BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 363|
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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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