BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 808
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           Date of Hearing:   June 24, 2014
          Counsel:        Gabriel Caswell


                         ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                                 Tom Ammiano, Chair
                                           
                   SB 808 (DeLeon) - As Amended:  January 21, 2014

          
          SUMMARY  :  Requires a person, commencing January 1, 2016, 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.  Specifically,  this bill  :  
           

          1)Requires any person who makes or assembles a firearm to: 

             a)   Obtain a unique serial number or other mark from the DOJ  
               prior to making or assembling a firearm; 

             b)   Within one day of making or assembling the firearm, to  
               engrave or permanently affix the unique serial number or  
               other mark to that firearm; and, 

             c)   Notify the DOJ once the serial number or other mark is  
               affixed to the firearm.

          2)Specifies, prior to the DOJ providing the person with a unique  
            serial number or other mark, the person must present proof  
            that: 

             a)   The applicant is not prohibited by state or federal law;

             b)   He or she is 18 years of age or older; and, 

             c)   The making of the firearm is in compliance with local  
               regulatory requirements.  

          3)Defines "manufacturing or "assembling" a firearm as to  
            fabricate or construct a firearm, or to fit together the  
            component parts of a firearm to construct a firearm.  

          4)Provides if the firearm is a handgun, a violation of this  








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            section is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to  
            exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand  
            dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.  For  
            all other firearms, a violation of this section is punishable  
            by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six months, or  
            by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by  
            both that fine and imprisonment.  Each firearm found to be in  
            violation of this section constitutes a distinct and separate  
            offense. This section does not preclude prosecution under any  
            other law providing for a greater penalty.

          5)Requires the DOJ to maintain electronic records of all persons  
            that receive a unique serial number or other mark, and notify  
            the DOJ that it has been engraved or affixed to the firearm.  

          6)Allows the DOJ to charge a fee for applications to administer  
            the costs of electronic tracking and would authorize the DOJ  
            to use the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) account to cover  
            actual costs associated with this legislation. 

           EXISTING LAW  :  
           
           1)Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to  
            identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the  
            serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the  
            weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General  
            (AG).  (18 U.S.C. § 923 subd. (i).)  

           2)Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of  
            1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship,  
            deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not  
            as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security  
            exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with  
            major components that do not generate an accurate image before  
            standard airport imaging technology.  (18 U.S.C. § 922 subd.  
            (p).)  

          3)Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to  
            manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with  
            Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from  
            manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm  
            or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal  
            Code § 29010).  This prohibition does not apply to a person  
            licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100  








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            firearms a calendar year.  (Pen. Code § 29010 subd. (b).)

          4)Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the  
            name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or other mark  
            of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other  
            firearm, without first having secured written permission from  
            the DOJ to make that change, alteration, or removal.  (Pen.  
            Code § 23900.)

          5)Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing  
            number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the  
            firearm lacks a manufacturer's number or other mark of  
            identification, or whenever the manufacturer's number or other  
            mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark  
            assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.   
            (Pen. Code § 23910.)

          6)Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions,  
            for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to  
            sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm  
            that has had the name of the maker or model, or the  
            manufacturer's number or other mark of identification changed,  
            altered, removed, or obliterated.  (Pen. Code §§ 23920 and  
            23925.)

          7)Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a  
            rifle or shotgun.  To purchase a handgun, a person must be at  
            least 21 years of age.  As part of the DROS process, the  
            purchaser must present "clear evidence of identity and age"  
            which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver's  
            License or Identification Card issued by the Department of  
            Motor Vehicles.  (Pen. Code §§ 27510 and 16400.) 

          8)Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate  
            prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or  
            provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to  
            California Penal Code Section 31700.  Beginning on January 1,  
            2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms.   
            (Pen. Code § 26840.)

          9)Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying  
            information from firearms purchasers and forward that  
            information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a  
            background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or  








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            she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.  (Pen. Code §§  
            28160-28220.)

          10)Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of  
            transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled  
            by the DOJ.  The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data  
            sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make,  
            model, and serial number and the date thereof.  (Pen. Code §  
            11106 subds. (a) & (c).) 

          11)Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information,  
            the 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 because of a prior felony  
            conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun  
            within the last 30 days, or because they had received  
            inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as  
            specified.  (Pen. Code § 28220.) 

