BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SJR 20
Page A
SENATE THIRD READING
SJR
20 (Hall)
As Amended March 28, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 23-12
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |5-2 |Jones-Sawyer, Lopez, |Melendez, Lackey |
| | |Low, Quirk, Santiago | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Urges the Congress of the United States to promptly
lift the prohibition against publicly funded scientific research
on the causes of gun violence and its effects on public health,
and to appropriate funds to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) and other relevant agencies under the
Department of Health and Human Services to conduct that
research. Specifically, this resolution:
1)States the following:
SJR 20
Page B
a) Every day, gun violence destroys lives, families, and
communities;
b) From 2002 to 2013, inclusive, California lost 38,576
individuals to gun violence, of which 2,258 were children;
c) In 2013 alone, guns were used to kill 2,900
Californians, including 251 children and teenagers, and
hospitalized another 6,035 Californians for nonfatal
gunshot wounds, including 1,275 children and teenagers;
d) There were over 350 recorded mass shootings in the
United States in 2015;
e) Since 1996, Congress has adopted annual policy riders,
known as the "Dickey Amendment" and "Rehberg Amendment,"
that effectively prohibit the federal CDC and other
agencies under the federal Department of Health and Human
Services from conducting publicly funded scientific
research on the causes of gun violence or its effects on
public health;
f) The author of the original Dickey Amendment, former
Representative Jay Dickey (Republican-Arkansas), has stated
repeatedly that he regrets offering the amendment and
thinks it should be repealed;
g) Despite Representative Dickey's comments and President
Obama's executive action in 2013 directing the CDC to
resume gun violence research, Congress has provided no
funding, and the restrictive language remains in place;
SJR 20
Page C
h) Since 1996, the federal government has spent $240
million per year on traffic safety research, which has
saved 360,000 lives since 1970;
i) During the same period there has been almost no publicly
funded research on gun violence, which kills the same
number of people every year;
j) Recently, 110 Members of the Congress of the United
States signed a letter urging the leadership of the House
of Representatives to end the longstanding ban on federal
funding for gun violence research, and over 2,000 doctors
in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia did the
same;
aa) Although Members of Congress may disagree about how best
to respond to the problem of gun violence, we should be
able to agree that a response should be informed by sound
scientific evidence; and,
bb) Whether it is horrific headline-generating massacres or
unseen violence that occurs every day - the innocent child
gunned down in crossfire, the mother murdered during a
domestic dispute, or the young life cut tragically short
during the heat of a petty argument - the call to action is
now clear.
2)Resolves by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California
jointly:
a) That a comprehensive evidence-based federal approach to
reducing and preventing gun violence is needed to ensure
that our communities are safe from gun violence;
SJR 20
Page D
b) That federal research is crucial to saving lives, having
driven policy to save lives from motor vehicle accidents,
sudden infant death syndrome, lead poisoning, and countless
other public health crises;
c) That the Legislature urges the Congress of the United
States to promptly lift the prohibition against publicly
funded scientific research on the causes of gun violence
and its effects on public health, and to appropriate funds
to the CDC and other relevant agencies under the Department
of Health and Human Services to conduct that research; and,
d) That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the
United States, to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to
each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States, and to the author for
appropriate distribution.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW: Eliminates $2.6 million from the CDC
Budget, reflecting the amount the CDC had previously spent on
gun research in an annual rider bill known as the "Dickey
Amendment." <1>
EXISTING STATE LAW:
---------------------------
<1>
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ208/pdf/PLAW-104publ208.pdf
SJR 20
Page E
1)Generally regulates the use, possession and sale of deadly
weapons in California.
2)Contains legislative findings and declarations that the
proliferation and use of assault and .50 Browning Machine Gun
(BMG) rifles poses a threat to the health, safety, and
security of all citizens of California.
FISCAL EFFECT: None.
COMMENTS: "Every day, gun violence destroys lives, families and
communities. From 2002 to 2013, California lost 38,576
individuals to gun violence. In 2013 alone, guns were used to
kill 2,900 Californians, including 251 children and teens. That
year, at least 6,035 others were hospitalized or treated in
emergency rooms for non-fatal gunshot wounds, including 1,275
children and teens.
"Since 1996, and in spite of these staggering numbers, the
United States Congress has continually adopted annual policy
riders known as the 'Dickey Amendment' and 'Rehberg Amendment.'
These riders have effectively prohibited the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), and other agencies, from
conducting publicly funded scientific research on the causes of
gun violence or its effects on public health.
"During the same period, the federal government has spent $240
million a year on traffic safety research which kills the same
number of people as gun violence every year. This lack of
research has made it more difficult to objectively assess the
public health impacts of gun violence and find ways to reduce
the number of innocent lives lost every year.
SJR 20
Page F
"A comprehensive evidence-based federal approach to reducing and
preventing gun violence is needed to ensure that our communities
are safe. Federal research is crucial to saving lives from
motor vehicle accidents, sudden infant death syndrome, lead
poisoning and countless other public crises. It is time for
Congress to publicly fund this important research, and treat gun
violence as the public health crisis that it is."
Analysis Prepared by:
Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003492