BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1591
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Date of Hearing: March 11, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1591 (Achadjian) - As Introduced: February 3, 2014
SUMMARY : Changes the requirement from two court days to 24
hours of when a court must notify the Department of Justice
(DOJ) of specified court actions that would result in the
prohibition of a person from possessing a firearm or any other
deadly weapon or result in the person no longer being subject to
that prohibition.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that no person who after October 1, 1955 has been
adjudicated by a court of any state to be a danger to others
as a result of a mental disorder or mental illness, or who has
been adjudicated to be a mentally disordered sex offender,
shall purchase or receive, or attempt to purchase or receive,
or have in his or her possession, custody, or control any
firearm or any other deadly weapon unless there has been
issued to the person a certificate by the court of
adjudication upon release from treatment or at a later date
stating that the person may possess a firearm or any other
deadly weapon without endangering others, and the person has
not, subsequent to the issuance of the certificate, again been
adjudicated by a court to be a danger to others as a result of
a mental disorder or mental illness. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §
8103, subd. (a)(1).)
2)Requires the court to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but not
later than two court days, of the court order finding an
individual to be a danger to others as a result of a mental
disorder or mental illness, or who has been adjudicated to be
a mentally disordered sex offender. Requires the court also
to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but not later than two
court days, of any certificate issued by the court stating
that the person may possess a firearm or any other deadly
weapon. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103, subd. (a)(2).)
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3)Prohibits a person who has been found not guilty by reason of
insanity of murder, mayhem, carjacking, or robbery in which
the victim suffers great bodily injury, burglary in the first
degree, or any of the other specified offenses involving
death, great bodily injury, or an act which poses a serious
threat of bodily harm to another person, from purchasing or
receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, or having in
his or her possession or under his or her custody or control
any firearm or any other deadly weapon. Requires the court to
notify DOJ as soon as possible, but not later than two court
days, of the court order finding the person to be a person
described in this provision. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103,
subd. (b).)
4)Prohibits a person who has been found not guilty by reason of
insanity for any offense not specifically listed from
purchasing or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive,
or having in his or her possession, custody, or control any
firearm or any other deadly weapon unless the court of
commitment has found the person to have recovered sanity.
Requires the court to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but not
later than two court days, of the court order finding the
person to be a person described in this provision, and
requires the court to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but not
later than two court days, when it finds that the person has
recovered his or her sanity. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103,
subd. (c).)
5)Prohibits a person who has been found by a court to be
mentally incompetent to stand trial, from purchasing or
receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, or having in
his or her possession, custody, or control, any firearm or any
other deadly weapon unless there has been a finding with
respect to the person of restoration to competence to stand
trial by the committing court. Requires the court to notify
DOJ as soon as possible, but not later than two court days, of
the court order finding the person to be mentally incompetent,
and requires the court to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but
not later than two court days, when it finds that the person
has recovered his or her competence. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §
8103, subd. (d).)
6)Prohibits a person who has been placed under conservatorship
by a court from purchasing or receiving, or attempting to
purchase or receive, or having in his or her possession,
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custody, or control, any firearm or any other deadly weapon
while under the conservatorship if, at the at the time the
conservatorship was ordered or thereafter, the imposing court
found that possession of a firearm or any other deadly weapon
by the person would present a danger to the safety of the
person or to others. Requires the court to notify DOJ as soon
as possible, but not later than two court days, of the court
order placing the person under conservatorship and prohibiting
firearm or any other deadly weapon possession, including the
dates the conservatorship was imposed and is to be terminated,
and requires the court to notify DOJ as soon as possible, but
not later than two court days, if the conservatorship is
subsequently terminated before the date listed in the notice
to DOJ or the court subsequently finds that possession of
firearm or any other deadly weapon by the person would no
longer present a danger to the safety of the person or others.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103, subd. (e).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 1591 would
implement the State Auditor's recommendation that courts abide
by the same reporting standards required of other reporting
entities, establishing consistent procedures regarding the
urgency with which we identify and report Armed Prohibited
Persons to the Department of Justice."
2)Prohibited Persons : California has several laws that prohibit
certain persons from purchasing firearms. 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. Another prohibition is based on the mental
health of the individual. If a person communicates to his or
her psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence
against a reasonably-identifiable victim or victims, the
person is prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm for
five years, starting from the date the psychotherapist reports
to local law enforcement the identity of the person making the
threat. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8100, subd. (b)(1).) If a
person is admitted into a facility because that person is a
danger to himself, herself, or to others, the person is
prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm for five years.
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(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8103, subd. (f).) For the provisions
prohibiting a person from owning or possessing a firearm based
on a serious threat of violence or based on admittance into a
facility as a threat to self or others, the person has the
right to request a hearing whereby the person could restore
his or her right to own or possess a firearm if a court
determines that the person is likely to use firearms or other
deadly weapons in a safe and lawful manner. (Welf. & Inst.
Code, §§ 8100, subd. (b)(1) and 8103, subd. (f).)
DOJ developed the Prohibited Armed Persons File, which is
commonly referred to as the Armed Prohibited Persons System
(APPS), an automated system for tracking handgun and assault
weapon owners in California who may pose a threat to public
safety. (Pen. Code, § 30000 et seq.) APPS collects
information about persons who have been, or will become,
prohibited from possessing a firearm subsequent to the legal
acquisition or registration of a firearm or assault weapon.
DOJ receives automatic notifications from state and federal
criminal history systems to determine if there is a match in
the APPS for a current California gun owner. DOJ also
receives information from courts, local law enforcement and
state hospitals as well as public and private mental hospitals
to determine whether someone is in a prohibited status. When
a match is found, DOJ has the authority to investigate the
person's status and confiscate any firearms or weapons in the
person's possession. Local law enforcement also may request
from DOJ the status of an individual, or may request a list of
prohibited persons within their jurisdiction, and conduct an
investigation of those persons. (Pen. Code, § 30010.)
3)State Audit : Prompted by the Legislature, the California
State Auditor conducted an audit concerning the reporting and
identification of persons with mental illness who are
prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. The State
Auditor released her report of this audit in October 2013.
(See Cal. State Auditor, Armed Persons with Mental Illness
(Oct. 2013) Report 2013-103.) In the report, the State
Auditor concluded that although DOJ relies on information from
courts and mental health facilities to identify persons who
are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, the
department had not done sufficient outreach to the courts or
mental health facilities to remind them to report this
required information promptly and that DOJ could not identify
all armed prohibited persons in the state as effectively as it
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should. (Id., at p. 1.) Moreover, the State Auditor found
that although existing law requires courts to report
individuals to DOJ whenever the courts make certain mental
health determinations, many courts were unaware of these
requirements. (Id.) To improve the state's system of
preventing prohibited persons from possessing or owning
firearms, the State Auditor recommended, among other things,
that the Legislature amend existing law to require that all
mental health-related prohibiting events be reported to DOJ
within 24 hours regardless of the entity required to report.
(Id., at p. 4.) This bill would conform state law with this
recommendation by the State Auditor.
4)Related Legislation : AB 1131 (Skinner) established reporting
deadlines for specified entities and required electronic
reporting to DOJ. AB 1131 was chaptered into law (Chapter
747, Statutes of 2013).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744