BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A 2013-2014 Regular Session B 4 8 AB 48 (Skinner) As Amended June 24, 2013 Hearing date: July 2, 2013 Penal Code SM:mc HIGH CAPACITY AMMUNITION MAGAZINES/AMMUNITION DATABASE HISTORY Source: Author Prior Legislation: SB 427 (de León) - 2011-2012, vetoed AB 2358 (de León) - 2010, failed passage on Senate Floor AB 1663 (Hagman) - 2010, failed passage in Assembly Public Safety AB 962 (de León) - Ch. 628, Statutes of 2009 AB 2062 (de León) - 2008, held in Senate Appropriations Committee AB 362 (de León) - 2007, held in Senate Appropriations Committee AB 996 (Ridley-Thomas) - 2006, vetoed AB 352 (Koretz) - 2006, died in conference AB 2714 (Torrico) - 2005-06, vetoed SB 1152 (Scott) - 2003-04, vetoed Support: Albany Unified School District; Berkeley City Council; California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians; California Chapters of the Brady Campaign (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 2 to Prevent Gun Violence; California Nurses Association; City of Albany; City of Berkeley; City of Beverly Hills; City of El Cerrito; City of Emeryville; City of Oakland; Mayor, City of Piedmont; Courage Campaign; Emery Unified School District; Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence; Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Sacramento City Councilmember Kevin McCarty; South County Citizens Against Gun Violence; Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County; Women Against Gun Violence; West Contra Costa Unified School District; Youth Alive; City of Santa Monica; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Opposition:California Sportsman's Lobby; California Waterfowl Association; National Association for Gun Rights; Safari Club International; Sheriff of Shasta County; Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California; Crossroads of the West Gun Shows; National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.; California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees; California Association of Firearms Retailers; National Rifle Association of America Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 46 - Noes 26 KEY ISSUES SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (DOJ) BE REQUIRED TO CREATE A DATABASE TO RECORD SALES OF AMMUNITION AND REQUIRE AMMUNITION SELLERS, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED, TO OBTAIN SPECIFIED IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION FROM AMMUNITION BUYERS AND REPORT THAT INFORMATION TO DOJ? SHOULD DOJ BE REQUIRED TO CROSS CHECK THAT INFORMATION WITH ITS PROHIBITED ARMED PERSONS FILE TO DETERMINE IF THE BUYER IS PROHIBITED FROM PURCHASING AMMUNITION AND, IF THE BUYER IS PROHIBITED, TO FORWARD THAT PURCHASER'S INFORMATION TO LOCAL LAW (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 3 ENFORCEMENT? SHOULD DOJ BE REQUIRED TO NOTIFY LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ENTITIES IN THE CITY, COUNTY OR CITY AND COUNTY WHERE THE BUYER LIVES IF ANY AMMUNITION PURCHASER OBTAINS MORE THAN 3,000 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION WITHIN A FIVE-DAY PERIOD? SHOULD BUYING OR RECEIVING A LARGE-CAPACITY AMMUNITION MAGAZINE BE ADDED TO THE CURRENT BAN ON IMPORTATION, MANUFACTURE, OR SALE OF THESE MAGAZINES? SHOULD ANY PERSON IN THIS STATE WHO KNOWINGLY MANUFACTURES OR CAUSES TO BE MANUFACTURED, IMPORTS INTO THE STATE, KEEPS FOR SALE, OR OFFERS OR EXPOSES FOR SALE, OR WHO GIVES, LENDS, BUYS, OR RECEIVES ANY LARGE-CAPACITY MAGAZINE CONVERSION KIT, AS DEFINED, BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to (1) require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to create a database to record sales of ammunition and require ammunition sellers, except as specified, to obtain specified identification information from ammunition buyers and report that information to DOJ; (2) require DOJ to cross check that information with its Prohibited Armed Persons File to determine if the buyer is prohibited from purchasing ammunition and, if the buyer is prohibited, to forward that purchaser's information to local law enforcement; (3) require DOJ to notify local law enforcement entities in the city, county, or city and county where the buyer lives if any ammunition purchaser obtains more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition within a five-day period; (4) provide that the ammunition database provisions will not be (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 4 effective until there are sufficient funds in the Ammunition Vendor's Special Account, which this bill would create, for DOJ to create the database and DOJ does so; (5) add buying or receiving a large-capacity ammunition magazine to the current ban on importation, manufacture or sale of these magazines. This crime is punishable as a misdemeanor, by up to one year in the county jail, or as a felony, by 16 months, two or three years in county jail; (6) clarify that, for purposes of the ban on manufacturing high capacity magazines, manufacturing includes both fabricating a magazine and assembling a magazine from a combination of parts, including but not limited to the body, spring, follower, and floor plate or end plate, to be a fully functioning large-capacity magazine; and (7) provide that, except as specified, any person