BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 47|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 47
Author: Yee (D), et al.
Amended: 5/24/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/16/13
AYES: Hancock, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/6/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Firearms: assault weapons
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines "fixed magazine" and amends the
definition of assault weapons as specified. This bill provides
that any person who was eligible to register an assault weapon
and lawfully possessed such a weapon as specified prior to
January 1, 2014 is exempt from penalties until July 1, 2015.
This bill requires that any person who from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2013, that lawfully possessed an assault weapon
that does not have a fixed magazine, as specified, register the
firearm with the Department of Justice (DOJ) before July 1,
2015, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. States legislative intent to place restrictions on the use
of assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles and to establish a
registration and permit procedure for their lawful sale and
possession.
2. Defines "assault weapon" as one of certain specified rifles
and pistols, as specified.
3. Defines a "detachable magazine" as any ammunition feeding
device that can be removed readily from the firearm with
neither disassembly of the firearm action nor use of a tool
being required. A bullet or ammunition cartridge is
considered a tool. Ammunition feeding device includes any
belted or linked ammunition, but does not include clips, en
bloc clips, or stripper clips that load cartridges into the
magazine.
4. Provides that unlawful possession of an assault weapon is an
alternate felony-misdemeanor and shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one
year, or by imprisonment. A first violation of these
provisions is punishable by a fine not exceeding $500 if the
person was found in possession of no more than two firearms
and certain specified conditions are met.
5. Provides that any person who within California manufactures,
imports into California, offers for sale, or who gives or
lends any assault weapon with specified exceptions is guilty
of a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison for
four, six, or eight years.
6. Requires that any person who lawfully possesses an assault
weapon, as specified, must register the firearm with DOJ, as
specified.
This bill:
1. Amends the definition of assault weapon to refer to a
firearm that has one of several specified military-style
features and does not have a "fixed magazine" rather than a
firearm with one of those features and the "capacity to
accept a detachable magazine."
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2. Defines "fixed magazine" as "an ammunition feeding device
contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a
manner that the device cannot be removed without disassembly
of the firearm action."
3. Provides that, notwithstanding the new definition of assault
weapon contained in this bill, any person who possessed an
assault weapon prior to January 1, 2014, is exempt from
punishment, as specified, until July 1, 2015, if all of the
following are applicable:
A. During the person's possession, the person was
eligible to register that assault weapon pursuant, as
specified.
B. The person lawfully possessed that assault weapon on
January 1, 2014.
1. Provides that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2013, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault
weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as specified,
including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device
that can be removed readily from the firearm with the use of
a tool, shall register the firearm before July 1, 2015, with
the DOJ pursuant to those procedures that DOJ may establish,
as follows:
A. Registrations shall be submitted electronically via
the Internet utilizing a public-facing application made
available by DOJ.
B. The registration shall contain a description of the
firearm that identifies it uniquely, including all
identification marks, the date the firearm was acquired,
the name and address of the individual from whom, or
business from which, the firearm was acquired, as well as
the registrant's full name, address, telephone number,
date of birth, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color,
and California driver's license number or California
identification card number.
C. DOJ may charge a fee of up to $15 per person but not
to exceed the reasonable processing costs of DOJ. The fee
shall be paid by debit or credit card at the time that the
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electronic registration is submitted to DOJ. The fee
shall be deposited in the Dealers' Record of Sale Special
Account.
D. DOJ shall establish procedures for the purpose of
carrying the provisions of this bill. These procedures
shall be exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
As currently drafted, costs to the DOJ are indeterminable,
as the required system changes could not be completed until
January 1, 2015, six months past the registration deadline.
Assuming the registration date is extended one year,
one-time costs of about $1 million (Special Fund) for the DOJ
to redesign the existing Assault Weapon Registration system
with a new web user interface to enable online registration
of the specified firearms.
Online registration processing costs of $2.3 million
(Special Fund) over six months to be fully offset by fees
collected from registrants. Any additional workload to
process registrations after the initial batch is completed is
estimated to be minor.
Unknown, increased annual state incarceration costs
potentially in the millions of dollars (General Fund). For
every 100 new felony convictions, costs in the range of $2.8
million to $6 million, compounding to $11.2 million to $24
million for overlapping sentences assuming the middle term of
the triads for violations of both manufacturing and
possession.
Increased annual local incarceration costs (Local) for
possession of assault weapons without proper registration.
Potential near-term loss of sales tax revenue of $1.6
million (General Fund) per 10% of annual rifle sales in
California. Future year impact could be somewhat mitigated
to the extent consumers shift to purchases of alternative
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firearms.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of University Women
American College of Emergency Physicians
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris
California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
California Federation of Teachers
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association
California Parent Teacher Association
City and County of San Francisco
City of Oakland
Coalition Against Gun Violence Santa Barbara
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Credo-Action Petition signed by 30,371 individuals
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Community College District
NAACP California State Conference
Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Police Chief Gregory P. Suhr
San Francisco Committee against Gun Violence
San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi
South County Citizens Against Gun Violence
United Educators of San Francisco
Violence Policy Center
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Women Against Gun Violence
Youth ALIVE!
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/23/13)
California Association of Firearms Retailers
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko
The California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Brady Campaign to
Prevent Gun Violence states:
The California Brady Campaign Chapters support banning
military-style semi-automatic assault weapons. The rapid and
accurate spray of bullets associated with assault weapons is
a threat to police officers, families, and communities. As
was shown by the tragedy at Sandy Hook School, an assault
weapon escalates the lethality and number of victims in a
rampage shooting incident.
Unfortunately, firearm manufactures have found ways to enable
the dangerous quick reloading that the California's assault
weapons law sought to ban. For example, the "bullet button"
is a feature that enables the firearm owner to use a bullet
or other pointed object to quickly detach and replace the
weapon's ammunition magazine. Because the use of a bullet or
other "tool" is required to remove the magazine, the sale of
bullet button-equipped guns has been allowed, even though the
California assault weapons law prohibits weapons that have
"the capacity to accept a detachable magazine."
The California Brady Campaign Chapters support clarifying and
strengthening California's assault weapons law as proposed by
SB 47. The bill would revise the provisions to mean a weapon
that "does not have a fixed magazine" but has any one of the
features would be unlawful. The bill defines "fixed
magazine" as an ammunition feeding device contained in, or
permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the
device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm
action.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Association of
Firearms Retailers (CAFR) states:
Though recent shootings in other states have been alleged as
demonstrating a need for SB 47, none of them would have been
prevented or even curtailed by the provisions of this bill.
The concerns expressed as the basis for SB 47 are theoretical
and are not based on any proven impact that the proposed
changes would have relative to preventing criminal and
mentally unbalanced individuals from improperly using
firearms. It would have no preventative impact on these
persons and would not change their behavior. It is their
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behavior that is the real problem.
The existing body of California law dealing with "assault
weapons" is very comprehensive and deals adequately with its
intended purpose. SB 47 addresses an alleged "problem" that
in reality is very small, if it is a problem, and is not
sufficient to warrant the proposed legislation.
California is faced with a great many truly serious issues,
such as its deteriorating business climate and the challenges
created by AB 109 (realignment).
The member businesses of CAFR provide substantial benefits to
the state by generating jobs, commerce, tax revenues, and
making many other important contributions. They strongly
believe that the legislature should focus on the state's real
problems, not minor or largely theoretical issues such as the
subject matter of SB 47.
JG:k 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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