BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 47 (Yee) - Firearms: assault weapons.
Amended: March 20, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 47 would update California's regulation of
"assault weapons," as follows:
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 that has one of those features and "has the capacity
to accept a detachable magazine".
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.
Requires that any person who from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2013, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that
does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, register the
firearm via online submission before July 1, 2014, with the
Department of Justice (DOJ), as specified.
Authorizes DOJ to charge a fee of up to $15 per person but
not to exceed the reasonable processing costs for this
registration.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of about $1 million (Special Fund*) for the
DOJ to redesign the existing Assault Weapon Registration
(AWR) 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
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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 percent of annual rifle sales
in California. Future year impact could be somewhat
mitigated to the extent consumers shift to purchases of
alternative firearms.
*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account
**AWR redesign costs are also included in SB 567 (Jackson). In
the event both SB 567 and this measure are enacted, the DOJ
would only incur this cost once.
Background: The enactment of the assault weapons ban in
California is described by the federal Court of Appeal from
Silveira v. Lockyer, 312 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir. 2002), in part, as
follows: In response to a proliferation of shootings involving
semi-automatic weapons, the California Legislature passed the
Roberti-Roos Assault Weapons Control Act ("the AWCA") in 1989.
The immediate cause of the AWCA's enactment was a random
shooting earlier that year at the Cleveland Elementary School in
Stockton, California. An individual armed with an AK-47
semi-automatic weapon opened fire on the schoolyard, where three
hundred pupils were enjoying their morning recess. Five children
aged 6 to 9 were killed, and one teacher and 29 children were
wounded.
The codified legislative findings and declarations of the AWCA
state, in part, "that the proliferation and use of assault
weapons poses a threat to the health, safety, and security of
all citizens of this state. The Legislature has restricted the
assault weapons specified in Section 30510 based upon finding
that each firearm has such a high rate of fire and capacity for
firepower that its function as a legitimate sports or
recreational firearm is substantially outweighed by the danger
that it can be used to kill and injure human beings. It is the
intent of the Legislature in enacting this chapter to place
restrictions on the use of assault weapons and to establish a
registration and permit procedure for their lawful sale and
possession."
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The AWCA was amended by SB 23 (Perata) Chapter 129/1999 to
expand the definition of an assault weapon to include a
definition based on its generic characteristics in addition to
one of several specified features. SB 23 was enacted in response
to the marketing of so-called "copycat" weapons - firearms that
were substantially similar to weapons on the prohibited list but
slightly different, perhaps only by the name of the weapon,
thereby circumventing the ban. The more general definition of an
assault weapon enacted under SB 23 was intended to remove the
allowance of such copycat weapons that the law previously
authorized by its definition of an assault weapon as only those
listed by specified make and model.
This bill seeks to address the issue regarding the definition of
an assault weapon as it pertains to what constitutes a
"detachable magazine." Regulations promulgated after the
enactment of SB 23 define 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." (11 CFR § 5469(a)) In response to this
definition, features such as the "bullet button" have been
developed by firearms manufacturers that enable easy detachment
of a magazine with the use of a "tool" and are thus not
classified as a "detachable magazine." As a result, firearms
with features such as the "bullet button" do not fall within the
current definition of an assault weapon.
Proposed Law: This bill would redefine "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 that has one of those features and "has the capacity to
accept a "detachable magazine." This 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.
Requires that any person who from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2013, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that
does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, register the
firearm via online submission utilizing a public-facing
application before July 1, 2014, with the DOJ.
Authorizes DOJ to charge a fee of up to $15 per person not
to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the DOJ. Fees
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are to be deposited in the DROS Account. Requires the fee to
be paid by debit or credit card at the time the electronic
registration is submitted to the DOJ.
Related Legislation: This measure is part of the following
legislative package deemed the Lifesaving Intelligent Firearms
Enforcement (LIFE) Act:
SB 53 (De Leon) 2013 would require the sale, purchase, and
transfer of ammunition to be subject to additional regulations,
as specified. This bill would 1) require ammunition purchasers
to obtain an ammunition purchase permit and complete a
background check prior to any transaction, and, 2) require DOJ
to maintain records of all ammunition vendor licenses and
purchase permits issued, as well as all ammunition sales. This
bill is scheduled to be heard today by this committee.
SB 140 (Leno) 2013 Chapter 2/2013, an urgency measure,
appropriates $24 million from the DROS Special Account to the
DOJ to address the backlog of unlawfully held firearms in the
Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). This bill was signed by
the Governor on May 1, 2013.
SB 374 (Steinberg) 2013 would 1) redefine the definition of what
rifles would be considered assault weapons, 2) provide a
definition for both "fixed magazine" and "detachable magazine,"
3) require the registration of specified lawfully possessed
assault weapons with the DOJ, and, 4) enact provisions
establishing a Firearm Ownership Record, as specified. This bill
is scheduled to be heard today by this committee.
