BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 374
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 374 (Steinberg) - As Amended: August 5, 2013
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote:5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill amends the definition of an assault weapon to mean a
rifle that "does not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to
hold no more than 10 rounds," rather than a rifle with one of
six specified features and the "capacity to accept a detachable
magazine."
"Fixed magazine" is defined in the bill as "an ammunition
feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a
firearm in such a manner that the device cannot be removed
without disassembly of the firearm action." This proposed
definition is in contrast to the definition of a detachable
magazine in current Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations,
which define a detachable magazine as "any ammunition feeding
device that can be removed readily from the firearm with neither
disassembly of the firearm action nor use of a tool being
required. A bullet or ammunition cartridge is considered a
tool."
This bill also:
1)Provides that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2013, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault
weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as specified,
including those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that
can be removed readily from the gun with the use of a tool,
shall register the gun with DOJ before July 1, 2015. Requires
registrations be submitted electronically via the Internet.
2)Authorizes DOJ to charge a registration fee of up to $15 per
person, not to exceed reasonable processing costs, to be
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deposited in the Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Special
Account.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)One-time special fund (DROS) costs in the $3 million range
over three years to DOJ to transform the current - and aging -
Assault Weapon Registration system into a system capable of
handling an estimated one million assault weapon registrations
by July 1, 2015 and to process these registrations. These
costs would be fully offset by the $15 DROS fee authorized by
this bill to cover DOJ costs.
2)Unknown, potentially significant annual state GF and local
incarceration costs, for additional commitments for
possession, manufacture or sale of an assault weapon under the
expanded definition, the penalty for which ranges from one
year in county jail to four, six, or eight years in county
jail, pursuant to correctional realignment. If the person
committing this offense has a violent or serious prior, the
penalty can be doubled and the sentence served in state
prison. Extrapolating from almost 1,000 arrests for possession
of an assault weapon in 2012, for every 10 persons with a
prior serious or violent felony conviction who are convicted
of possession of an assault weapon, pursuant to the definition
in this bill, the annual out-year GF cost would be about $1
million in four years, assuming an average term of two years
and full -per capita costs.
Local incarceration costs would be lower, given shorter terms
on average.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is intended to address the so-called
"bullet-button" issue by providing a new statutory definition
of a fixed magazine. While current law prohibits possession of
assault weapons, and defines an assault weapon (in part) as a
semiautomatic centerfire rifle that has the capacity to accept
a detachable magazine and has at least one of six specified
features - pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or
telescoping site, grenade or flare launcher, or flash
suppressor - current DOJ regulations cloud the issue,
defining a detachable magazine as "any ammunition feeding
device that can be removed readily from the firearm with
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neither disassembly of the firearm action nor use of a tool
required. A bullet or ammunition cartridge is considered a
tool."
Due to this regulatory definition, magazines are not
considered detachable if a "tool" is required to remove the
magazine from the weapon. As a result, gun manufacturers have
built into their weapons recessed buttons that require a tool
- the tip of a bullet suffices - to quickly release the
magazine, allowing a replacement magazine to be inserted in
seconds. Compared to the release process for a detachable
magazine, the only difference is the use of a tool, which is
allowable under DOJ regulations.
The proposed statutory definition of fixed magazine is the
key; the practical impact of this bill is to prohibit
bullet-button magazine releases on semi-automatic rifles and
prohibit semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable
magazine.
According to the author, "The list of these shootings goes on
and on and the common characteristic of the firearms used in
these mass shootings is the ability to detach a magazine and
rapidly reload. That is why I introduced SB 374 which will
prohibit the future sale, purchase, manufacture, importation,
or transfer in California of semi-automatic rifles that can
accept detachable magazines. Rifles with detachable magazines
have a virtually unlimited capacity to kill. It is this
specific feature that this bill targets: the ability to shoot
unchecked semiautomatic gunfire. By focusing on the function
of these weapons and not just their form, this bill is aimed
at the commercialization of mass killing machines, not the
rights of sporting gun and hunting enthusiasts."
2)Registration and Takings Issues. This bill does not prohibit
possession of a gun that is currently legally owned. This bill
requires that the owner of a gun that is not currently
considered an assault weapon, but which would be deemed such
under the new definition, to register the gun with DOJ before
July 1, 2015. Thus this bill avoids takings issues because
the owner of a legally acquired gun does not have to
relinquish it.
3)Support includes a long list of gun safety advocates, the
various entities, such as the CA Federation of Teachers, the
CA Medical Association, and local governments. According to
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the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence, "The California Legislature has struggled with an
assault weapons ban since the Stockton school yard shootings
in 1989. The Roberti-Roos Act was passed that year, but minor
changes to the named assault weapons allowed the firearm
industry to easily evade the intent of the law. The assault
weapon law was expanded in 1991 and in 1999, the Legislature
updated the law by banning weapons with detachable magazines
and one or more military style features. However, once again
the industry has been able to exploit a loophole in the
regulations that allows for the continued sale and possession
of fully functional assault weapons. SB 374 seeks to
definitively close the loopholes in a manner that will prevent
the firearm industry from continuing to market these lethal
military style weapons in California.
"Mass shootings perpetrated by unbalanced individuals using
assault weapons are reported all too often in the news. As
was tragically demonstrated at Sandy Hook School, the ability
to rapidly reload added enormously to the carnage. An
exchangeable magazine can be reloaded in one second and is the
key feature that enables the rapid rate of continuous fire
that can kill many people very quickly. Requiring a fixed
magazine on future sales or transfers of long guns would, over
time, decrease the lethality in future mass shootings.
"SB 374 will finally control this situation with a clear,
simplified, and strengthened assault weapons law. Current
owners of long guns with detachable magazines will be able to
keep their weapons and law abiding hunters and sport shooters
will be minimally impacted.
4)Opposition includes a series of gun-related sport groups, gun
dealers, and the CA State Sheriffs Association. According to
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, defining any semiautomatic
rifle that can accept a detachable magazine, or that has a
fixed magazine with a capacity to accept more than 10 rounds,
to be an assault rifle, SB 374 would ban the sale of many
popular makes and models of rifles commonly used for hunting,
target practice, competition, recreational shooting, and other
lawful purposes.
"These civilian firearms are rarely used in the commission of
a crime. There is no justifiable reason to ban them?.
Unfortunately, such people will always be able to obtain the
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firearms SB 374 would ban, if they want them, in the
underground market or from outside of California's borders."
5)Related legislation , SB 47 (Yee), also before this committee
today, is similar to SB 374 regarding its definition of fixed
magazines. SB 47 differs in that it maintains the current law
requirement that an assault weapon have one or more of the
specified features. SB 374 simply eliminates the requirement
that an assault weapon have one of the specified features on
the basis that these features - pistol grip, thumbhole stock,
folding or telescoping site, grenade or flare launcher, or
flash suppressor - may be imposing, but do not necessarily
make a weapon more lethal.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081