in this state who knowingly manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives any large-capacity magazine conversion kit, as defined, is punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. Current Federal Law Current federal law , the federal assault weapons law (the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, H.R. 3355, Pub.L. 103-322,) became effective on September 13, 1994, and banned the possession of "assault weapons" and "large capacity ammunition feeding devices," defined as a magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition, manufactured after that date. That law expired in 2004 and has not been reenacted. Current California Law - Large Capacity Magazines Current law defines a "large-capacity magazine" as "any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds, but shall not be construed to include any of the following: A feeding device that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accommodate more than 10 rounds. (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 5 A .22 caliber tube ammunition feeding device. A tubular magazine that is contained in a lever-action firearm. (Penal Code § 16740.) Current law provides that, except as specified, commencing January 1, 2000, any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, or lends, any large-capacity magazine is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years. (Penal Code § 32310.) Current law provides that, upon a showing that good cause exists, the Department of Justice may issue permits for the possession, transportation, or sale between a licensed firearms dealer and an out-of-state client, of large-capacity magazines. (Penal Code § 32315.) Current law provides that, except as specified, any large-capacity magazine is a nuisance and is subject to an injunction against its possession, manufacture or sale, and is subject to confiscation and summary destruction. (Penal Code § 32390.) Current law provides that as used in the assault weapons ban, "magazine" means any ammunition feeding device. (Penal Code § 16890.) Current California Law - Ammunition Sales Current law prohibits possession of ammunition by a person under 18 years of age, except as specified. A violation is generally punishable as a misdemeanor, but, if the minor has been found guilty of violation certain enumerated offenses previously, a violation may be punished as either a felony by 16 months, two or three years in county jail or as a misdemeanor by up to one year in the county jail. (Penal Code §§ 29650, 29700.) (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 6 Current law provides that selling any ammunition to a person under the age of 18 or selling ammunition designed and intended for a handgun to a person under the age of 21 is a misdemeanor. (Penal Code § 30300.) Current law provides that, except as specified, any person who is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm is also prohibited from owning, or possessing ammunition. A violation may be punished as either a felony by 16 months, two or three years in state prison or as a misdemeanor by up to one year in the county jail. (Penal Code § 30305(a).) Current law provides that, except as specified, a person enjoined from engaging in activity pursuant to an injunction against that person as a member of a criminal street gang is prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition. Violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor. (Penal Code § 30305(b).) Current law provides that supplying, selling, or delivering ammunition to someone that a person knows or reasonably should know is prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in the county jail. (Penal Code § 30306.) Current law provides that, with limited exceptions, delivery or transfer of ownership of handgun ammunition may only occur in a face-to-face transaction with bona fide evidence of identity from the purchaser. Violation of this section is punishable as a misdemeanor. (Penal Code (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 7 § 30312.)* Current law provides that vendors of handgun ammunition must comply with certain conditions, requirements and prohibitions, with limited exceptions, including not selling or transferring ownership of any handgun ammunition without, at the time of delivery, legibly recording the following information (Penal Code § 30352):* The date of the sale or other transaction. The purchaser's/transferee's driver's license or ID number and the state of issuance. The brand, type, and amount of ammunition sold or otherwise transferred. The purchaser's/transferee's signature. The name of the salesperson who processed the sale or other transaction. The right thumbprint of the purchaser or transferee on the above form. The purchaser's /transferee's full residential address and telephone number. The purchaser's/transferee's date of birth. Current law requires that handgun ammunition vendors must keep these records for a period of not less than 5 years and must make these records available to inspection by specified law enforcement during normal business hours. (Penal Code §§ 30355, 30357.)* (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 8 Current law requires that handgun ammunition vendors shall not knowingly make a false entry or fail to make an entry or obtain the required thumbprint. (Penal Code § 30360.)* Current law provides that violations of the above laws regarding handgun ammunition vendors are punishable as a misdemeanor. (Penal Code § 30365.)* Current law defines "handgun ammunition" as "ammunition principally for use in pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person, notwithstanding that the ammunition may also be used in some rifles" and exempting, as specified: ammunition designed and intended to be used in an antique firearm; and blanks. (Penal Code § 16650.)* * Enforcement of these sections is currently stayed per order of the Fresno County Superior Court in Parker v. State of California, No. 10 CECG 02116. That order is currently on appeal. This bill would require DOJ to create a database to record sales of ammunition. All ammunition sellers would be required to obtain specified identification information from ammunition buyers and report that information to DOJ, in a manner to be determined by DOJ. DOJ would then be required to cross check that information with its Prohibited Armed Persons File to determine if the buyer is prohibited from purchasing ammunition. If the buyer is prohibited, DOJ would be required to forward that purchaser's information to local law enforcement. (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 9 This bill would also require DOJ to notify local law enforcement entities in the city, county, or city and county where the buyer lives if any ammunition purchaser obtains more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition within a five-day period and the purchaser is an individual and not an ammunition vendor. This bill provides that the ammunition database provisions will not be effective until there are sufficient funds in the Ammunition Vendor's Special Account, which this bill would create, for DOJ to create the database and DOJ does so. At least 30 days before the database is operation, DOJ is required to provide written notice of that fact to ammunition vendors. This bill exempts from the ammunition database provisions law enforcement officers and agencies and ammunition vendors. This bill would add buying or receiving a large-capacity ammunition magazine to the current ban on importation, manufacture or sale of these magazines. This crime is punishable as a misdemeanor, by up to one year in the county jail, or as a felony, by 16 months, two or three years in county jail. This bill would clarify that, for purposes of the ban on manufacturing high capacity magazines, manufacturing includes both fabricating a magazine and assembling a magazine from a combination of parts, including but not limited to the body, spring, follower, and floor plate or end plate, to be a fully functioning large-capacity magazine. This bill would provide that, except as specified, any person in this state who knowingly manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives any large-capacity magazine conversion kit is punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. This bill would define large-capacity magazine conversion kit as (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 10 a device or combination of parts of a fully functioning large-capacity magazine, including, but not limited to, the body, spring, follower, and floor plate or end plate, capable of converting an ammunition feeding device into a large-capacity magazine. RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances. Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony prosecutions. Under the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the Committee held measures which created a new felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis. Under these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by passing legislation which would increase the prison population. ROCA necessitated many hard and difficult decisions for the Committee. In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the federal court order issued by the Three-Judge Court three years earlier to reduce the state's prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The State submitted in part that the, ". . . population in the State's 33 prisons has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when public safety realignment (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 11 went into effect, by more than 36,000 inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly 42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ." Plaintiffs, who opposed the state's motion, argue in part that, "California prisons, which currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is constitutionally deficient." In an order dated January 29, 2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension to achieve the 137.5 % prisoner population cap by December 31st of this year. In an order dated April 11, 2013, the Three-Judge Court denied the state's motions, and ordered the state of California to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply with this Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to reduce overall prison population to 137.5% design capacity by December 31, 2013." The ongoing litigation indicates that prison capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement remain unresolved. However, in light of the real gains in