SB 396 (Hancock) 2013 would ban the possession of large-capacity
ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds, and
would require the disposal of any large-capacity magazine, as
defined, in specified ways. This bill is scheduled to be heard
today by this committee.
SB 567 (Jackson) 2013 would revise the definition of shotgun to
1) delete language stating that to be considered a shotgun, the
weapon must be intended to be fired from the shoulder, and 2)
add language stating a shotgun may include a weapon with a
rifled bore as well as a smooth bore. This bill is scheduled to
be heard today by this committee.
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SB 683 (Block) 2013 would expand the current safety certificate
requirement on handguns to all firearms. This bill is scheduled
to be heard today by this committee.
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 scheduled to be
heard today by this committee.
Staff Comments: The DOJ has indicated one-time costs of about $1
million (Special Fund*) to redesign the existing Assault Weapon
Registration (AWR) system with a new web user interface to
enable online registration of the specified firearms, to be
fully offset by fees. The existing AWR application is over 13
years old, and due to its inflexibility and lack of technical
support, DOJ has indicated it cannot be modified for the new
business requirements. The new application would be public
facing for applicants to complete the personal and firearm
information along with the required fee payable upon
registration. Online registration processing costs are projected
at $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 group of
registrants is completed is estimated to be minor.
Under existing law, unlawful possession of an assault weapon is
an alternate felony-misdemeanor punishable as a felony by
imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two or three years
(or in state prison with a serious or violent prior felony), or
as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one
year. Current law also provides that any person who within the
state imports, manufactures, offers for sale, or who gives or
lends any assault weapon, is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in state prison for four, six, or eight years. By
narrowing the scope of firearms that are legal in the state,
this bill expands the scope of the aforementioned crimes.
Arrest information from the DOJ indicates an increasing number
of violations of possession of an assault weapon since 2010,
with 825 arrests in 2012. Arrest data for felony violations for
the import, sale, manufacture, or loan of an assault weapon
reflect a decreasing trend, with 124 arrests in 2012. According
to the CDCR, 58 individuals in 2011 and 22 individuals in 2012
were committed to state prison specific to these crimes.
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It is unknown how many persons will be convicted under the
expanded scope of these crimes, though it is assumed the
convictions could likely be highest in the near-term. For every
100 individuals (assuming convictions for both
manufacturing/sale and possession), increased state
incarceration costs could range from $2.8 million to $6 million
(General Fund) per year, compounding to $11.2 million to $24
million due to overlapping sentences (assuming the middle terms
of the 4, 6, 8 year triad for manufacturing and 16 month, 2, 3
year triad for possession with a prior), based on the range of
potential costs to accommodate extended state prison sentences.
To the extent the number of individuals impacted is greater/less
or the average sentence imposed is longer/shorter than
estimated, annual costs would be impacted accordingly.
California's prison system continues to operate under federal
oversight as it addresses the issues of prison overcrowding and
constitutionally adequate health and mental health care in its
33 facilities. On April 11, 2013, the three-judge panel denied
the state's motion to vacate/modify the inmate population cap
and ordered the state to provide a list of proposed population
reduction measures within 21 days of the order (May 2, 2013). To
the extent this measure exacerbates prison overcrowding due to
lengthier prison terms, this bill creates future cost pressure
(General Fund) to potentially utilize additional contract beds,
out-of-state facilities, or capital outlay in order to comply
with the court-ordered population limit.
To the extent the provisions of this bill have the effect of
reducing the number of semi-automatic rifles currently sold,
there would be an impact to both local and state sales tax
revenues. The Board of Equalization has indicated Californians
spend over $400 million annually on rifle purchases and over
300,000 rifles are sold each year. For every 10 percent
reduction in annual sales, state sales tax revenues are
estimated to drop by approximately $1.6 million (General Fund).
It is estimated that the impact is likely in the near term, with
the impact in future years projected to be somewhat mitigated to
the extent consumers shift to purchases of alternative and/or
newly developed firearms.
To the extent the provisions of this bill serve to reduce the
incidence of firearms-related injuries and death, potential
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future cost savings could be substantial. A study by the
non-profit Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE)
reported over 105,000 incidences of firearm injury and death in
2010 nationally, with an estimated societal cost of over $174
billion in work lost, medical care, insurance, criminal justice
expenses, and pain and suffering. At a unit level, the study
reported a governmental cost of $187,000 to $582,000 per firearm
fatality in medical and mental health care, emergency services,
and administrative and criminal justice costs. The estimated
societal cost per firearm injury or fatality, including lost
work productivity and quality of life was reported at nearly
$430,000 to $5 million, respectively.
Recommended Amendments: The DOJ has indicated the AWR system
redesign will be a one-year project that cannot be implemented
until January 1, 2015. In order to accommodate the time
necessary for redesign of the system, an amendment is
recommended to delay the date by which individuals must register
lawfully-owned assault weapons from July 1, 2014, to July 1,
2015.
Author amendments extend the registration period to July 1,
2015.