BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1366
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1366 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended April 17, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-14
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Mitchell, Skinner | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight, Hagman |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Makes it a crime to fail to report the theft or loss of a
firearm he or she owns or possesses to a local law enforcement
agency within 48 hours of the time he or she knew or reasonably
should have known that the firearm was lost or stolen.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires, beginning January 1, 2013, every person, with
exceptions, to report the theft or loss of a firearm he or she
owns or possesses to a local law enforcement agency in the
jurisdiction in which the theft or loss occurred within 48 hours
of the time he or she knew or reasonably should have known that
the firearm was lost or stolen.
2)Provides that the lost or stolen firearm reporting requirement
shall not apply to the following:
a) Any law enforcement agency or peace officer acting within
the course and scope of his or her employment or official
duties, if he or she reports the loss or theft to his or her
employing agency.
b) Any United States Marshall or member of the United States
Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, while
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engaged in his or her official duties.
c) Any federally licensed firearms dealer or manufacturer, as
specified, who reports the loss in accordance with specified
federal law, or the successor thereto, and the applicable
federal regulations.
d) Any person whose firearm was lost or stolen prior to January
1, 2013.
3)Provides that every person who has reported a lost or stolen
firearm, as required, shall notify the local law enforcement
agency in the jurisdiction in which the theft or loss occurred
within 48 hours if the firearm is subsequently recovered by the
person.
4)Provides that every person who fails to report a lost or stolen
firearm, for a first violation is guilty of an infraction
punishable by a fine not to exceed $100, a second violation is an
infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, and a third
or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine
not exceeding $1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
5)Requires every sheriff or police chief to submit a description of
each firearm which has been reported lost or stolen directly into
the Department of Justice (DOJ) automated property system for
firearms.
6)Requires a firearms dealer to conspicuously post a specified
warning regarding the duty to report lost or stolen firearms in
block letters not less than one inch in height.
7)States that every person reporting a lost or stolen firearm shall
report the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, if known
to the person.
8)Provides that, beginning January 1, 2013, no person shall report
to a local law enforcement agency that a firearm has been lost or
stolen, knowing the report to be false. A violation of this
section shall be a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding
$1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any licensed firearms dealer shall report, within 48
hours of discovery, the loss or theft of specified firearms to the
appropriate law enforcement agency in the city, county, or city or
county where the licensee's business is located.
2)Provides that any time a licensed firearms manufacturer discovers
that a firearm has been stolen or is missing from the licensee's
premises, the licensee shall report the loss or theft within 48
hours of discovery to specified law enforcement agencies.
3)Requires handguns to be centrally registered at time of transfer
or sale due to various transfer forms centrally compiled by the
DOJ. DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ
indicating who owns what handgun by make, model, and serial number
and the date thereof.
4)States that the DOJ must keep a centralized and computerized list
of all lost, stolen, and found serialized property reported to
DOJ.
5)Requires each sheriff or police executive to submit descriptions
of serialized property, or non-serialized property that has been
uniquely inscribed, which has been reported stolen, lost, found,
recovered, held for safekeeping, or under observation into the DOJ
automated property system for firearms, stolen bicycles, stolen
vehicles, or other property.
6)Provides that if any weapon has been lost or stolen and is
thereafter from the thief, or his or her transferee, or is used in
such a manner as to constitute a nuisance because it was
unlawfully carried or used without the prior knowledge of its
lawful owner that it would be so used, it shall be restored to the
lawful owner, as soon as its use in evidence has been completed.
The lawful owner must identify the weapon and provide proof of
ownership.
7)Requires that any person seeking the return of a firearm in the
custody of a court or law enforcement agency must submit specified
information, including for handguns, the firearm's make, model,
caliber, barrel length, handgun type, country of origin, and
serial number. If the firearm has been reported lost or stolen to
a law enforcement agency, as specified, the agency shall notify
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the owner or person entitled to possession of the firearm. The
person seeking return of the firearm shall be subject to a
background check, as specified.
8)Provides that no person shall make an application to purchase more
than one handgun within any 30 day period, unless the application
is to replace a handgun that was lost or stolen and the person
reported that firearm lost or stolen prior to the completion of
the application to purchase to any local law enforcement agency of
the city, county, or city and county in which the person resides.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
1)Minor nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs offset to an
unknown degree by minor fine revenue.
2)Minor local incarceration costs, to the extent anyone is convicted
of a misdemeanor for a third or subsequent offense of failing to
report a stolen gun, or for making a false report regarding a
stolen gun.
3)Minor potentially state-reimbursable local costs to local law
enforcement to provide a description of each reported lost or
stolen gun to DOJ.
4)Negligible state costs to DOJ to track and list additional lost or
stolen serialized property. (Current law requires DOJ to maintain
a list of lost, stolen and found serialized property, which
includes guns.)
5)Minor state trial court costs to the extent that this bill results
in new misdemeanor charges and related court time.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Currently, seven states, the
District of Columbia, and nine cities in California require firearm
owners to report to law enforcement when their firearms are lost or
stolen. The State of California does not.
"Under current law, firearms dealers and manufacturers must report
any lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours, and local law
enforcement must enter reports of lost or stolen firearms into the
state's Automated Property System database. However, firearm owners
whose guns are lost or stolen are not required to do anything. As a
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result, law enforcement efforts to investigate gun crimes and disarm
dangerous criminals are significantly hindered.
"The public overwhelmingly supports laws requiring the reporting of
lost or stolen firearms. A nationwide poll in 2011 found that 94%
of Americans surveyed, including 94% of gun owners, favor laws to
require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.
"SB 1366 requires that, beginning January 1, 2013, every person
whose firearm is lost or stolen must notify local law enforcement
within 48 hours of the time the person knew or reasonably should
have known that the firearm had been lost or stolen."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0004747