          12)Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm  
            purchaser a fee not to exceed $14, except that the fee may be  
            increased at a rate not to exceed any increase in the  
            California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by  
            the Department of Industrial Relations.  This fee, known as  
            the DROS or DROS fee, shall be no more than is necessary to  
            fund specific codified costs.  (Pen. Code § 28225.)

          13)Provides the AG shall establish and maintain an online  
            database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File.   
            The purpose of the file 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.  (Pen. Code § 30000.) 
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Author's Statement  :  According to the author, "On Monday,  








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            December 9, 2013, Congress approved H.R. 3626 to extend the 25  
            year old ban on undetectable firearms for an additional ten  
            years.  The Undetectable Firearms Act (Act) of 1988 prohibits  
            the manufacture, sale, and possession of guns that cannot be  
            detected by metal detection.  Though H.R. 3626 was passed with  
            bipartisan support, efforts to amend the Act to cover plastic  
            firearms produced using three-dimensional printers, or  
            additive manufacturing, failed.  As a result, federal law does  
            not address the threat posed by newly developed plastic guns. 

            "The Act only broadly states that guns must be detectable, and  
            thus a detachable piece of metal would suffice to meet the  
            requirements of the law.  Since additive manufacturing  
            produces plastic guns without permanent metal components, an  
            individual can smuggle a three-dimensionally printed plastic  
            gun through a metal detector by simply removing any detectable  
            components. 

            "The additive manufacturing technologies available today allow  
            amateur users to fabricate guns and gun parts at home.  As  
            three-dimensional printing technology advances, so will the  
            accessibility and affordability of the printers.  Without  
            specific measures that address the dangers posed by these  
            self-made guns, criminals and dangerous individuals will  
            exploit the technologies at the expense of public safety.

            "Although additive manufacturing is the latest method by which  
            firearms can be built at home, it is by no means the only way.  
             The lawful sale of 80% assembled lowers and other gun parts  
            allows for an individual to assemble a fully functional  
            firearm and not be subject to a background check or  
            serialization by simply claiming that the gun is for personal  
            use.  Therefore, detection is not the only issue raised by  
            self-made and self-assembled guns.  The development of  
            technologies that make the manufacture of weapons accessible  
            to the general public raises questions about whether homemade  
            guns are being made by dangerous individuals, including felons  
            and other prohibited individuals." 

           2)Recent Events  :  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  








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               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.
           
               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  








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               to complete the weapon.  (Citations Omitted.)   
           
           3)Lower Receivers  :  There are no provisions in existing law that  
            prevent a person from buying an 80% lower receiver and then  
            making it into a fully functional firearm.  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  .)   
            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.  
           
           4)Argument in Support  :  According to the  California Chapter of  
            the American College of Emergency Physicians  , "[g]un violence  
            killed almost 32,000 American civilians in 2011 and seriously  
            injured another 74,000 - a toll greater than that of HIV/AIDS.  
             More people die from gun violence each year than from  
            alcoholic liver failure and skin cancer combined.   
            Road-related fatalities per capita have drifted consistently  
            down, and 2012 is expected to be the first year with more  
            bullet-related deaths than motor vehicle related ones."  

           5)Argument in Opposition  :  According to the  California  
            Association of Federal Firearms Licensees  ,"[t]here are  
            thousands - likely into the high hundreds of thousands, and  
            perhaps even millions - of personally-assembled firearms in  
            California today.  SB 808 makes no provision for how the  
            Department will communicate with these lawful gun owners and  
            inform them of their new obligations and criminal liabilities  
            under your proposed law.  Even if the Department could create  
            and implement such a massive outreach program, SB 808 does not  
            provide any funding method to pay for it."  

           6)Prior Legislation  :  
           
              a)   AB 809 (Feuer), Statutes of 2011, Chapter 745, conformed  
               requirements for reporting and record retention involving  
               the transfer of long guns with those of handguns.  

              b)   AB 302 (Beall), Statutes of 2010, Chapter 344, required  
               that by July 1, 2012, specified mental health facilities  








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               shall report to the DOJ exclusively by electronic means  
               when a person is admitted to that facility either because  
               that person was found to be a danger to themselves or  
               others, or was certified for intensive treatment for a  
               mental disorder, as specified.  


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          American College of Emergency Physicians, California Chapter 
          California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun  
          Violence
          California State Sheriffs' Association 
          City of Santa Monica 


           Opposition 
           
          California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees 
          National Shooting Sports Foundation 

          2 Private Citizens 
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)  
          319-3744