BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
41 (Lowenthal)
Hearing Date: 05/28/2009 Amended: 04/13/2009
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety
5-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 41 enacts thirteen statutory changes regarding
firearms. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to furnish a person
listed as a firearm
owner with requested information about that ownership; 2)
Requires DOJ to update information it maintains regarding
firearm ownership to maintain the accuracy of that information;
3) Updates various statutes to reflect the name change of the
National Guard Military Museum and Resource Center to the State
Military Museum and Resource Center; 4) Clarifies that law
enforcement agencies must report to DOJ the disposition of any
weapon in their possession; 5) Eliminates duplicative reporting
requirements regarding firearms acquired by secondhand dealers;
6) Makes technical changes to the language of various firearms
statutes; 7) Permits firearms dealers to submit purchase
information to DOJ in other locations than Sacramento; 8)
Requires firearms dealers to provide a firearms buyer with a
copy of the dealer record of sale (DROS) form at the time of
delivery of the firearm, and after the dealer notes the date of
delivery and the dealer and purchaser acknowledge the
purchaser's receipt of the firearm, as specified; 9) Requires
that, in the case of a private party transaction, a copy of the
DROS form will be provided to the buyer by the dealer at the
time the form is signed by the seller; 10) Requires DOJ to add
to the DROS form a statement advising purchasers of their right
to request firearms ownership information from DOJ and to file
reports with DOJ regarding such ownership, as well as
information about accessing DOJ's website;11) Exempts law
enforcement officers who acquire firearms in the course of their
duties and deliver them to their employing agency from normal
firearms transfer
requirements;12) Exempts peace officers employed by the
Department of Fish and Game who take possession of a firearm in
the course of their duties and transfer it to their employing
agency or to a local law enforcement agency, as specified, from
normal firearms transfer requirements; 13) Exempts firearms
transferred by a law enforcement agency to licensed firearms
dealers, wholesalers or manufacturers from normal firearms
transfer requirements, so long as the transaction is reported to
DOJ, as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
DROS form change $0 $0
$0 Special*
*DROS Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED
This bill makes a number of technical and substantive changes to
firearms laws, some of which cause additional workload to be
absorbed by DOJ in a more than one program area. These workload
increases can likely be absorbed in existing resources, with the
exception of one area likely to incur substantial additional
workload.
Page 2
SB 41 (Lowenthal)
This bill also adds to the DROS form, provided to the buyer or
transferee of a firearm, a statement advising purchasers of
their right to request from DOJ any information the department
has regarding the individual's disposition, acquisition, or
ownership of a firearm. This statement must also include
information about how to access DOJ's website for more
information on filing such a request. The process for making
such a request is to download a form from the DOJ website (or
pick it up in a DOJ office), have the request notarized and
submit it to DOJ, which will respond within six weeks.
DOJ receives about 1,000 requests for ownership information
annually - fewer than 100 each month. This bill would add an
advisory message to the DROS form, which is given to purchasers
directly, in the approximately 730,000 DROS transactions (gun
purchases and transfers) that occur each year. DOJ estimates
that by informing purchasers at the time they purchase a gun, in
an advisory explicitly written on the form they have to sign to
purchase a gun, there will be an increase in requests for
ownership information. DOJ projects it will receive 19,000 such
requests annually, and that it will have to process. Processing
these requests include verifying the validity of the
identification and notarized documents, looking up the
information, and drafting and sending a letter to the requestor.
Because these numbers are based on projections of the behavior
of individuals, there is no way to know with certainty how much
of an increase will occur. The approximately 730,000 DROS
transactions that occur each year are not all from unique
purchasers. DOJ was not able to provide data on how many unique
purchasers comprise that figure. If only 50% are unique
purchasers (individuals, rather than dealers of some kind),
365,000 different people will see the advisory on their purchase
form each year. If only 5% of those who see the advisory act on
it, then 18,250 people would file requests with DOJ. This
calculation is only slightly lower than their projected 19,000.
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED: This bill would no longer require an
advisory be placed on the DROS form, informing purchasers of
their right to request information from DOJ regarding their gun
ownership. The amendments appear to eliminate the projected
fiscal impact to DOJ.