BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1609
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 9, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                 AB 1609 (Alejo) - As Introduced:  February 6, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No          

           SUMMARY  

          This bill clarifies regulations for direct shipment of guns  
          purchased out-of-state to California residents by explicitly  
          requiring the gun to be delivered to a dealer in California for  
          delivery pursuant to specified requirements in current law,  
          including (a) a 10-day waiting period; (b) clear evidence of age  
          and identity and a background check; and (c) possession of a  
          handgun safety certificate.   

          Violation of these provisions, which are also federal  
          requirements, is an alternate felony/misdemeanor, punishable by  
          up to one year in county jail, or by 16 months, two, or three  
          years in county jail if the gun is a handgun, or as a  
          misdemeanor if the gun is not a handgun. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Unknown, likely minor, local incarceration costs, to the  
            extent anyone is sentenced under this state section. For  
            purpose of context, no one was committed to state prison in  
            the two years prior to realignment for violating the dealer  
            requirements this bill applies to out-of-state transfers.

          2)Negligible administrative costs to the Department of Justice,  
            as these requirements are already federal law. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author contends this clarification will  
            increase public safety. "I am confident that this bill will  
            cut down on the number of guns on the streets of our most  








                                                                  AB 1609
                                                                  Page  2

            vulnerable cities by giving state law enforcement the tools to  
            enforce what in many cases is now federal law.  This bill will  
            not affect those who abide by the law, only those who break  
            it."

           2)Prior legislation  , AB 740 (Alejo), which was held on this  
            committee's Suspense File, included the provisions of AB 1609  
            in a broader bill that, among other provisions, required  
            electronic notification to DOJ regarding prohibited person  
            status. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081