BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 363
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 363 (Wright)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :36-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Jones-Sawyer, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Mitchell, Quirk, Skinner, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Waldron | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| | | |Gomez, Hall, Holden, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Wagner, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Donnelly |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands the crime of "criminal storage" to include
keeping a loaded firearm within premises where a prohibited
person is likely to gain access and actually accesses and causes
injury as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Amends the existing crime of "criminal storage of a firearm"
to provide that a person who keeps any loaded firearms within
any premises and knows or reasonably should know that a person
who is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to state
or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm, and
that prohibited person does in fact gain access to the firearm
and thereby kills or injures someone would be guilty of
criminal storage of a firearm. If the prohibited person
causes death or great bodily injury, this would be punishable
as a felony by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or
two or three years, by a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both;
or as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both
that imprisonment and fine. If the prohibited person causes
injury, other than great bodily injury, or carries the firearm
and draws or exhibits the firearm, as specified, this would be
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both.
SB 363
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2)Provides that, beginning January 1, 2013, the fee charged by
the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the handgun safety testing
program, as specified, shall become an annual fee to be paid
on January 1 of every year.
3)Amends the existing crime of "criminal storage of a firearm"
to provide that a person who keeps any loaded firearms within
any premises and knows or reasonably should know that a person
who is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to state
or federal law is likely to gain access to the firearm, and
that prohibited person does in fact gain access to the firearm
and carries it off-premises, or carries it to a school shall
be punished by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment in
the county jail not to exceed one year.
4)Exempts the sale of handguns to, or the purchase of handguns
by, federal law enforcement agencies from specified unsafe
handgun provisions.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that, except as specified, a person commits the crime
of "criminal storage of a firearm of the first degree" if all
of the following conditions are satisfied:
a) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
that are under the person's custody or control.
b) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
is likely to gain access to the firearm without the
permission of the child's parent or legal guardian.
c) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby
causes death or great bodily injury to the child or any
other person.
2)Provides that criminal storage of a firearm in the first
degree is punishable as a felony by imprisonment in a county
jail for 16 months, or two or three years, by a fine not
exceeding $10,000, or both; or as a misdemeanor by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a
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fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and
fine.
3)Provides that, except as specified, a person commits the crime
of "criminal storage of a firearm of the second degree" if all
of the following conditions are satisfied:
a) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
that are under the person's custody or control.
b) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
is likely to gain access to the firearm without the
permission of the child's parent or legal guardian.
c) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby
causes injury, other than great bodily injury, to the child
or any other person, or carries the firearm and draws or
exhibits the firearm, as specified.
4)Specifies that criminal storage of a firearm in the second
degree is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Minor state and local correctional costs to the extent anyone
is charged with this offense. No one has been committed to
state prison under the existing statute in recent years.
2)Potential, likely minor, non-reimbursable local enforcement
costs, offset to a degree by fine revenue.
3)No net impact on fee revenues (Dealer Record of Sales Account)
which are currently in the range of $265,000.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "A firearm owner may legally
own a firearm and keep a firearm in his or her own home.
However, a problem arises when a person who is prohibited from
owning or possessing a firearm is residing in the same home as
the person who legally owns a firearm. This means that the
prohibited person could potentially have 'possession' and access
to the firearm because it is stored under the same roof.
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"This is similar to what happened in the tragic Connecticut
School shooting on December 14, 2012. Adam Lanza took his
mother's firearms and used them to kill his mother, and the 20
children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. If his
mother had stored the firearms safely, and away from her son,
who had a history of mental instability, it would have made it
harder for Mr. Lanza to access the firearms and commit the
gruesome crimes.
"By imposing a duty on persons who legally own firearms to
safely store them when they know, or have reason to know, that
they are living with someone who is prohibited from owning or
possessing a firearm, the chances that a prohibited person could
access and use a firearm is greatly reduced. Firearm owners
must recognize that owning a firearm comes with certain
responsibilities, one of which is to make sure that they are
safely stored so that that prohibited, and possibly dangerous
persons with whom they reside, cannot access them."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0001576