BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 53 (de León) - Ammunition: purchase permits.
Amended: April 1, 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 53 would amend current law regarding sales of
handgun ammunition, as defined, to apply to all ammunition, and
place additional regulations on the sale, transfer, and purchase
of ammunition, as specified.
Fiscal Impact: As currently drafted, costs to the DOJ are
indeterminable, as system changes to the Armed Prohibited
Persons System (APPS) and registry development for the
ammunition vendor licensing component will be required prior to
implementation of the bill's provisions. Assuming delayed
implementation of the APPS cross-checking requirements and
ammunition vendor licensing implementation date to January 1,
2015:
One-time DOJ costs of $1.4 million (General Fund) for
software development and staffing costs for the ammunition
vendor licensing.
Significant annual ammunition vendor licensing
administrative costs, offset by fees (Special*)
One-time DOJ costs of $28 million (General Fund) for
staffing to accomplish the workload associated with
ammunition purchase authorizations. Ongoing costs estimated
at $0.7 million.
One-time DOJ costs potentially in excess of $250,000
(General Fund) to develop and adopt regulations.
One-time DOJ costs of about $25,000 (General Fund) to
complete and submit the required legislative report by
January 1, 2016.
Increased annual local incarceration costs potentially in
the millions of dollars (Local) for numerous misdemeanor and
felony violations related to ammunition purchase, sale,
possession, and ammunition vendor requirements.
Potential ongoing loss of state sales tax revenue of $3.6
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million (General Fund) for every 10 percent reduction in
annual ammunition sales due to the enhanced regulations on
ammunition sales and potential increase in out of state
sales.
State litigation savings, potentially in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars, to the extent this bill eliminates the
issue cited by the court in Parker v State of California,
which ruled the definition of handgun ammunition in AB 962
was vague, resulting in an injunction against portions of
the bill.
*Ammunition Vendor's Special Account Fund
Background: AB 962 (de León), Chapter 628/2009, created several
new requirements regarding handgun ammunition sales. These
include requiring that handgun ammunition sellers obtain
personal identification information from buyers and retain that
information for inspection by law enforcement upon request and
that all delivery of handgun ammunition take place in a
face-to-face transaction (prohibiting direct sales over the
internet). On January 31, 2011, a Superior Court in Fresno ruled
that the definition of "handgun ammunition" contained in the
statute was unconstitutionally vague, rendering invalid the
provisions applicable to "handgun ammunition". As a result of
this finding, the Court enjoined the State Attorney General from
enforcing those statutes. (Parker v. State of California, et
al., Fresno County Superior Court, Case No. 10 CECG 02116, Order
Denying Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment and Granting In
Part and Denying In Part Defendant's Motion for Summary
Adjudication, , pages 4, 11-17.)
The Court stated:
Because the language of the definition of "handgun ammunition"
fundamentally requires each law enforcement officer to make a
subjective determination as to whether or not the ammunition at
issue is ammunition "principally for use" in a handgun and then
subjectively apply their own definition to the situation before
them, the definition of "handgun ammunition" established in
section 12060(b) and 12318(b)(2) gives unlimited discretion to
each individual law enforcement officer to determine arbitrarily
if the ammunition at issue is "handgun ammunition" and to apply
their particular classification of "handgun ammunition" or not
to the specific issue before them. (Id at pages 14-15.)
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This bill would delete references in statute to "handgun
ammunition" and would instead apply the ammunition transfer
requirements to all forms of ammunition, thereby eliminating the
vagueness issue cited by the court in Parker.
Proposed Law: This bill would further regulate the sale,
transfer, and purchase of ammunition, as follows:
Amend current law regarding sales of handgun ammunition,
as specified, to apply to all ammunition.
Require that anyone selling ammunition be licensed by the
DOJ in order to sell or otherwise transfer ownership of
ammunition.
Require DOJ to maintain records of all ammunition vendor
licenses issued, all ammunition purchase permits issued and
all ammunition sales.
Require DOJ, commencing January 1, 2014, to use the APPS
to cross-reference persons who acquire ammunition to
determine if those persons fall within a class of persons
who are prohibited from owning or possessing ammunition.
Require ammunition vendors, beginning July 1, 2014, to
submit to DOJ information regarding the sale of ammunition,
including the buyer's identification, in a format and a
manner prescribed by DOJ for all sales or other transfers of
ownership of ammunition.
Require that beginning July 1, 2017, and except as
specified, only those persons whom DOJ has issued an
ammunition purchaser's permit shall be permitted to purchase
ammunition.
Require that, commencing July 1, 2017, the vendor shall
verify that the ammunition purchase permit is valid by
contacting the department for each ammunition transaction,
in a manner prescribed by DOJ, that DOJ conduct an
instantaneous background check to determine if the buyer is
prohibited from possessing ammunition and then approve or
deny the transaction on the basis of the background check.
Require that DOJ conduct background checks on applicants
for ammunition purchase permits and establish other
requirements regarding these permits, as specified.
Establish procedures for DOJ to issue ammunition vendor
licenses, as specified.
Require the Attorney General to prepare and submit to the
Legislature on or before January 1, 2016, a report
concerning recommendations for instituting instantaneous
background checks that can be conducted for all persons
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attempting to purchase ammunition, as specified.
Prior Legislation: SB 427 (de León) would have made clarifying
changes to AB 962 regarding handgun ammunition. This bill was
vetoed by the Governor with the following message:
I am returning Senate Bill 427 without my signature. This
measure would amend a recently enacted law concerning the sale
and purchase of handgun ammunition. That law is currently being
litigated. Let's keep our powder dry on amendments until the
court case runs its course.
AB 962 (de León) Chapter 628/2009 specified, that effective
February 1, 2011, (1) the delivery or transfer of ownership of
handgun ammunition may occur only via a face-to-face
transaction, with evidence of identity from the purchaser or
transferee, (2) a handgun ammunition vendor may not sell or
transfer ammunition without recording specified information at
the time of purchase, and, (3) prohibited supplying handgun
ammunition to prohibited persons, by persons or others who know,
or by using reasonable care should know, that the recipient is a
person prohibited from possessing ammunition or a minor
prohibited from possessing ammunition, as specified.
Related Legislation: This measure is part of the following
legislative package deemed the Lifesaving Intelligent Firearms
Enforcement (LIFE) Act:
SB 47 (Yee) 2013 would revise the definition of assault weapon
to include a firearm that has one of several specified features
and does not have a "fixed magazine" as defined. This bill would
require the registration of specified lawfully possessed assault
weapons that do not have a fixed magazine, as defined, with the
DOJ. 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
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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.
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 it would be a 12-month
project to enhance the APPS to include ammunition. Because the
enhanced system would not be fully developed and implemented
until July 1, 2014, the DOJ has recommended an amendment to
delay implementation of the APPS cross-checking requirement for
ammunition purchases for one year, from January 1, 2014, to
January 1, 2015. The one-time cost to enhance the APPS is
estimated at $2.5 million over 12 months and includes staffing,
overtime, external consultants, and software development.
Automation costs for development of the ammunition vendor
licensing and registry and ammunition purchase permit database
are estimated at $2.7 million over one year and include
staffing, overtime, and software development costs. In order to
accommodate the time necessary to develop the registry, an
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amendment to delay implementation of the ammunition vendor
licensing requirements from July 1, 2014, to January 1, 2015,
has been recommended.
Beginning January 1, 2017, the DOJ will incur substantial
workload to process ammunition purchase permit applications.
Costs are projected at $28 million (General Fund) for 211
positions to accomplish the workload associated with ammunition
purchase permits, which would include pulling folders,
background checks, updating criminal histories, and scanning
documents. Ongoing staffing costs are estimated at $0.7 million
after the initial year of permits are processed. The initial
projected cost for an estimated 6 million tamper-proof
ammunition purchase permits is $120 million (General Fund).
