BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2245 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 2245 (Cooper) As Introduced February 18, 2016 Majority vote ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | | | | |Melendez, Lackey, | | | | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | | | | |Santiago | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Exempts probation departments and sworn members of probation departments from the prohibition related to the purchase or sale of unsafe handguns. EXISTING LAW: 1)Requires commencing January 1, 2001, 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 AB 2245 Page 2 year. a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of the following: i) 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 the Department of Justice (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. ii) 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. iii) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in federal law. iv) 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 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 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. AB 2245 Page 3 2)Specifies that violations of the unsafe handgun provisions are cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be construed as restricting the application of any other law. 3)Defines "unsafe handgun" as any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as specified, which lacks various safety mechanisms, as specified. 4)Requires any concealable firearm manufactured in California, 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. 5)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. 6)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 be unsafe, and the costs of research and development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program infrastructure costs, as specified. AB 2245 Page 4 7)Provides that the Attorney General (AG) may annually test up to 5% of the handgun models listed on the roster that have been found to be not unsafe. 8)States that a handgun removed from the roster for failing the above retesting may be reinstated to the roster if all of the following are met: a) The manufacturer petitions the AG for reinstatement of the handgun model; b) The manufacturer pays the DOJ for all the costs related to the reinstatement testing of the handgun model, including purchase of the handgun, prior to reinstatement testing; c) The reinstatement testing of the handguns shall be in accordance with specified retesting procedures; d) The three handgun samples shall only be tested once. If the sample fails it may not be retested; e) If the handgun model successfully passes testing for reinstatement, as specified, the AG shall reinstate the handgun model on the roster of not unsafe handguns; f) Requires the handgun manufacturer to provide the AG with the complete testing history for the handgun model; and, g) Allows the AG, at any time, to further retest any handgun model that has been reinstated to the roster. AB 2245 Page 5 9)Provides that a firearm may be deemed to be listed on the roster of not unsafe handguns if a firearm made by the same manufacturer is already listed and the unlisted firearm differs from the listed firearm in one or more of the following features: a) Finish, including, but not limited to bluing, chrome plating or engraving; b) The material form which the grips are made; c) The shape or texture of the grips, so long as the difference in grip shape or texture that does not in any way alter the dimensions, material, linkage, or functioning of the magazine well, the barrel, the chamber, or any of the components of the firing mechanism of the firearm. d) Any other purely cosmetic feature that does not in any way alter the dimensions, material, linkage, or functioning of the magazine well, the barrel, the chamber, or any of the components of the firing mechanism of the firearm. 10)States that any manufacturer seeking to have a firearm listed as being similar to a tested firearm shall provide the DOJ with the following: a) The model designation of the listed firearm; b) The model designation of each firearm that the manufacturer seeks to have listed on the roster of not unsafe handguns; c) Requires a manufacturer to make a statement under oath that each unlisted firearm for which listing is sought differs from the listed firearm in only one or more specified ways, and is otherwise identical to the listed firearm. AB 2245 Page 6 FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Council. COMMENTS: According to the author, "Probation departments and officers have recently been unable to upgrade on-duty handguns to the latest models because probation is not expressly cited in Penal Code (PC) Section 32000(b)(4) which sets forth the peace officers that are authorized to purchase and use non-roster handguns. Two examples of this include Marin and San Mateo Probation Departments who have been denied purchases. "Probation officers receive the same [Peace Officer Standards and Training] POST certified PC 832 firearms and arrest training as other peace officers currently noted in existing law. Further, probation officers qualify quarterly for their firearms training which meets and exceeds the general training requirements. "Probation also often works in concert with other local law enforcement agencies on task forces including, but not limited to, gang task forces, narcotic task forces, compliance checks, PC 290 registration compliance and other duties. "Therefore, it is important that probation be able to purchase, train with, and use the same models of firearms that other peace officers that we work with are able to use." Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002672 AB 2245 Page 7