BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 48 (Skinner) - Ammunition sales and large capacity magazines.
Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 30, 2013
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: AB 48 would require the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to notify law enforcement entities in the city and/or
county in which a purchaser resides if a person obtains more
than 6,000 rounds of ammunition within a seven-day period, with
specified exceptions. In addition, this bill:
Adds the purchase or receipt of any large capacity magazine
to the existing ban on the importation, manufacture, or sale
of such magazines. Violations would be an alternate
felony/misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in county
jail for up to one year for a misdemeanor, or for 16 months,
two years, or three years in county jail (or state prison
for persons with a prior serious or violent felony) for a
felony.
Commencing January 1, 2014, provides that any person 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 guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in county
jail for up to six months, or both.
Provides that Section 1 of the bill (requirement for DOJ to
notify law enforcement) becomes operative contingent upon
the enactment and implementation of SB 53 (de León) of the
2013-14 Regular Session.
Fiscal Impact:
Due to the bill's contingent enactment on SB 53 (de León),
DOJ costs of $0.2 million in FY 2013-14, $1.1 million in FY
2014-15, and $0.4 million in FY 2015-16 (Special Fund*) and
annually thereafter to establish, maintain, and operate a
database capable of notification upon the ammunition
purchase limit as prescribed in this measure are currently
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covered under the costs of SB 53 as amended on June, 27,
2013. Staff notes that because the enacted version of SB 53
cannot be known with certainty at this time, to the extent
SB 53 is amended to revise or remove the applicable
provisions related to development of a database, the
estimated costs could potentially be incurred by this bill.
Non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs,
offset to a degree by fine revenue.
Minor, if any, fiscal impact on the state prison population
as it is already a prison-eligible felony under PC §
29800(a)(1) for anyone with a prior felony conviction to
purchase or receive any firearm or ammunition.
Potential ongoing minor court-related costs (General
Fund**) for new misdemeanor filings.
While the impact of this bill independently on local jails
is likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of new or
expanded crimes impacting jail overcrowding could create
General Fund cost pressure on capital outlay, staffing,
programming, the courts, and other resources in the context
of criminal justice realignment.
*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account
**Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: 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. In
addition, current law provides that supplying, selling, or
delivering ammunition to someone that a person knows or should
know is prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition is a
misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail.
AB 962 (de León), Chapter 628/2009, created several requirements
regarding handgun ammunition sales. These include requiring that
handgun ammunition sellers obtain personal identification
information from buyers and retain that information for
inspection by law enforcement upon request and that all delivery
of handgun ammunition take place in a face-to-face transaction
(prohibiting direct sales over the internet). On January 31,
2011, a Superior Court in Fresno ruled that the definition of
"handgun ammunition" contained in the statute was
unconstitutionally vague, rendering invalid the provisions
applicable to "handgun ammunition". As a result of this finding,
the Court enjoined the State Attorney General from enforcing
those statutes. (Parker v. State of California, et al., Fresno
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County Superior Court, Case No. 10 CECG 02116, Order Denying
Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Granting In Part and
Denying In Part Defendant's Motion for Summary Adjudication, ,
pages 4, 11-17.) The case is currently before the 5th Appellate
District in California.
The federal assault weapons law (the Violent Crime Control and
Law Enforcement Act, Public Law 103-322) which became effective
in September 1994, banned the possession of both assault weapons
and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (defined as a
magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds), but included a
grandfathering provision for current owners at the time. The law
expired in 2004 and has not been reenacted.
The 1989 Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA) was
amended by SB 23 (Perata) Chapter 129/1999 to expand the
definition of an assault weapon to include a definition based on
its generic characteristics in addition to one of several
specified features. SB 23 also made it an alternate
felony/misdemeanor to import, manufacture, or sell
large-capacity ammunition magazines, however, the purchase,
receipt, or possession of large capacity magazines was not
similarly prohibited.
This bill would add buying or receiving a large-capacity
magazine to the existing ban on the importation, manufacture, or
sale of these magazines for purposes of California's assault
weapons laws. In addition, this bill would make it a misdemeanor
to manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer for sale, give,
lend, buy, or receive any device or combination of parts capable
of converting an ammunition feeding device into a large-capacity
magazine.
Proposed Law: This bill would require the DOJ to notify law
enforcement entities in the city and/or county in which a
purchaser resides if a person who is not an ammunition vendor
obtains more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition within a seven-day
period. Notification would not be required for the following:
Authorized law enforcement representatives of a city,
county, city and county, or state or federal government, if
the sale is for the exclusive use of the government agency,
and prior written authorization has been obtained, as
specified.
A sworn peace officer, as defined, who is authorized to
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carry a firearm in the course and scope of his or her
duties.
