BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2508
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
AB
2508 (Mathis) - As Amended April 6, 2016
VOTE ONLY
SUMMARY: Provides that a handgun model removed from the roster
of not unsafe handguns for any reason other than failing handgun
safety testing, including, but not limited to, a failure to pay
the annual fee, may be reinstated on the roster, as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that a handgun model removed from the roster of not
unsafe handguns for any reason other than failing handgun
safety testing, including, but not limited to, a failure to
pay the annual fee, may be reinstated on the roster if all of
the following conditions are met:
a) The manufacturer petitions the Attorney General (AG) for
reinstatement of the handgun model;
b) The reinstatement testing of the handguns shall be in
accordance with specified retesting procedures;
c) Requires the handgun manufacturer to provide the AG with
the complete testing history for the handgun model; and,
d) The manufacturer pays the department for all of the
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reasonable costs related to the reinstatement testing of
the handgun model, including the purchase price of the
handguns, prior to reinstatement testing.
2)States that a handgun model reinstated pursuant to the above
provisions shall only be required to meet the handgun safety
definitional requirements in place at the time the handgun
model was originally submitted for testing.
3)Provides that 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;
4)States that a firearm shall be deemed to be not unsafe if
another firearm made by the same manufacturer is already
listed and the unlisted firearm differs from the listed
firearm in dimension, barrel length, finish, coating, sights,
magazine well opening, machining, contouring, or any other
non-substantive mechanical or cosmetic feature, but is
otherwise internally functionally identical to the listed
firearm.
5)Provides that a firearm shall be deemed to meet the safety
standards required in order to be listed on the roster of not
unsafe handguns, if a manufacturer alters a listed firearm
with one or more changes to the firearm's manufacturing
process, materials, function, or components. This section
does not exempt the firearm from the drop safety requirement
for handguns or the firing requirements for 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
year. (Pen. Code, § 32000, subd. (a).)
a) Specifies that this section shall not apply to any of
the following:
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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. (Pen. Code, § 32000, subd.
(b).)
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.
(Pen. Code, § 32000, subd. (c).)
3)Defines "unsafe handgun" as any pistol, revolver, or other
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firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, as
specified, which lacks various safety mechanisms, as
specified. (Pen. Code, § 31910.)
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 Department of Justice
(DOJ), to determine whether it meets required safety
standards, as specified. (Pen. Code, § 32010, subd. (a).)
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. (Pen. Code, § 32015, subd. (a).)
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. (Pen. Code §
32015, subd. (b)(1).)
7)Provides that the Attorney General (AG) may annually test up
to 5 percent of the handgun models listed on the roster that
have been found to be not unsafe. (Pen. Code, § 30020, subd.
(a).)
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:
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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 handguns 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.
(Pen. Code, § 32025, subds. (a)-(g).)
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 from 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.
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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.
(Pen Code, § 32030, subd. (a).)
10)States that any manufacturer seeking to have a firearm listed
as being similar to a tested 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. (Pen Code, § 32030, subd. (b).)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 2508 would
give law-abiding residents the opportunity to acquire
previously safety-tested and Department of Justice (DOJ)
approved, quality handguns that were removed from California's
Handgun Roster for reasons not related to whether or not such
handguns were "unsafe". Additionally, it would allow
manufacturers to make minor changes, such as a safety upgrades
to firearms that are already on the roster."
2)Not Unsafe Handgun Law: SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248,
Statutes of 1999, made it a misdemeanor for any person in
California to manufacture, import for sale, offer for sale,
give, or lend any unsafe handgun as, as defined, with specific
exceptions. SB 15 defined an "unsafe handgun" as a handgun
that does not have requisite safety features, does not meet
specified firing requirements or does meet specified drop
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safety requirements.
SB 489 (Scott), Chapter 500, Statutes of 2003, added to the
handgun safety requirements, effective January 1, 2007, all
center-fire semiautomatic pistols not already found to be
"safe" to have both a chamber load indicator and a magazine
disconnect mechanism if the pistol has a detachable magazine
in order to be added to the roster of approved "safe"
firearms. All firearms that were not on the unsafe handgun
roster prior to the effective date of this stature were
grandfathered in.
AB 1471 (Feuer), Chapter 572, Statutes of 2007, added
"microstamping" as a requirement for a firearm to be placed on
the not unsafe handgun roster beginning January 1, 2010
provided that the DOJ certifies that the technology used to
create the imprint is available to more than one manufacturer
unencumbered by patent restrictions. The DOJ issued the
required certification on May 17, 2013. As with chamber load
indicators and magazine disconnect mechanisms, the
"microstamping" requirement did not apply to firearms that
were already on the roster.
This legislation makes two changes to the not unsafe handgun
law. First, it would allow a firearm that was on the roster
but was removed for a reason other than failing safety
testing, for example, failure to pay the annual fee, to be
added back the roster if it meets specified requirements.
Secondly, a handgun model seeking reinstatement would only be
required to meet the standards that were in place when the
model was originally placed on the roster. For example, a
handgun that was placed on the roster in 2002 and was removed
in 2013 for a failure to pay the annual fee, could be added
back to the roster without a chamber load indicator, magazine
disconnect, and microstamping.
3)Argument in Support: According to the Firearms Policy
Coalition, "As you know, the number of semi-automatic firearms
available for sale in California is diminishing due to changes
to the statutes governing the handgun roster put in place
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since its inception in 2000. Originally a consumer product
safety testing system, over the years it has become, in
practice, a total ban on new semi-automatic firearms. New
models may not be submitted for testing and inclusion on the
approved roster unless they have "microstamping" technology.
Unfortunately, workable microstamping technology does not
exist in the industry, nor does it appear that it will in the
foreseeable future.
"In addition, the current statute can be interpreted to prohibit
the upgrading or modification of already approved handguns- if
a part or vendor in the supply chain needs to be changed or
upgraded for quality or safety, the manufacturer cannot
re-apply under the same testing conditions as it must then be
treated as an entirely new model and tested with
"microstamping", which as we stated previously- does not
exist.
"Your measure, Assembly Bill 2508, clarifies that minor
changes that do not change the internal functionality of the
firearm will not prevent that firearm from being safety-tested
in a state approved laboratory under the same requirements it
was successfully submitted under originally.
"This is a win for public safety, the consumer and the
manufacturer. It represents the spirit of the original
enacting legislation, but clarifies those issues that prevent
the consumer from having access to high quality products."
4)Argument in Opposition: According to the California Chapters
of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, "Pursuant to
the Unsafe Handgun Act (SB 15), which was enacted in 1999,
California law established various requirements governing
unsafe handguns. For example, existing law requires the
Department of Justice to maintain a roster listing the
handguns that have been tested have been determined not to be
unsafe. Further, existing law allows a handgun model that has
been included in the roster to be retested and allows the
handgun model to be removed from the roster if it fails
retesting.
"If a handgun model is removed from the roster for failing
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retesting, existing law allows reinstatement following a
petition to the Attorney General for reinstatement and
successful retesting. AB 2508, however, would allow a handgun
model removed from the roster for any other reason to be
reinstated to the roster upon a petition to the Attorney
General. The bill further provides that a handgun model that
is reinstated to the roster in this way must only meet the
requirements for listing as of the date the handgun model was
originally submitted for testing.
"Another provision of AB 2508 would revise the features in which
the unlisted firearm may differ from the listed firearm and
still be reinstated on the roster, provided that the unlisted
firearm is otherwise internally functionally identical to the
listed firearm. Finally, the bill would require a firearm to
be deemed to satisfy the requirements of being listed on the
roster if a manufacturer alters a listed firearm, and the
changes are, in the opinion of the manufacturer, necessary to
improve the safety or operation of the firearm.
"These provisions are objectionable because they are both too
broad (an unlisted firearm can differ from the listed firearm
in dimension, barrel length, finish, coating, grips, sights,
magazine well opening, machining, contouring, or any other
non-substantive mechanical or cosmetic feature) and subjective
(in the opinion of the manufacturer is necessary to improve
the safety or operation of the firearm). The reasonable
solution is to submit the unlisted guns for testing as new
models, which they essentially are.
"The California Brady Campaign strongly opposes AB 2508. If a
firearm has been removed from the roster because of voluntary
action by a firearm manufacturer, then the manufacturer should
have to live by its decision and/or actions. A manufacturer
may, of course, resubmit the firearm for retesting but it
should be required to comply with all the requirements in
place at the time of resubmittal. In practical terms, this
means that the firearm should possess an approved chamber load
indicator and be equipped with micro-stamping technology. It
is clear that the underlying purpose of this bill is to
circumvent these newer additions to the law."
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5)Prior Legislation: SB 916 (Correa), of the 2014-2015
Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill in
that it allowed a firearm to be reinstated to the DOJ roster
of "not unsafe handguns" if the handgun was removed from the
roster for any reason other than failing handgun safety
testing. SB 916 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety
Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees
Crossroads of the West Gun Shows
Firearms Policy Coalition
Gun Owners of California
National Rifle Association of America
National Shooting Sports Foundation
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
Opposition
Michael Feuer, Los Angeles City Attorney
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Analysis Prepared
by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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