BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 819| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 CONTINUED SB 819 Page 2 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 CONTINUED SB 819 Page 3 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 CONTINUED SB 819 Page 4 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 CONTINUED SB 819 Page 5 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 CONTINUED SB 819 Page 6 **** END **** CONTINUED