BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 538|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 538
Author: Pan (D)
Amended: 8/26/13 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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/26/13 add double-jointing language
with SB 683 (Block) to prevent chaptering out issues.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Prohibits any person from selling, leasing, or transferring
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firearms unless the person has been issued a firearms dealer's
license, as specified.
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:
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A person who is a license firearms dealer, 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.
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
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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
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.
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A. The dealer's signature indicating delivery of the
firearm.
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.
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 8/27/13)
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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 8/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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