BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 1433 (Alquist) - Domestic violence: protective orders.
Amended: April 11, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 24, 2012 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 1433 would revise several firearms provisions
related to domestic violence protective orders, as follows:
Requires courts to check available and accessible
databases to discover if the subject of a protective order
has a registered firearm, subject to court resources, as
specified.
Requires a law enforcement officer serving a protective
order that indicates that the respondent possesses weapons
or ammunition to request that the firearm be immediately
surrendered.
Requires the subject of the order to file a receipt of
surrender or sale of the firearm to the law enforcement
agency that served the order.
Requires a peace officer, as specified, serving a
protective order to take temporary custody of any firearm
or other deadly weapon in plain sight or discovered
pursuant to a consensual or other lawful search as
necessary for the protection of the peace officer or other
persons present.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time cost pressure in the range of $500,000 to
$800,000 (General Fund) for technology upgrades to the
extent some county courthouses that do not have California
Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) access
are appropriated funds necessary to carry out the
provisions of this bill.
Ongoing cost pressure in the hundreds of thousands to
low millions of dollars (General Fund) statewide for CLETS
training, and increased workload to conduct the check for
registered firearms.
Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs for
expenses directly related to taking possession of a firearm
SB 1433 (Alquist)
Page 1
upon request, storing the firearm, and surrendering
possession of the firearm to a licensed dealer.
Potential annual ongoing reimbursable state-mandated
local costs, likely minor, for peace officers serving
protective orders who take temporary custody of any firearm
or other deadly weapon pursuant to a lawful search
necessary for the protection of the officers.
Non-reimbursable costs for enforcement and jail time for
violations of protective orders offset to a degree by fine
revenue. Additional cost pressure for training on
relinquishment of firearms.
Background: The Domestic Violence Prevention Act requires the
court, prior to a hearing on the issuance or denial of a
protective order, to ensure that a search of specified records
and databases is or has been made to determine if the subject of
the order has any specified prior criminal convictions or
outstanding warrants, is on parole or probation, or is or was
the subject of other protective or restraining orders.
Proposed Law: This bill seeks to revise existing laws related to
domestic violence protective orders with respect to firearms
owned or possessed by the subject of the order. Specifically,
this bill would:
Require the court to ensure that a search is or has been
conducted to determine if the subject of the proposed
protective order has a registered firearm.
Require that the above provision be implemented in those
courts identified by the Judicial Council as having resources
currently available for these purposes. The provision would be
implemented in the other courts to the extent that funds are
appropriated for purposes of the act in the annual Budget Act.
Require a law enforcement serving a protective order that
indicates that the respondent possesses weapons or ammunition
to request that the firearm be immediately surrendered.
Require a person ordered to relinquish any firearm pursuant to
these provisions to file a copy of the receipt of surrender or
sale with the law enforcement agency that served the
protective order, subject to specified penalties
Requires a peace officer, as specified, serving a protective
order to take temporary custody of any firearm or other deadly
weapon in plain sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual
or other lawful search as necessary for the protection of the
peace officer or other persons present.
SB 1433 (Alquist)
Page 2
Prior Legislation: SB 585 (Kehoe) Chapter 468/2006 requires a
person subject to a protective order to immediately surrender a
firearm and file a receipt relative to the disposition of the
firearm with the court.
SB 66 (Kuehl) Chapter 572/2001 requires the courts and
prosecutors to perform background checks in specified
proceedings regarding domestic violence. The bill requires that
its provisions be implemented in those courts identified by the
Judicial Council as having resources currently available for
those purposes. The bill requires that its provisions be
implemented in other courts to the extent that funds are
appropriated for the purposes of the act in the annual Budget
Act.
Staff Comments: This bill could result in substantial future
cost pressure to the state as well as potentially significant
reimbursable state-mandated local costs. The bill provides that
the additional duties on the courts to check for registered
firearms shall only be implemented in those courts identified by
the Judicial Council as having resources currently available for
these purposes, and that the act shall be implemented in other
courts to the extent that fund are appropriated for purposes of
the act in the annual Budget Act. Although not direct costs,
this bill places substantial future cost pressure to appropriate
funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this bill.
This bill requires peace officers serving protective orders to
take temporary custody of any firearm or other deadly weapon in
plain sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual or other
lawful search necessary for the protection of the peace officer
or other persons present (Penal Code section 18250). Staff notes
the Commission on State Mandates has determined that requiring
peace officers to take temporary custody of any firearm or other
deadly weapon pursuant to a lawful search (but not in plain
sight or during consensual searches) necessary for the
protection of the officer constitutes a reimbursable
state-mandated local program. Subsequent activities related to
the seizure of a firearm or other deadly weapons were also
determined to be reimbursable state-mandated activities. The
State Controller's Office claims report as of September 30,
2011, indicates approximately $300,000 payable for 2009-10 from
the General Fund due to these mandated activities.
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Staff additionally notes the Governor's Budget 2012-13 proposes
to eliminate various state-mandated reimbursable activities as
determined by the Commission on State Mandates, including the
Crime Victims' Domestic Violence Incident Reports II (02-TC-18)
noted above.
Failure to timely file a copy of the receipt with law
enforcement would be a public offense, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
imprisonment and fine. To the extent individuals fail to meet
this provision would result in additional nonreimbursable local
costs for enforcement and potential jai incarcerations, offset
to a degree by fine revenue.
Recommended Amendments: The author may wish to consider an
amendment to Section 3 of the bill to be consistent with the
Governor's Budget trailer bill language that proposes to relieve
local entities of the duties to perform the reimbursable
activities as determined by the Commission on State Mandates
under the mandate entitled Crime Victims' Domestic Violence
Incident Reports II (02-TC-18).