BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1798|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1798
Author: Assembly Public Safety Committee
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/10/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mitchell
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 4/28/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Deadly weapons
SOURCE : California Law Review Commission
DIGEST : This bill makes technical, nonsubstantive changes to
the laws related to deadly weapons, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.States, in order to assist in the investigation of crime, the
prosecution of civil actions by city attorneys, the arrest and
prosecution of criminals, and the recovery of lost, stolen, or
found property, the Attorney General shall keep and properly
file a complete record of all copies of fingerprints, copies
of licenses to carry firearms issued as provided, information
reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as specified,
dealers' records of sales of firearms, specified forms and
reports, that are not dealers' records of sales of firearms,
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other specified information, and reports of stolen, lost,
found, pledged, or pawned property in any city or county of
this state, and shall, upon proper application therefor,
furnish this information to the officers authorized to receive
state summary criminal history information.
2.Requires the Attorney General to permanently keep and properly
file and maintain all information reported to DOJ pursuant to
specified provisions of law as to firearms and maintain a
registry thereof.
3.Provides that any officer referred to in provisions of law
related to who may receive state summary criminal history
information may disseminate the name of the subject of the
record, the number of the firearms listed in the record, and
the description of any firearm, including the make, model, and
caliber, from the record relating to any firearm's sale,
transfer, registration, or license record, or any information
reported to DOJ if certain conditions are met.
4.Defines "application to purchase" to mean either of the
following:
A. The initial completion of the register by the purchaser,
transferee, or person being loaned a firearm, as required
by existing provisions of law; or,
B. The initial completion and transmission to DOJ of the
record of electronic or telephonic transfer by the dealer
on the purchaser, transferee, or person being loaned a
firearm, as required by existing provisions of law.
1.Defines "firearm safety device" as a device other than a gun
safe that locks and is designed to prevent children and
unauthorized users from firing a firearm. The device may be
installed on a firearm, be incorporated into the design of the
firearm, or prevent access to the firearm.
2.States that "locked container" means a secure container that
is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock,
combination lock, or similar locking device. The term "locked
container" does not include the utility or glove compartment
of a motor vehicle.
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3.Defines "short-barreled rifle" to mean any of the following:
A. A rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16
inches in length;
B. A rifle with an overall length of less than 26 inches;
C. Any weapon made from a rifle (whether by alteration,
modification, or otherwise) if that weapon, as modified,
has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or
barrels of less than 16 inches in length;
D. Any device that may be readily restored to fire a fixed
cartridge which, when so restored, is a device, as
specified; or
E. Any part, or combination of parts, designed and intended
to convert a device into a device, as defined, or any
combination of parts from which a device may be readily
assembled if those parts are in the possession or under the
control of the same person.
1.States that "short-barreled shotgun" means any of the
following:
A. A firearm that is designed or redesigned to fire a fixed
shotgun shell and has a barrel or barrels of less than 18
inches in length;
B. A firearm that has an overall length of less than 26
inches and that is designed or redesigned to fire a fixed
shotgun shell;
C. Any weapon made from a shotgun (whether by alteration,
modification, or otherwise) if that weapon, as modified,
has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or
barrels of less than 18 inches in length;
D. Any device that may be readily restored to fire a fixed
shotgun shell which, when so restored, is a device, as
specified; or,
E. Any part, or combination of parts, designed and intended
to convert a device into a device, as defined, or any
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combination of parts from which a specified device can be
readily assembled if those parts are in the possession or
under the control of the same person.
This bill:
1.Clarifies that the definitions of "application to purchase,"
"firearm safety device," "locked container," "short-barreled
rifle," and "short-barreled shotgun" apply to all specified
provisions related to Control of Deadly Weapons.
2.Standardizes references in statute to the "federal Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives" and the "facility's
manager."
3.Recasts language in statutes into separate subdivisions to
increase clarity and readability.
4.Deletes an erroneous cross-reference.
Comments
According to the author, "AB 1798 is based on a recommendation
of the California Law Revision Commission [Commission]. The
bill proposes minor, technical changes to the deadly weapons
provisions of the Penal Code. These changes would clarify
certain deadly weapons statutes, making them easier to
understand and use.
"AB 1798 will clarify the scope of definitions for the following
terms contained in Part 6 of the Penal Code: 'application to
purchase,' 'firearm safety device,' 'locked container,'
'short-barreled rifle,' and 'short-barreled shotgun.'
Currently, the definitions for these terms have expressly
limited application, covering only specified provisions. The
Commission reviewed sections that use these terms, but fall
outside the express scope of the statutory definition. In all
cases, the Commission concluded that the undefined term was
nonetheless used in the defined sense. Therefore, this bill
would amend these definitions to clarify that they govern the
entirety of Part 6 of the Penal Code. This change would
eliminate potential confusion.
"In addition, AB 1798 would standardize references to the
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'federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives'
and the 'facility's manager' for the site of a gun show or
event. This change would eliminate any confusion arising from
inconsistent references to this organization and person.
"Finally, AB 1798 also includes two other minor technical
revisions that were previously approved by the Legislature, but
did not take effect for process reasons. These changes would
improve clarity and readability & correct an erroneous
cross-reference."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/10/14)
California Law Review Commission (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 04/28/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,
Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Vacancy
JG:nl 6/11/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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