BILL ANALYSIS
SB 175
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Date of Hearing: June 23, 2009
Counsel: Kimberly A. Horiuchi
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Juan Arambula, Chair
SB 175 (Aanestad) - As Amended: June 16, 2009
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Clarifies that delivery of a firearm, as specified, to
a gunsmith for service or repair is exempt from the Federal
Firearms (FFL) licensing verification requirements, as
specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Exempts transfers of firearms where the transferor and the
transferee are the same person or corporation from the FFL
licensing verification requirements, as specified.
2)Exempts transfers of firearms to or from a person who has a
valid entertainment firearms permit and the transfer involves
the loan or return of firearms used solely as props in
television, film, or theatrical productions from the FFL
licensing verification requirements, as specified.
3)Removes persons identifying themselves as federally licensed
pawnbrokers from those required to be included in the
centralized list, and exempts persons possessing specified
permits who are on the centralized list from the fee
assessment.
4)Makes various other technical, non-substantive changes and
corrections.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines a "gunsmith" as any person who is licensed as a dealer
pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title
18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued
pursuant thereto, who is engaged primarily in the business of
repairing firearms, or making or fitting special barrels,
stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms, or the agent or
employee of that person. [Penal Code Section 12001(r).]
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2)Requires that persons who sell, lease, or transfer firearms be
licensed by California. (Penal Code Sections 12070 and
12071.)
3)Sets forth a series of requirements to be state licensed by
Department of Justice (DOJ), which provides that to be
recognized as state licensed, a person must be on a
centralized list of firearms dealers (CLFD) and allows access
to the centralized list by authorized persons for various
reasons. (Penal Code Section 12071.)
4)Authorizes DOJ to charge a fee up to $115 to be on the
centralized list and allows these funds to be used to finance
DOJ compliance efforts. [Penal Code Section 12071(f).]
5)Provides that revocation of a license will result where a
person fails to comply with numerous requirements, including
conducting background checks prior to delivery of firearms,
assisting in the registration of handguns, processing
private-party firearms transactions, keeping extensive records
and submitting the same to DOJ, and making those records
available for law enforcement inspection. (Penal Code
Sections 12071, 12072 and 12082.)
6)Exempts certain persons including, but not limited to, law
enforcement, beneficiaries of an inheritance, and those who
are loaned a firearm, as specified, from the state dealer
licensing requirements. [Penal Code Section 12070(b).]
7)Requires all sales, loans, and transfers of firearms to be
processed through or by a state-licensed firearms dealer or a
local law enforcement agency. [Penal Code Section 12072(d).]
8)Provides that there is a 10-day waiting period when purchasing
a handgun through a firearms dealer. During which time, a
background check is conducted and a handgun safety certificate
is required prior to delivery of the firearm. (Penal Code
Sections 12071 and 12072.)
9)Requires a person moving to California with a handgun acquired
outside California and who did not receive the gun from a
California-licensed gun dealer to register the gun with DOJ.
[Penal Code Section 12072(f)(2).]
10)Authorizes the DOJ, commencing January 1, 2008, to keep a
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centralized list of persons who identify themselves as being
an FFL holder with a DOJ exemption from the firearms dealer
licensing requirements, as specified. This list is known as
the centralized list of exempt FFLs (CLEFFLs). [Penal Code
Section 12083(a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "SB 175 will
clarify there is no transfer of ownership between a federally
licensed dealer and a federally licensed gunsmith when a
firearm is serviced or repaired by the gunsmith. This will
remove the regulatory burden of both licensed parties having
to comply with the state's license check verification process.
Gunsmiths will continue to comply with the DOJ's existing
centralized firearms list requirement as established by AB
2521 (Jones, 2006). The bill also incorporates clean-up
language to AB 2521 as suggested by DOJ."