reducing the prison population that have been made, although even greater reductions are required by the court, the Committee will review each ROCA bill with more flexible consideration. The following questions will inform this consideration: whether a measure erodes realignment; whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or legislative drafting error; whether a measure proposes penalties which are proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other reasonably appropriate remedy; and whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety or criminal activity for which there is no other reasonable, appropriate remedy. COMMENTS (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 12 1. Need for This Bill According to the author: Today in California it's easier to buy bullets than to buy alcohol, cigarettes or certain cold medicines. While sales of cold medicines such as Sudafed are reported to the Department of Justice, ammunition sales are not. We expect to show ID to buy alcohol or tobacco, but there is no such requirement for buying bullets. Bullets - the very things that make guns deadly - should not be easier to buy than alcohol or cigarettes. Existing law prohibits individuals convicted of felonies and violent misdemeanors, as well as those with serious mental health issues, from purchasing or possessing ammunition (and firearms), but does not provide any mechanism to determine whether individuals who purchase ammunition may lawfully do so. Furthermore, California has some of the nation's toughest gun laws, but its laws regulating ammunition - including the type of large capacity magazines used in the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut and Aurora, Colorado, and in the assault on Congress member Gabrielle Giffords - are filled with loopholes. For example, although current law makes it illegal to sell a large capacity ammunition magazine, it is not a crime under current law to buy a large capacity magazine in the state. Likewise, state law allows the sale and purchase of "repair kits" that convert regular ammunition magazines into illegal military-style large-capacity magazines. Unfortunately, some individuals are obtaining these kits that allow them to assemble an ammunition magazine holding as many as 30 rounds. (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 13 Assembly Bill 48 addresses these shortcomings in current law by doing the following: making it a crime to purchase a large-capacity ammunition magazine; requiring ammunition sales to be reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ); requiring DOJ to cross reference ammunition sales with the Armed and Prohibited Persons Systems (APPS); and notifying local law enforcement when someone buys 3,000 rounds of ammunition within a five day period. Additionally, AB 48 makes it illegal to manufacture, import into the state, keep for sale, or offer or expose for sale, or give, lend, buy, or receive a "large capacity magazine conversation kit" that allows users to convert regular ammunition magazines into illegal military-style large-capacity magazines that can fire more than ten rounds of ammunition without reloading. 2. High Capacity Magazines in Both Long Guns and Handguns Many rifles and handguns that use a detachable ammunition magazine can accept a high capacity magazine, meaning a magazine that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. On a semiautomatic handgun or rifle, one bullet is fired per trigger-pull. The effect of attaching a high capacity magazine is to allow the shooter to rapidly fire as many rounds as the magazine holds, as fast as they can pull the trigger. A high capacity magazine typically holds 30 rounds but some have been designed to hold as many as 100 rounds. Since January 1, 2000, California has banned the importation, manufacture or sale of high capacity magazines. (Penal Code §§ 32310, 32390.) These magazines have also been deemed a public nuisance and are, therefore, subject to confiscation and destruction, although this requires a prosecutor to obtain a civil injunction, which (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 14 is costly and time-consuming. (Penal Code § 18010.) The Department of Justice states that sellers are currently circumventing the ban on sale of these magazines in California by selling all the parts necessary to construct them as "repair kits," which are then easily assembled in a matter of minutes. Because possession is not prohibited, once the magazine is assembled, law enforcement is unable to take any action at that point. This bill would prohibit possession of the kits used to manufacture these high capacity magazines. This bill would also prohibit buying or receiving any high capacity magazine. Many mass shootings, as well as other shootings with fewer victims, have involved the use of high capacity magazines. The Violence Policy Center, a Washington D.C. - based nonprofit research group, compiled a list of 34 such mass shootings in the United States that have involved the use of high capacity magazines. Most recently these include the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which the shooter used several 30-round magazines and killed 28 people; the Aurora Colorado movie theater massacre last July, in which the shooter used a 100-round magazine