BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1591 Page 1 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).) AB 1591 Page 2 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, AB 1591 Page 3 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. AB 1591 Page 4 (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 AB 1591 Page 5 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