BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
Mark Leno, Chair
Bill No: SB 140
Author: Leno
As Amended: March 4, 2013
Consultant: Brady Van Engelen
Fiscal: Yes
Hearing Date: March 4, 2013
SUBJECT OF BILL : Budget Act of 2012: firearms.
Subject of Amendments : Addition of Section 30015 to the
Penal Code, relating to firearms
Amendments are: Technical / Substantive / Re-write Bill /
New Bill
Were these amendments discussed in committee? No
Urgency : This bill has an urgency clause for immediate
implementation.
Purpose of Amendments: Add section 30015 to the Penal
Code, relating to an appropriation of twenty-four million
dollars ($24,000,000) from the Dealers Record of Sale
Special Account (DROS)
ANALYSIS :
Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to
utilize the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) fee, which is
imposed upon every transfer or sale of a firearm in
California for firearms related regulatory activities,
including enforcement activities related to possession
(Chapter 743, Statutes of 2011).
This measure appropriates $24.0 million within the Dealers
Record of Sale (DROS) special fund for costs associated
with firearms regulatory and enforcement activities related
to the possession of a firearm.
The bill also makes a series of declarations and findings,
including:
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"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. 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."
"The list of armed prohibited persons in
California grows by about 15 to 20 people per day.
There are currently more than 19,000 armed prohibited
persons in California. Collectively, these
individuals are believed to be in possession of over
34,000 handguns and 1,590 assault weapons. 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."
This measure includes several reporting requirements that
shall be made by the Department of Justice to the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee no later than March 1, 2015
and no later than March 1, each year thereafter:
The degree to which the backlog of weapons has
been reduced or eliminated
The number of weapons confiscated through APPS
enforcement efforts
The number of agents hired by the Department of
Justice to conduct APPS enforcement
The number of individuals cleared off of the APPS
list annually through March 1, 2015 and March 1, 2019
The number of individuals added to the APPS list
annually
Breakdown of why each person on the APPS is
prohibited from possessing a firearm
Number of contacts made during the APPS
enforcement efforts
Information regarding task forces or
collaboration with local law enforcement on reducing
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the APPS backlog
The reason for the individual to have been
included on the APPS list
In accordance with Government Code Section § 10231.5 the
above listed reporting requirements to be submitted by the
Department of Justice will no longer be required of the
Department after March 1, 2019.
FISCAL EFFECT :
This measure appropriates $24.0 million from the DROS
special account to the Department of Justice for
firearms-related regulatory and enforcement activities.
The funding in this measure is intended to supplement, not
supplant, the $22.9 million from the Dealers Record of Sale
Special Account included in the 2013-14 Budget Act to be
utilized by the Department of Justice.
This measure does not specify a period that the
appropriation shall be available for encumbrance. In
accordance with Government Code §16340, this appropriation
is available for three years after the date upon which it
first became available for encumbrance.
Support:
Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence
Women Against Gun Violence
Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General
Coalition Against Gun Violence
Violence Prevention Coalition
Chief Probation Officers of California
Opposition:
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows
California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
National Rifle Association of America
California Rifle and Pistol Association
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