BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 293 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 2, 2013 Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Tom Ammiano, Chair SB 293 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended: May 24, 2013 SUMMARY : Provides that if two owner-authorized handguns are placed on the Department of Justice (DOJ) roster of not unsafe handguns, commencing two years from the date the second handgun was placed on the roster, DOJ shall not place a handgun on the roster that is not an owner-authorized handgun. Specifically, this bill : 1)Defines an "owner-authorized handgun" as a handgun that has a permanent programmable biometric or other 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 authorized users, and that cannot be readily deactivated. 2)Requires owner-authorized handguns to comply with the following minimum performance standards: a) The firearm shall not fail to recognize the authorized user, and shall not falsely recognize an unauthorized user, more than one time per thousand recognition attempts. b) The time from first contact to use recognition and firearm enablement shall not be more than 0.3 seconds. c) The time from loss of contact with the authorized user and firearm disablement shall be no more than 0.3 seconds. d) When the firearm is enabled the "ready" condition shall be indicated by a visible indicator. e) If the recognition technology on the firearm is battery operated, the firearm shall be equipped with a low power indicator that emits an audible signal. f) If the user is not recognized, or if the power supply SB 293 Page 2 fails, the firearm shall be inoperable. g) Enabling authorized user information shall be stored in the firearm as permanent memory that is restored when the power is restored. h) The firearm shall capable of use by more than one authorized user and, if the firearm uses hand recognition technology, it shall recognize either of the authorized user's hands. 3)States that an owner-authorized handgun shall only be programmed by a licensed firearms dealer. 4)Provides that biometric data collected for the purpose of programming the owner authorized handgun shall not be used for any purpose other than programming the owner-authorized handgun, and the DOJ shall not retain any biometric data that may be stored. 5)Requires a manufacturer that has developed an owner-authorized handgun meeting the minimum specified standard to submit the handgun for testing, at the owner's expense, before the handgun may be placed on the DOJ's roster of not unsafe handguns. 6)States that if two owner-authorized handguns have been place on the DOJ roster of not unsafe handguns, commencing two years from the date the second handgun was placed on the roster, DOJ shall not place a handgun on the roster that is not an owner-authorized handgun. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides that the sale, loan, or transfer of firearms in almost all cases must be processed by, or through, a state licensed dealer or a local law enforcement agency. (Penal Code Sections 27540, 27545, and 28050.) 2)Provides that commencing January 1, 2001, no "unsafe handgun" may be manufactured or sold in California by a licensed dealer, except as specified, and requires that the Department of Justice prepare and maintain a roster of handguns which are determined not to be unsafe handguns. Private party sales (used or previously owned) and transfers of handguns through a licensed dealer or sheriff in SB 293 Page 3 smaller counties are exempted from those restrictions. (Penal Code Sections 27545, 32000, et seq., and 32110.) 3)Defines an "unsafe handgun" as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as specified, which lacks various safety mechanisms and does not pass listed tests, as specified. (Penal Code Section 31910.) 4)Requires any concealable firearm manufactured in California, or intended to be imported for sale, kept for sale, or offered for sale to be tested within a reasonable period of time by an independent laboratory, certified by the DOJ, to determine whether it meets required safety standards, as specified. (Penal Code Section 32010.) 5)Requires DOJ, on and after January 1, 2001, to compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster listing all of the pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person that have been tested by a certified testing laboratory, have been determined not to be unsafe handguns, and may be sold in this state, as specified. The roster shall list, for each firearm, the manufacturer, model number, and model name. (Penal Code Section 32015.) 6)Provides that DOJ may charge every person in California who is licensed as a manufacturer of firearms, as specified, and any person in California who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into California for sale, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in California, an annual fee not exceeding the costs of preparing, publishing, and maintaining the roster of firearms determined not to be unsafe, and the costs of research and development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program infrastructure costs, as specified. (Penal Code Section 32015.) 7)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year. [Penal Code Section 32000(a).] Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of the following [Penal Code Section 32000(b)]: a) The manufacture in California, or importation into this SB 293 Page 4 state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person when the manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of allowing an independent laboratory certified by DOJ to conduct an independent test to determine whether that pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person is prohibited, inclusive, and, if not, allowing the department to add the firearm to the roster of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person that may be sold in this. b) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person by employees or authorized agents of entities determining whether the weapon is prohibited by this section. c) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in federal law. d) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, if the pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or purchased by, DOJ, any police department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties. Nor shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person. 