BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 755
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 755 (Wolk)
As Amended September 3, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :25-12
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Jones-Sawyer, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Quirk, Skinner | |Bradford, |
| | | |Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Melendez, Waldron |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| | | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Adds specified offenses to the list of misdemeanors
that result in a 10-year prohibition on firearms and ammunition
possession, and adds certain misdemeanors related to substance
abuse for which a violation of two or more within a three-year
period will result in a 10-year prohibition on firearms
possession. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that any person convicted of a misdemeanor violation
of two or more of the following offenses within a three-year
period (or two or more of any one of the following offenses)
and who, within 10 years of the second conviction, owns,
purchases, receives or has in his or her possession or under
his or her custody or control, any firearm or ammunition, is
guilty of an infraction and subject to a fine of up to $250:
a) Being under the influence of any controlled substance.
b) Vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
c) Public intoxication.
d) Driving a vehicle under the influence of any alcoholic
beverage or drug.
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e) Driving a vehicle under the influence of any alcoholic
beverage or drug and causing injury.
f) Driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of
0.01% or greater while on probation for driving under the
influence.
g) Possession for sale or distribution of synthetic
cannabinoids, as defined.
h) Possession for sale or sale of specified controlled
substances.
i) Possession for sale or sale of ketamine.
2)Specifies that persons prohibited from possessing a firearm by
two or more of the substance abuse-related misdemeanors shall
be punished by an infraction.
3)Requires the court to notify persons subject to these firearms
prohibitions on forms prescribed by Department of Justice
(DOJ) and is subsequently convicted of another specified
substance abuse-related misdemeanor is subject to an
additional 10-year ban from firearm and ammunition possession.
Violation of that 10-year prohibition is punishable by an
infraction.
4)Provides that person ordered into outpatient treatment due to
mental illness, as specified, will be prohibited from
possessing firearms while subject to assisted outpatient
treatment.
5)Specifies that courts shall notify DOJ immediately when a
person has previously been adjudicated a mentally disordered
offender has been issued a certificate authorizing them to
possess a deadly weapon.
6)States that no person who has been ordered by a court to
receive out-patient mental health treatment, as specified, may
possess a deadly weapon. Additionally requires courts to
notify DOJ of the court order placing the person in
out-patient treatment and the prohibition within two days of
the issuance of the order, as well as when the person is no
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longer subject to out-patient treatment.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying
information from firearms purchasers and forward that
information, via electronic transfer to DOJ to perform a
background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or
she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
2)Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information,
DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that
it is authorized to request from the State Department of
Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is
prohibited from purchasing a firearm.
3)Specifies that the Attorney General maintains an online
database known as the Armed Prohibited Persons File (APPS).
The purpose of APPS is to cross-reference persons who have
ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1,
1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms
Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that
ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of
persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a
firearm. The information contained in APPS is only be
available to specified entities through the California Law
Enforcement Telecommunications System, for the purpose of
determining if persons are armed and prohibited from
possessing firearms.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1) One-time special fund costs in the range of $300,000
over two years to DOJ for upgrades to the Mental Health
Reporting System, the Mental Health Firearms Prohibition
System, the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and
the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS).
2) Unknown, potentially significant GF and/or special fund
enforcement costs to DOJ, likely in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars, as a result of a potentially
significant increase in persons on APPS.
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3) Unknown annual GF costs, potentially in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars, for additional state prison
commitments. This bill adds numerous predicate offenses
for the prohibition. For every 10 new commitments who serve
one year in state prison, the annual costs will be about
$250,000.
4) Unknown annual nonreimbursable local correctional costs,
potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, for
additional state prison commitments. For every 10 new
misdemeanor commitments who violate the gun possession
prohibition and serve one year in state prison, the annual
costs will be about $25,000.
5) Unknown potentially moderate state trial court costs,
likely in the range of $100,000, to notify DOJ of persons
subject to the gun prohibition.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "SB 755 adds a consequence
for those who are convicted of dangerous and irresponsible
behavior: give up your gun for 10 years. The easiest away to
avoid that consequence is not to break the law. It's that
simple."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0002174