BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 140 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 140 (Leno) - As Amended: March 4, 2013 Policy Committee: AppropriationsVote: Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill appropriates $24 million from the Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fund enforcement of illegal gun possession by relieving weapons from persons in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). This bill also requires the DOJ to report specified information to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee by March 1, 2015 and every March 1 until 2019, including the following: 1)APPS backlog reduction and the number of weapons confiscated. 2)The number of agents hired by the DOJ to conduct APPS enforcement. 3)The number of persons cleared from APPS and the number of persons added. 4)Information regarding collaboration with local law enforcement. FISCAL EFFECT Appropriates $24 million from DROS to the DOJ. The DROS is projected to have total resources of about $34 million in 2012-13, with a year-end reserve of about $13 million. For 2013-14, total DROS resources are projected to be about $47 million, with a reserve of about $25 million. Appropriations are available for up to three years, allowing DOJ to draw annually from the projected reserves to reach $24 million. SB 140 Page 2 COMMENTS 1)Rationale . DOJ estimates there are about 20,000 persons with about 39,000 guns, including almost 2,000 assault weapons, on the APPS list. These persons, by law, are not allowed to possess guns. Due primarily to state and local fiscal constraints, this backlog continues to grow. The author's intent is to provide the resources to begin significantly reducing this growing backlog. According to the author, "Although the DOJ and local law enforcement have the authority to confiscate these weapons in the interest of public safety, the truth is, the situation continues to get worse. Law enforcement is struggling to disarm people who've lost the right to own a gun. Neither DOJ nor the locals have the resources to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of the newly prohibited." According to DOJ, the appropriation in this bill will allow the department to hire, on a three-year limited term basis, 30 special agents, six special agent supervisors, six criminal intelligence specialists, and six office technicians. These positions will make up six new statewide APPS teams in existing DOJ offices. These positions will cost about $8 million per year. DOJ's goal is reduce the APPS backlog to a reasonable level within three years. 2)DOJ's Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) is an online database that cross-references persons who possess a gun and who, subsequent to possession of that gun, become a member of the class of persons legally prohibited from possessing a gun. Law enforcement agencies have access to APPS and thus are able to identify persons who are prohibited from possessing a gun. According to DOJ, about half of the persons on the APPS list are prohibited due to criminal history; about 30% due to mental health status, and about 20% due to active restraining orders. 3)Current law authorizes DOJ to use DROS , which is funded by a $19 fee on gun purchases at the point-of-sale, for gun-related SB 140 Page 3 regulatory activities, including enforcement activities related to APPS (SB 819 (Leno), Statutes of 2011). This bill provides a specific appropriation. 4)Is confiscation of guns from prohibited persons a local law enforcement responsibility ? Yes. DOJ, however, does have a statewide law enforcement responsibility, and given local law enforcement fiscal constraints in recent years, the use of a reserve from a state special fund already authorized for this purpose, for a demonstrable public safety need, appears appropriate. 5)Technical amendments clarify the fund source and update findings and declarations. 6)Supporters , including Attorney General Kamala Harris, the Coalition Against Gun Violence, Women Against Gun Violence, the Violence Prevention Coalition, the Chief Probation Officers of California, contend this bill protects public safety by providing law enforcement the resources necessary to confiscate guns from prohibited persons. Moreover, they note the funding is from a special fund already authorized for such purposes. 7)Opponents , including the National Rifle Association, the California Rifle and Pistol Association, and other groups, contend the DROS fund should not be used to enforce the possession of guns by prohibited persons. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, "The fact that the amount of the DROS fees charged to firearms buyers has been excessive resulting in a surplus does not provide justification to use the money for SB 140 or other non-DROS purposes. The Department should have reduced the fee or refunded the fee surplus long ago." Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081