BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 580
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Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 580 (Jackson) - As Amended: June 12, 2014
Policy Committee: Public Safety
Vote: 5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Appropriates $5 million dollars from the Firearms Safety and
Enforcement Special Fund (FSESF) to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) for the 2014-15 fiscal year to contract with local law
enforcement agencies to reduce the Armed Prohibited Persons
System (APPS) backlog.
2)Appropriates $10 million from the FSESF over three years,
beginning in 2014-15, to DOJ to redesign and update firearms
computer systems, specifically the Firearms Information
Gateway, APPS, the Basic Firearms Eligibility Check System,
the Applicant Firearms Eligibility Check System, and the
Integrated Document Retrieval System.
3)Appropriates $50,000 from the FSESF to DOJ for 2014-15 to
provide APPS training to APPS local law enforcement agencies
by June 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Appropriates a total of $15,050,000 from the FSESF to DOJ. The
FSESF has a projected 2014-15 reserve of about $18 million. By
statute, the FSESF, upon appropriation, may be used to
implement and enforce provisions of the Firearm Safety
Certificate program, implement and enforce gun law enforcement
programs, and establish, maintain, and upgrade equipment and
services necessary for gun dealers to comply with the Dealers
Record of Sale (DROS) system.
SB 580
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2)Generally, appropriations of this magnitude, particularly
those that involve computer system upgrades, are accompanied
by significant project documentation, including a breakdown of
expenditures and timetables. Indications are that the $10
million appropriation is based on a developing DOJ budget
change proposal (BCP) to address information technology
upgrades to its firearm systems.
3)The rationale for the proposed $5 million appropriation
appears to be based on a similar $1 million proposal from DOJ
last year, which was ultimately not included in SB 140 (Leno),
which appropriated $24 million from the DROS account to DOJ to
fund enforcement of illegal gun possession by relieving guns
from prohibited persons. It appears DOJ's intent for the $1
million was to fund local overtime efforts to disarm persons
on the prohibited list. It is not clear how the $5 million
would be allocated, nor is it clear this amount could be
effectively expended within the six-month window proposed by
this bill.
4)The $50,000 appropriation, while relatively minor, appears
unnecessary, as DOJ already performs such training within
existing resources.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to provide additional
resources to address the ongoing backlog of about 40,000 guns
possessed by about 19,500 prohibited persons. Due primarily to
state and local fiscal constraints, this backlog continues to
grow.
According to the author and proponents, although the DOJ and
local law enforcement have the authority to confiscate these
guns, they require additional resources to further reduce this
backlog of weapons.
2)DOJ's Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) is an online
database that cross-references persons who possess a gun and
who, subsequent to possession of that gun, become a member of
the class of persons legally prohibited from possessing a gun.
Law enforcement agencies may access APPS via stationary or
mobile terminals and thus are able to identify persons
prohibited from possessing a gun.
SB 580
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All felony convictions lead to a lifetime prohibition, while
specified misdemeanors result in a 10-year prohibition. A
person may also be prohibited due to a protective order, due
to having been adjudicated as having a mental disorder, or as
condition of probation. If a person communicates to his or her
psychotherapist a serious threat of physical violence against
an identifiable victim, 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. If a person is
admitted into a facility because that person is a danger to
himself, herself, or to others, the person is prohibited from
owning or purchasing a firearm for five years
According to DOJ, about half of the persons on the APPS list
are prohibited due to criminal history; about 30% due to
mental health status, and about 20% due to active restraining
orders.
3)Is confiscation of guns from prohibited persons a local law
enforcement responsibility ? Yes. DOJ, however, does have a
statewide law enforcement responsibility, and given local law
enforcement fiscal constraints in recent years, the use of a
reserve from a state special fund already authorized for
related purposes, for a demonstrable public safety need,
appears appropriate, if underdeveloped.
4)Related legislation , SB 140 (Leno), Statutes of 2013,
appropriated $24 million from the Dealers Record of Sale
(DROS) Special Account to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to
fund enforcement of illegal gun possession by relieving
weapons from persons in the Armed Prohibited Persons System
(APPS).
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081