In addition, this bill:
Adds the purchase or receipt of any large capacity magazine
to the existing ban on the importation, manufacture, or sale
of such magazines. Violations would be an alternate
felony/misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in county
jail for up to one year or 16 months, two years, or three
years in county jail or state prison (if convicted of a
prior serious or violent felony).
Commencing January 1, 2014, provides that any person 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 guilty of a
misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000,
imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, or both.
Defines "large capacity magazine conversion kit" as 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.
Provides that Section 1 of the bill (DOJ notification to
law enforcement) becomes operative contingent upon the
enactment and implementation of SB 53 (de León) of the
2013-14 Regular Session.
Related Legislation: SB 53 (de León) 2013 would require the
sale, purchase, and transfer of ammunition to be subject to
additional regulations, as specified. Among other provisions,
this bill would require the Attorney General to maintain copies
of ammunition purchase permits, ammunition transaction
information, and ammunition vendor licenses. This bill is
pending hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
SB 396 (Hancock) 2013 would ban the possession of large-capacity
ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, and
would require the disposal of any large-capacity magazine, as
defined, in specified ways. This bill is pending hearing in the
Assembly Committee on Public Safety.
Prior Legislation: SB 427 (de León) 2011 made clarifying changes
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to AB 962 (de León) regarding handgun ammunition vendors. This
bill was vetoed by the Governor with the following message:
This measure would amend a recently enacted law concerning the
sale and purchase of handgun ammunition. That law is currently
being litigated. Let's keep our powder dry on amendments until
the court case runs its course.
AB 962 (de León) Chapter 482/2009 specified, that effective
February 1, 2011, (1) the delivery or transfer of ownership of
handgun ammunition may occur only via a face-to-face
transaction, with evidence of identity from the purchaser or
transferee, (2) a handgun ammunition vendor may not sell or
transfer ammunition without recording specified information at
the time of purchase, and, (3) prohibited supplying handgun
ammunition to prohibited persons, by persons or others who know,
or by using reasonable care should know, that the recipient is a
person prohibited from possessing ammunition or a minor
prohibited from possessing ammunition, as specified.
Staff Comments: Due to the bill's contingent enactment on SB 53
(de León), DOJ costs of $0.2 million in FY 2013-14, $1.1 million
in FY 2014-15, and $0.4 million in FY 2015-16 (Special Fund*)
and annually thereafter to establish, maintain, and operate a
database capable of notification upon the ammunition purchase
limit as prescribed in this measure are currently covered under
the requirements of SB 53 as amended on June, 27, 2013. Staff
notes that because the enacted version of SB 53 cannot be known
with certainty at this time, to the extent that SB 53 is amended
to revise or remove the applicable provisions related to
development of the database, the estimated costs could
potentially be incurred by this bill. The DOJ has indicated that
if SB 53 is enacted as currently amended, any additional costs
to modify the database to meet the notification requirements of
this measure would be minor.
By expanding the wobbler crime of manufacturing, importing,
keeping for sale, giving or lending a large-capacity magazine to
include the purchase or receipt of those magazines, the
provisions of this bill could result in additional
non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs
offset to a degree by fine revenue. While the felony offense is
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punishable by imprisonment for 16 months, two or three years in
county jail, or state prison for persons with a prior conviction
for a serious or violent felony, because it is already a
prison-eligible felony under PC § 29800(a)(1) for anyone with a
prior felony conviction to purchase or receive any firearm or
ammunition, this provision is not estimated to have a
significant fiscal impact on the state prison population.
By creating a new misdemeanor for the manufacture, import, sale,
purchase, or receipt of a large capacity magazine conversion
kit, as defined, the provisions of this bill could result in
additional non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration
costs offset to a degree by increased fine revenue.
The creation of new misdemeanors has historically been analyzed
by this committee to result in non-reimbursable state mandated
costs for local law enforcement and incarceration. Staff notes,
however, that the creation of new or expanded crimes impacting
local jails taken cumulatively could increase the statewide
adult jail population to a degree that could potentially impact
the flexibility of counties to manage their jail populations
recently exacerbated under 2011 Public Safety Realignment. While
the impact of the provisions of this bill are likely to be
minor, the cumulative effect of all new and expanded crimes
could create unknown General Fund cost pressure on capital
outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other resources.
To the extent the provisions of this bill serve to reduce the
incidence of firearms-related injuries and death, potential
future cost savings could be substantial. A study by the
non-profit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE)
reported over 105,000 incidences of firearm injury and death in
2010 nationally, with an estimated societal cost of over $174
billion in work lost, medical care, insurance, criminal justice
expenses, and pain and suffering. At a unit level, the study
reported a governmental cost of $187,000 to $582,000 per firearm
fatality in medical and mental health care, emergency services,
and administrative and criminal justice costs. The estimated
societal cost per firearm injury or fatality, including lost
work productivity and quality of life was reported at nearly
$430,000 to $5 million, respectively.
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