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