BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 580
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Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 580 (Jackson) - As Amended: June 12, 2014
SUMMARY : Appropriates funds from the Firearms Safety and
Enforcement Special Fund (FSESF), as specified. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Appropriates five million dollars from the FSESF to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) for the 2014-2015 fiscal year to
contract with local law enforcement agencies to reduce the
backlog in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS);
2)Appropriates $3,333,334 from the FSESF for the 2014-2015
fiscal year, and $3,333,333 for each of the 2015-2016 and
2016-2017 fiscal years, to the DOJ to redesign and update
specified firearms computer systems; and,
3)Appropriates fifty thousand dollars from the FSESF to the DOJ
for the 2014-2015 fiscal year to provide training to local law
enforcement agencies on the use of APPS. The training must be
completed by June 1, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for an automated system for tracking firearms and
assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.
The online database, which is currently known as the APPS,
cross-references all handgun and assault weapon owners across
the state against criminal history records to determine
persons who have been, or will become, prohibited from
possessing a firearm subsequent to the legal acquisition or
registration of a firearm or assault weapon. (Pen. Code §
30000, et. seq.)
2)Prohibits persons who know or have reasonable cause to believe
that the recipient is prohibited from having firearms and
ammunition to supply or provide the same with firearms or
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ammunition. (Pen. Code §§ 27500 and 30306, and Welf. & Inst.
Code § 8101.)
3)Provides that various categories of persons are prohibited
from owning or possessing a firearm, including persons
convicted of certain violent offenses, and persons who have
been adjudicated as having a mental disorder, among others.
(Pen. Code §§ 29800 to 29825, inclusive, 29900, 29905, 30305
and Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 8100 and 8103.)
4)Establishes the Dealer's Record of Sale Account, a special
fund, which receives various firearm registration fees, and
which may be used by the DOJ for firearms related regulatory
activities, including enforcement activities related to
possession. (Pen. Code §§ 28225 and 28235)
5)Establishes the FSESF, a continuously appropriated fund, for
use by the DOJ for specified purposes related to weapons and
firearms regulation. (Pen. Code §28300) Monies in the fund
may be used for the following purposes:
a) Implementing and enforcing the provisions of the Firearm
Safety Certificate program;
b) Implementing and enforcing various gun law enforcement
programs; and,
c) Establishment, maintenance, and upgrading of equipment
and services necessary for firearms dealers to comply with
the Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) system.
6)Requires the DOJ, upon submission of firearm purchaser
information, to examine its records to determine if the
purchaser is prohibited from possessing, receiving, owning, or
purchasing a firearm. Existing law prohibits the delivery of
a firearm within 10 days of the application to purchase, or,
after notice by the department, within 10 days of the
submission to the department of any corrections to the
application to purchase, or within 10 days of the submission
to the department of a specified fee. (Pen. Code §§ 28200 to
28250.)
7)Mandates those dealers notify DOJ that persons in applications
actually took possession of their firearms. (Pen. Code §
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28255.)
8)Requires if a dealer cannot legally deliver a firearm,
existing law requires the dealer to return the firearm to the
transferor, seller, or person loaning the firearm. (Pen. Code
§ 28050 subd. (d).)
9)Requires that in connection with any sale, loan or transfer of
a firearm, a licensed dealer must provide the DOJ with
specified personal information about the seller and purchaser
as well as the name and address of the dealer. This personal
information of buyer and seller required to be provided
includes the name; address; phone number; date of birth; place
of birth; occupation; eye color; hair color; height; weight;
race; sex; citizenship status; and a driver's license number;
California identification card number; or, military
identification number. A copy of the DROS, containing the
buyer and seller's personal information, must be provided to
the buyer or seller upon request. (Pen. Code §§ 28160, 28210,
and 28215.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "[l]ike SB 505,
SB 580 is about making better use of existing resources and
tools to help prevent gun violence. SB 580 would provide
$5,000,000 in grants to local law enforcement agencies to take
guns away from those who currently illegally possess them.
