BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1014| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1014 Author: Skinner (D), Williams (D), et al. Amended: 8/18/14 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/24/14 AYES: Hancock, De León, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg NOES: Anderson, Knight SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-17, 5/31/13 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Gun violence restraining orders SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer or immediate family member of a person, to seek, and a court to issue, a gun violence restraining order (GVRO), as specified, prohibiting a person from having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving any firearms or ammunition, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing federal law provides that certain people are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm: Any person who: CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 2 1. Has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. 2. Is a fugitive from justice. 3. Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance, as defined. 4. Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution. 5. Being an alien: A. Is illegally or unlawfully in the U.S.; or B. Except as specified, has been admitted to the U.S. under a nonimmigrant visa, as defined. 6. Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions. 7. Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship. 8. Is subject to a court order that: A. Was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate. B. Restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child: (1) Includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or (2) By its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 3 reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury. 1. Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Existing state law provides that certain people are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This includes: 1. Lifetime Ban A. Anyone convicted of a felony; B. Anyone addicted to a narcotic drug; C. Any juvenile convicted of a violent crime with a gun and tried in adult court; D. Any person convicted of a federal crime that would be a felony in California and sentenced to more than 30 days in prison, or a fine of more than $1,000; and E. Anyone convicted of certain violent misdemeanors, e.g., assault with a firearm; inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or significant other, brandishing a firearm in the presence of a police officer. 1. 10 Year Ban Anyone convicted of numerous misdemeanors involving violence or threats of violence. 2. Five Year Ban Any person taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility due to that person being found to be a danger to themselves or others as a result of a mental disorder, is prohibited from possessing a firearm during treatment and for five years from the date of their discharge. 3. Temporary Bans Persons who are bound by a temporary restraining order or injunction or a protective order issued under the Family Code CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 4 or the Welfare and Institutions Code, may be prohibited from firearms ownership for the duration of that court order. This bill establishes a system authorizing persons to seek, and the courts to issue, various types of GVROs, as follows: 1. Defines a "gun violence restraining order" as an order, in writing, signed by the court, prohibiting and enjoining a named person from having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving any firearms or ammunition. 2. Requires the Judicial Council to prescribe the form of petitions and orders and any other documents, and shall promulgate any rules of the court necessary for implementation. 3. Requires the court to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ), district attorney and law enforcement agency when a GVRO has been issued or renewed no later than one court day after issuing or renewing the order. 4. Requires the court to notify the DOJ, district attorney and law enforcement agency when a GVRO has been dissolved or terminated no later than five court days after dissolving or terminating the order. 5. Requires notices submitted to the DOJ to be submitted in electronic format. 6. Provides for the following three types of GVROs: A. A temporary emergency GVRO - may be issued on an ex parte basis only if a law enforcement officer asserts and a judicial officer finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that a person poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or others by having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving firearms. (1) Prohibits the person from having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive a firearm or ammunition, and shall expire 21 days from CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 5 the date of the order. (2) Requires the law enforcement officer who requested the emergency GVRO to serve the order on the restrained person and enter into the DOJ computer database system for protective and restraining orders. (3) Requires the courts to designate at least one judge, commissioner, or referee to be reasonably available to issue emergency GVROs at all times, whether or not court is in session. A. Ex parte GVRO - may be requested by an immediate family member of a person or a law enforcement officer by filing a petition requesting the court issue an order enjoining the person from having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. (1) Authorizes a court to issue an ex parte GVRO if the petition is supported by a written and signed affidavit, as specified, showing that there is a substantial likelihood that the person will, in the near future, cause personal injury to himself/herself or another by having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm. (2) Requires an ex parte GVRO to be issued or denied on the same day the petition is submitted to the court, or no later than the next day of judicial business under specified circumstances. (3) Provides for numerous factors for the court to consider prior to issuing an ex parte GVRO. (4) Provides that the ex parte GVRO expires no later than 21 days from the date of the order. (5) Provides for a scheduled hearing to be held within 21 days of the order to determine if a more permanent GVRO should be issued. Failure to appear could result in an order valid for one year. A. GVRO issued after notice and hearing - may be CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 6 requested by an immediate family member of a person or a law enforcement officer, which would enjoin the person from having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition for a period of one year. (1) Provides that at the hearing, the petitioner has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that there is a substantial likelihood that the person will cause personal injury to himself/herself or others by having in his/her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm. (2) If the court finds that there is not clear and convincing evidence to support the issuance of a GVRO, the court shall dissolve any temporary emergency GVROs or ex parte GVROs in effect. (3) GVROs may be renewed for one year by further order of the court. (4) Provides that the restrained person is entitled to one hearing to request a termination of the order, and the court is to provide a form to request such a hearing. (5) Provides that an immediate family member of the restrained person or a law enforcement officer may request a renewal of a GVRO at any time within the three months before expiration of a GVRO. 1. Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to file a petition for a GVRO knowing the information to be false or with the intent to harass. 2. Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to violate a GVRO, and prohibits the person from having firearms or ammunition for a five-year period, to commence upon the expiration of the existing GVRO. 3. Mandates that if a specified peace officer is serving a GVRO, that officer shall take temporary custody of any firearm or other deadly weapon in plain sight or discovered pursuant to a lawful search, and adds DOJ peace officers to CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 7 the list of persons required to take temporary custody of firearms in these situations. 4. Provides that a search warrant may be issued when the property or things to be seized are firearms or ammunition that are in the custody or control of, or is owned or possessed by, a person who is the subject of a GVRO. 5. Provides upon issuance of a GVRO, the court shall order the restrained person to surrender to the local law enforcement agency any firearms or ammunition in the person's custody or control, or which the restrained person owns or possesses. 6. Provides that if the surrender is not requested by a law enforcement agency, the surrender must occur within 24 hours of being served the order, to the law enforcement agency or by selling the firearms or ammunition to a licensed gun dealer, as specified. 7. Requires the firearms or ammunition surrendered to a law enforcement agency to be retained until the expiration of the GVRO. 8. Contains double-jointing language with SB 1154 (Hancock). FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time significant costs potentially in excess of $250,000 (General Fund*) to the Judicial Council to develop forms, instructions, standards, and procedures. Potentially significant ongoing costs to the trial courts, potentially in the hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars (General Fund*) to hold hearings, issue warrants, and issue gun violence restraining orders. Actual costs would be dependent of the volume of petitions filed by law enforcement and family members. One-time and ongoing costs of about $200,000 (General Fund) to DOJ to upgrade automation systems to accommodate the new information, provide training to various entities to CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 8 facilitate the process of submittal, recording, and tracking of gun violence restraining order status. Ongoing potentially significant state-reimbursable costs (General Fund) for law enforcement to retain surrendered firearms and ammunition during the restraining order period, issue a receipt to the restrained person at the time of surrender, and serve ex parte restraining orders. Non-reimbursable local law enforcement agency costs for enforcement and incarceration, offset to a degree by fine revenue for misdemeanor violations of the provisions of this bill. *Trial Court Trust Fund SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14) Alameda County Board of Supervisors Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley American College of Emergency Physicians - California Chapter Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence - California Chapters Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence - Orange County Chapter California Democratic Party California Partnership to End Domestic Violence California Police Chiefs Association California Psychiatric Association Cities of Berkeley, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara Coalition Against Gun Violence - Santa Barbara Coalition to Stop Gun Violence Courage Campaign Disability Rights California Everytown for Gun Safety Friends Committee on Legislation Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer Nevada County Suicide Prevention Taskforce Physicians for Social Responsibility - Sacramento Chapter Physicians for Social Responsibility - San Francisco-Bay Area Chapter Santa Barbara Chief of Police, Cam Sanchez Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 9 University of California Student Association Ventura County Board of Supervisors Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County Women Against Gun Violence Youth Alive! OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/15/14) California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees California Sportsman's Lobby Department of Finance Gun Owners of California Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Safari Club International Taxpayers for improving Public Safety ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Police Chiefs Association writes, "AB 1014, modeled on our state's domestic violence restraining order laws, provides family members and law enforcement with important new legal tools. AB 1014 allows for the removal of firearms from individuals who are at risk for committing acts of violence. It establishes a process for obtaining a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) from a court in order to temporarily limit (for one year, unless renewed) the individual's access to firearms when there are warning signs or indications that the person is at risk for violence." ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Safari Club International writes, "The functional equivalent of what this bill proposes can already be accomplished under existing law without the additional costs that would result from AB 1014. It is better to utilize and enforce existing laws than to add another unnecessary layer of statute." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-17, 5/31/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, CONTINUED AB 1014 Page 10 Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Waldron NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Gorell, Grove, Holden, Perea, Wagner, Wilk, Vacancy JG:k 8/17/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED