BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1115
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Date of Hearing: June 22, 2010
Counsel: Kimberly A. Horiuchi
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1115 (Committee on Public Safety) - As Introduced: February
17, 2010
SUMMARY : Makes cross-referencing changes to Penal Code
provisions relating to deadly weapons, operative on January 1,
2012. Enactment is contingent upon passage of SB 1080
(Committee on Public Safety), which reorganizes and makes other
non-substantive changes to provisions of law related to
firearms.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that the sale, loan or transfer of firearms in almost
all cases must be processed by, or through, a state-licensed
dealer or a local law enforcement agency with appropriate
transfer forms being used, as specified. In those cases where
dealer or law enforcement processing is not required, a
handgun change of title report must still be sent to the
Department of Justice (DOJ). (Penal Code 12078.)
2)Requires that in connection with any private party sale, loan
or transfer of a firearm, a licensed dealer must provide the
DOJ with specified personal information about the seller and
purchaser as well as the name and address of the dealer. This
personal information of buyer and seller required to be
provided includes the name; address; phone number; date of
birth; place of birth; occupation; eye color; hair color;
height; weight; race; sex; citizenship status; and a driver's
license number, California identification card number or
military identification number. A copy of the dealer record
of sale, containing the buyer and seller's personal
information, must be provided to the buyer or seller upon
request. (Penal Code 12076.)
3)Requires that persons who sell, lease, or transfer firearms be
licensed by California. (Penal Code Sections 12070 and
12071.)
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4)Sets forth a series of requirements to be state licensed by
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.)
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 firearms, 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).]
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "The Legislature
has directed the Law Revision Commission to 'study, report on,
and prepare recommended legislation by July 1, 2009,
concerning the revision of the portions of the Penal Code
relating to the control of deadly weapons . . . . ' (2006
Cal. Stat. res. ch. 128.) The general purpose of the study is
to improve the organization and accessibility of the deadly
weapons statutes, without making any change to criminal
liability under those statutes. SB 1080 and SB 1115 are the
Law Revision Commission's recommended legislative revisions.
In drafting these revisions, the Commission took extreme care
to ensure that it would not cause any substantive change in
the law."
2)Background : According to information provided by the
California Law Revision Commission, "SB 1080 and SB 1115 would
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implement the Law Revision Commission's recommendation on
non-substantive Reorganization of Deadly Weapon Statutes, 38
Cal. L. Revision Comm'n Reports (2009). These bills are the
product of many years of effort. In 2004, Governor
Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill (SB 1140 (Scott)) on the ground
that the firearms laws should be reorganized 'to ensure that
statutes that impose criminal penalties are easily
understandable.' Soon afterwards, the Legislature directed
the Law Revision Commission to prepare such legislation. The
Legislature made clear that this legislation should simplify
the law but '[n]either expand nor contract the scope of
criminal liability under current provisions.' See ACR 73
(McCarthy), 2006 Cal. Stat. res. ch. 128.
"The Commission began working on this project three years ago,
in January 2007. Since then, the Commission has considered
the topic at 13 public meetings, which were attended by
representatives of gun control organizations (such as the
Legal Community Against Violence and the Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence) and gun owner organizations (such as the
National Rifle Association, California Association of Firearms
Retailers, California Rifle and Pistol Association, and Gun
Owners of California).
"The written materials were also posted on the Commission's Web
site (www.clrc.ca.gov), where they remain available. A total
of 47 staff memoranda, seven supplements, and two lengthy
tentative recommendations were prepared and distributed.
Comments were welcome throughout the Commission's process, in
both oral and written form. There was not much controversy,
however, because the Commission was scrupulous about avoiding
any risk of a substantive change.
"The Commission submitted the original version of its report in
compliance with the legislative deadline of July 1, 2009.
Since then, the Commission has revised the report to account
for legislation enacted in 2009 and make other refinements.
SB 1080 and SB 1115 contain the legislation proposed in the
revised report.
"SB 1080 is the heart of the proposal. It would reorganize the
substance of Title 2 of Part 4 of the Penal Code (Penal Code
12000-12809), relating to control of deadly weapons. The
sentence enhancement provisions (Penal Code
12021.5-12022.95) would be left in place, to minimize
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disruption in calculating criminal sentences. The remaining
material would be relocated to a new Part 6 of the Penal Code,
and reorganized to make it more user-friendly without changing
its substantive effect. Among other things, the bill would:
a) "Put similar provisions in close proximity to each
other. In general, the rules relating to a particular kind
of weapon would be collected in one place, instead of
intermingled with other material. This will make it easier
for persons to find the rules applicable to their
situation, without having to read extensive irrelevant
material;
b) "Divide excessively long sections into short, simple
sections. This will enhance readability and understanding
of the law, and make it easier to locate and refer to
pertinent material;
c) "Collect almost all definitions in alphabetical order at
the beginning of new Part 6. Where possible to do so
without risking a substantive change, definitions would be
extended to the entirety of new Part 6;
d) "Eliminate unnecessary cross-references in statutory
text; and,
e) "Place exceptions in close proximity to the substantive
rules they modify, so that the exceptions are easier to
find and understand than at present.
"To ensure that there will be no substantive change, the bill
sticks closely to the language in existing law. In addition,
the bill includes several codified provisions that would make
the non-substantive intent clear (Penal Code 16000-16025).
The Commission's Comment to each section and its narrative
report would further underscore the non-substantive nature of
the reform. Courts routinely rely on such Commission
materials as evidence of legislative intent.
"SB 1115 is a companion bill, which is contingent on enactment
of the main proposal. It would amend numerous statutes that
cross-refer to the provisions that would be relocated. It
would update those cross-references to reflect the relocation
of the pertinent material. Both bills have a delayed
operative date of January 1, 2012. This will allow time for
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law enforcement personnel, courts, attorneys, and others
affected by the legislation to prepare for the transition to
the new statutory scheme. SB 1080 will have to be coordinated
with other pending legislation that affects Title 2 of Part 4
of the Penal Code. In contrast, SB 1115 includes a
subordination clause, so it will automatically be coordinated
with other legislation. If any of the amendments in SB 1115
is chaptered out, there will be time to fix the problem in a
clean-up bill before the new statutory scheme becomes
operative."
3)Related Legislation : SB 1080 (Committee on Public Safety)
reorganizes without substantive change Penal Code provisions
relating to deadly weapons, to be operative January 1, 2012.
SB 1080 will be heard by this Committee today.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
Governor's Office of Planning and Research
Legal Community Against Violence
California Rifle and Pistol Association
National Rifle Association of America
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744