Currently, the Bureau of Firearms (BOF) has identified 20,834
people with a prior criminal conviction or mental health
disorder which disqualifies them from possessing more than
43,000 firearms. Every day, the list of armed prohibited
persons in California grows by about 15 to 20 people. Last
year the legislature set aside $24 million to deal with this
problem but both a spike in gun sales and limited capacity at
DOJ required that additional resources be used to expedite the
processing of the backlog. According to DOJ, the recent
investment in reducing the backlog is paying off as DOJ is on
pace to conduct 9,000 APPS investigations this year. This
bill provides an additional $5 million out of the FSESF to
local law enforcement to speed-up the processing of the
backlog and reduce the number of people who currently possess
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guns who should not under existing laws.
"This bill will also make existing gun data systems at the DOJ
more effective by providing resources $10,000,000 out of the
FSESF over three years to improve the efficiency of the DOJ's
aging data systems, used to register gun ownership, conduct
background checks, and monitor the possession of firearms by
prohibited persons.
"Finally, we need to make sure that local law enforcement
knows how to access information about gun ownership,
especially if we are going to require that they do database
checks before they conduct a welfare check as SB 505 requires.
SB 580 will provide $50,000 for DOJ staff to train local law
enforcement on how to use the Automated Firearms System
(AFS)."
2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, California tracks and records the number of people
statewide who are on the armed prohibited persons list using a
database called the APPS. Every day, the list of armed
prohibited persons grows by about 15 to 20 people. As of May
2014, the BOF has identified 20,834 individuals with a prior
criminal conviction or mental health disorder which
disqualifies them from possessing more than 43,000 firearms.
Last year the legislature set aside $24 million to deal with
this problem but both a spike in gun sales and limited
capacity at DOJ required that additional resources be used to
expedite the processing of the backlog. According to DOJ, the
recent investment in reducing the backlog is paying off as DOJ
is on pace to conduct 9,000 APPS investigations this year.
This bill provides an additional $5 million out of the FSESF
to local law enforcement to speed-up the processing of the
backlog and reduce the number of people who currently possess
guns who should not under existing laws.
Many of the DOJ's existing data systems for tracking gun
purchases and ownership are rapidly becoming outdated. These
systems need to be updated, improved, and in some instances,
migrated to new technologies. SB 580 will provide $10 million
out of the FSESF over three years to upgrade and improve the
following data systems:
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a) The Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS). APPS is
a database of persons who lawfully purchased/acquired
firearms and subsequently became prohibited from
possession;
b) The California Firearms Information Gateway (CFIG).
CFIG is used to support and administer the various other
gun databases in use at DOJ;
c) Basic Firearms Eligibility Check System (BFEC). Used to
conduct background checks prior to approving the
sale/transfer of firearms;
d) The Applicant Firearms Eligibility Check (AFEC). AFEC
incorporates fingerprint based searches and provides
positive identification against state and federal criminal
history records during background checks; and,
e) Integrated Document Retrieval System (IDRS). The DOJ,
BOF has identified new technology to develop a new
electronic IDRS to replace its inefficient paper document
storage system.
The bill will also provide $50,000 to DOJ to utilize the state
AFS so law enforcement can check the state's gun databases.
3)Prohibited Persons : By requiring direct shipments of firearms
from out of state, this bill will assist in keeping firearms
out of the hands of prohibited persons. California has
several laws that prohibit certain persons from purchasing
firearms. All felony convictions lead to a lifetime
prohibition, while specified misdemeanors will result in a
10-year prohibition. A person may be prohibited due to a
protective order or as a condition of probation. Another
prohibition is based on the mental health of the individual.
If a person communicates to his or her psychotherapist a
serious threat of physical violence against a
reasonably-identifiable victim or victims, the person is
prohibited from owning or purchasing a firearm for five years,
starting from the date the psychotherapist reports to local
law enforcement the identity of the person making the threat.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, § 8100, subd. (b)(1).) If a person is
admitted into a facility because that person is a danger to
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himself, herself, or to others, the person is prohibited from
owning or purchasing a firearm for five years. (Welf. & Inst.
Code, § 8103, subd. (f).) For the provisions prohibiting a
person from owning or possessing a firearm based on a serious
threat of violence or based on admittance into a facility as a
threat to self or others, the person has the right to request
a hearing whereby the person could restore his or her right to
own or possess a firearm if a court determines that the person
is likely to use firearms or other deadly weapons in a safe
and lawful manner. (Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 8100, subd. (b)(1)
and 8103, subd. (f).)
