Amended in Assembly April 18, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 11, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 231

Introduced by Assembly Members Ting and Gomez

February 5, 2013

An act to amend Section 1714.1 of, and to repeal Section 1714.3 of, the Civil Code, and to amend Sections 25100 and 25110 of begin delete , and to add Section 25107 to, end delete the Penal Code, relating to firearms.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 231, as amended, Ting. Firearms: criminal storage.

Existing law establishes civil liability for any injury to the person or property of another proximately caused by the discharge of a firearm by a minor under 18 years of age and imputes that liability to a parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages. Existing law provides that the parent or guardian is jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from that act, if the parent or guardian either permitted the minor to have the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the minor. Existing law provides that the liability imposed is in addition to any liability otherwise imposed by law and that no person, or group of persons collectively, shall incur liability under those provisions in any amount exceeding $30,000 for injury to or death of one person as a result of any one occurrence or, subject to the limit as to one person, exceeding $60,000 for injury to or death of all persons as a result of any one occurrence. Existing law authorizes imputing liability to a parent or guardian for specified conduct of a minor, as specified, and provides that an insurer shall not be liable for certain conduct by a minor imputed to a parent or guardian for any amount in excess of $10,000.

This bill would revise and recast these provisions to remove the dollar limitations in those liability provisions as to the parent or begin delete guardian. end delete begin insert guardian, if the parent or guardian either permitted the minor to have the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the minor. end insert The bill would begin delete extend end delete begin insert provide that end insert the begin delete liability limitations end delete begin insert $10,000 limitation end insert as to the insurer for liability arising out of the discharge of a firearm by a minor begin delete , as specified end delete begin insert also apply under those circumstances end insert . The bill would make additional technical, nonsubstantive changes.

Existing law establishes the offenses of criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree when a child obtains access to a person’s loaded firearm resulting in death or great bodily injury, as specified, and criminal storage of a firearm in the 2nd degree, where the child obtains access to the firearm resulting in injury other than great bodily injury or the firearm is carried off premises, as specified. Existing law provides several exceptions to these offenses, including, among others, when a child obtains the firearm as a result of illegal entry to the premises, when the firearm is locked with a locking device, or when a child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person. Existing law makes the first degree offense punishable as a felony or misdemeanor with specified penalties and makes the 2nd degree offense punishable as a misdemeanor with specified penalties.

This bill would establish the offense of criminal storage of a firearm in the 3rd degree when a person keeps a loaded firearm within any premises under his or her custody or control and negligently stores or leaves a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm against access by the child. The bill would make the offense punishable as a misdemeanor. The bill would also provide that “child” for all degrees of criminal storage of a firearm means an individual who is 14 years of age or younger. begin delete The bill would make a person who owns a firearm strictly civilly liable for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or death resulting from the use of his or her firearm. This bill would provide that strict liability does not apply if the owner of the firearm has reported his or her firearm to local law enforcement as stolen prior to the damage, injury, or death. end delete By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1714.1 of the Civil Code is amended to
read:

1714.1.  

(a) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that
results in injury or death to another person or in any injury to the
property of another shall be imputed to the parent or guardian
having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil
damages, and the parent or guardian having custody and control
shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages
resulting from the willful misconduct.

Subject to the provisions of subdivision (c), the joint and several
liability of the parent or guardian having custody and control of a
minor under this subdivision shall not exceed twenty-five thousand
dollars ($25,000) for each tort of the minor, and in the case of
injury to a person, imputed liability shall be further limited to
medical, dental and hospital expenses incurred by the injured
person, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). The
liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability now
imposed by law.

(b) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in the
defacement of property of another with paint or a similar substance
shall be imputed to the parent or guardian having custody and
control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages, including
court costs, and attorney’s fees, to the prevailing party, and the
parent or guardian having custody and control shall be jointly and
severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the
willful misconduct, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000), except as provided in subdivision (c), for each tort of
the minor.

(c) The amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be
adjusted every two years by the Judicial Council to reflect any
increases in the cost of living in California, as indicated by the
annual average of the California Consumer Price Index. The
Judicial Council shall round this adjusted amount up or down to
the nearest hundred dollars. On or before July 1 of each
odd-numbered year, the Judicial Council shall compute and publish
the amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b), as adjusted according
to this subdivision.

(d) Civil liability for any injury to the person or property of
another proximately caused by the discharge of a firearm by a
minor under 18 years of age shall be imputed to a parent or
guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes
of civil damages, and that parent or guardian shall be jointly and
severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the
act, if the parent or guardian either permitted the minor to have
the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the minor.
The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability
otherwise imposed by law.

(e) The maximum liability imposed by this section is the
maximum liability authorized under this section at the time that
the act of willful misconduct by a minor was committed.

(f) Nothing in this section shall impose liability on an insurer
for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured for purposes of
Section 533 of the Insurance Code. An insurer shall not be liable
for the conduct imputed to a parent or guardian by this section for
any amount in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

SEC. 2.  

Section 1714.3 of the Civil Code is repealed.

SEC. 3.  

Section 25100 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

25100.  

(a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person
commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the first
degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
that are under the person’s custody or control.

(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of
the child’s parent or legal guardian.

(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes
death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person.

(b) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the
crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the second degree” if all
of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
that are under the person’s custody or control.

(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of
the child’s parent or legal guardian.

(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes
injury, other than great bodily injury, to the child or any other
person, or carries the firearm either to a public place or in violation
of Section 417.

(c) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the
crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the third degree” if the
person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises that are under
the person’s custody or control and negligently stores or leaves a
loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably
should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm,
unless reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm
against access by the child.

(d) For purposes of this chapter, “child” means an individual
who is 14 years of age or younger.

begin delete

SEC. 4.  

Section 25107 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

25107.  

(a) A person who owns a firearm is strictly civilly
liable for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or
death resulting from the use of his or her firearm.

(b) This section does not apply if the owner of the firearm
reported the firearm to local law enforcement as stolen prior to the
damage, injury, or death.

end delete

begin delete SEC. 5. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

Section 25110 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

25110.  

(a) Criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree is
punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
1170 for 16 months, or two or three years, by a fine not exceeding
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and
fine; or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
that imprisonment and fine.

(b) Criminal storage of a firearm in the second degree is
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
both that imprisonment and fine.

(c) Criminal storage of a firearm in the third degree is punishable
as a misdemeanor.

begin delete SEC. 6. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.