuant to current
law, exclusively by electronic means, in a manner
prescribed by the DOJ.
Previous Legislation
AB 2696 (Krekorian), passed the Senate Floor with a 21-10
vote on August 20, 2008, also would have required
electronic transfer of information to the DOJ. That bill
was vetoed, however, because of other provisions it
contained requiring DOJ to participate in the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System. The Governor
vetoed that bill stating, "This bill would impose
additional costs and workload on the DOJ during a time of
limited state resources. Funds for this purpose have not
been included in the 2008-09 fiscal plan, and adding
requirements to DOJ while also seeking programmatic
reductions due to the state of the General Fund is
inappropriate. In addition, this bill potentially creates
a reimbursable mandate, which could lead to even more
General Fund pressure and costs."
The costs referred to in the veto message appear to be
related to the requirement that DOJ participate in NICS,
not the requirement for electronic reporting.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10)
California Brady campaign Chapters
Legal Community Against Violence
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office
states, "California law prohibits certain persons who have
been admitted to a mental health facility from purchasing
or possessing firearms for a period of five years, and
requires mental health facilities to immediately report
information about such individuals to the DOJ so that it
can conduct background checks on prospective purchasers of
firearms.
"Current procedures allow mental health facilities to
submit this information to the DOJ by mail, requiring
manual entry of data into the background check database.
In order to address the volume of records that must be
transferred to the DOJ, facilities often delay sending the
required information-sometimes waiting weeks or even
months, to consolidate their shipments.
"Delayed reporting can have tragic consequences. The
author reports that he was contacted by one constituent
whose son purchased a firearm shortly after his release
from a mental health facility and used it to commit
suicide. The DOJ had not yet received the information from
the facility when it conducted a background check. This
tragedy likely would have been avoided if this bill,
requiring immediate, electronic submission of information
on the day of admission, had been in effect.
"AB 302 would address the problem of delayed reporting to
the DOJ by requiring transmission of this information
electronically in a manner prescribed by the DOJ. The
requirement wouldn't take effect until July 1, 2012.
"Forms already exist and are in use for on-line reporting.
The only "technology" required is an internet connection."
RJG:do 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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