BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2165| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 2165 Author: Bonta (D), et al. Amended: 8/19/16 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-2, 4/25/16 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Firearms: prohibitions: exemptions SOURCE: California Statewide Law Enforcement Association State Coalition of Probation Organizations Peace Officers Research Association of California _________________________________________________________________ _ DIGEST: This bill exempts a number of agencies and their peace officers from the prohibition related to the purchase or sale of unsafe handguns, as specified. Senate Floor Amendments of 8/19/16 add the following departments to the exemption from the handgun roster: (1) The State Department of Fish and Wildlife; (2) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; (3) a California Community College police department; (4) a University of California Police Department; and (5) a California State University Police Department. These amendments, additionally, specify that a firearms dealer cannot process the sale or transfer of an unsafe handgun between a person who obtains an unsafe handgun pursuant to this bill and a person who is not exempt from roster requirements. These AB 2165 Page 2 amendments also clarify that this bills storage provisions do not supersede any local ordinance that regulates the storage of handguns in unattended vehicles if the ordinance was in effect before the date of enactment of the act that added this section. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Defines an unsafe handgun as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, which lacks various specified safety mechanisms and does not pass specified safety tests. (Penal Code § 31910.) 2)Provides that commencing January 1, 2001, no "unsafe handgun" may be manufactured or sold in California by a licensed dealer, except as specified, and requires that the Department of Justice (DOJ) prepare and maintain a roster of handguns which are determined not to be unsafe handguns. Private party sales (used or previously owned) and transfers of handguns through a licensed dealer are exempted from those restrictions. (Penal Code §§ 27545, 32000, et seq., § 32110.) 3)Provides that any person in California who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends any unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year. (Penal Code § 32000(a).) 4)Does the following: a) Defines "unsafe handgun" as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as specified, which lacks various safety mechanisms, including a chamber load indicator and magazine disconnect, and does not pass listed tests, as specified. (Penal Code § 31910.) b) Requires any concealable firearm manufactured in AB 2165 Page 3 California, or intended to be imported for sale, kept for sale, or offered for sale to be tested within a reasonable period of time by an independent laboratory, certified by the state DOJ to determine whether it meets required safety standards, as specified. (Penal Code § 32010.) c) Requires DOJ, on and after January 1, 2001, to compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster listing all of the pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person that have been tested by a certified testing laboratory, have been determined not to be unsafe handguns, and may be sold in this state, as specified. The roster shall list, for each firearm, the manufacturer, model number, and model name. (Penal Code § 32015.) d) Provides that DOJ may charge every person in California who is licensed as a manufacturer of firearms, as specified, and any person in California who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into California for sale, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in California, an annual fee not exceeding the costs of preparing, publishing, and maintaining the roster of firearms determined not to be unsafe, and the costs of research and development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program infrastructure costs, as specified. (Penal Code § 32015.) 5)Requires that, commencing January 1, 2010, all semiautomatic pistols that are not already listed on the roster be designed and equipped with a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired, provided that the DOJ certifies that the technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions. On May 17, 2013, DOJ issued that certification. (Penal Code § 31910(b)(7).) 6)Specifies, in Penal Code section 32000(b) that the following are exempt from roster requirements: AB 2165 Page 4 a) The manufacture in California, or importation into this state, of any prototype pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person when the manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of allowing an independent laboratory certified by DOJ to conduct an independent test to determine whether that pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person is prohibited, inclusive, and, if not, allowing the department to add the firearm to the roster of pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person that may be sold in this. b) The importation or lending of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person by employees or authorized agents of entities determining whether the weapon is prohibited by this section. c) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in federal law. d) The sale or purchase of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, if the pistol, revolver, or other firearm is sold to, or purchased by, the DOJ, any police department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties. Nor shall anything in this section prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person. 7)Contains numerous additional exemptions to the safe handgun requirements, including an exemption for any transfer that is not required to be made through a licensed dealer. This exemption alone includes within it another approximately 25 exemptions. (Penal Code §§ 32110, 27850, et seq.) This bill: 1)Exempts the following agencies and their peace officers, who have satisfactorily completed the firearms portion of a training course prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer AB 2165 Page 5 Standards and Training pursuant to Section 832, from roster requirements: a) The Department of Parks and Recreation. b) The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. c) The Division of Investigation of the Department of Consumer Affairs. d) The Department of Motor Vehicles. e) The Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance. f) The State Department of State Hospitals. g) The State Department of Developmental Services. h) A county probation department. i) The Los Angeles World Airports, as defined in Section 830.15. j) A K-12 public school district for use by a school police officer, as described in Section 830.32. aa) A municipal water district for use by a park ranger, as described in Section 830.34. bb) A county for use by a welfare fraud investigator or inspector, as described in Section 830.35. cc) A county for use by the coroner or the deputy coroner, as described in Section 830.35. dd) The Supreme Court and the courts of appeal for use by marshals of the Supreme Court and bailiffs of the courts of appeal, and coordinators of security for the judicial branch, as described in Section 830.36. ee) A fire department or fire protection agency of a county, city, city and county, district, or the state for use by either of the following: i) A member of an arson-investigating unit, regularly paid and employed in that capacity pursuant to Section 830.37. ii) A member other than a member of an arson-investigating unit, regularly paid and employed in that capacity pursuant to Section 830.37. ff) The State Department of Fish and Wildlife. gg) Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. hh) A California Community College Police Department ii) A University of California Police Department jj) A California State University Police Department. 2)Specifies that a firearms dealer cannot process the sale or AB 2165 Page 6 transfer of an unsafe handgun between a person who obtains an unsafe handgun pursuant to this legislation and a person who is not exempt from roster requirements. 3)Provides that an exempt party, that obtains a handgun pursuant to this bill, shall, when leaving the handgun in an unattended vehicle, lock the handgun in the vehicle's trunk or lock the handgun in a locked container and place the container out of plain view. A violation of this provision an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000). This provision does not apply to a peace officer during circumstances requiring immediate aid or action that are within the course of his or her official duties. Provides that these provisions do not supersede any local ordinance that regulates the storage of handguns in unattended vehicles if the ordinance was in effect before the date of enactment of the act that added this section. 4)States that the following definitions apply: a) "Vehicle" has the same meaning as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle Code. b) A vehicle is "unattended" when a person who is lawfully carrying or transporting a handgun in the vehicle is not within close proximity to the vehicle to reasonably prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle or its contents. c) "Locked container" has the same meaning as defined in Section 16850. Comments Current law exempts handguns from the safety requirements that are sold to, or purchased by, the Department of Justice, any police department, any sheriff's official, any marshal's office, the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, the California Highway Patrol, any district attorney's office, or the military. Sworn members of those agencies are also exempted from the ban on buying or selling handguns that are not on DOJ's "not unsafe" handgun roster. The law, additionally, allows sworn members of these agencies to sell an off-roster handgun to someone who is not exempt. AB 2165 Page 7 Until recently, a number of law enforcement agencies, and officers, have been able to purchase off-roster firearms. There was, evidently, some confusion among dealers as to who qualifies for the roster exemptions. When this was discovered by DOJ, the dealers were issued cited and DOJ reminded the dealers that only listed law enforcement agencies are allowed to purchase off-roster firearms. This bill, additionally, exempts to the above list of agencies, and their officers, from roster requirements. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified8/19/16) California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (co-source) Peace Officers Research Association of California (co-source) State Coalition of Probation Organizations (co-source) California Department of Insurance California Correctional Supervisors Organization California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association California Police Chiefs Association California Parole and Correctional Association Chief Probation Officers of California Fraternal Order of Police, N. California Probation Lodge 19 Kern County Probation Officers Association Los Angeles Probation Officers Union, AFSCME Local 685 Los Angeles Professional Peace Officers Association Madera Probation Peace Officers Association Riverside Sheriffs' Association Sacramento County Probation Association Sacramento Police Officers Association San Diego County Probation Officers Association San Diego Police Officers Association San Joaquin County Probation Officers Association Santa Clara County Probation Peace Officers' Union, Local 1587 Stanislaus County Deputy Probation Officers Association Ventura County Professional Peace Officers' Association AB 2165 Page 8 OPPOSITION: (Verified8/19/16) Coalition Against Gun Violence, a Santa Barbara Coalition Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Oakland/Alameda County Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Orange County Citizens for the Prevention of Gun Violence Women Against Gun Violence ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association: In 2001, Penal Code §32000 created a list of non-exempt agencies who may purchase non-roster firearms for use in the discharge of their official duties. Certain trained peace officers and law enforcement personnel were left off of the list. These peace officers are often required to participate in mutual aid situations, task forces, sting operations and arrests. These high-risk situations require that these officers be properly warned. Recent enforcement of the gun roster by the Department of Justice would require thousands of law enforcement to forfeit their guns. This legislation is necessary because it will allow officers, who have gone through the appropriate training to carry and keep their "non-roster" handguns, while on active duty. Not fixing this issue will create a serious risk of liability that is easily avoidable with the amendment to Penal Code §830.3. There is also a cost savings to the State of California because new handguns will not have to be purchased for many of these personnel. Lastly, this bill simply seeks parity with other peace officers and various law enforcement agencies. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence: In 1999, the California Legislature enacted the Unsafe AB 2165 Page 9 Handgun Act (UHA), which requires all new handgun models to meet basic reliability and safety standards in order to be certified for sale or manufacture by DOJ. In order to be certified, a handgun model must pass a firing test to confirm the gun can be fired multiple times without malfunctioning and pass a drop safety test to confirm the firearm can be dropped without discharging. New handgun models developed after January 2007 must generally utilize a chamber load indicator to signify when the firearm is loaded, as well as a magazine disconnect mechanism to prevent the gun from firing if a detachable magazine is removed. Those developed after January 2010 must also incorporate microstamping technology, which imprints a unique code on a casing when a handgun is fired to help law enforcement solve gun crimes. Since enactment of the UHA, the rate of accidental shooting deaths in California has fallen by more than 50%, according to CDC data. Though the national rate has also fallen over this period, California's rate has fallen twice as much and is now just one-third the national average The UHA currently exempts specified law enforcement agencies under limited circumstances. This exemption allows those agencies to purchase uncertified "off-roster" handguns for use in the discharge of their official duties, and allows sworn members of these agencies-and only these agencies- to purchase uncertified handguns for that purpose. However, the UHA does not require gun sellers to seek any verification that officers purchasing off-roster handguns were actually authorized to do so by their employing agency, and does not prevent officers from keeping unsafe handguns in their homes. Because the UHA also exempts handguns sold in private or secondary sales, officers who obtain unsafe guns can also subsequently resell them on the private market. This problematic exception undermines the UHA and should be narrowed, not expanded. Instead of narrowing this law enforcement exception, AB 2165 seeks to permanently expand it to include all peace officers in California who have completed an "introductory AB 2165 Page 10 training course" for peace officers in firearm use. This would extend existing law's exemption to individuals with much more limited familiarity with firearms, including certain employees of the Departments of Fish and Game, Parks and Recreation, Forestry and Fire Protection, welfare fraud and child support investigators, medical investigators, and coroners. (Footnotes omitted.) ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 73-2, 4/25/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Patterson, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Wood, Rendon NOES: Quirk, Mark Stone NO VOTE RECORDED: Chang, Chau, Gordon, Olsen, Williams Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. / 8/22/16 20:37:50 **** END ****