BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1296
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1296 (Skinner) - As Amended: April 1, 2013
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill increases the period of time during which a person is
prohibited from possessing a gun based on a mental illness or
mental disorder, or a serious threat of violence communicated to
a licensed psychotherapist. Specifically, this bill:
1)Increases from six months to five years the period of time a
person is prohibited from possessing or owning a gun based on
his or her communication with a licensed psychotherapist of a
threat of physical violence against an identifiable victim.
2)Increases from five years to 10 years the period of time a
person is prohibited from possessing or owning a gun based on
the person's admittance into a facility because that person is
a danger to self or others.
This bill also:
3)Recasts provisions that authorize the court to find a person
is not subject to the gun possession prohibition due to
threats of violence to conform to similar legal process
provisions regarding the prohibition on gun possession due to
a mental health hold. The mental health hold provisions
require the people to bear the burden of showing, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the person would not be
likely to use a gun in a safe and lawful manner. If the
district attorney declines to go forward in a hearing to
restore gun possession, the court shall order that the person
is not subject to the prohibition.
4)Requires notices regarding a potentially prohibited person,
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that are required to be submitted to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) by local law enforcement or the state hospitals, to be
submitted in an electronic format, in a manner prescribed by
DOJ.
FISCAL EFFECT
Moderate one-time and ongoing special fund costs to DOJ, likely
in excess of $150,000 in the first year, to update software for
several automated tracking systems. Ongoing costs in the range
of $100,000. (Dealer Record of Sale Account)
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to enhance public safety by
increasing the period during which a person may not possess a
gun due to threats of violence to self or others. According to
the author, "While the vast majority of individuals with
mental health issues are not violent, research has shown that
the risk of violence towards others is higher among those with
serious mental illnesses, in part because this population also
has high rates of other risk factors such as substance abuse,
trauma, and unemployment.
2)Support - for extension of the six-month prohibition, but not
for the five-year extension . The California Chapters of the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence contends the six-month
gun prohibition for a threat of violence to a therapist is too
short and should be extended to five years.
The Brady Campaign, however, questions the five year extension
of the mental health hold prohibition. "Issues surrounding
§5150 [mental health hold] prohibitions are more complex.
Persons committed under §5150 may or may not be suffering from
persistent mental illness and a 10-year prohibition seems
overly harsh. This could be softened if additional opportunity
for hearing and potential restoration of firearm privileges
was provided. "
3)Opposition . The California Psychological Association (CPA) is
concerned this bill will deter people from seeking mental
health treatment. "While a direct link is made between mental
illness and media and legislation, data and literature do not
support these claims?. We have not seen data to justify the
increase in time for prohibition of firearms possession as
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proposed in this bill, and cannot support a change not rooted
in facts and scientific data."
According to the Mental Health Associates of California,
"Having a law that restricts one's rights to purchase a gun
based upon an individual's history of having been at one time
being found a danger to themselves or others but without
having committed a crime is a signification limitation that
treats people with mental illness different from the rest of
society."
4)The author may wish to consider establishing a uniform
five-year prohibition or add additional hearing opportunities
for persons who may fall under the 10-year ban.
5)DOJ's Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) is an online
database that cross-references persons who possess a gun and
who, subsequent to possession of that gun, become a member of
the class of persons legally prohibited from possessing a gun.
Law enforcement agencies have access to APPS and thus are able
to identify persons who are prohibited from possessing a gun.
According to DOJ, about half of the persons on the APPS list
are prohibited due to criminal history; about 30% due to
mental health status, and about 20% due to active restraining
orders.
All felony convictions lead to a lifetime prohibition, while
specified misdemeanors will result in a 10-year prohibition. A
person may be prohibited due to a protective order or as a
condition of probation. Mental health prohibitions result when
a person communicates to his or her psychotherapist a serious
threat of physical violence against an identifiable victim, or
when a person is admitted into a facility because that person
is a danger to self or others.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081