BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1673| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1673 Author: Gipson (D), et al. Amended: 6/22/16 in Senate 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. Senate Floor Amendments of 6/22/16 add a definition of "frame" and "receiver." In addition, the amendments add chaptering language to avoid conflict with SB 894 (Jackson), SB 1407 (DeLeón), and AB 857 (Cooper). AB 1673 Page 2 ANALYSIS: Existing law: 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 AB 1673 Page 3 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 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 AB 1673 Page 4 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.) 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 AB 1673 Page 5 According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: 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, 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: (Verified6/27/16) American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapters of the Brady Campaign California Civil Liberties Advocacy City of Carson City of Santa Monica AB 1673 Page 6 Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Los Angeles Professional Peace Officers Association OPPOSITION: (Verified6/23/16) California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees 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 AB 1673 Page 7 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 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. AB 1673 Page 8 ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition: We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what the new definition means 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 AB 1673 Page 9 "machined body" Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person System? 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, AB 1673 Page 10 Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Irwin, Rodriguez Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. / 6/27/16 11:54:20 **** END ****