BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 363
          Author:   Wright (D)
          Amended:  8/30/13
          Vote:     21


           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 4/30/13
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Knight

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 5/13/13
          AYES:  De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters, Gaines

           SENATE FLOOR  :  36-0, 5/16/13
          AYES:  Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Calderon, Cannella,  
            Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller,  
            Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff,  
            Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Nielsen, Padilla,  
            Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Knight, Price, Vacancy, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  64-11, 9/3/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Firearms:  criminal storage:  unsafe handguns:  fees

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill 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  
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          and causes injury as specified.

           Assembly Amendments  (1) amend the existing crime of criminal  
          storage of a firearm to include when a person keeps a handgun at  
          a premise where a prohibited person is likely to gain access,  
          does gain access and removes it off premise to a public place,  
          (2) add double-jointing language, and (3) exempt the sale of  
          handguns to or the purchase of handguns by, federal law  
          enforcement agencies from specified unsafe handgun provisions.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          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.

             D.   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 fine not exceeding  
               $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine.

          1.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  

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               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.

          1.Provides 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.

          2.Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) 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.  DOJ may charge an annual fee to firearms  
            manufacturers and importers for the costs of implementing this  
            program of handgun safety testing, as specified.

          3.Makes it an offense for any person in this state to  
            manufacture or cause to be manufactured, import into the state  
            for sale, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, give, or  
            lend any unsafe handgun, as defined.  Existing law exempts  
            from those prohibitions, the sale of handguns to, or the  
            purchase of handguns by, specified law enforcement entities,  
            among others.

          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 is guilty of criminal  
            storage of a firearm.  If the prohibited person causes death  
            or great bodily injury, this 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  

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            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 is  
            punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one  
            year, by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both.

          2.Provides that, beginning January 1, 2015, the fee charged by  
            DOJ for the handgun safety testing program, as specified,  
            shall be paid on January 1 of every year, as specified.

          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 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.Amends the existing crime of "criminal storage of a firearm"  
            to provide that if a person keeps any loaded firearm within  
            any premises that are under the person's custody or control  
            and negligently stores or leaves a loaded firearm in a  
            location where 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, unless  
            reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm  
            against access by the child is punishable of "criminal storage  
            of a firearm in the third degree".

          5.Exempts the sale of handguns to or the purchase of handguns  
            by, federal law enforcement agencies from specified unsafe  
            handgun provisions.

          6.Adds double-jointing with AB 169 (Dickinson) and AB 231 (Ting)  
            of the current legislative session.

           Background
           
          A recent decision by the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals  
          upheld the conviction of a man who had allowed such a  
          "prohibited person" to stay in his RV and disclosed to his guest  

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          the location of his firearms in the RV.  (United States v.  
          Stegmeier, 701 F.3d 574 (8th Cir. 2012)).  The Court found that  
          this constituted a violation of the federal law prohibiting  
          disposing of any firearm or ammunition to a prohibited person.

          Thus residing with a person who you know, or have reason to  
          know, is prohibited from owning a firearm for any reason, and  
          giving that person access to any firearms you possess whether  
          that person actually uses the firearm to cause harm or not has  
          been found to be a crime under federal law.  (U.S. v. Stegmeier,  
          supra, 18 U.S.C. 922(d).)  The penalty for violation under  
          federal law is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to  
          $250,000.  (18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(a)(2), 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3571.)   
          Whether permitting access to firearms to a cohabitant who is  
          prohibited from possessing a firearm is currently a violation of  
          California law is not clear.  As noted above, existing  
          California law provides that "no person, corporation, or dealer  
          shall sell, supply, deliver, or give possession or control of a  
          firearm to anyone whom the person, corporation, or dealer knows  
          or has cause to believe is prohibited from possessing a  
          firearm." (Penal Code Sec. 27500)  While there does not appear  
          to be any published opinion to this effect, a California court  
          could, as the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently did, find  
          that anyone living with a person who is prohibited from  
          possessing a firearm has the duty to deny access to the firearm  
          by the prohibited person.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Likely minor, if any, increase in state incarceration costs  
            (General Fund) for additional felony convictions under the  
            expanded definition of the criminal storage of firearms law  
            resulting in great bodily injury or death.  There have been no  
            commitments to state prison over the past three years for this  
            offense.

           Potential increase in county jail incarceration costs (Local)  
            for misdemeanor convictions related to violations of the  
            criminal storage of firearms law.

           Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree by  

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            fine revenue.

           No net impact on fee revenues.  Potential fee revenue increase  
            in FY 2014-15 (Special Fund*) due to the annual fee payment  
            shift to January 1 of each year effective January 1, 2015.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  9/3/13)

          California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun  
          Violence
          California Police Chiefs Association
          Coalition Against Gun Violence
          CZ-USA
          Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
          South County Citizens Against Gun Violence

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  9/3/13)

          California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
          California Right to Carry

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the California Police  
          Chiefs Association, "This bill would expand the provisions of  
          California's safe storage law to include the circumstance of  
          when the person who keeps the firearm knows or reasonably should  
          know that a person prohibited from owning or possessing a  
          firearm or deadly weapon is likely to gain access to the  
          firearm."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    According to the, California  
          Association of Federal Firearms Licensees:  "SB 363 utterly  
          destroys the rights of thousands of law-abiding people without a  
          criminal record by expressly prohibiting them from keeping  
          firearms for self-defense when they cohabit or share housing  
          with a prohibited person - even if that prohibited person was  
          not convicted of a violent crime, and no matter if the firearm  
          is kept secure or not.

          "Furthermore, this bill disproportionately attacks the civil  
          rights of low-income minorities and those who are forced by  
          circumstance to reside in high-crime areas that arguably, have  
          the greatest need to keep firearms for self-defense.

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  64-11, 9/3/13

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          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,  
            Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Daly, Dickinson,  
            Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,  
            Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Harkey, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,  
            Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Allen, Cooley, Donnelly, Fox, Grove, Hagman, Jones,  
            Melendez, Morrell, Patterson, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bigelow, Dahle, Hall, Vacancy, Vacancy


          JG:ej  9/3/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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