BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 755| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 755 Author: Wolk (D), et al. Amended: 9/6/13 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/16/13 AYES: Hancock, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg NOES: Anderson, Knight SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13 AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg NOES: Walters, Gaines SENATE FLOOR : 25-12, 5/29/13 AYES: Beall, Block, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth, Steinberg, Wolk, Yee NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Correa, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Hueso, Huff, Knight, Nielsen, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Torres, Wright, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available SUBJECT : Firearms: prohibited persons SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill adds specified offenses to the list of misdemeanors that result in a 10-year prohibition on firearms CONTINUED SB 755 Page 2 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. Assembly Amendments limit the bill to only the portion related to those convicted of two or more specified alcohol or drug crimes within a two-year period and limit the penalty to an infraction of a maximum $250 fine for a possession, and double-joint the bill with AB 1131 (Skinner). ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Provides that certain people are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This includes: Lifetime Ban Anyone convicted of a felony; Anyone addicted to a narcotic drug; Any juvenile convicted of a violent crime with a gun and tried in adult court; Any person convicted of a federal crime that would be a felony in California and sentenced to more than 30 days in prison, or a fine of more than $1,000; Anyone convicted of certain violent misdemeanors, e.g., assault with a firearm; inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or significant other, brandishing a firearm in the presence of a police officer. 10-Year Ban Anyone convicted of numerous misdemeanors involving violence or threats of violence. 5-Year Ban Anyone convicted of specified misdemeanors; Any person taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility due to that person being found to be a danger to themselves or others as a result of a mental disorder, is prohibited from possessing a firearm during treatment and for five years from the date of their discharge. 1.Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that CONTINUED SB 755 Page 3 information, via electronic transfer to Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he/she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. 2.Specifies that the Attorney General maintains an online database known as the Armed Prohibited Persons File. 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/her possession or under his/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. 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. 1.Specifies that persons prohibited from possessing a firearm by two or more of the substance abuse-related misdemeanors shall CONTINUED SB 755 Page 4 be punished by an infraction. 2.Requires the court to notify persons subject to these firearms prohibitions on forms prescribed by 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. 3.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. 4.Specifies that courts shall notify DOJ when a person has previously been adjudicated a mentally disordered offender has been issued a certificate authorizing them to possess a deadly weapon. 5.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 longer subject to out-patient treatment. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: One-time automation system enhancement costs of $270,000 (Special Fund*) to the DOJ to update various reporting systems. Ongoing increase in annual state incarceration costs potentially in the millions of dollars (General Fund) to the extent additional violations of the firearms prohibition, which is a wobbler, occur under the expanded list of misdemeanor crimes. Ongoing increase in annual local incarceration costs potentially in the millions of dollars (Local) to the extent CONTINUED SB 755 Page 5 additional violations of the firearms prohibition occur under the expanded list of misdemeanor crimes. Substantial increase in annual DOJ enforcement costs (Special Fund*) for the likely increase to the Armed Prohibited Persons System due to a significant increase in the number of individuals prohibited from owning or possessing firearms under the provisions of this bill. Ongoing significant court costs (General Fund**) for notifications to the DOJ for both violations of the list of expanded misdemeanors and outpatient treatment cases. * Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account ** Trial Court Fund SUPPORT : (Verified 9/10/13) AAUW of California AAUW, Santa Barbara - Goleta Valley Branch AAUW, Santa Maria Branch ADL, Anti-Defamation League Alliance of Automobile Manufactures Auburn Area Democratic Club Bend the Arc: Jewish Partnership for Justice California Church Impact California Federation of Teachers California Police Chiefs Association California State Sheriffs' Association Century Council Christy Lynn Wilson Foundation Clue California Credo Action Crime Victims Action Alliance Crime Victims United California Democrat Women of Santa Barbara County Diageo Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Doctors for America Laguna Woods Democratic Club Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America National Council of Jewish Women CONTINUED SB 755 Page 6 National Transportation Safety Board Neighbors Untied to Protect our Communities Orange County Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Orange County Democrats Peace Officers Research Association of California PICO California San Bernardino County Sheriff Santa Barbara Rape Crises Center Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange South County Citizens Against Gun Violence, Orange County Stop Gun Violence Tri-Cities Democratic Forum Tri-City Interfaith Council Violence Policy Center Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County Women For: Orange County OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/10/13) California Attorneys for Criminal Justice California DUI Lawyers Association Disability Rights California JG:nl:d 9/11/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED