California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2459

Introduced by Assembly Member McCarty

February 19, 2016

An act to amend Sections 26800 and 26805 of, and to add Sections 26920 and 26925 to, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2459, as introduced, McCarty. Firearms dealers: conduct of business.

Under existing law, a firearms dealer or licensee means a person who has a valid federal firearms license, has a regulatory or business license, has a valid seller’s permit issued by the State Board of Equalization, has a certificate of eligibility issued by the Department of Justice, has a license granted by a duly constituted licensing authority of any city, county, or city and county, and is among those recorded in the centralized list of licensed firearms dealers kept by the Department of Justice. Existing law regulates licensed firearms dealers and provides that a license is subject to forfeiture for a breach of specified prohibitions in existing law.

This bill would authorize the Department of Justice to impose a civil fine not exceeding $500 for a breach of those prohibitions, and a civil fine not exceeding $2,000 for a breach of those prohibitions when the licensee has received written notification from the department regarding the breach and fails to take corrective action, as specified, or the department determines the licensee committed the breach knowingly or with gross negligence.

Existing law, subject to exceptions pertaining to specified gun shows or events, requires a firearms dealer to conduct business only in the buildings designated in the dealer’s license.

This bill would, in addition, commencing January 1, 2018, prohibit a firearms dealer license from designating a building that is a residence, as defined, as a building where the licensee’s business may be conducted. The bill would also provide that these provisions would not preclude or preempt a local ordinance that places additional or more stringent requirements on firearms dealers regarding where the business of the licensee may be conducted.

The bill would require a licensee to ensure that its business premises are monitored by a video surveillance system that, among other requirements, visually records and archives footage of (1) every sale or transfer of a firearm or ammunition, in a manner that makes the facial features of the purchaser or transferee clearly visible in the recorded footage; (2) all places where firearms or ammunition are stored, displayed, carried, handled, sold, or transferred; (3) the immediate exterior surroundings of the licensee’s business premises; and (4) all parking areas owned or leased by the licensee.

The bill would, commencing January 1, 2018, require a licensee to obtain a policy of commercial insurance that insures the licensee against liability for damage to property and for injury to or death of any person as a result of the theft, sale, lease or transfer or offering for sale, lease or transfer of a firearm or ammunition, or any other operations of the business and business premises, in the amount of $1,000,000 per incident, as specified. The bill would also provide that these provisions would not preclude or preempt a local ordinance that places additional or more stringent requirements on firearms dealers regarding insurance pertaining to the licensee’s business.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 26800 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

26800.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert A license under this chapter is subject to forfeiture
for a breach of any of the prohibitions and requirements of this
article, except those stated in the following provisions:

begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  Subdivision (c) of Section 26890.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Subdivision (d) of Section 26890.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  Subdivision (b) of Section 26900.

begin insert

(b) The department may assess a civil fine against a licensee,
not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), for any breach of a
prohibition or requirement of this article that subjects the license
to forfeiture under subdivision (a). The department may assess a
civil fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000), for any
breach of a prohibition or requirement of this article that subjects
the license to forfeiture under subdivision (a), for either of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(1) The licensee has received written notification from the
department regarding the breach and subsequently failed to take
corrective action in a timely manner.

end insert begin insert

(2) The licensee is otherwise determined by the department to
have knowingly or with gross negligence breached the prohibition
or requirement.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 26805 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

26805.  

(a)  begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c),
the business of a licensee shall be conducted only in the buildings
designated in the license.

begin insert

(2) Commencing January 1, 2018, a license shall not designate
any building that is a residence as a building where the licensee’s
business may be conducted. For purposes of this section,
“residence” means any structure intended or used for human
habitation, including, but not limited to, dwellings, condominiums,
apartments, rooms, motels, hotels, time-shares, and recreational
or other vehicles in which human habitation occurs.

end insert

(b) (1) A person licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 and 26705
may take possession of firearms and commence preparation of
registers for the sale, delivery, or transfer of firearms at any gun
show or event, as defined in Section 478.100 of Title 27 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, or its successor, if the gun show or
event is not conducted from any motorized or towed vehicle. A
person conducting business pursuant to this subdivision shall be
entitled to conduct business as authorized herein at any gun show
or event in the state, without regard to the jurisdiction within this
state that issued the license pursuant to Sections 26700 and 26705,
provided the person complies with all applicable laws, including,
but not limited to, the waiting period specified in subdivision (a)
of Section 26815, and all applicable local laws, regulations, and
fees, if any.

