BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 475|
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VETO
Bill No: SB 475
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/16/13
AYES: Hancock, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 25-13, 5/2/13
AYES: Beall, Block, Calderon, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier,
Evans, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth,
Steinberg, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Correa, Emmerson, Fuller,
Gaines, Huff, Knight, Nielsen, Walters, Wright, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-29, 9/6/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Agricultural District 1-A: firearm sales at the Cow
Palace
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides that events at which a firearm or
ammunition is sold on the property or in the buildings that
comprise current or future Cow Palace property in San Mateo
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County and the City and County of San Francisco can occur only
with approval, by both the Board of Supervisors of the County of
San Mateo and the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of
San Francisco, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Defines "state designated fairs" as fairs, as specified,
that may receive financial support or are otherwise governed
pursuant to specified sections of law.
2. Provides that the state is divided into agricultural
districts, including "District 1-A is the County of San Mateo
and the City and County of San Francisco."
3. Provides that an association, with the approval of both the
Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of
General Services, may do any of the following:
A. Contract.
B. Purchase, acquire, hold, sell, exchange, or convey any
interest in real or personal property and beautify or
improve that property, as specified.
C. Lease, let, or grant licenses for the use of its real
estate or personal property, or any portion of that
property, to any person or public body for whatever
purpose may be approved by the board of directors of the
association (board).
D. Use or manage its real estate or personal property, or
any portion of that property, for any or all of the
purposes of this section jointly with any lessee,
sublessee, or licensee, or otherwise use or manage the
property in connection with the lease, sublease, or
license which is made or granted.
E. Lease or let its real property for public park,
recreational, or playground purposes.
F. Rent or permit the use of its premises for any purpose
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which is beneficial to the agricultural industry,
including, but not limited to, the holding of sales or
auctions of cattle or other livestock.
G. Contract with any county or county fair association for
holding a fair jointly with the county or county fair
association. The joint fair is a district fair of the
association.
H. Make permanent improvements upon publicly owned real
property adjacent to real property of the district when
the improvements materially benefit the property of the
district.
I. Pledge any and all revenues, moneys, accounts, accounts
receivable, contract rights, and other rights to payment
of whatever kind, pursuant to such terms and conditions as
are approved by the board, as specified.
4. Requires that the sale, loan or transfer of a firearm
(handguns, rifles and shotguns) in California - including
private party transactions and including transactions at gun
shows - must be conducted through a state licensed firearms
dealer or through a local sheriff's department in counties of
less than 200,000 population. A 10-day waiting period,
background check, and Handgun Safety Certificate for handgun
transfers are required prior to delivery of the firearm.
Firearms dealers are allowed to conduct business only in
their licensed premises, sell their gun inventory at gun
shows or events, or process private sales or transfers of any
firearms at gun shows or events. Handgun purchases are
limited to no more than one per 30-day period. Transferees
must be California residents and no person under age 21 may
buy a handgun and no person under 18 years of age may buy a
rifle or shotgun.
5. Provides that unless a different penalty is expressly
provided, a violation of any provision of this code is a
misdemeanor.
This bill provides that an officer, employee, operator, or
lessee of Agricultural District 1-A, as defined, may contract
for, authorize, or allow an event at which a firearm or
ammunition is sold on the property or in the buildings that
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comprise the Cow Palace property in San Mateo County and the
City and County of San Francisco or any successor or additional
property owned, leased, or otherwise occupied, or operated by
the district, only upon prior approval, by resolution, adopted
by both the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo and
the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San
Francisco. A violation of these provisions will be a
misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/29/13)
Bayshore Friendship Senior Citizens Club
Bend the Arc: Jewish Partnership for Justice
Brothers Against Guns
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
Christy Lynn Wilson Foundation
City and County of San Francisco
City of Daly City
Coalition Against Gun Violence
County of San Mateo
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
San Francisco District Attorney
San Francisco Police Department, Police Chief Gregory Suhr
San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos
San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen
South County Citizens Against Gun Violence
Visitacion Valley Asian Alliance
OPPOSITION : (Verified 4/29/13)
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Right to Carry
California Sportsman's Lobby
Crossroads of the West
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Outdoor Sportsman Coalition of California
Safari Club International
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Chapters of the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence states:
The Cow Palace is a State owned property located in both San
Francisco and San Mateo counties. State owned fairgrounds
are generally operated by the State Department of Food and
Agriculture and are exempt from local ordinances. Senate
Bill 475 requires that before events in which firearms or
ammunition are sold at the Cow Palace, prior approval must be
obtained from the San Mateo and San Francisco county boards
of supervisors.
Local jurisdictions have the primary responsibility for
providing for the public safety of their communities. Local
entities are often able to adopt ordinances more stringent
than those that apply to the State as a whole in order to
protect their citizens. Despite advances in gun show
regulation, local communities plagued by gun violence may
find that gun shows still pose an unacceptable risk to public
safety.
We understand that both San Mateo County and San Francisco
County adopted resolutions in 2003 asking the California
Legislature to terminate gun shows at the Cow Palace. Ten
years later, the Legislature has failed to act and the
resolutions are not binding on State property.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, as a matter of
general principle, neither supports nor does it oppose
firearm bans. The Brady Campaign, however, does strongly
support the right of local communities to adopt measures to
enhance local public safety. Accordingly, the California
Brady Campaign Chapters support SB 475.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Crossroads of the West states:
We have been the operator of the gun shows at the Cow Palace
for 25 years. During that time, no gun sold at the show has
ever been reported by law enforcement as a crime gun. All
laws pertaining to gun shows have always been strictly
followed.
We have also actively participated in the development of
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state laws governing gun shows, including the enactment of AB
295 (Corbett, Chapter 247, Statutes of 1999). As a result of
the passage of these laws, California gun shows are very
thoroughly regulated and enforced. The same laws that apply
to sales at a firearms dealers store also apply to sales at
gun shows, including sales between private parties.
A study of gun shows conducted at the University of
California, Davis found that California's gun shows are well
run and lawfully conducted. The study further indicated that
California's gun shows, and the state's laws governing them,
are the model for other states to emulate.
SB 475 would abandon to local governments the Legislature's
and the State of California's power and responsibility
relative to gun shows held at the Cow Palace, Agricultural
District 1-A. It would do so by allowing the County of San
Mateo and the County and City of San Francisco to effectively
prohibit the state from contracting for gun shows or other
events at which firearms or ammunition are sold by simply not
passing resolutions to approve it.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"I am returning Senate Bill 475 without my signature.
This bill requires the District Agricultural Association 1-A
(Cow Palace) to obtain approval from the County of San Mateo
and the City and County of San Francisco prior to entering
into a contract for a gun show on state property.
I encourage all District Agricultural Associations to work
with their local communities when determining their
operations and events. This bill, however, totally
pre-empts the Board of Directors of the Cow Palace from
exercising its contracting authority whenever a gun show is
involved. I prefer to leave these decisions to the sound
discretion of the Board."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-29, 9/6/13
AYES: Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Dickinson, Fong, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer,
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Levine, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Rendon, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Cooley, Dahle,
Donnelly, Fox, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey,
Jones, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell,
Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Salas, Wagner,
Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Daly, Eggman, Frazier, Medina,
Vacancy, Vacancy
JG:kd 1/6/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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