BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 808 (de León) - Firearms: identifying information.
Amended: January 21, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: January 23, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 808 would require, commencing January 1, 2016,
a person to apply to and obtain from the Department of Justice
(DOJ) a unique serial number or other mark of identification
prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm, subject to
specified exceptions. This bill would require any person who, as
of January 1, 2016, owns a firearm that does not already bear a
serial number, as specified, to apply to the DOJ for a unique
serial number or other mark of identification by July 1, 2016.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time DOJ costs of $70,000 (Special Fund*) to promulgate
regulations.
One-time DOJ costs in the range of $1 million (Special
Fund*) for enhancements to various automation systems. Costs
include staffing, overtime, external consultants, and
software development. Ongoing costs for maintenance are
estimated to be minor.
Start-up costs of $350,000 (Special Fund*) to process and
verify an estimated 15,000 applications to register 30,000
firearms. Annual costs in the range of $100,000 (Special
Fund*) for ongoing administration of the program to process
an estimated 1,000 applications to register 2,000 firearms,
verify required information, assign serial numbers, and
input data. The $25 fee per application would cover start-up
costs but would not sustain the ongoing costs of the program
(1,000 applications would only generate $25,000 in fee
revenue).
Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs offset to a degree
by fine revenue to the extent violations of the new
registration requirements occur.
Potential court-related costs (General Fund**) for new
misdemeanor filings.
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While the impact of this bill independently on local jails
is likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of expanded
misdemeanors could create General Fund cost pressure on
capital outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other
resources in the context of criminal justice realignment.
*DROS
**Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: From the Senate Committee on Public Safety analysis
of this bill, "According to a July 15, 2013, briefing prepared
by the Minority Staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce,
United States House of Representatives:
On June 7, 2013, John Zawahri, 23, killed five people
and injured several more during a shooting rampage
that lasted approximately 13 minutes in Santa Monica,
California. He first shot and killed his father, Samir
Zawahri, and brother, Christopher, at their home. He
then pulled over and carjacked Laurie Sisk, forcing
her to drive at gunpoint to Santa Monica College.
Zawahri shot at numerous cars, pedestrians, and a bus
en route, killing the college's groundskeeper, Carlos
Franco, and his daughter, Marcela. Upon arriving at
the campus, he then fatally shot another woman,
Margarita Gomez. He then entered the school library,
where he attempted to kill several library patrons who
were hiding in a safe room. Police, who had been
alerted to the shooting and to Zawahri's location by
numerous 911 calls, exchanged gunfire in the library
with the shooter and pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to authorities, Zawahri fired approximately
100 rounds in total.
Zawahri had a history of mental illness. In 2006, a
teacher at his high school discovered Zawahri
researching assault weapons online. School officials
contacted the police and he was subsequently admitted
to the psychiatric ward at the University of
California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Zawahri
attempted to buy a weapon in 2011, but a background
check conducted by the California Department of
Justice found him ineligible and denied the purchase.
The reasons for this denial have not been publicly
released.
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Zawahri used a modified AR-15 rifle in the shooting
and also carried a .44-caliber handgun. He possessed
more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition. The AR-15 rifle
is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings
that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown,
Connecticut. The AR-15 firearm held 30 rounds.
California state law bans the sale of AR-15 rifles
with a magazine capacity greater than ten rounds.
Authorities believe that Zawahri assembled his AR-15
rifle using parts he bought in pieces from a number of
different sources, including an 80% completed lower
receiver. Police found a drill press at Zawahri's
home, a tool that can make holes in the lower receiver
to complete the weapon.
There are no provisions in existing laws that prevent a person
from buying an 80% lower receiver<1> and then making it into a
fully functional firearm. Because 80% lower receivers are not
considered firearms, a person purchasing them does not have to
go through a federal firearms dealer, and does not have to
undergo a background check. According to the author, SB 808
will help to close this loophole."
Proposed Law: This bill would regulate firearms that are
manufactured or assembled by an individual, by requiring a
person, commencing January 1, 2016, to do the following:
Apply for and obtain a unique serial number or other
identifying mark from the DOJ prior to manufacturing or
assembling a firearm.
Engrave or permanently affix the unique serial number or
mark to the firearm, as specified.
Notify the DOJ once the serial number or mark is affixed
to the firearm.
For any person who, as of January 1, 2016, owns a firearm that
does not already bear a serial number, as specified, this bill
requires the person to apply to the DOJ for a unique serial
number or other mark of identification by July 1, 2016.
A violation of the above requirements would be punishable by
imprisonment in county jail for up to one year (for handguns) or
---------------------------
<1> According to Tactical Machining, "An 80% Receiver is a
partially completed piece of material that requires special
tooling and skills to be completed and considered a firearm."
(http://www.tacticalmachining.com/80-lower-receiver.html.)
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six months (for other firearms), a fine of up to $1,000, or by
both the fine and imprisonment.
This bill provides for the following exemptions from the
requirement to obtain a serial number for a self-assembled
firearm:
A firearm that has a serial number or mark of
identification assigned to it, as specified.
A firearm that is not a handgun manufactured or
assembled prior to December 16, 1968.
A firearm that is a curio or relic, as defined.
An application to the DOJ for a unique serial number shall only
be granted if the applicant:
Completes a personal firearms eligibility check
demonstrating that the applicant is not prohibited by state
or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or
purchasing a firearm.
Presents proof of age and identity, as specified.
Provides a description of the firearm intended to be
manufactured or assembled, in a manner prescribed by the
DOJ.
Has a valid firearm safety certificate or handgun safety
certificate.
Additionally, this bill requires the DOJ to:
Recover the full costs of administering the program by
collecting application fees.
Include a discreet fee as part of the application
process to cover the cost of placing information in the
centralized registry.
Adopt regulations to administer the program.
Maintain and make available upon request the following
information:
o The number of applications made and granted.
o The amount of fees collected.
o The number of arrests for violations of the
bill's provisions.
Prior Legislation: AB 809 (Feuer) Chapter 745/2011, commencing
January 1, 2014, conforms requirements for reporting and record
retention involving the transfer of long guns with those of
handguns; repeals the prohibition on peace officers and the DOJ
from retaining or compiling records of long gun transfers;
expands the reporting requirements to apply to the importation
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of long guns; and expands requirements for firearms dealers to
keep a register or record of information pertaining to firearms
transactions to include information pertaining to transactions
involving all firearms.
AB 1810 (Feuer) 2010 would have provided that firearms reporting
and record retention requirements that at the time only applied
to handguns also apply to long guns. This bill failed passage on
the Senate Floor.
AB 161 (Steinberg) Chapter 754/2003 revised the specific
limitations on the use of funds derived from the purchase of
firearms by the DOJ and provided that DROS Special Account funds
may be used by the DOJ for costs associated with
firearms-related regulatory and enforcement activities.
Staff Comments: This bill requires the DOJ to administer a
program to issue serial numbers to individuals for
self-assembled firearms through an application process that
requires a completed background check, proof of age and
identity, a description of the firearm, and proof of a valid
firearm or handgun safety certificate. It is estimated it would
be an 18-month project for DOJ to make the necessary
enhancements to various automation systems, including the
California Reporting Information System (CRIS), Consolidated
Firearm Information System (CFIS), DROS application, Automated
Firearm System (AFS), and the California Information Firearms
Gateway.
Estimated one-time costs for these enhancements are $1.1 million
(DROS) over 18 months, which includes staffing, overtime,
external consultants, and software development.
Limited-term staff resources to process and verify an estimated
15,000 applications to register 30,000 firearms would be
required at DOJ to handle the population of applications for
individuals who owned a non-serialized firearm as of January 1,
2016. Estimated one-time costs of $350,000 include staff to
process the applications, verify the required information,
assign serial numbers, and input data. Annual costs are
estimated in the range of $100,000 for the ongoing
administration of the program to process an estimated 1,000
applications to register 2,000 firearms annually. While the $25
DROS fee per application would cover initial costs (15,000 x $25
= $375,000), future applications of 1,000 per year would not
sustain the ongoing costs of the program (1,000 x $25 =
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$25,000).
A violation of the bill's registration requirements would be
punishable by imprisonment in county jail for up to one year
(for handguns) or six months (for other firearms), a fine of up
to $1,000, or by both the fine and imprisonment, resulting in a
potential increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement costs
offset to a degree by fine revenue to the extent violations of
the new registration requirements occur and are enforced.
The creation of new or expanded misdemeanors has historically
been analyzed by this Committee to result in non-reimbursable
state mandated costs for local law enforcement and
incarceration. Staff notes, however, that the creation and
expansion of misdemeanors taken cumulatively could increase the
statewide adult jail population to a degree that could
potentially impact the flexibility of counties to manage their
jail populations recently exacerbated under 2011 Public Safety
Realignment. While the provisions of this bill are likely to be
minor, the cumulative effect of all new misdemeanors could
create unknown General Fund cost pressure on capital outlay,
staffing, programming, the courts, and other resources.