BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          SB 38 (de León) - Firearms prohibition: amnesty period.

          Amended: April 11, 2013         Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: May 13, 2013      Consultant: Jolie Onodera
          
          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
          
          
          Bill Summary: This bill would require the Department of Justice  
          (DOJ) to establish a 15-day amnesty period commencing not later  
          than July 1, 2014, within which persons prohibited from firearm  
          ownership could surrender any firearms they possess to local law  
          enforcement agencies without being subject to criminal  
          prosecution for that possession. In addition, this bill: 
               Imposes a civil fine of up to $2,500 for each firearm  
              possessed by such persons after the amnesty period ends, in  
              addition to any criminal penalties.
               Provides that persons convicted of a felony would not be  
              able to participate in the amnesty period.
               Requires local law enforcement agencies receiving firearms  
              under this amnesty program to report specified information  
              to the DOJ regarding the firearms and the person  
              surrendering them.
               Requires the DOJ to record in the Prohibited Arms Persons  
              File (APPS) the fact that specified firearms were  
              surrendered to law enforcement.
               Authorizes the DOJ to conduct a public awareness campaign  
              in conjunction with local law enforcement to promote the  
              amnesty period. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
               One-time costs to the DOJ of less than $100,000 (General  
              Fund) to enter information received in the APPS to create a  
              record of each firearm surrendered during the amnesty  
              period. 
               Potential costs in the range of $500,000 (General Fund) to  
              the DOJ to conduct a public awareness campaign in  
              conjunction with local law enforcement to promote the  
              amnesty period.
               Potential one-time state-reimbursable costs (General Fund)  
              for law enforcement agencies to report information to the  








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              DOJ regarding firearms surrendered during the amnesty  
              period.
               Potentially significant costs savings in DOJ enforcement  
              costs to the extent the additional records result in a  
              reduced number of investigations related to APPS listings.
               Potential cost savings in state and local incarceration  
              costs to the extent individuals who surrendered firearms  
              would have otherwise been charged and convicted of illegal  
              possession of firearms.
               Potential increase in civil fine revenues to the extent  
              collection is pursued.

          Background: Existing law prohibits persons who have been  
          convicted of specified crimes from owning or possessing  
          firearms. Under both federal and state law, for example, any  
          individual convicted of a felony offense is prohibited for life  
          from firearms ownership. Existing state law also imposes a  
          10-year firearms prohibition on any person convicted of numerous  
          misdemeanor offenses involving violence or the threat of  
          violence. A violation of this provision is an alternate  
          felony-misdemeanor (wobbler), punishable by imprisonment in a  
          state prison for 16 months, two, or three years, or in a county  
          jail for up to one year, a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both.

          In addition, state law imposes a 5-year firearms prohibition on  
          any person convicted of specified misdemeanors or found to be a  
          danger to themselves or others due to a mental illness, as  
          specified. A violation of these provisions is a wobbler,  
          punishable by imprisonment in a county jail or state prison  
          (with a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony) for 16  
          months, two, or three years, or in a county jail for not more  
          than one year.

          Current law requires the Attorney General to maintain an online  
          database known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File (APPS). The  
          purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have  
          ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1,  
          1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms  
          Information System and who, subsequent to the date of that  
          ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of  
          persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. 

          According to the DOJ, there are approximately 20,000 persons  
          currently listed on the APPS. These prohibited persons are  








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          estimated to be in possession of over 34,000 handguns and 1,600  
          assault weapons. It is estimated that the list of armed  
          prohibited persons in California grows by about 15 to 20 people  
          per day. Without sufficient resources, the DOJ and local law  
          enforcement do not have the capability to confiscate the  
          enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily  
          influx of newly prohibited persons. To reduce this backlog, the  
          Governor recently signed SB 140 (Leno) Chapter 2/2013 into law  
          on May 2, 2013, which appropriates $24 million to the DOJ to  
          enable additional resources to accelerate the identification and  
          confiscation of handguns and assault weapons owned by prohibited  
          persons. 

          Proposed Law: This bill would require the DOJ to establish a  
          15-day amnesty period commencing not later than July 1, 2014,  
          within which persons prohibited from firearm ownership, with  
          exceptions, could surrender any firearms they possess to local  
          law enforcement agencies without being subject to criminal  
          prosecution for that possession. In addition, this bill: 
               Imposes a civil fine of up to $2,500 for each firearm  
              possessed by such persons after the amnesty period ends, in  
              addition to any criminal penalties.
               Requires local law enforcement agencies to submit the  
              following information to the DOJ for each surrendered  
              firearm: 
                o       The name of the prohibited person who surrendered  
          the firearm. 
                o       The person's date of birth. 
                o       A description of the firearm or firearms  
          surrendered. 
                o       The serial number of the firearm or firearms  
          surrendered. 
                o       Any other information deemed necessary by the  
          department. 
               Requires the DOJ to record in the APPS the fact that  
              specified firearms were surrendered to law enforcement.
               Provides that a prohibited person who surrenders a firearm  
              during the amnesty period shall not be charged with illegal  
              possession of firearms for any firearm the DOJ has on record  
              as having been surrendered. 
               Provides that persons convicted of a felony would not be  
              able to participate in the amnesty period.
               Authorizes the DOJ to conduct a public awareness campaign  
              in conjunction with local law enforcement to promote the  








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              amnesty period described in this section and to educate  
              prohibited persons on how to surrender firearms to law  
              enforcement in a safe and secure manner. 
          
          Related Legislation: SB 755 (Wolk) 2013 expands the list of  
          misdemeanors that result in a 10-year prohibition from firearms  
          possession to include drug and alcohol-related offenses. This  
          bill is currently on the Suspense File of this committee.
          
          Staff Comments: The DOJ would incur increased one-time costs of  
          less than $100,000 (General Fund) to enter the reports received  
          from local law enforcement agencies into the APPS system to  
          record information on firearms surrendered during the amnesty  
          period. As the bill requires local law enforcement agencies to  
          submit detailed information on each firearm received during the  
          amnesty period, this creates a reimbursable state mandate, the  
          costs of which would be dependent on the number of firearms  
          surrendered during the amnesty period and the time required to  
          collect and prepare the information to be submitted to the DOJ.

          The DOJ has indicated the costs to conduct a public outreach  
          campaign are estimated at approximately $500,000 (General Fund).  


          Because transfer records for long guns are not currently  
          maintained by the DOJ, the firearms ownership records reflect  
          only handguns and/or assault weapons legally acquired prior to  
          becoming prohibited. Pursuant to AB 809 (Feuer) Chapter  
          745/2011, effective January 1, 2014, the requirements for  
          reporting and records retention involving the transfer of hand  
          guns will be extended to long guns. Because a prohibited person  
          participating in the amnesty program who surrenders a registered  
          handgun but possibly retains possession of an unregistered long  
          gun that DOJ has no record of, it is not clear how DOJ will  
          modify the APPS list, as there is currently no mechanism to  
          determine any potential long guns an individual may still  
          possess. But to the extent the additional records result in a  
          reduced number of investigations related to APPS listings, this  
          bill could result in very significant cost savings in DOJ  
          enforcement costs.

          To the extent the provisions of this bill result in a reduced  
          number of individuals being charged and convicted of illegal  
          possession of firearms, this bill could additionally result in  








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          potential cost savings in court workload as well as local, and  
          to a lesser degree state, incarceration costs.