BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 293 (DeSaulnier) - Firearms: owner-authorized handguns.
Amended: As Introduced 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 293 would enact a system of "owner-authorized
handguns", as follows:
Defines an "owner-authorized handgun" as a handgun that has
a permanent programmable feature as part of its original
manufacture that renders the handgun incapable of being
fired except when activated by the lawful owner or other
users authorized by the lawful owner, and that cannot be
readily deactivated.
Requires the Attorney General (AG), beginning July 1, 2014,
and every July 1 thereafter through 2019, to submit a
written report to the Governor and Legislature summarizing
the current availability of owner-authorized handguns until
such handguns are available for retail sale.
Amends handgun safety requirements for both revolvers and
pistols, as specified, beginning 18 months after the release
of the report by the AG stating owner-authorized handguns
are available for retail sale. This provision would not
apply to the sale, loan, or transfer of handguns
manufactured in or imported into this state prior to that
date.
Establishes minimum performance standards for
"owner-authorized handguns," as specified.
Provides that, beginning 18 months following the release of
the AG report that owner-authorized handguns are available
for retail sale, any person who intentionally disables or
circumvents the technology of an owner-authorized handgun is
guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in
county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
Fiscal Impact: Minor ongoing costs (Special Fund*) to the DOJ to
submit owner-authorized handguns meeting minimum standards, as
specified, for testing at the manufacturer's expense.
*Firearm Safety and Enforcement Special Fund
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Background: The development of owner-authorized handguns or
"smart guns" is currently under way both nationally and abroad.
Researchers are seeking to develop features to prevent
unauthorized or accidental use by any person other than the
owner through various means such as biometric recognition
technology, which is used to verify a person's identity in order
to prevent unauthorized access.
Legislative efforts promoting owner-authorized handguns have
been pursued over the past 15 years in several states, and in
2002, New Jersey became the first state to enact "smart gun"
legislation that would eventually require new handguns to
contain a mechanism that would allow only their owners to fire
them. The bill's enactment was hailed by supporters as an
important step in the campaign to reduce handgun violence.
Proposed Law: This bill provides that commencing 18 months
following the release of a report by the AG to the Legislature
and Governor reporting that owner-authorized handguns are
available for retail sale, as specified, a handgun that is not
an owner-authorized handgun will be deemed "unsafe." This
requirement will not apply to the sale, loan, or transfer of a
handgun manufactured in or imported into this state prior to
that date.
Related Legislation: SB 697 (DeSaulnier) 2009 was substantially
similar to this measure. This bill was referred to but not heard
in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
AB 2235 (DeSaulnier) 2008 was substantially similar to this
measure. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this
committee.
Staff Comments: The costs for the DOJ to report annually to the
Governor and Legislature on the availability for retail sale of
owner-authorized handguns would require additional workload to
collect and prepare the reports. Annual costs of $50,000 to
$90,000 (Special Fund) are estimated until it has been reported
that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale.
Once these handguns are available for retail sale, the AG must
adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this bill.
Costs of approximately $250,000 (Special Fund) are estimated to
develop and adopt these regulations.
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The DOJ would be required to evaluate the effectiveness,
accuracy, and durability of the owner-authorized handguns before
adopting regulations. The costs could range from $150,000 to
$400,000 (Special Fund) for contracts with outside consultants,
depending on the amount of time needed once the technology is
available.
The costs associated with this measure are to be paid from the
Firearm Safety and Enforcement Special Fund. The 2013-14
Governor's Budget reflects a year-end fund balance of $12.2
million in the account for FY 2013-14.
To the extent owner-authorized handguns are eventually available
for retail sale, the net impact on future state sales tax
revenues is unknown, as the potentially higher cost of
owner-authorized handguns over existing handguns would need to
be considered against the number of owner-authorized handguns
sold in relation to existing sales. The degree to which sales
would be impacted would be dependent on numerous factors
including the available supply, cost, and consumer choice. In
addition to the potential impact on the purchases made by
existing handgun owners, the extent to which additional
consumers would purchase owner-authorized handguns who otherwise
would not have purchased firearms in the absence of the new
technology is unknown.
To the extent the retail sale of owner-authorized handguns
reduces the future incidence of unintentional/accidental and
intentional acts of gun violence, cost savings could be
substantial. A study by the Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation (PIRE) reported over 105,000 incidences of firearm
injury and death in 2010 nationally, with an estimated
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.
Author amendments remove the annual DOJ reporting requirements,
change operating standards, and clarify procedures in order to
remove costs.
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