BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 53
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 53 (De León)
          As Amended  August 22, 2014
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :23-15  
           
           PUBLIC SAFETY       5-2                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Ammiano, Jones-Sawyer,    |     |                          |
          |     |Quirk, Skinner, Stone     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Melendez, Waldron         |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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          SUMMARY  :  Amends existing law regarding sales of handgun  
          ammunition, as defined, to apply to all ammunition, and places  
          additional regulations on the sale, and purchase of ammunition,  
          as specified.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Amends existing law regarding sales of handgun ammunition, to  
            apply to all ammunition. 

          2)Defines "ammunition vendor" as "any person, firm, corporation,  
            dealer, or any other business enterprise that is engaged in  
            the retail sale of any ammunition, or that holds itself out as  
            engaged in the business of selling any ammunition."  

          3)Requires, beginning July 1, 2016, all ammunition vendors to be  
            licensed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in order to sell  
            ammunition.

          4)Requires DOJ to maintain records of all ammunition vendor  
            licenses issued, all ammunition purchase permits issued and  
            all ammunition sales, once those requirements become  
            effective.

          5)Establishes the Ammunition Vendors Special Account, into which  
            vendor license fees would be deposited and made available,  
            upon appropriation by the Legislature, to DOJ for purposes of  
            enforcing the ammunition vendor licensing provisions.

          6)Requires that the sale of ammunition shall be conducted at the  








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            location specified in the ammunition vendor license, with the  
            exception of a "gun show or event," as defined.  Ammunition  
            vendors at gun shows are required to comply with ammunition  
            vendor requirements, as specified.

          7)Provides that a violation of ammunition vendor requirements,  
            as specified, is a misdemeanor but these provisions are  
            cumulative and shall not be construed as restricting the  
            application of any other law.

          8)Provides an exemption to a participant at an event organized  
            by a nonprofit mutual or public benefit corporation, where the  
            sale, or delivery is by a nonprofit mutual or public benefit  
            corporation organized, where the ammunition is to be used and  
            consumed on the premises of an event conducted by that  
            nonprofit or public benefit corporation, and the event is at a  
            target range which holds a regulatory or business license.

          9)Includes "ammunition" in Armed Prohibited Persons System  
            (APPS) provisions to integrate ammunition purchaser database  
            with the APPS list. Requires ammunition vendors to submit  
            records of sales to DOJ.

          10)Requires DOJ to submit a report to the Legislature concerning  
            recommended improvements to background checks, examination of  
            costs for maintaining an enhanced system of background checks,  
            the feasibility of integrating systems, and other specified  
            related topics.  

          11)Provides that legislative intent to ensure that prohibited  
            persons do not have access to ammunition by requiring that any  
            individual who wants to purchase ammunition in California have  
            a background check, and to streamline the ammunition  
            application process.   The Legislature also finds and declares  
            that due to technological restrictions and cost concerns, a  
            felony-only background check is the only background check that  
            can be performed for ammunition purchases.  Furthermore, the  
            Legislature finds and declares that given that the existing  
            firearms eligibility background check is more extensive than  
            the ammunition authorization felony screening, rather than  
            requiring firearms owners to go through a new background  
            check, DOJ may use automated firearms records of sales to  
            reference the Prohibited Armed Persons File to verify that a  
            firearms owner has not become prohibited from purchasing  
            ammunition. 








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          12)Exempts contract or common carriers or their authorized  
            agents, when acting in conformance with applicable federal  
            law, from the requirement that delivery or transfer of handgun  
            ammunition must be made face to face with bona fide evidence  
            of identity.  

          13)Requires vendor licenses with a requirement that vendors  
            submit ammunition sales records to DOJ to run daily against  
            the Armed Prohibited Persons Database.   

          14)Exempts validly licensed hunters from the ammunition  
            face-to-face purchase requirements which permits online sales.  
             

          15)Authorizes funding from the Firearms Safety and Enforcement  
            Special Fund upon appropriation from the DOJ for the purposes  
            of implementing the provisions of this bill.  

