BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 819|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 819
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 4/14/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/26/11
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-2, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SUBJECT : Uses of Dealer Record of Sale Funds
SOURCE : Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
DIGEST : This bill provides that the Department of
Justice may use dealer record of sale funds for costs
associated with its firearms-related regulatory and
enforcement activities regarding the possession as well as
the sale, purchase, loan, or transfer of firearms, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes the Department of
Justice (DOJ) 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
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associated with the DOJ's firearms-related regulatory and
enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, loan,
or transfer of firearms.
This bill makes the following legislative findings and
declarations:
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 (APPS), 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
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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 bill allows the DOJ to
utilize the Dealer Record of Sale Account for the
additional, limited purpose of funding enforcement
of the APPS.
This bill also authorizes using those charges to fund the
DOJ's firearms-related regulatory and enforcement
activities related to the possession of firearms, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
APPS enforcement $0 $1,445 $945Special*
*Dealer Record of Sale Account
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/26/11)
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris (source)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
California State Sheriffs' Association
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Legal Community Against Violence
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Statewide Law Enforcement Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/26/11)
California Association of Firearms Retailers
California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
Crossroads of the West
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation Inc.
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the DOJ maintains APPS, an online database, to
cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of
a firearm, and who, subsequent to the date of that
ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class
of persons who are prohibited from having a firearm.
Authorized law enforcement agencies have access to APPS.
DOJ populates APPS with all handgun and assault weapon
owners across the state and matches them against criminal
history records to determine who might fall into a
prohibited status. When a match is found, the system
automatically raises a flag. APPS, further, interfaces
with the Automated Firearms System and identifies the
handguns and assault weapons in that prohibited
individual's possession. In theory, local agencies and DOJ
would then confiscate the weapons. When local agencies
confiscate weapons, notice is sent to DOJ so that the
individual can be removed from the list.
APPS is currently funded through the general fund. There
is, however, an account that holds the fees charged by
dealers for each firearm purchase. This is called the
Dealer Record of Sale account. Penal Code section 12076
allows the DOJ to use this account to fund firearms-related
regulatory and enforcement activities related to the sale,
purchase, loan, or transfer of firearms pursuant to this
chapter. Penal Code section 12076, however, does not fund
DOJ or local agencies to confiscate unlawfully possessed
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firearms.
Local law enforcement agencies are provided monthly
information regarding the armed and prohibited persons in
the agency's jurisdiction. However at the present time,
many agencies do not have the resources or personnel to
work the APPS cases, and rely on assistance form DOJ's
criminal intelligence specialists and special agents. In
today's environment of shrinking budgets, it is important
to find alternative ways to fund the state's important
public safety programs.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The National Shooting Sports
Foundation, Inc. writes, "While NSSF supports keeping
firearms out of the hands of persons who are prohibited
from possessing firearms, it opposes taking the money to
fund this activity from the Dealers Record of Sale (DROS)
Special Account of the General Fund.
"The money paid into the DROS fund by a prospective
purchaser or other transferee of a firearm, is a fee to pay
for the costs of a criminal and mental history background
check to determine the person's eligibility to lawfully
possess a firearm.
"The DROS fee is not a regulatory fee, tax license or other
form of non-user charge. NSSF believes that the DROS fund
has often been improperly used to fund non-background check
activities of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Since the use of DROS fees for the purposes of SB 819 would
be to use them in the same manner as a tax, the bill should
require a 2/3's vote of each house of the Legislature for
passage.
"If the bill were to be amended to designate a different
source of funding, NSSF would remove its opposition and
likely support the bill. NSSF does not support unfunded
legislation."
RJG:do 5/27/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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