and left 12 dead and 58 wounded; and the shooting in Tucson, Arizona on January 8, 2011, in which the shooter used a Glock 19 pistol with a 33-round magazine, killing 6 and wounding another 13. One of those wounded was U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who is now urging Congress to reinstate the federal ban on high capacity ammunition magazines. WASHINGTON - A halting but riveting Gabrielle Giffords told Congress on Wednesday that it must act now to stem gun violence, telling senators "too many children are dying" just two years after she was shot at point-blank range and suffered brain damage. The former Democratic Arizona congresswoman, who struggles to walk and is partially blind, stoutly read a brief statement in a high-pitched, almost childlike voice as her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 15 sat at her side in a packed and dramatically hushed hearing room. "Speaking is difficult, but I must say something important. Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying. Too many children," Giffords said. She enunciated each word slowly and clearly, and punctuated her remarks at several points by looking up abruptly, as if her head was a personal exclamation point. "We must do something," she said. "It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be courageous. Americans are counting on you." * * * * * * * Both she and her husband own guns and back the Second Amendment. However, they have become critics of the National Rifle Association, pushing for a new assault weapons ban, universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines. * * * * * * * In his own testimony, Kelly said that a limit on the size of ammunition magazines, as proposed by Obama, could have saved lives in the Tucson attack that killed six and wounded his wife. (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 16 He said the gunman emptied his high-capacity ammunition clip in 15 seconds, firing 33 bullets. If the shooter had used a 10-round clip, 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, who was struck by bullet No. 13, "would be alive today," Kelly said. "I'm certainly willing to give up my right to own a high-capacity magazine to bring back that young girl," he said. ("Gabby Giffords Says 'Too Many Children Are Dying' During Emotional Plea to Senate Committee for Stricter Gun Control," New York Daily News, January 30, 2013, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/gabby-giffords -senate-gun-control-hearing-report-article-1.1251013#ix zz2MnHJGkby.) A high capacity magazine increases the number of people that can be killed or wounded in a short period of time with even a conventional handgun or rifle. Perhaps the most dramatic and horrifying example of this occurred in 2011 when a man opened fire on teenagers at a summer youth camp in Norway, killing 69 and wounding another 110, using a semi-automatic rifle, the .223 caliber Ruger Mini-14. The Mini-14 does not contain any of the features commonly associated with military-style assault weapons, is perfectly legal in California, and is a popular rifle with ranchers. What made that weapon such a monstrously effective tool of mass murder is the fact that the killer was able to rapidly reload one magazine after another of ammunition. According to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, Norway forbids sale of ammunition magazines for hunting rifles that hold more than three rounds. The killer stated that he bought 10 30-round magazines by mail-order from a supplier in the United States. (Norway Shooter: Ammo Clips Were From U.S., Politico, July 28, 2011, http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0711/60154.html.) 3. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban Has Been Allowed to Expire (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 17 The Federal Assault Weapons Ban was passed as a portion of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act on September 13, 1994. In addition to banning assault weapons, the Act also banned the possession, manufacture or transfer of large capacity ammunition feeding devices, or high capacity magazines. The Act expired on September 13, 2004, and was not reenacted. Like the assault weapons ban, whether citizens should be allowed to own high-capacity magazines is one of the contested issues in the debate over what constitutes reasonable gun regulation. Anyone who's thought seriously about armed self-defense knows why honest Americans - private citizens and police alike - choose magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. Quite simply, they improve good people's odds in defensive situations," Chris W. Cox, the executive director of the National Rifle Association's legislative institute wrote in a piece posted online. He called the ban a "dismal failure." The federal prohibition on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons was spurred in part by the 1989 mass killing in Stockton, Calif. Patrick Edward Purdy, a mentally unbalanced drug addict, fired 110 rounds from an AK-47 into a schoolyard, killing five children and wounding 29 others and a teacher. Purdy used a 75-round drum magazine and a 35-round banana clip, one of four he carried. (David S. Fallis, Data Indicate Drop in High-Capacity Magazines During Federal Gun Ban, Washington