BILL NUMBER: SB 819 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 743
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 9, 2011
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 9, 2011
PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 1, 2011
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2011
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 28225 of the Penal Code, relating to
firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 819, Leno. Firearms.
Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to require a
firearms dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee, as specified,
to fund various specified costs in connection with, among other
things, a background check of the purchaser, and to fund the costs
associated with the department's firearms-related regulatory and
enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, loan, or
transfer of firearms. The bill would make related legislative
findings and declarations.
This bill would also authorize using those charges to fund the
department's firearms-related regulatory and enforcement activities
related to the possession of firearms, as specified.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California is the first and only state in the nation to
establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon
owners who might fall into a prohibited status.
(b) The California Department of Justice (DOJ) is required to
maintain an online database, which is currently known as the Armed
Prohibited Persons System, otherwise known as APPS, which
cross-references all handgun and assault weapon owners across the
state against criminal history records to determine persons who have
been, or will become, prohibited from possessing a firearm subsequent
to the legal acquisition or registration of a firearm or assault
weapon.
(c) The DOJ is further required to provide authorized law
enforcement agencies with inquiry capabilities and investigative
assistance to determine the prohibition status of a person of
interest.
(d) Each day, the list of armed prohibited persons in California
grows by about 15 to 20 people. There are currently more than 18,000
armed prohibited persons in California. Collectively, these
individuals are believed to be in possession of over 34,000 handguns
and 1,590 assault weapons. The illegal possession of these firearms
presents a substantial danger to public safety.
(e) Neither the DOJ nor local law enforcement has sufficient
resources to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they
keep up with the daily influx of newly prohibited persons.
(f) A Dealer Record of Sale fee is imposed upon every sale or
transfer of a firearm by a dealer in California. Existing law
authorizes the DOJ to utilize these funds for firearms-related
regulatory and enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase,
loan, or transfer of firearms pursuant to any provision listed in
Section 16580 of the Penal Code, but not expressly for the
enforcement activities related to possession.
(g) Rather than placing an additional burden on the taxpayers of
California to fund enhanced enforcement of the existing armed
prohibited persons program, it is the intent of the Legislature in
enacting this measure to allow the DOJ to utilize the Dealer Record
of Sale Account for the additional, limited purpose of funding
enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons System.
SEC. 2. Section 28225 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
28225. (a) The Department of Justice may require the dealer to
charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed fourteen dollars
($14), except that the fee may be increased at a rate not to exceed
any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and
reported by the Department of Industrial Relations.
(b) The fee under subdivision (a) shall be no more than is
necessary to fund the following:
(1) The department for the cost of furnishing this information.
(2) The department for the cost of meeting its obligations under
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 8100 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(3) Local mental health facilities for state-mandated local costs
resulting from the reporting requirements imposed by Section 8103 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(4) The State Department of Mental Health for the costs resulting
from the requirements imposed by Section 8104 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(5) Local mental hospitals, sanitariums, and institutions for
state-mandated local costs resulting from the reporting requirements
imposed by Section 8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(6) Local law enforcement agencies for state-mandated local costs
resulting from the notification requirements set forth in subdivision
(a) of Section 6385 of the Family Code.
(7) Local law enforcement agencies for state-mandated local costs
resulting from the notification requirements set forth in subdivision
(c) of Section 8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(8) For the actual costs associated with the electronic or
telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
(9) The Department of Food and Agriculture for the costs resulting
from the notification provisions set forth in Section 5343.5 of the
Food and Agricultural Code.
(10) The department for the costs associated with subdivisions (d)
and (e) of Section 27560.
(11) The department for the costs associated with funding
Department of Justice firearms-related regulatory and enforcement
activities related to the sale, purchase, possession, loan, or
transfer of firearms pursuant to any provision listed in Section
16580.
(c) The fee established pursuant to this section shall not exceed
the sum of the actual processing costs of the department, the
estimated reasonable costs of the local mental health facilities for
complying with the reporting requirements imposed by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b), the costs of the State Department of Mental Health
for complying with the requirements imposed by paragraph (4) of
subdivision (b), the estimated reasonable costs of local mental
hospitals, sanitariums, and institutions for complying with the
reporting requirements imposed by paragraph (5) of subdivision (b),
the estimated reasonable costs of local law enforcement agencies for
complying with the notification requirements set forth in subdivision
(a) of Section 6385 of the Family Code, the estimated reasonable
costs of local law enforcement agencies for complying with the
notification requirements set forth in subdivision (c) of Section
8105 of the Welfare and Institutions Code imposed by paragraph (7) of
subdivision (b), the estimated reasonable costs of the Department of
Food and Agriculture for the costs resulting from the notification
provisions set forth in Section 5343.5 of the Food and Agricultural
Code, the estimated reasonable costs of the department for the costs
associated with subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 27560, and the
estimated reasonable costs of department firearms-related regulatory
and enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, possession,
loan, or transfer of firearms pursuant to any provision listed in
Section 16580.
(d) Where the electronic or telephonic transfer of applicant
information is used, the department shall establish a system to be
used for the submission of the fees described in this section to the
department.