BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 169
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 169 (Dickinson)
As Amended April 1, 2013
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Jones-Sawyer, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Mitchell, Quirk, Skinner | |Bradford, |
| | | | Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ammiano |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Melendez, Waldron |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Changes provisions related to unsafe handguns by limiting
the transfer or sale of unsafe handguns to those who are authorized to
possess them, and by applying the provisions to single-shot pistols
which can be easily modified to semi-automatic weapons. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Deletes exemptions from the unsafe handgun prohibitions that permit
specified individuals who are exempted parties to sell, transfer, or
loan that weapon to another person who may or may not be an exempted
party.
2)Makes the provisions defining and governing of unsafe handguns apply
in the same manner to a single-shot pistol with a break top or bolt
action that apply to other firearms governed by unsafe handgun
provisions.
3)Prohibits a person exempted under the unsafe handgun provisions from
selling or otherwise transferring the ownership of an otherwise
prohibited handgun to a person who is not exempted under the same
provision unless the transaction is exempt from the requirement to
complete the transaction through a licensed dealer.
4)Permits the transfer or sale of unsafe handguns between similar
licensed prop houses.
AB 169
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or causes to
be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale,
offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends any unsafe handgun shall
be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.
a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of the
following:
i) The manufacture in California, or importation into this
state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person when the manufacture
or importation is for the sole purpose of allowing an
independent laboratory certified by the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to conduct an independent test to determine whether that
pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed
upon the person is prohibited, inclusive, and, if not, allowing
the department to add the firearm to the roster of pistols,
revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon
the person that may be sold in this.
ii) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person by employees
or authorized agents of entities determining whether the weapon
is prohibited by this section.
iii) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in federal
law.
iv) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, if the
pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or purchased by,
the DOJ, any police department, any sheriff's official, any
marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the
California Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or
the military or naval forces of this state or of the United
States for use in the discharge of their official duties. Nor
shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to, or
purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any pistol,
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person.
AB 169
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2)Specifies that violations of the unsafe handgun provisions are
cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be construed
as restricting the application of any other law.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
minor nonreimbursable local costs for incarceration, offset to a
degree by increased fine revenue, to the extent the misdemeanor
penalty for selling or providing unsafe handguns is applied to
additional cases.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 169 closes a couple of
loopholes in state law that, without correction, allow unsafe handguns
to be easily transferred to individuals who are not trained to handle
such weapons, or do not have a legitimate need to own such a weapon,
or to be purchased by anyone if the weapon undergoes a simple
modification that can be easily undone.
"Unsafe, or non-rostered handguns are those that are determined by DOJ
that do not have required safety features, do not meet specified
firing tests or do not meet a drop test. Few people can legally
purchase such guns through a dealer. Unfortunately, there is nothing
to prohibit any of these permitted persons to turn around and sell the
guns to people who cannot make an original purchase. Another loophole
allows anyone to buy an unsafe handgun if it is modified to fire only
a single shot. But this modification can be easily undone.
"Both loopholes allow the law to be abused. Some of the parties who
are exempted from restrictions on owning an unsafe handgun can,
purchase these guns so that they can be resold to those who are not
exempted. Blog traffic indicates that there is a thriving market for
such weapons and prices are at a premium. This results in a
proliferation of unsafe handguns among the general population.
"It is important to close this loophole to keep unsafe handguns out of
the hands of the general public and protect the integrity of
California law."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0000221
AB 169
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