BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 892
          Author:   Achadjian (R)
          Introduced:2/26/15  
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:  7-0, 6/9/15
           AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  79-0, 4/16/15 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote

           SUBJECT:   Unsafe handguns:  peace officers state-issued  
                     handguns:  transfer to spouse


          SOURCE:    California Association of Highway Patrolmen


          DIGEST:  This bill exempts the purchase of a state-issued  
          handgun by the spouse or domestic partner of a peace officer who  
          died in the line of duty from the prohibition on unsafe  
          handguns.


          ANALYSIS:   


          Existing law: 


          1)Provides that commencing January 1, 2001, no "unsafe handgun"  
            may be manufactured or sold in California by a licensed  
            dealer, except as specified, and requires that the Department  








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            of Justice (DOJ) prepare and maintain a roster of handguns  
            which are determined not to be unsafe handguns.  Private party  
            sales (used or previously owned) and transfers of handguns  
            through a licensed dealer are exempted from those  
            restrictions.  (Penal Code §§ 27545, 32000, et seq., § 32110.)

          2)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or  
            causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale,  
            keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends  
            any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a  
            county jail not exceeding one year.  (Penal Code § 32000(a).)   


          3)Specifies, in Penal Code section 32000(b), that this  
            prohibition does not apply to:

             a)   The manufacture in California, or importation into this  
               state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other firearm  
               capable of being concealed upon the person when the  
               manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of  
               allowing an independent laboratory certified by the DOJ to  
               conduct an independent test to determine whether that  
               pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being  
               concealed upon the person is prohibited, inclusive, and, if  
               not, allowing the DOJ to add the firearm to the roster of  
               pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being  
               concealed upon the person that may be sold in this state.

             b)   The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or  
               other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person by  
               employees or authorized agents of entities determining  
               whether the weapon is prohibited by this section.

             c)   Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in  
               federal law.

             d)   The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or other  
               firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, if the  
               pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or purchased  
               by, the DOJ, any police department, any sheriff's official,  
               any marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional  
               Agency, the California Highway Patrol, any district  
               attorney's office, or the military or naval forces of this  
               state or of the United States for use in the discharge of  







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               their official duties. Nor shall anything in this section  
               prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of  
               these agencies of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm  
               capable of being concealed upon the person.

          4)Contains numerous additional exemptions to the safe handgun  
            requirements, including an exemption for any transfer that is  
            not required to be made through a licensed dealer.  This  
            exemption alone includes within it another approximately 25  
            exemptions.  (Penal Code §§ 32110, 27850, et seq.)



          This bill exempts the sale, purchase, or delivery of a handgun,  
          if the sale is of a state-issued handgun to the spouse or  
          domestic partner of a peace officer who died in the line of  
          duty.
          Background


          SB 15 (Polanco, Chapter 248, Statutes of 1999), made it a  
          misdemeanor for any person in California to manufacture, import  
          for sale, offer for sale, give, or lend any unsafe handgun, as  
          defined, with certain specific exceptions.  SB 15 defined an  
          "unsafe handgun" as follows:  (a) does not have a requisite  
          safety device; (b) does not meet specified firing tests; and,  
          (c) does not meet a specified drop safety test.

          SB 489 (Scott, Chapter 500, Statutes of 2003), added to the  
          unsafe handgun law requirements for semiautomatic pistols that  
          became effective in 2006 and 2007.   The legislation requires  
          that for a new semiautomatic center-fire pistol firearm to be  
          added to the roster it has to be equipped with a chamber load  
          indicator (a device that plainly indicates that a cartridge is  
          in the firing chamber) and a magazine disconnect (a mechanism  
          that prevents a semiautomatic pistol from operating when a  
          detachable magazine is not inserted in the semiautomatic  
          pistol).  The legislation also requires that all semiautomatic  
          rimfire pistols, with a detachable magazine, have a magazine  
          disconnect.  All firearms that were on the not unsafe handgun  
          list prior to the effective dates were essentially grandfathered  
          in.  

          AB 1471 (Feuer, Chapter 572, Statutes of 2007), added  







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          "microstamping" as a requirement for a firearm to be placed on  
          the not unsafe handgun roster beginning January 1, 2010,  
          "provided that the Department of Justice certifies that the  
          technology used to create the imprint is available to  more than  
          one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions."  The  
          Department of Justice issued the certification on May 17, 2013.   
          Like the other provisions, the "microstamping" requirement did  
          not apply to firearms already on the roster.  

          A number of peace officers are exempt from roster requirements  
          and, according to the California Association of Highway  
          Patrolmen, "many of the state-issued handguns to law enforcement  
          are included on the list of unsafe handguns, a transfer of such  
          firearm is prohibited to the spouse and/or domestic partner."   
          This legislation would create an exception to the not unsafe  
          firearms laws by allowing the sale of a state-issued handgun to  
          the spouse or domestic partner of a peace officer who died in  
          the line of duty.  
          
          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:NoLocal:    No


          SUPPORT:   (Verified6/9/15)


          California Association of Highway Patrolmen (source)
          California Police Chiefs Association
          Gun Owners of California
          Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
          Los Angeles Police Protective League
          Riverside Sheriffs


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified6/9/15)


          None received


          ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:     

          According to the California Association of Highway Patrolmen  
          (CAHP): 







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            AB 892, closes a loophole in existing law related to the  
            transfer of a state-issued handgun to the spouse or domestic  
            partner of a peace officer that was killed in the line of  
            duty.

            Existing law allows the department head to authorize the  
            transfer of a state-issued handgun to the widow or domestic  
            partner of a peace officer who was killed in the line of duty.  
             However, the Department of Justice maintains a list of  
            "unsafe handguns" and prohibits the manufacture, import, sale  
            and possession of such handgun.  A violation constitutes  
            imprisonment in a county jail for no more than one year.   
            Since many of the state-issued handguns to law enforcement are  
            included on the list of unsafe handguns, a transfer of such  
            firearm is prohibited to the spouse and/or domestic partner.

            AB 892 adds an exemption for the spouse or domestic partner of  
            a peace officer who was killed in the line of duty, which will  
            essentially allow them to receive their spouse or domestic  
            partner's state-issued service weapon, regardless of whether  
            it has been deemed unsafe by the Department of Justice.
            In closing, we thank you again for authoring this legislation,  
            and we look forward to its successful passage.    


           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  79-0, 4/16/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,  
            Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,  
            Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,  
            Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,  
            Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,  
            Patterson, Perea, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,  
            Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Quirk

          Prepared by:Jessica  Devencenzi / PUB. S. /  
          6/18/15 19:00:39







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