DOJ developed the Prohibited Armed Persons File, which is
commonly referred to as the (APPS), an automated system for
tracking handgun and assault weapon owners in California who
may pose a threat to public safety. (Pen. Code, § 30000 et
seq.) APPS collects information about persons who have been,
or will become, prohibited from possessing a firearm
subsequent to the legal acquisition or registration of a
firearm or assault weapon. DOJ receives automatic
notifications from state and federal criminal history systems
to determine if there is a match in the APPS for a current
California gun owner. DOJ also receives information from
courts, local law enforcement and state hospitals as well as
public and private mental hospitals to determine whether
someone is in a prohibited status. When a match is found, DOJ
has the authority to investigate the person's status and
confiscate any firearms or weapons in the person's possession.
Local law enforcement also may request from DOJ the status of
an individual, or may request a list of prohibited persons
within their jurisdiction, and conduct an investigation of
those persons. (Pen. Code, § 30010.)
4)Argument in Support: According to the California Chapters of
the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, "In furtherance of
our goal to reduce firearm violence in our communities, the
California Brady Campaign Chapters support SB 580, which
appropriates funds from the Firearms Safety and Enforcement
Special Fund.
"The California Brady Campaign has been involved in efforts to
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improve the state's Automated Firearms System (AFS) for many
years. In 2006, we participated in a working group
established to gather information and input regarding the
redesign of AFS. The goal was to update and modernize AFS so
that it could operate as a relational database and function as
a gun tracing system. Most of the upgrades were completed by
December 2010, but it was acknowledged that additional funding
would be needed to keep the system current. AFS interacts
with other firearm data systems used by the Department of
Justice to carry out its programs. Some of these systems were
built twenty years ago and their technology is clearly
outdated. SB 580 will appropriate $10 million over three
years to redesign and modernize the Department's firearm data
systems so that performance, efficiency, and processing speed
can be can be increased. Additionally, the bill will
appropriate $50 thousand to the Department to provided needed
training to local law enforcement agencies on the use of AFS.
"The Armed and Prohibited Persons System (APPS) database
maintained by DOJ contains information on persons who have
purchased firearms and subsequently become prohibited by law
from purchasing or possessing firearms. Using this
information, law enforcement can proactively disarm armed and
prohibited persons before they harm themselves or others. The
California Brady Campaign strongly supports the APPS program
as it furthers our goal of keeping firearms out of dangerous
hands. We pushed for implementation of the program in 2007
and have repeatedly advocated for increased funding so that
the Department can hire, train, and assign more special agents
and criminal intelligence specialists for the APPS program.
Last year, the legislature appropriated $24,000,000 from the
Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account to the Department to
address the huge backlog in APPS. SB 580 will appropriate $5
million so that the Department can contract with local law
enforcement agencies to help address the backlog in counties
with the largest number of armed and prohibited persons.
"The Firearms Safety and Enforcement Special Fund is supported
by a fee on each firearm sale and is used by the Department of
Justice for purposes related to weapons and firearms
regulation and enforcement. Due to the high number of firearm
sales in recent years, the Fund has sufficient monies to fund
the appropriations under SB 580.
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"California's strong gun laws and use of technology are
contributing to a dramatic reduction in the firearm mortality
rate in the state. Funding to fully implement and enforce
these laws and upgrade the data systems will further reduce
firearm injury and death in California. Accordingly, the
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign strongly support SB
580."
5)Related Legislation:
a) AB 1609 (Alejo) , makes federal requirements state law
requirements for acquiring firearms outside of California
current. AB 1609 is awaiting a hearing in Senate Public
Safety.
b) AB 2300 (Ridley-Thomas) , makes various changes to the
APPS program as the result of a Joint Legislative Audit
Committee audit report. AB 2300 is pending in the Senate
Appropriations Committee and is scheduled to be heard on
June 23rd .
c) SB 53 (DeLeon) . SB 53 prospectively imposes background
check requirements involving ammunition transactions
beginning SB 53 is awaiting action on the Assembly floor.
6)Prior Legislation : SB 140 (Leno), Statutes of 2013, Chapter
2, appropriated $24 million from the DROS Special Account to
the DOJ for costs associated with regulatory and enforcement
of illegal possession of firearms by prohibited persons, and
requires the DOJ to report specified information to the Joint
Legislative Budget Committee by March 1, 2015 and every March
1 until 2019.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
California District Attorneys Association
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
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Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744