BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 538| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 538 Author: Pan (D) Amended: 6/4/13 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/11/13 AYES: Hancock, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg NOES: Anderson, Knight SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/24/13 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NOES: Walters, Gaines ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-23, 5/20/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Firearms SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill makes a series of changes to firearm purchase and transfer processes, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Prohibits any person from selling, leasing, or transferring firearms unless the person has been issued a firearms dealer's license, as specified. CONTINUED AB 538 Page 2 2.Requires the register or record of electronic transfer for handguns, and all firearms starting January 1, 2014, to include specified information including the date and time of the sale. 3.Requires, except as permitted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations, the purchaser of a firearm to provide his or her right thumbprint on the register in a manner prescribed by the DOJ. 4.Requires the firearms dealer to record on the register or record of electronic transfer the date that the firearm is delivered. 5.Requires, within 10 days of the date a handgun, and any firearm starting January 1, 2014, is acquired as an institutional weapon, as defined, by an authorized law enforcement agency, a record of that acquisition to be entered as an institutional weapon into the Automated Firearms System (AFS) via the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS) by the acquiring agency. Requires that any agency without access to AFS to arrange with the sheriff of the county in which the agency is located to input this information via CLETS. 6.Prohibits a person from purchasing or receiving a handgun, except an antique firearm, without a valid handgun safety certificate, and prohibits a person from selling, delivering, loaning, or transferring a handgun, except an antique firearm, to another person without a valid handgun safety certificate. This bill: 1.Exempts the requirement that the seller be a licensed firearms dealer in the case of the sale, delivery, or transfer of a firearm when made by an authorized law enforcement representative of a city, county, city and county, or of the state or federal government, if both of the following conditions are met: A. The sale, delivery, or transfer is made to: A person who is a license firearms dealer, as specified. CONTINUED AB 538 Page 3 A wholesaler. A licensed manufacturer or importer of firearms or ammunition. A. The firearm is not subject to any of the following: The firearm is a nuisance weapon subject to surrender, as specified. The firearm is unclaimed, abandoned, or subject to destruction, as specified. A. If the authorized law enforcement representative sells, delivers, or transfers a firearm that the government agency owns to a person who is a licensed firearms dealer, as specified, within 10 days of the date that the firearm is delivered the agency has entered a record of the delivery into the AFS, as specified. 1.Exempts from the prohibition on the purchase or receipt by, or the sale, delivery, or transfer of a firearm to a person without a valid handgun safety certificate when made by an authorized law enforcement representative of a city, county, city and county, or of the state or federal government, if both of the following conditions are met: A. The sale, delivery, or transfer is made to: A person who is licensed, as specified. A wholesaler. A licensed manufacturer or importer of firearms or ammunition. A. The firearm is not subject to any of the following: The firearm is a nuisance weapon subject to surrender, as specified. The firearm is unclaimed, abandoned, or subject to destruction, as specified. 1.Requires an authorized law enforcement agency that is the registered owner of an institutional weapon, as defined, that subsequently destroys that weapon to enter such information into the AFS via the CLETS. It also requires that any agency without access to AFS to arrange with the sheriff of the CONTINUED AB 538 Page 4 county in which the agency is located to input this information via CLETS. 2.Exempts from the requirement that transaction be made through a licensed dealer in the case of the sale, delivery, or transfer of a firearm when made by an authorized law enforcement representative of a city, county, city and county, or of the state or federal government, if both of the following conditions are met: A. The sale, delivery, or transfer is made to A wholesaler. A licensed manufacturer or importer of firearms or ammunition. A. The firearm is not subject to any of the following: The firearm is a nuisance weapon subject to surrender, as specified. The firearm is unclaimed, abandoned, or subject to destruction, as specified. 1.Requires the register or record of electronic transfer for all firearms to include the following additional information: A. Any applicable waiting period exemption information. B. A statement informing the purchaser, after his or her ownership of a firearm, of all of the following: Upon his or her application, DOJ shall furnish him or her any information reported to the department as it relates to his or her ownership of that firearm. The purchaser is entitled to file a report of his or her acquisition, disposition, or ownership of a firearm with the DOJ. Instructions for accessing the DOJ's Internet website for more information. A. The dealer's signature indicating delivery of the firearm. CONTINUED AB 538 Page 5 B. The purchaser's signature indicating that the firearm is delivered to him or her. 1.Requires the firearms dealer to provide a copy of the register, electronic transfer, or telephonic transfer, whichever is applicable, to the purchaser at the time of delivery of the firearm and after the dealer notes the date of delivery, and provides a signature indicating the delivery and the purchaser acknowledges the receipt of the firearm. 2.Makes a number of technical, non-substantive changes. Comments According to the author, this bill provides additional consumer protections by requiring the dealer to obtain a signature when delivering the gun to the consumer; giving the consumer the dealer record of sale form at that time as a receipt and, improves the manner in which law enforcement reports acquisitions, ownership, and disposition of firearms obtained in the course and scope of their duties. With the surge in sales and increase of dealer record of sale forms, it is important and in the best interest of ensuring the public's safety to ensure accuracy. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time administrative costs to the Department of Justice (DOJ) of $143,000 (Special Fund*) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013-14 and $27,000 (Special Fund*) in FY 2014-15 to develop and modify the Automated Firearm System (AFS) to accommodate the new record information requirements. Minor ongoing non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs. *Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/13) CONTINUED AB 538 Page 6 California American College of Emergency Physicians ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-23, 5/20/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Chesbro, Fox, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Logue, Vacancy, Vacancy JG:nl 6/26/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED