BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1695|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1695
Author: Bonta (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: 51-28, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Firearms: false reports of stolen firearms
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill (1) specifies that existing laws relating to
filing a false report apply to a person who reports that a
firearm has been lost or stolen, knowing the report to be false,
as specified; and (2) adds falsely reporting that a firearm has
been stolen to offenses for which a conviction results in a
10-year prohibition on possession of a firearm, as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/22/16 clarify that the existing
code section that makes filing a false police report a
misdemeanor includes filing a false report that a firearm has
been lost or stolen.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing law:
1)Provides that persons licensed to make, import, collect, or
deal in firearms are required to report the loss or theft of
firearms they possess, to a law enforcement agency. For
example, Penal Code Section 26885 requires licensed dealers to
report losses within 48 hours and Penal Code Section 29115(a)
requires licensed firearms manufacturers - whether of handguns
or long guns - to report the loss or theft of firearms within
48 hours to specified law enforcement agencies.
2)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to keep a registry
from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns firearms by make,
model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code §
11106(a) and (c).) Law enforcement agencies must promptly
report to DOJ all reports they receive of lost, stolen, and
found property. (Penal Code §§ 11107, 11108.) DOJ must keep a
centralized and computerized list of all lost, stolen, and
found serialized property reported to it. (Penal Code §
11106(a).)
3)Provides that in addition to the requirements of Section 11108
that apply to a local law enforcement agency's duty to report
to the DOJ the recovery of a firearm, a police or sheriff's
department shall, and any other law enforcement agency or
agent may, report to the department in a manner determined by
the Attorney General (AG) in consultation with the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all available
information necessary to identify and trace the history of all
recovered firearms that are illegally possessed, have been
used in a crime, or are suspected of having been used in a
crime. In addition, any law enforcement agency or agent may
report to the AG pursuant to this section all information
pertaining to any firearm taken into custody, except where the
firearm has been voluntarily placed with the law enforcement
agency for storage. (Penal Code § 11108.3.)
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4)Provides that if any weapon has been stolen and is thereafter
recovered from the thief or his or her transferee, or is used
in such a manner as to constitute a nuisance because it was
unlawfully carried or used without the prior knowledge of its
lawful owner that it would be so used, it shall be restored to
the lawful owner, as soon as its use as evidence has been
completed. The lawful owner must identify the weapon and
provide proof of ownership. (Penal Code § 18005(b).)
5)Requires that any person seeking the return of a firearm in
the custody or control of a court or law enforcement agency
must submit specified information, including for handguns the
firearm's make, model, caliber, barrel length, handgun type,
country of origin, and serial number. If the firearm has been
reported lost or stolen to a law enforcement agency, as
specified, the agency shall notify the owner or person
entitled to possession of the firearm. The person seeking
return of the firearm shall be subject to a background check,
as specified. (Penal Code §§ 33850, 33855.)
6)Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying
information from firearms purchasers and forward that
information, via electronic transfer to 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.)
7)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. (Penal Code § 28220.)
8)Prohibits anyone convicted of numerous misdemeanors involving
violence or threats of violence are prohibited from owning or
possessing a firearm for 10 years. And, provides that a
violation of these provisions is a wobbler, as specified.
(Penal Code § 29805.)
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This bill:
1)Specifies that existing laws relating to filing a false report
apply to a person who reports that a firearm has been lost or
stolen, knowing the report to be false.
2)Adds falsely reporting that a firearm has been stolen to
offenses for which a conviction results in a 10-year
prohibition on possession of a firearm, as specified.
Comments
Current state and federal laws prohibit persons who have been
convicted of specific crimes from owning or possessing firearms.
For example, anyone convicted of any felony offense is
prohibited for life from firearms ownership under both federal
and state law. (18 U.S.C. § 922(g); Penal Code § 29800.)
California goes further and imposes a 10-year firearms
prohibition on persons convicted of numerous misdemeanor
offenses that involve either violence or the threat of violence.
(Penal Code § 29805.) Additionally, anyone who has been found
to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness is
subject to a five-year prohibition (Welfare and Institutions
Code §§ 8100, 8103(f)), and people under domestic violence
restraining orders are subject to a prohibition for the duration
of that court order. (Penal Code § 29825.)
According to a study published in the Journal of American
Medical Association:
Handgun purchasers with only 1 prior misdemeanor
conviction and no convictions for offenses involving
firearms or violence were nearly 5 times as likely as
those with no prior criminal history to be charged with
new offenses involving firearms or violence.
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(Wintemute GJ. Prior Misdemeanor Convictions as a Risk Factor
for Later Violent and Firearm Related Criminal Activity Among
Authorized Purchasers of Handguns. Journal of the American
Medical Association 1998; 280: 2083-2087.)
To this end, this bill does not only make it a misdemeanor to
falsely report a firearm lost or stolen, but also expands the
number of misdemeanor convictions resulting in a 10-year
prohibition by adding falsely reporting a lost or stolen
firearm.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
New misdemeanor: Potential non-reimbursable local costs for
enforcement and incarceration offset to a degree by fine
revenue for convictions for falsely reporting to a local law
enforcement agency that a firearm has been lost or stolen.
APPS enforcement administration: Potential increase in DOJ
administration and enforcement costs (Special Fund*) for
increases to the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) list
resulting from the expanded application of the 10-year
firearms prohibition. The workload impact would be dependent
on the number of persons convicted of the new misdemeanor
established by this bill.
Violations of the 10-year firearms ban: Potential increase in
state (General Fund) and local (Local Funds) incarceration
costs for violations of the 10-year firearms ban, which is an
alternate felony-misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
state prison for 16 months, two years, or three years, or in
county jail for up to one year. The Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation data indicates only 20 commitments per year
for violations of the 10-year firearms prohibition. While the
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impact of this bill on the state prison population is likely
minor, even two commitments to state prison in any one year
would cost $58,000 based on the estimated contract bed cost of
$29,000 per inmate.
*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Account - Appropriation
Committee 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 additional costs
resulting from this bill in conjunction with the numerous other
legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account,
should they be enacted.
SUPPORT: (Verified6/24/16)
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
California Police Chiefs Association
City of Oakland
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/24/16)
Firearms Policy Coalition
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
The California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
Several individuals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:
The failure to report firearms as lost or stolen, as well
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as the false reporting of firearms as lost or stolen,
remains a significant hindrance to the tracking of these
firearms. There is a concern that a straw purchaser, who
legally buys a firearm with the intent of illegally
selling it to another individual, would falsely report
that firearm as lost or stolen in order to place distance
between themselves and any crimes committed with that
firearm. AB 1695 makes filing a report that a firearm has
been lost or stolen-knowing the report to be false-a
misdemeanor. Additionally, AB 1695 places the convicted
individual on the prohibited persons list, barring them
from owning a firearm for the following ten years. This
prohibition will prevent an individual convicted of this
crime from subsequently acquiring additional firearms and
making further illegal sales.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Firearms Policy Coalition states:
AB 1695 creates a new misdemeanor crime of falsifying a report
of a lost or stolen firearm, then makes that crime one which
subjects the violator to a 10-year total prohibition on
firearm possession for a non-violent, victimless paperwork
crime.
With more than 500 law enforcement agencies in the State-some
which are tasked with enforcing local ordinances that mandate
specific reporting requirements-it's difficult to conceive of
a uniform prosecution scheme under AB 1695.
Each city, county, and special district may have its own form.
Some might take the report online, and some might require a
phone report. And some require that you report to the
jurisdiction where the firearm was lost or stolen, not the
city in which you live. The potential for mistakes and
misinformation is great.
As California continues to find new and creative ways to
reform our criminal justice system, it is ironic that the
prison beds it seeks to empty are being reserved for the
otherwise law-abiding gun owners of California instead.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 51-28, 6/1/16
AB 1695
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AYES: Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu,
Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond,
Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chávez, Dahle,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes,
Melendez, Obernolte, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner,
Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Olsen
Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /
6/24/16 14:33:52
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