          16)Add double joining language to prevent chaptering out issues  
            with SB 808 (De León) of the current legislative session,  
            should both bills become operative.  

          17)Incorporate the changes made by the recently chaptered AB  
            1798 (Public Safety Committee), Chapter 103, Statutes of 2014  
            to prevent chaptering issues.  


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, significant one-time and ongoing special fund  
          fee-based costs - in the low tens of millions - over several  
          years for ammunition purchase authorization and vendor  
          licensing.  This assumes six million ammunition purchasers,  
          based on 20% to 30% of the population owning guns.  Though costs  
          would be covered by fees, the issue of funding for start-up  
          costs is a concern, as it is not clear that projected Dealer  
          Record of Sale (DROS) reserves would be sufficient to serve as a  
          bridge to the new fee revenues.  According to a detailed  
          analysis from DOJ:

          1)Vendor licensing.  These costs would be covered by applicant  
            fees, which would be deposited into the Ammunition Vendor  
            Special Account, created by this bill. 

             a)   One-time costs in the $1.5 million range for software  








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               development and staffing. 

             b)   Ongoing costs in the $400,000 range for background  
               checks and oversight.

          2)Ammunition purchase background checks:

             a)   One-time special fund costs of about $600,000 and  
               ongoing special fund costs of about $3.4 million for  
               staffing to process vendor and ammunition purchaser  
               background checks.

             b)   One-time special fund costs of about $900,000 and  
               ongoing special fund costs of about $1.8 million for  
               database design, support, enhancement, and maintenance.

          These costs would be covered by applicant fees, which would be  
          deposited into the DROS Account and the Ammunition Vendor's  
          Special Account.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "California has enacted  
          legislation designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals,  
          but it has done little to prevent dangerous criminals, gang  
          members, and the criminally insane from procuring the ammunition  
          that fuels gun violence.  Several cities require ammunition  
          vendors to check purchasers' identification and keep records of  
          sales.  Those record keeping systems have been a valuable  
          investigative tool leading law enforcement agents to criminals  
          that have illegally purchased ammunition.  Nevertheless, the  
          scope of such ordinances is limited because criminals can  
          circumvent them by going to neighboring cities without similar  
          requirements and load up on ammunition.  In 2008, the Sacramento  
          Police Department's ammunition sales records helped lead to the  
          arrest of over 150 felons, rapists, murderers, and other  
          dangerous criminals who not only illegally possessed ammunition,  
          but numerous firearms as well.  A 2006 RAND Corporation study  
          concluded that, in just a two-month period in Los Angeles,  
          felons and others prohibited by law from possessing firearms  
          purchased over 10,000 rounds of ammunition at gun shops and  
          sporting goods stores across the city.  By extrapolating those  
          numbers statewide, it becomes clear that millions of rounds of  
          ammunition are being sold to dangerous criminals every year. 

          "Senate Bill 53 addresses these deficiencies in the law by  
          creating comprehensive ammunition regulations that ensure that  








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          criminals and other dangerous individuals cannot purchase  
          ammunition.  Under this proposal, a statewide standard on  
          ammunition sales would be created, providing law enforcement  
          with clear information on who is selling and buying ammunition.

          "Senate Bill 53 requires ammunition vendors to be licensed in  
          order to know who is actually selling ammunition in California.   
          Additionally, SB 53 requires purchasers to pass a background  
          check in order to buy ammunition.  The Department of Justice  
          will keep a list of all authorized ammunition purchasers, which  
          vendors will use to verify that individuals are not prohibited  
          from purchasing ammunition.  By doing so, this measure will make  
          ammunition accessible only to lawful gun owners, and not  
          dangerous criminals.

          "According to the recent USC [University of Southern California]  
          Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll, 79% of Californians support  
          requiring ammunition buyers to undergo a background check, and a  
          clear majority of gun owners (2 out of every 3) want the same.   
          The poll makes clear that Californians want to prevent  
          criminals, domestic batterers, and the criminally insane from  
          freely being able to acquire ammunition.  Senate Bill 53 works  
          toward that end by ensuring that only law-abiding citizens can  
          purchase ammunition in California."

          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)  
          319-3744 


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