Post, January 10, 2013, http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/data-point -to-drop-in-high-capacity-magazines-during-federal-gun- ban/2013/01/10/d56d3bb6-4b91-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_sto ry.html.) (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 18 According the Washington Post, an analysis of data taken from one jurisdiction, the State of Virginia, showed, "During the 10-year federal ban on assault weapons, the percentage of firearms equipped with high-capacity magazines seized by police agencies in Virginia dropped, only to rise sharply once the restrictions were lifted in 2004[.]" * * * * * * * * "I was skeptical that the ban would be effective, and I was wrong," said Garen Wintemute, head of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California at Davis School of Medicine. The database analysis offers "about as clear an example as we could ask for of evidence that the ban was working." (Fallis, supra.) 4. What this Bill Would Do This bill would require DOJ to create a database to record sales of ammunition. All ammunition sellers would be required to obtain specified identification information from ammunition buyers and report that information to DOJ, in a manner to be determined by DOJ. DOJ would then be required to cross check that information with its Prohibited Armed Persons File to determine if the buyer is prohibited from purchasing ammunition. If the buyer is prohibited, DOJ would be required to forward that purchaser's information to local law enforcement. This bill would also require DOJ to report to local law enforcement agencies whenever a person obtains more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition within a 5-day period. This bill exempts from these provisions law enforcement officers and agencies and ammunition vendors. This bill would add buying or receiving a large-capacity (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 19 ammunition magazine to the current ban on importation, manufacture or sale of these magazines. This crime is punishable as a misdemeanor, by up to one year in the county jail, or as a felony, by 16 months, two or three years in county jail. This bill would also provide that, except as specified, any person in this state who knowingly manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale, or who gives, lends, buys, or receives any large-capacity magazine conversion kit is punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. 5. Impact on Prison Overcrowding This bill would create an alternate felony/misdemeanor for buying or receiving a large-capacity magazine. This would likely have a minimal effect on prison population since a defendant convicted of a felony violation of this provision would serve his or her sentence in county jail unless the defendant had a serious or violent prior conviction or was a registered sex offender and it is already a prison-eligible felony for anyone with a prior felony conviction of any kind to possession any firearm or ammunition. 6. Similar Legislation (More) Earlier this year this Committee approved SB 396 (Hancock), which would prohibit the possession of high capacity magazines. This bill, by contrast, would prohibit buying or receiving a high capacity magazine. SB 396 is currently pending hearing in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. This Committee also approved SB 53 (de León) which would require ammunition vendors licenses and ammunition purchaser permits. SB 53 is currently pending hearing in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. 7. Argument in Support Mayor Jean Quan of the City of Oakland states: AB 48 will help to regulate and tighten ammunition sales in California and ban high-capacity magazines. Specifically, this bill will regulate all ammunition sales, require ammunition purchasers to show identification, require ammunition sellers to be licensed dealers, require ammunition sellers to report sales to the Department of Justice, and ban kits to convert ammunition clips into high-capacity magazines. The city of Oakland has made public safety its top concern. We have worked closely with our regional, state and federal leaders to bring additional resources to focus on hot spots and address trending crimes. Gun violence is consistently a top priority and AB 48, if signed into law, will help support our efforts to make our City safer. 8. Argument in Opposition The California Waterfowl Association states: AB 48 would place an unreasonable burden on hunters and other sportspeople who wish to voluntarily transfer ammunition between themselves for legitimate (More) AB 48 (Skinner) Page 21 sporting purposes. This includes commonly occurring transfers of small amounts of ammunition in the field or at the shooting range, for example. In addition, the bill would make it much more difficult for young people who cannot legally purchase ammunition on their own to actively participate in hunting and related activities, which conflicts with the California Department of Fish and wildlife and many conservation nonprofits' continuing efforts to encourage greater youth participation in the outdoors. However, other than providing a limited exception for law enforcement officers, AB 48 ammunition transfer requirements offer no such flexibility. ***************