BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 48
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REPLACE : 09/11/2013 Changes per consultant.
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 48 (Skinner)
As Amended September 6, 2013
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |46-26|(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |22-14|(September 10, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly manufacture,
import, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, give, or lend a
large-capacity-magazine conversion kit.
The Senate amendments :
1)Delete provisions redefining "large capacity magazine."
2)Delete provisions relating to the possession of firearms by
persons who are prohibited as a result of mental illness.
3)Double joint this bill with SB 396 (Hancock) of the current
legislative session.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides a vendor of handgun ammunition shall not sell or
transfer handgun ammunition without at the time of purchase
legibly recording the specified information on a form
prescribed by DOJ.
2)Requires the records of the sale or transfer of handgun
ammunition shall be maintained on the premises of the vendor
for at least five years from the date of the recorded
transfer.
3)Requires the handgun ammunition vendor's records of sale shall
be subject to inspection by specified peace officers engaged
in an investigation where the records may be relevant, is
seeking information about prohibited persons, or is engaged in
ensuring compliance with laws relating to firearms or
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ammunition.
4)Provides the sale or transfer of handgun ammunition may only
occur in a face-to-face transaction with the seller or
transferor being provided with bona fide evidence of identity
from the purchaser.
5)Provides that "it shall be unlawful for any licensed importer,
licensed manufacturer, licensed dealer, or licensed collector
to sell or deliver - any firearm or ammunition to any
individual who the licensee knows or has reasonable cause to
believe is less than 18 years of age and, if the firearm or
ammunition is other than a shotgun or rifle, or ammunition for
a shotgun or rifle, to any individual who the licensee knows
or has reasonable cause to believe is less than 21 years of
age..."
6)Prohibits the manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer to
expose for sale, or give or lend any ammunition magazine with
a capacity greater than 10 rounds.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Created a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000 or imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six
months, or by both that fine and imprisonment, to knowingly
manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale,
or give or lend any device that is capable of converting an
ammunition feeding device into a large-capacity magazine.
2)Revised the definition of "large-capacity magazine" to mean
any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more
than 10 rounds, including a disassembled large-capacity
magazine that is readily restorable, as defined, to
accommodate more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and an oversize
magazine body that appears to hold in excess of 10 rounds but
has not been permanently altered to only accommodate 10 rounds
of ammunition or less.
3)Increased from six months to five years the period of time a
person is prohibited from possessing or owning a firearm based
on his or her communication with a licensed psychotherapist,
on or after January 1, 2014, of a threat of physical violence
against a reasonably identifiable victim or victims.
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4)Stated that the people shall bear the burden of showing by a
preponderance of the evidence that the person would not be
likely to use firearms in a safe and lawful manner, and if the
court finds that the people have not met their burden, the
court shall order that the person shall not be subject to the
five-year prohibition and submit a copy of the order to DOJ.
5)Provided, upon receipt of the order, DOJ shall delete any
reference to the prohibition against firearms from the
person's state mental health firearms prohibition system
information.
6)Specified where the district attorney declines or fails to go
forward in a hearing to restore ownership and possession of
firearms, the court shall order that the person shall not be
subject to the five-year prohibition and a copy of the order
shall be submitted to the DOJ.
7)States upon receipt of the order, DOJ shall, within 15 days,
delete any reference to the prohibition against firearms from
the person's state mental health firearms prohibition system
information.
8)Clarified that nothing in this bill shall prohibit the use of
reports filed to determine the eligibility of persons to own,
possess, control, receive, or purchase a firearm if the person
is the subject of a criminal investigation, a part of which
involves the ownership, possession, control, receipt, or
purchase of a firearm.
9)Required the court to immediately notify DOJ whenever the
court has issued a certificate stating that a person,
adjudicated by a court of any state to be a danger to others
as a result of a mental disorder or mental illness, or who has
been adjudicated to be a mentally disordered sex offender, may
now possess a firearm or any other deadly weapon without
endangering others.
10)Defined "immediately" as a period of time not exceeding 24
hours.
11)Required any notice or report required to be submitted to DOJ
to be submitted in an electronic format, in a manner
prescribed by DOJ.
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12)Required DOJ to alert local law enforcement entities in the
community in which the purchaser resides if an individual
purchaser who is not a peace officer obtains more than 3,000
rounds within a five-day period.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Due to this bill's contingent enactment on SB 53 (De León),
DOJ costs of $0.2 million in Fiscal Year (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 costs of SB 53 as amended on June, 27, 2013.
Senate Appropriations Committee 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.
2)Non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs,
offset to a degree by fine revenue.
3)Minor, if any, fiscal impact on the state prison population as
it is already a prison-eligible felony under Penal Code
Section 29800(a)(1) for anyone with a prior felony conviction
to purchase or receive any firearm or ammunition.
4)Potential ongoing minor court-related costs (General Fund**)
for new misdemeanor filings.
5)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
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Today in California, it's
easier to buy bullets than to buy alcohol, cigarettes or certain
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cold medicines. Sales of some cold medicines are reported to
the Department of Justice but not ammunition sales. We expect
to show ID to buy alcohol or tobacco, but there is no such
requirement for bullets. Bullets, the very thing that makes a
gun deadly, should not be easier to buy than alcohol or
cigarettes.
"Existing law prohibits individuals convicted of a felony, a
violent misdemeanor, or those with mental health issues from
purchasing or possessing ammunition. Additionally, current
state law does not require tracking of ammunition sales. The
few restrictions California does have are difficult to enforce
because ammunition sellers do not have to check ID's or keep
records of sales.
"Furthermore, our state may have one of the nation's toughest
gun laws, but laws regulating ammunition are almost absent in
California.
"AB 48 will require anyone selling or transferring ammunition to
an individual in California to require the buyer's
identification, to be an authorized firearms dealer, to report
the sales to the Department of Justice, and inform local law
enforcement when someone buys a large quantity of ammunition
over a short time period.
"Additionally, this bill makes it illegal for gun owners to
purchase parts that allow them to convert their guns into an
assault style weapon that can fire more than 10 rounds of
bullets without reloading. Currently, it is illegal in
California to possess an ammunition feeding device that can hold
more than 10 rounds of bullets. Unfortunately, some individuals
are obtaining parts that allow them to assemble an ammunition
cartridge that can hold as many as 30 rounds; AB 48 will close
this loophole."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0002678
AB 48
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