BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1673 (Gipson) - Firearms: unfinished frame or receiver
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|Version: May 31, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: June 20, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 1673 would expand the definition of "firearm" under
specified provisions of law to include 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.
Fiscal
Impact:
Department of Justice (DOJ) : Estimated one-time costs of
$250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in
FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the
necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs
include staff overtime and external consultants for software
development, testing, and implementation to enable the
registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
Firearms violations : Potential state and local incarceration
costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded
definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and
misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase,
AB 1673 (Gipson) Page 1 of
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possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
APPS enforcement/administration : Potential increase in costs
to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed
Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the
revised definition of a firearm.
Potential litigation : Unknown, potentially significant future
costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised
definition of "firearm" is challenged as unconstitutionally
vague.
*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Account - Staff notes the DROS
Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve
balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current
revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the
costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other
legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account,
should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an
alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be
required to support the costs of this measure.
Background: Existing law generally regulates the transfer and possession
of firearms. Existing law defines the term "firearm" for various
regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to
exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or
through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day
waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the
requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background
check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such
as felons, from possessing firearms. Existing law provides, for
specified provisions, that a violation of such specified
provisions involving a firearm, is a crime.
Proposed Law:
This bill would expand the definition of "firearm" as used in
the following provisions of law to include 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:
(1) Penal Code § 16550.
(2) Penal Code § 16730.
(3) Penal Code § 16960.
AB 1673 (Gipson) Page 2 of
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(4) Penal Code § 16990.
(5) Penal Code § 17070.
(6) Penal Code § 17310.
(7) Penal Code §§ 26500 to 26588, inclusive.
(8) Penal Code §§ 26600 to 27140, inclusive.
(9) Penal Code §§ 27400 to 28000, inclusive.
(10) Penal Code § 28100.
(11) Penal Code §§ 28400 to 28415, inclusive.
(12) Penal Code §§ 29010 to 29150, inclusive.
(13) Penal Code §§ 29610 to 29750, inclusive.
(14) Penal Code §§ 29800 to 29905, inclusive.
(15) Penal Code §§ 30150 to 30165, inclusive.
(16) Penal Code § 31615.
(17) Penal Code §§ 31705 to 31830, inclusive.
(18) Penal Code §§ 34355 to 34370, inclusive.
(19) Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 8100, 8101, and 8103.
Related
Legislation: SB 1407 (de León) 2016 would require a person to
apply to and obtain from the 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. SB 1407 is pending hearing in the Assembly
Committee on Appropriations.
AB 857 (Cooper) 2016 is identical to SB 1407 (de León). AB 857
is pending on the Assembly Floor.
Prior Legislation: SB 808 (de León) was substantially similar
to SB 1407 (de León) and AB 857 (Cooper) noted above. 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 1673 (Gipson) Page 3 of
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Staff
Comments: By revising the definition of "firearm," this bill
would require the DOJ to make enhancements to various automation
systems to enable the registration of firearms, as redefined.
Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in
FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (DROS Account*/General
Fund) are estimated to complete the necessary enhancements to
various automation systems. These costs include staff overtime
and external consultants for software development, testing, and
implementation.
Staff notes the act of legislating invites litigation.
Generally, this Committee treats the potential for litigation as
an indirect cost of any bill and does not consider it as part of
the fiscal analysis. However, as noted in the Senate Public
Safety Committee analysis (pp. 7-8, June 14, 2016) of this
measure:
"While this legislation is less vague than the previous
version that defined a firearm as a 'weapon, or the
unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be
readily converted to the functional condition of a
finished frame or receiver,' this legislation is still
arguably vague."
It is established that in order for a criminal statute
to satisfy the dictates of due process, two
requirements must be met. First, the provision must be
definite enough to provide a standard of conduct for
those whose activities are proscribed. Because we
assume that individuals are free to choose between
lawful and unlawful conduct, "we insist that laws give
the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable
opportunity to know what is prohibited, so that he [or
she] may act accordingly. Vague laws trap the innocent
by not providing fair warning. Second, the statute must
provide definite guidelines for the police in order to
prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."
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(People v. Heitzman, 9 Cal.4th 189, 199-200 (Cal. 1994)
[citations omitted].)
Consequently, to the extent this measure contains language that
could be challenged as unconstitutionally vague, this bill could
result in potentially significant costs associated with
litigation, both to the courts and the Attorney General.
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