2)Existing State and Federal Law : Since 1923, California has
required firearm dealers engaged in the retail sale of
handguns to be state licensed. In 1990, AB 497 (Connelly),
Chapter 9, Statutes of 1990, created regulatory controls that
applied to the waiting period and other related controls of
all firearms. The state maintains records of handgun
transactions (quasi-registration) but does not keep long gun
transaction information on file. Currently, the transfer of
firearms has to take place through a licensed dealer, with
specified exceptions. In order to obtain a state dealer's
license, the entity or individual has to have a valid FFL, a
valid seller's permit from the State Board of Equalization, a
certificate of eligibility from the DOJ, a local business
license for the retail sale of firearms and be placed on the
centralized list of firearms dealers that DOJ maintains.
For many years, FFLs were issued on a very lax basis with no
consideration as to whether or not the FFL would also be in
compliance with state laws with regard to being licensed to be
in the firearms business. Several states have their own
firearms dealer licensing system, including California,
Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, among
others.
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As such, an FFL holder would receive guns into his or her state
using his or her FFL without the shipper requesting proof that
the receipt would comply with state law. In many cases, guns
were purchased in violation of stricter state laws despite the
fact that the federal Gun Control Act (GCA) has an expressed
purpose to help states implement and enforce their own
firearms laws.
In 1993 and 1994, Congress enacted legislation to raise FFL fees
to eliminate persons who were not truly in the firearms
industry or were not true collectors. In addition, Congress
also revised the FFL issuance process to require coordination
with state law. Specifically, 18 U.S.C. 923 required an
applicant to:
a) Show that the business to be conducted under the license
is not prohibited by state or local laws in the location
where the licensed premise is located;
b) Within 30 days after the application is approved, the
business will comply with the requirement of state and
local laws applicable to the conduct of the business;
c) Agree that business will not be conducted under the
license until the requirements of state and local laws
applicable to the business have been met; and,
d) Send or delivered a form to be prescribed by the
Secretary of the Treasury to the chief law enforcement
officer of the locality in which the premises are located,
which indicates that the applicant intends to apply for an
FFL.
1)Federal Firearms Licenses : Under the federal GCA, there are
four categories of FFLs, including manufacturers, importers,
collectors of curios and relics, and dealers. 18 U.S.C.
921(a)(11) defines the term "dealer" as any person engaged in
the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail; any
person engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of
making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trigger
mechanisms to firearms; or, any person who is a pawnbroker.
At the state level, the dealer category is a "catchall" that
includes retailers pursuant to Penal Code Section 12071
licensees, wholesalers, and pawnbrokers.
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2)Federal Verification Program : For many years, federal
regulations have required that before an FFL holder ships a
gun to another FFL holder, he or she must first be provided
with a copy of the recipient's FFL. In late 2000, the
Treasury Department and ATF announced the creation of "eZ
Check", which is an online FFL authenticator Web page that FFL
dealers can use to make sure that guns are shipped to other
federally licensed dealers.
The eZ Check program was in response to incidents where altered
copies of FFL were used to illegally acquire and supply
firearms to criminals and young people by mail and the
Internet. eZ Check is intended to allow an FFL holder to
verify the legitimacy of the licensee with whom he/she is
conducting business with before shipping or disposing of the
firearm.
In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF)
proposed a rule to require FFL holders to verify the license
by using eZ Check or calling ATF's National Licensing Center
and reporting invalid licenses to ATF. A user can access FFL
eZ Check through the ATF's Web site and is given a series of
prompts to verify the information shown on the license. If
any piece of information on the license does not match the
information on the screen, FFL eZ Check will instruct the user
not to complete the sale and to contact ATF's National
Licensing Center. FFL holders without Internet access may
call ATF's National Licensing Center to obtain a verbal
validation of the license. However, eZ Check does not assure
shippers that the receipt is in compliance with the laws of
the receiving FFL.
1)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2521 (Jones) Chapter 784, Statutes of 2006 authorized
DOJ to create a centralized Internet list of exempt
federal firearms licensees and placed certain
responsibilities on federally licensed firearms dealers and
exempt FFLs, as specified.
b) AB 2080 (Steinberg) Chapter 909, Statutes of 2002
,created a process for DOJ to verify that a FFL holder in
California who accepts deliveries of guns is also a fully
licensed California dealer.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Association of Firearms Retailers
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744