Amended in Assembly April 11, 2013

Amended in Senate March 4, 2013

Senate Bill No. 140

Introduced by Senators Leno and Steinberg

(Principal coauthors: Senators Anderson, Cannella, begin insert Corbett, end insert Hancock, and Jackson)

(Coauthors: Senators Beall, Block, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Hill, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Pavley, Roth, Rubio, Wolk, Wright, and Yee)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano begin delete and end delete begin insert , end insert Blumenfield begin insert , and Eggman end insert )

January 29, 2013

An act to add Section 30015 to the Penal Code, relating to firearms, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 140, as amended, Leno. Firearms: prohibited persons.

Existing law establishes the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account in the General Fund with moneys in the account available upon appropriation by the Legislature. Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File, sometimes referred to as the Armed Prohibited Persons System, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm with those who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.

This bill would appropriate $24,000,000 from the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account to the Department of Justice to address the backlog in the Armed Prohibited Persons System, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the department to report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee regarding ways the backlog in the Armed Prohibited Persons System has been reduced or eliminated, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) California is the first and only state in the nation to establish
an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon
owners who might fall into a prohibited status.

(b) The online database, which is currently known as the Armed
Prohibited Persons System (APPS), cross-references all handgun
and assault weapon owners across the state against criminal history
records to determine persons who have been, or will become,
prohibited from possessing a firearm subsequent to the legal
acquisition or registration of a firearm or assault weapon.

(c) Each day, the list of armed prohibited persons in California
grows by about 15 to 20 people. There are currently more than
begin delete 19,000 end delete begin insert 20,000 end insert armed prohibited persons in California. Collectively,
these individuals are believed to be in possession of over begin delete 34,000 end delete
begin insert 39,000 end insert handguns and begin delete 1,590 end delete begin insert 1,670 end insert assault weapons.

(d) Neither the Department of Justice nor local law enforcement
has sufficient resources to confiscate the enormous backlog of
weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly
prohibited persons.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to
allow the Department of Justice to utilize additional Dealers’
Record of Sale Special Account funds for the limited purpose of
addressing the current APPS backlog and the illegal possession of
these firearms, which presents a substantial danger to public safety.

SEC. 2.  

Section 30015 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

30015.  

(a) The sum of twenty-four million dollars
($24,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the Dealers’ Record of
Sale Special Account begin delete in end delete begin insert of end insert the General Fund to the Department of
Justice to address the backlog in the Armed Prohibited Persons
System (APPS) and the illegal possession of firearms by those
prohibited persons.

(b) No later than March 1, 2015, and no later than March 1 each
year thereafter, the department shall report to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee all of the following for the immediately
preceding calendar year:

(1) The degree to which the backlog in the APPS has been
reduced or eliminated.

(2) The number of agents hired for enforcement of the APPS.

(3) The number of people cleared from the APPS.

(4) The number of people added to the APPS.

(5) The number of people in the APPS before and after the
relevant reporting period, including a breakdown of why each
person in the APPS is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

(6) The number of firearms recovered due to enforcement of
the APPS.

(7) The number of contacts made during the APPS enforcement
efforts.

(8) Information regarding task forces or collaboration with local
law enforcement on reducing the APPS backlog.

(c) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (b) is inoperative on March 1, 2019, pursuant to Section
10231.5 of the Government Code.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall
be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

SEC. 3.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to address the current Armed Prohibited Persons System
(APPS) backlog and the illegal possession of firearms, which
presents an immediate danger to public safety, it is necessary for
this act to take effect immediately.