BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 500 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 500 (Ammiano) - As Introduced: February 20, 2013 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 5-2 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill establishes safe gun storage requirements when persons prohibited from owning a gun live in a household where a gun is present; allows the Department of Justice (DOJ) to delay gun sales when background checks are not completed; and requires the DOJ to be notified that gun purchasers have taken possession of a gun. Specifically, this bill: 1)Prohibits a person who is residing with someone prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a gun from keeping a gun at that residence unless the gun is kept within a locked container, locked gun safe, locked trunk, locked with a locking device, disabled by a gun safety device, or carried on the person. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. 2)Requires the DOJ to notify a licensed firearms dealer when the departent is unable to complete a background check within two days prior to the conclusion of the required 10-day waiting period, and requires the dealer to withhold delivery until seven days after the notification is received by the dealer. 3)Requires, beginning January 1, 2015, that dealers notify DOJ that a person who applied to purchase a gun took possession of the gun. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Significant ongoing special fund costs (Dealer Record of Sale account (DROS)), in the low millions of dollars, for DOJ AB 500 Page 2 Bureau of Firearms workload. According to DOJ, 80% of DROS eligibility checks are determined during the final two days of the 10-day waiting period. Based on 80% background not clearing by the eighth day, DOJ staff would have to call dealers on approximately 3,000 DROS every day, requiring about 70 new positions. With attendant office expenses, annual costs would exceed $5 million. 2)Costs would be offset to an unknown extent by the reduced likelihood of litigation due to the inability to complete the checks. 3)Minor nonreimbursable local incarceration costs, offset to a degree by increased fine revenue, to the extent persons are convicted of the misdemeanor storage provisions of the bill. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author's intent is to (a) keep guns from prohibited persons; (b) give the DOJ sufficient time to conduct background checks in cases in which access to records may not be available; and (c) provide additional information to the DOJ's Automated Firearms System - the fact that a person has taken possession of a purchased gun. 2)Support . The California Chapter of the Brady Campaign notes current law requires a background check and a 10-day waiting period prior to providing the gun to a prospective buyer. In a small number of cases, usually because court disposition documents are unavailable, the DOJ has not been authorizing delivery of the firearm by the dealer. This bill specifically authorizes the DOJ additional time to complete the background check, if needed. In addition, the bill's requirement that a person who resides in the same residence with a person who is prohibited from possessing a gun, may not keep a gun in the residence unless it is secured, is an appropriate cautionary measure. 3)Opposition . The California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees states, "This measure allows the California Department of Justice to arbitrarily extend the waiting period for firearm transactions with no due process or remedy for the AB 500 Page 3 firearm purchaser or impacted sellers. AB 500 impacts California enterprise by creating unpredictable processes, increasing liability, and imposing additional administrative burdens on thousands of small businesses?. "AB 500 also infringes on the rights of those who reside with a prohibited person, including those who are prohibited but did not commit any crime of violence." 4)Technical drafting work is needed on this bill . The author has agreed to continue working on the language while the bill is on the Suspense File. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081