BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 169 (Dickinson) - Unsafe handguns.
Amended: August 12, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 30, 2013
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 169 would make the following revisions to the
exemptions from the not "unsafe handgun" requirements:
Limits the exemption from the not unsafe handgun requirements
for the sale, loan, or transfer of handguns through a licensed
dealer in a private party transaction to a maximum of two
firearms per person per calendar year.
Limits the exemption from the not unsafe handgun requirements
for the delivery of a handgun through a licensed dealer for
the purpose of a consignment sale or as collateral for a
pawnbroker loan to a maximum of two firearms per person per
calendar year.
Prohibits a person who acquires a handgun that is not on the
not unsafe handgun roster under the exemption for law
enforcement officers from selling or transferring ownership of
the handgun to a person who does not qualify for the same
exemption.
Amends the exemption for single shot handguns to exempt from
those requirements a single-shot pistol with a break top or
bolt action and a barrel length of not less than six inches
and that has an overall length of at least 10 inches, as
specified.
Provides that the "not unsafe" handgun requirements do apply
to a semiautomatic pistol that has been temporarily or
permanently altered so that it will not fire in a
semiautomatic mode.
Fiscal Impact (as proposed to be amended):
Unknown; annual loss of revenue potentially in excess of
$150,000 (Special Fund*) due to the restriction on private
party transactions and consignment sales.
Minor one-time costs to the Department of Justice (DOJ) of
$29,000 (Special Fund*) to modify the DROS Entry System.
AB 169 (Dickinson)
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Non-reimbursable local costs for enforcement to the extent
there are a greater number of violations of the not "unsafe
handgun" requirements.
*Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account
Background: Existing law provides that the sale, loan, or
transfer of firearms in almost all cases must be processed by or
through a state licensed dealer or local law enforcement agency.
Existing law also provides that no "unsafe handgun" may be
manufactured or sold in this state by a licensed dealer, except
as specified, and requires that the DOJ prepare and maintain a
roster of handguns which are determined not to be unsafe.
Under existing law, 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 an
unsafe handgun is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.
Numerous exemptions to the restriction are authorized under
current law, including but not limited to, for law enforcement
officers, for firearms listed as curios or relics, for private
parties where the firearm was previously owned, and for
specified transfers not required to be made through a licensed
dealer. In addition, under current law, an individual owning an
unsafe handgun may sell the handgun to any other individual
through a licensed dealer or on consignment sale.
Proposed Law: See Bill Summary.
Prior Legislation: AB 2460 (Dickinson) 2012 would have removed
the exemption on the sale or transfer of firearms not on the
"unsafe handgun" list for exempted law enforcement officers to
persons who do not qualify for the same exemption. This bill was
vetoed by the Governor with the following message:
This bill would restrict law enforcement and military personnel
- and only those individuals - from selling lawfully purchased
handguns that have not been certified by the Attorney General's
Office. This bill takes from law enforcement officers the right
to an activity that remains legally available to every private
citizen. I don't believe this is justified.
Staff Comments: The DOJ has indicated the provisions of this
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bill would result in one-time costs of $29,000 (DROS Fund) to
modify the DROS Entry System (DES). Currently, the DES allows
private parties to sell or transfer ownership of any handgun.
The restrictions on private party transactions will necessitate
modifications to display the DOJ roster of handguns for
non-exempted transactions.
By restricting the number of private party transactions and
consignment sales of "unsafe handguns" (non-rostered handguns)
to two firearms per person per year, the provisions of this bill
could result in an annual loss of DROS fee revenue. Based on
data from the DOJ, there were nearly 93,300 private party
transactions in 2012, which would equate to DROS fee revenue of
$2.3 million. While data on the number of private party
transactions specific to the same individual attributable to
multiple transactions is not available, to the extent a small
percentage of less than ten percent of those transactions could
potentially be impacted due to the restrictions in this bill,
could result in a loss of DROS fee revenue in excess of
$150,000.
Proposed author amendments address chaptering out issues with SB
363 (Wright) 2013.