(2) A person conducting business pursuant to this subdivision
shall publicly display the person’s license issued pursuant to
Sections 26700 and 26705, or a facsimile thereof, at any gun show
or event, as specified in this subdivision.

(c) (1) A person licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 and 26705
may engage in the sale and transfer of firearms other than
handguns, at events specified in Sections 26955, 27655, 27900,
and 27905, subject to the prohibitions and restrictions contained
in those sections.

(2) A person licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 and 26705
may also accept delivery of firearms other than handguns, outside
the building designated in the license, provided the firearm is being
donated for the purpose of sale or transfer at an auction or similar
event specified in Section 27900.

(d) The firearm may be delivered to the purchaser, transferee,
or person being loaned the firearm at one of the following places:

(1) The building designated in the license.

(2) The places specified in subdivision (b) or (c).

(3) The place of residence of, the fixed place of business of, or
on private property owned or lawfully possessed by, the purchaser,
transferee, or person being loaned the firearm.

begin insert

(e) This section does not preclude or preempt a local ordinance
that places additional or more stringent requirements on firearms
dealers regarding where the business of the licensee may be
conducted.

end insert

SEC. 3.  

Section 26920 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

26920.  

(a) A licensee shall ensure that its business premises
are monitored by a video surveillance system that meets the
requirements of this section.

(b) The video surveillance system shall visually record and
archive footage of all of the following:

(1) Every sale or transfer of a firearm or ammunition, in a
manner that makes the facial features of the purchaser or transferee
clearly visible in the recorded footage.

(2) All places where firearms or ammunition are stored,
displayed, carried, handled, sold, or transferred, including, but not
limited to, counters, safes, vaults, cabinets, shelves, cases, and
entryways.

(3) The immediate exterior surroundings of the licensee’s
business.

(4) All parking areas owned or leased by the licensee.

(c) The video surveillance system shall operate and record
continuously, without interruption, whenever the licensee is open
for business. Whenever the licensee is not open for business, the
system shall be triggered by a motion detector and begin recording
immediately upon detection of any motion within the monitored
area.

(d) When recording, the video surveillance system shall store
color images of the monitored area at a frequency sufficient to
produce retrievable and identifiable images and video recordings
that are capable of delineating on playback the activity and physical
features of persons or areas where firearms and ammunition are
stored, displayed, carried, handled, sold, or transferred.

(e) The stored images shall be maintained on the business
premises of the licensee for a period of not less than five years
from the date of recordation. If, within five years of the transfer,
a firearm or ammunition acquired in the transaction is the subject
of a law enforcement investigation or firearms disposition request,
the footage of the transfer shall be preserved for an additional five
years.

(f) The video surveillance system shall be maintained in proper
working order at all times. If the system becomes inoperable, it
shall be repaired or replaced within 15 calendar days. The licensee
shall inspect the system at least weekly to ensure that it is
operational and images are being recorded and retained as required.

(g) The licensee shall post a sign in a conspicuous place at each
entrance to the premises that states in block letters not less than
one inch in height:

“THESE PREMISES ARE UNDER VIDEO SURVEILLANCE.
YOUR IMAGE MAY BE RECORDED.”

(h) A licensee shall, on an annual basis, provide certification to
the Department of Justice, in a manner prescribed by the
department, that its video surveillance system is in proper working
order.

SEC. 4.  

Section 26925 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

26925.  

(a) Commencing January 1, 2018, a licensee shall
obtain a policy of commercial insurance that insures the licensee
against liability for damage to property and for injury to or death
of any person as a result of the theft, sale, lease or transfer or
offering for sale, lease or transfer of a firearm or ammunition, or
any other operations of the business and business premises. The
limits of liability shall not be less than one million dollars
($1,000,000) for each incident of damage to property or incident
of injury or death to a person.

(b) A licensee shall, on an annual basis, provide certification to
the Department of Justice that it has obtained a policy of
commercial insurance that meets the requirements of this section.

(c) The policy of commercial insurance shall contain an
endorsement providing that the policy shall not be canceled until
written notice has been given to the Department of Justice at least
30 days prior to the time the cancellation becomes effective.

(d) This section does not preclude or preempt a local ordinance
that places additional or more stringent requirements on firearms
dealers regarding insurance requirements relating to the conduct
of the business of the licensee.