BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 857 (Cooper) - Firearms: identifying information
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|Version: May 11, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 16, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 857 would require, commencing July 1, 2018, 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 July 1, 2018, owns a firearm that does not bear a serial
number, as specified, to apply to the DOJ for a unique serial
number or other mark of identification by January 1, 2019.
Fiscal
Impact:
One-time costs of $75,000 (Special Fund*) for the DOJ to
promulgate regulations.
One-time costs to DOJ in the range of $2 million (Special
Fund*) for enhancements to various automation systems. Costs
include staffing, overtime, external consultants, and software
development. Ongoing costs for storage, updates and
maintenance are estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands
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of dollars annually. Start-up costs to DOJ of $365,000
(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 (Local Funds) 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.
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.
*Dealers Record of Sale (DROS) Account - Staff notes the DROS
Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated year-end
fund balance of less than $1 million in FY 2016-17. As a result,
an appropriation from another fund source, potentially the
General Fund, would be required to support the activities
required by this bill.
**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
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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
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
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<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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undergo a background check.
Proposed
Law: This bill would regulate firearms that are manufactured or
assembled by an individual, by requiring a person, commencing
July 1, 2018, 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 July 1, 2018, 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 January 1, 2019. A
violation of the above 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.
This bill prohibits the sale or transfer of ownership of a
firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant the bill's
provisions. Additionally, this bill prohibits a person,
corporation, or firm from knowingly allowing, aiding,
facilitating, or abetting the manufacture or assembly of a
firearm by any of a class of specified persons.
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 which was entered into the centralized
registry prior to July 1, 2018, as specified.
A firearm that has a serial number assigned to it
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pursuant to federal law, as specified.
A firearm that is a curio or relic, or an antique
firearm, as those terms are 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:
Inform applicants who are denied the issuance of a
serial number the reasons for the denial in writing.
Grant or deny all applications within 15 calendar days
of the receipt of the application.
Charge an application fee at DOJ's request for each
serial number or mark it issues in an amount sufficient to
reimburse DOJ for the actual costs associated with
assigning a distinguishing number or mark to a firearm and
for conducting a personal firearms eligibility check, as
specified.
Deposit all funds received in the DROS Account, to be
available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
Adopt regulations to administer the program.
Maintain and make available upon request the following
information:
o The number of serial numbers issued.
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o The number of arrests for violations of the
bill's provisions.
Related Legislation: SB 1407 (de León) is identical to this
measure. SB 1407 is scheduled to be heard today by this
Committee.
AB 1673 (Gipson) 2016 would expand the definition of "firearm"
to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or
receiver "blank," "casting," or "machined body" that is designed
and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon,
from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the
force of an explosion or other form of combustion. AB 1673 has
been referred to the Suspense File of the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations.
Prior
Legislation: SB 808 (de León) was substantially similar to this
measure. SB 808 was vetoed by the Governor with the following
message:
I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature. SB 808
would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain
a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of
Justice. I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence,
but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun
would significantly advance public safety.
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 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 records retention requirements that at the time only applied
to handguns also apply to long guns. This bill failed passage on
the Senate Floor.
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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 $2.1 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 July 1, 2018. Estimated
one-time costs of $365,000 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 = $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.
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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.
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