8)Specifies that violations of the unsafe handgun provisions are cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be construed as restricting the application of any other law. [Penal Code Section 32000(c).] FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : 1)Author's Statement : According to the author "SB 293 would require two years after two manufacturers have owner-authorized handguns on the 'Roster of Handguns Certified for Sale; no handgun can be placed on the roster by the SB 293 Page 5 Department of Justice that is not owner-authorized. "An owner-authorized handgun could not be fired by a child or teen unless authorized by the parent or legal guardian, thereby establishing some parental control over the weapon. This would prevent young people from accidentally shooting themselves and others, or committing suicide or homicide with handguns. Most parents would say that they keep their firearms locked away from their children, but all too often kids find the gun and tragedy follows. "According to the Center for Disease Control, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death of children and teens; over 43% are committed with firearms. Despondent teens, or other depressed individuals who are not authorized users, would be unable to commit suicide with a personalized handgun." 2)Argument in Support : The California Chapter of the Brady campaign to Prevent Gun Violence states, "SB 293 would require all newly manufactured or imported handguns in California to be 'owner-authorized' or personalized in a way that would allow them to be fired only by authorized person. This bill specifies the requirements that such a handgun would have to meet and requires that manufacturers submit new models to the DOJ for certification at the manufacturer's expense. Once two or more new models have been placed on the safe handgun roster, the DOJ will be prohibited from placing any additional handguns on the roster unless they also have owner-authorized technology. "The concept of an owner-authorized handgun has been under discussion for over 15 years. In 2002, New Jersey passed a law similar to SB 293. A number of technological solutions have been explored, but none had been sufficiently reliable. However, there have been recent advances in access control technologies and features for handguns and prototypes are becoming available. This technology has the potential to achieve very high authorized user recognition reliability and very short response times. "Once owner-authorized handguns are commercially available, accidental firearm injuries, homicides, and suicides could be significantly reduced. Personalized handguns would be inoperable by unauthorized users - including children, troubled young adults, and thieves - thereby helping to SB 293 Page 6 prevent intentional and unintentional gun violence in California." 3)Argument in Opposition : The California Association of Firearms Retailers argues, "By permitting a specified failure rate, SB 293 recognizes itself that no safe and reliable 'owner authorized' handgun technology is available, even after years of research and development. The technology is still not perfected and thus is not ready for sale to the public. "Firearm retailers oppose mandates as proposed in SB 293 because anything less than 100% reliability in the technology could result in unproven, potentially less safe and less reliable handguns being available for sale to the public. "This, in turn, would create a situation that could result in increased liability exposure for firearms dealers. This especially true in the case of SB 293 because, although the bill mandates performance standards for the technology at the time of manufacturing, it contains no standards for device quality, durability, warranty or for device manufacturing processes. "As a result, SB 293 could allow lesser quality devices into the retail marketplace that could fail soon after purchase. "Leaving it to the DOJ to establish such standards by regulation will just result in another bill that cannot be properly implemented because the legislation did not contain adequate direction to the DOJ relative to exactly what is needed. "The loaded chamber indicator and microstamping bills are two recent examples of legislation that were so vague in their drafting that is virtually impossible to successfully implement them. "In the case of firearms, complete reliability can mean the difference between life and death for someone in a self-defense situation. "Legislative mandates as provided in SB 293 can operate to deny consumers the ability to purchase the firearms having the features that best meets their specific needs. Consumers who do not want to buy 'user authorized' features should not be mandated to purchase them. Such devices will also add SB 293 Page 7 significantly to the purchase price of a handgun which could create an economic barrier preventing many from buying them. "It is also likely that design changes will have to be made to existing models of handguns to accommodate the technology, thus further increasing the costs of production and consumer prices." 4)Prior Legislation: a) AB 2235 (DeSaulnier) of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session was substantially similar to this bill in that it defined an owner-authorized handgun and required DOJ to certify when owner authorized handguns are available for retail sale. AB 2235 was held on the Senate Appropriations suspense file. b) AB 1219 (Frommer) of the 2001-2002 Legislative Session prohibited the sale manufactured after January 1, 2004, unless that firearm includes an integrated safety device which prevents children and unauthorized users from discharging the firearm. AB 1219 was later substantially amended into a different subject matter. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support American Federation of State and Municipal and County Employees California Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians California Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence City of Los Angeles City of Oakland Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence South County Citizens Against Gun Violence Opposition California Association of Firearms Retailers California Rifle and Pistol Association California Sportsman's Lobby Crossroads of the West Gun Shows Gun Owners of California National Rifle Association SB 293 Page 8 National Shooting Sports Foundation Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Safari Club International Foundation Sheriff of Riverside County Sheriff of Shasta County Three private individuals Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744