Ongoing costs are estimated in the hundreds of thousands to
millions of dollars assuming a unit cost of $20 per card. Actual
costs would be dependent on the number of purchase permits
issued per year.
The DOJ will also incur one-time costs potentially in excess of
$250,000 (General Fund) to develop and adopt regulations, as
well as $25,000 (General Fund) to complete and submit the
required legislative report by January 1, 2016.
Current law provides that, except as specified, any person who
is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm is also
prohibited from owning, or possessing ammunition. A violation
may be punished as either a felony by 16 months, two or three
years in state prison or as a misdemeanor by up to one year in
the county jail. To the extent the cross-check with APPS at the
point-of-sale for ammunition purchases prompts additional DOJ
enforcement actions, an increased number of felony convictions
for unlawful possession or ownership of ammunition for persons
prohibited from possessing or owning a firearm could result.
This bill may also result in decreased sales tax revenue to the
degree ammunition sales may decrease as a result of the
additional, time-consuming procedures required for consumers to
purchase ammunition applicable under the provisions of this
bill. Neighboring states do not have similar restrictions on
ammunition purchases, and it is possible some consumers will
purchase ammunition out of state, especially considering its
virtually unlimited storage life. According to the National
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Shooting Sports Foundation, 1.2 billion rounds of ammunition are
sold in California annually. This includes pistol, long gun, and
shot gun ammunition. At an average price of $0.84 per round, the
sales would amount to just over $1 billion annually. Adjusting
for sales to law enforcement, the statewide civilian ammunition
sales are estimated at approximately $924 million annually. It
is unknown at this time the degree to which ammunition sales may
decline due to out-of-state purchases and the enhanced
ammunition purchase regulations proposed in this measure, but
for every 10 percent reduction in annual ammunition sales,
annual sales tax revenue could decline by approximately $3.6
million General Fund (based on a General Fund rate of 3.9375
percent).
To the extent the provisions of this bill serve to reduce the
incidence of firearms-related injuries and death, potential
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 as nearly
$430,000 to $5 million, respectively.
Recommended Amendments: The DOJ has indicated the APPS system
enhancement will be a one-year project that cannot be
implemented until January 1, 2015. In order to accommodate this
timeframe, an amendment is recommended to delay the date by
which APPS cross-requirements are to be implemented from January
1, 2014, to January 1, 2015. In addition, in order to
accommodate the IT requirements for the ammunition vendor
registry, an amendment to delay ammunition vendor licensing
requirements for six months from July 1, 2014, to January, 1,
2015, is recommended.
Author amendments do the following:
Delay implementation of vendor licensing requirements to
July 1, 2015.
Expand DOJ's fee authority to fund Ammunition Vendor
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Registry with revenue from COE's which will be deposited
into the newly created Ammunition Vendor's Special Account
Fund.
Eliminate the requirement for vendors to submit records of
sales to the DOJ.
Require vendors to access a centralized list of all
authorized ammunition purchasers at each point of sale. If
purchaser is not on the list, the vendor shall deny the
sale.
Authorize the DOJ to issue vendor licenses to ammunition
vendors who the DOJ has determined are not prohibited by
state law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing
a firearm and who provide a copy of any regulatory or
business license, a valid seller's permit issued by the
State Board of Equalization, a federal firearms license, and
a certificate of eligibility issued by the DOJ pursuant to
Section 26710.
Eliminate ammunition purchase permits and instead
associate purchaser's record with driver's license number
and eliminate renewal requirements and recurrent
instantaneous checks.
Require the DOJ to maintain internal centralized list of
authorized ammunition purchasers.
Exclude non-profit organizations from ammunition vendor
licensing requirements for the purchase of ammunition to be
used on-site at target ranges.
Specify that for purposes of this measure, "ammunition"
does not include blanks.
Clarify that ammunition sales may be purchased over the
internet so long as ammunition vendor initially receives the
ammunition and processes the transfer in a manner specified
by the measure.