BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1673|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1673
Author: Gipson (D), et al.
Amended: 5/31/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/14/16
AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
NOES: Anderson, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/20/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Firearms: unfinished frame or receiver
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of firearm 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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1) Requires licensed firearms dealers, before they may deliver
a firearm to a purchaser, to perform a background check on
the purchaser through the federal National Instant Criminal
Background Check System ("NICS"). (18 U.S.C §§ 921, et seq.)
2) 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. (18 U.S.C. § 923(i).)
3) 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(p).)
4) Requires all sales, loans, and transfers of firearms to be
processed through or by a state-licensed firearms dealer or a
local law enforcement agency. (Penal Code § 27545.)
5) Defines "firearm" as a device, designed to be used as a
weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile
by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.
(Penal Code § 16520.)
6) Provides that there is a 10-day waiting period when
purchasing a firearm through a firearms dealer. During which
time, a background check is conducted. (Penal Code §§ 26815
and 27540.)
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 Dealer Record of Sales
(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. (Penal Code §§ 27510 and
16400.)
8) Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate
prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or
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provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to
California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1,
2015, this requirement was extended to all firearms. (Penal
Code § 26840.)
9) Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying
information from firearms purchasers and forward that
information, via electronic transfer to the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the
purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from
possessing a firearm. (Penal 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 DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data
sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model,
and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code §
11106(a) and (c).)
11)Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information,
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. (Penal 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 fee, shall be no more than is necessary to fund
specific codified costs. (Penal Code § 28225.)
13)Allows the DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it
for each a number of enumerated items, but not to exceed
fourteen dollars ($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. (Penal Code §28230.)
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14)Requires the Attorney General to 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. (Penal Code § 30000.)
This bill expands the definition of "firearm" 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.
Background
This bill makes "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" a firearm
in California. Items that fall under this new definition of
firearms would be treated like other firearms in California.
Specifically, to purchase one, a person would have to go through
a dealer, have a background check and would be subject to a
10-day wait. Additionally, a prohibited person would not be
allowed to possess them.
NOTE: See Senate Public Safety Committee analysis for
additional comments.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations analysis the fiscal
impact includes:
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
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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,
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 - Senate Appropriations
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.
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/21/16)
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign
California Civil Liberties Advocacy
City of Carson
City of Santa Monica
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/21/16)
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
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California Rifle and Pistol Association
California Sportsmen's Lobby
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows
Firearms Policy Coalition
Gun Owners of California
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Several individuals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Chapters
of the Brady Campaign:
A priority policy objective for the California Brady
Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has
passed a background check and that all firearm
transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day
waiting period, and a record of the transaction that
includes the serial number of the firearm. There have
been numerous studies indicating that these
requirements are good strategies for reducing gun
violence and clearly, they further our core goal of
keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although
existing California law requires background checks and
the retention of transfer records, people have found
that they can avoid these requirements and other
California gun laws by creating and marketing
partially complete or "80 percent" lower receivers or
frames. According to media reports and law
enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms
assembled from partially complete receivers and fames
and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB
1673 will address this problem.
The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that
contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition
feeding mechanisms. Lower receivers are treated the
same as a long gun and are currently legally
available, provided that the purchaser passes a
background check, the lower receiver has a serial
number, and a record of the purchase is created.
Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a
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handgun and has a serial number. However, partially
complete or "80 percent" lower receivers and frames
are not considered to be firearms, but with a few
simple modifications, they can become fully
functional. A person with a drill press can easily
drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or
frame and advances in 3D printing technology are
increasing the availability of unfinished lower
receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these
partially complete lower receivers and frames are
untraceable for law enforcement.
AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the
definition of "firearm" 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. The Brady Campaign supports this
change and believes that weapons assembled from
unfinished lower receivers and frames should be
subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at
what point a piece of metal or other material should
be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but
the expanded definition is a good approach.
The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in
which six people were killed, was prohibited from
purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an
AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum
partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it
is essential that guns assembled from partial lower
receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help
keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at
risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and
persons with severe mental illness.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Firearms Policy
Coalition:
We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what
the new definition means
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Put simply, AB 1673 would change the definition of a
firearm to include things that are not firearms.
In the interest of clarity, and because the best
comedy requires no punch line, we offer here the
entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of
the Penal Code):
"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."
Clearly identifiable to whom?
This baffling new definition will result in untold
thousands of arrests and incarcerations as "firearm"
becomes defined by a strange mish-mash of words,
disconnected from any known understanding or reality of
what has been understood as working definitions of
"firearm" for centuries. Maybe roadside analysis between
peace officers and motorists would be able to hash out the
"I'll know it when I see it" approach to writing criminal
law.
Have a piece of metal or plastic-GO TO JAIL
It is difficult to imagine the enforcement of hundreds of
firearms laws and criminal enhancements that will be
impacted by AB1673. A sample of the hundreds of new crimes
this bill creates includes;
Possession of a "blank" in a "gun free zone"
Unloaded open carry of a "casting"
Unlawful concealed carry of a "machined body"
Unlawful transfer of a "?receiver blank, casting, or
machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as
a component of a functional weapon?"
Brandishing a "receiver blank"
Failure to wait 10 days to "cool off" after acquiring a
"machined body"
Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person
System?
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Should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or
thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the
person would be placed into the DOJ's failed Armed
Prohibited Persons System so DOJ agents or local law
enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm.
Implementation Nightmare
The DOJ will have to update every regulation, every form,
every database and every storefront interface to accept the
new definition of firearms-- which is challenging given
that the new definition targets things that are clearly not
firearms at all.
In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would
need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed
(real) firearms dealer. These "clearly identifiable" pieces
of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need
to be entered into the DOJ Dealer's Record of Sale Entry
System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the
information required to register the non-firearm with the
state.
The law is sacred and it affects real people in real
communities. The Legislature is entrusted with passing laws
that the governed can comply with and the executive can
enforce. With that in mind, AB 1673 is simply not ready for
serious consideration.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16
AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly,
Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian,
O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough,
Chang, Chávez, Cooley, Dahle, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher,
Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Obernolte,
Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Irwin, Rodriguez
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Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /
6/22/16 18:01:49
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