BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 500 (Ammiano) - Firearms: safe storage and waiting periods.
Amended: May 24, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 12, 2013
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 500 would establish safe firearms storage
requirements when persons prohibited from owning or possessing a
firearm reside in a household where a firearm is present.
Specifically, this bill:
Prohibits a person residing with a person prohibited by
state or federal law from possessing a firearm from keeping
a firearm at that residence unless the firearm is kept
secured or carried on the person, as specified.
Authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to delay
firearms sales for up to 30 days if a record check indicates
the buyer has been taken into custody for a mental health
evaluation or charged with a crime but the final disposition
cannot be ascertained within the 10-day waiting period.
Commencing January 1, 2015, requires licensed firearms
dealers to notify the DOJ if, after the applicable waiting
period, the firearm is transferred to the buyer, as
specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree
by fine revenue to the extent persons are charged and
convicted of misdemeanor violations of the provisions of
this bill.
Minor ongoing administrative costs of $11,000 (Special
Fund*) per year to the DOJ to mail delay notifications to
purchasers.
Reduced likelihood of litigation to DOJ due to the
inability to complete the background checks under the
existing timelines prescribed by law.
Potential ongoing minor court-related costs (General
Fund**) for new misdemeanor filings.
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While the impact of this bill independently on local jails
is likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of new
misdemeanors 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)
**Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: California law requires that all firearms be safely
stored. In the case of loaded firearms, a person may be guilty
of a misdemeanor or a felony for keeping a loaded firearm,
should a minor obtain and use it, resulting in injury or death,
or carry it to a public place.
First-degree criminal storage, when a child gains access to a
firearm and causes death or great bodily injury, is an alternate
felony/misdemeanor, punishable by 6 months, two, or three years
in county jail (or state prison if previously convicted of a
serious or violent felony), and/or a fine of up to $10,000, or
for a misdemeanor, up to one year in county jail and/or a fine
of up to $1,000.
Second-degree criminal storage, when a child gains access to a
firearm and causes injury, or carries the firearm to a public
place, or brandishes the firearm, is a misdemeanor, punishable
by up to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
This bill addresses the issue of firearm possession by a person
who resides with a person who is prohibited by law from owning a
firearm. Under existing state law, it is a crime for any person
to sell, supply, deliver, or give possession or control of a
firearm to anyone whom the person knows or has cause to believe
is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (PC § 27500) Parallel
federal law makes it a crime for any person to "sell or
otherwise dispose" of any firearm or ammunition to any person
knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person
is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (18 U.S.C. § 922(d))
Proposed Law: This bill would prohibit a person who is residing
with someone who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under
state or federal law from keeping a firearm at that residence
unless:
The firearm is maintained within a locked container.
The firearm is disabled by a firearm safety device.
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The firearm is maintained within a locked gun safe.
The firearm is maintained within a locked trunk.
The firearm is locked with a locking device as
specified, which has rendered the firearm inoperable.
The firearm is carried on the person or within close
enough proximity thereto that the individual can readily
retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person.
A violation of this section would be a misdemeanor, punishable
by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or
both.
In addition, this bill specifies procedures to be adopted to
delay transfer of a firearm to a buyer for up to 30 days. This
bill provides that the DOJ shall immediately notify a firearms
dealer to delay the transfer of a firearm to the purchaser if,
during the 10-day waiting period, records indicate either of the
following, and the DOJ is unable to ascertain whether the
purchaser is a person who is prohibited from firearm possession
prior to the conclusion of the waiting period:
The purchaser has been taken into custody and placed in
a facility for mental health treatment or evaluation, as
specified.
The purchaser has been arrested for, or charged with, a
crime that would make him or her, if convicted, a person
who has applied to purchase another handgun within the last
30 days, or is prohibited by state or federal law from
possessing a firearm.
The DOJ would be required to notify the purchaser by mail
regarding the delay and explain the process the purchaser may
follow. If the DOJ is unable to ascertain the final disposition
of the arrest or charge, or the outcome of the mental health
treatment or evaluation, within 30 days of the original
submission by the dealer of purchaser information to the DOJ,
the DOJ shall notify the dealer and the dealer may transfer the
firearm to the purchaser, as specified. Commencing January 1,
2015, this bill would require licensed firearms dealers to
notify the DOJ if, after the applicable waiting period, the
firearm is transferred to the buyer, as specified.
Related Legislation: SB 108 (Yee) 2013 would require firearms
owners to keep firearms in a locked container or disabled with a
firearm safety device, as specified, when the owner is not at
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home. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Committee on
Public Safety.
SB 363 (Wright) 2013 would expand the existing crime of
"criminal storage of a firearm" to extend the firearm owner's
knowing standard to persons prohibited from possessing a
firearm. This bill is pending a vote on the Assembly Floor.
AB 231 (Ting) 2013 would create the crime of criminal firearm
storage in the third degree if the person negligently stores or
leaves a loaded firearm in a location where 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 a child.
Staff Comments: The DOJ has indicated the provisions of this
bill will result in ongoing minor increased costs of $11,000
(Special Fund) for the postage associated with mailing delay
notifications to firearms purchasers as required by this bill.
The provisions of this bill could result in increased court
costs due to additional misdemeanor filings for the offense of
improper storage of a firearm as specified in this measure. It
is unknown how many new filings would result due to the
provisions of this bill, but it is estimated the impact to the
courts would not be significant.
The creation of new misdemeanors has historically been analyzed
by this Committee to result in non-reimbursable state mandated
costs for local law enforcement and incarceration. Staff notes,
however, that the creation of new misdemeanors taken
cumulatively could increase the statewide adult jail population
to a degree that could potentially impact the flexibility of
counties to manage their jail populations recently exacerbated
under 2011 Public Safety Realignment. While the provisions of
this bill are likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of all
new misdemeanors could create unknown General Fund cost pressure
on capital outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other
resources.
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