BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1674
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
1674 (Santiago)
As Enrolled July 1, 2016
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | | (June 1, |SENATE: | |(June 30, 2016) |
| |44-33 |2016) | |22-14 | |
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|ASSEMBLY: | | (June 30, | | | |
| |44-34 |2016) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Prohibits any person from making an application to
purchase more than one long gun within any 30-day period, and
makes other conforming changes.
The Senate amendments double join this bill with SB 894
(Jackson) of 2016 to avoid chaptering out issues.
EXISTING LAW:
AB 1674
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1)Prohibits any person from making an application to purchase
more than one handgun within any 30-day period.
2)Exempts from the above 30-day prohibition any of the
following:
a) Any law enforcement agency;
b) Any agency duly authorized to perform law enforcement
duties;
c) Any state or local correctional facility;
d) Any private security company licensed to do business in
California;
e) Any person who is a peace officer, as specified, and is
authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of
employment;
f) Any motion picture, television, video production company
or entertainment or theatrical company whose production by
its nature involves a firearm;
g) Any authorized representative of a law enforcement
agency, or a federally licensed firearms importer or
manufacturer;
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h) Any private party transaction conducted through a
licensed firearms dealer;
i) Any person who is a licensed collector and has a current
certificate of eligibility issued by the Department of
Justice (DOJ);
j) The exchange, replacement, or return of a handgun to a
licensed dealer within the 30-day period; and,
aa) A community college that is certified by the Commission
on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to present
law enforcement academy basic course or other commission-
certified training.
3)Prohibits a handgun from being delivered when a licensed
firearms dealer is notified by the DOJ that within the
preceding 30-day period the purchaser has made another
application to purchase a handgun and the purchase was not
exempted, as specified.
4)Provides that the penalties for making more than one
application to purchase a handgun within any 30-day period is
as follows:
a) A first violation is an infraction punishable by a fine
of $50;
b) A second violation is an infraction punishable by a fine
of $100; and,
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c) A third violation is a misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Department of Justice (DOJ): One-time costs of about $350,000
(Special Fund*) to modify the various firearm databases
impacted by this measure. Ongoing costs are estimated to be
less than $10,000 (Special Fund*) annually.
2)Firearm purchase violations: Potential non-reimbursable local
costs (Local Funds) for enforcement and incarceration offset
to a degree by fine revenue for infraction and misdemeanor
violations of the prohibition on purchasing more than one
firearm within any 30-day period.
3)Sales tax revenue: Unknown, potentially significant loss of
sales tax revenue (General Fund) due to the expansion of the
30-day single purchase restriction to include all firearms,
including long guns.
*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 Fiscal Year 2016-17.
Current revenues to the DROS Account are potentially
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.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill prohibited any person from
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making an application to purchase more than one long gun within
any 30-day period, and makes other conforming changes.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Historically, policymakers
have believed that the bulk of gun violence has been perpetuated
by handguns. Absent any data collection and analysis to the
contrary, this perception has held for several decades, and has
resulted in current law in California which limits new handgun
purchases to one per month per person.
"Recent data collection efforts in the state and elsewhere have
begun to refute this theory, however. In fact, examining
forensic data collected from the mass shootings that have
occurred in the United States throughout the last 30 years,
shows that 72 (exactly half) of the weapons used in those crimes
were long guns: rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic versions
thereof. Of the 11 mass shootings in California, nearly the
same is true: 12 long guns were used along with 16 handguns.
"It should be noted that in mass shooting cases, analysis shows
that nearly 80% of shooters (including those in San Bernardino)
obtained their guns legally.
"Long guns are a significant piece of California's gun
trafficking problem, as well. Over the past ten years,
Californians have typically purchased more long guns than
handguns, including 538,149 guns in 2013. Of the 26,682 crime
guns entered into the California Department of Justice's (DOJ)
Automated Firearms Systems (AFS) database in 2009, 11,500 were
long guns. Furthermore, DOJ has found that half the illegal
firearms recovered from prohibited persons are long guns.
"A 2007 University of Pennsylvania report to the National
Institute of Justice found that a quarter of all guns used in
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crime were purchased as part of a multi-gun sale and that guns
purchased in bulk were up to 64% more likely to be used for
illegal purposes than guns purchased individually.
"Reducing gun violence is an issue that is of vital importance
to me. In April 2014, one person purchased 144 long guns in
California in one single transaction. It is mind boggling that
a person (no matter their intentions) could purchase as many
rifles or shotguns they want at any given time. It is past time
for us to treat long guns the same as handguns - they hold equal
powers of destruction and create major problems for law
enforcement, and society in general, when they fall into the
wrong hands.
"AB 1674 will limit purchases of guns to one per month. This
includes both purchases of used guns and new long guns. With
data showing compelling evidence that long guns are used in
crimes at similar rates to handguns, they should be treated no
differently. In fact, California already maintains parity
between these types of guns in both background checks and sale
records. AB 1674 takes the remaining step by creating parity in
purchase limitations."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1674 without my signature.
This bill generally prohibits the purchase of more than one
firearm within any 30-day period. It should be noted that
California already bans the purchase of more than one handgun
per month.
While well-intentioned, I believe this bill would have the
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effect of burdening lawful citizens who wish to sell certain
firearms that they no longer need.
Given California's stringent laws restricting gun ownership, I
do not believe this additional restriction is needed.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003612