BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 347 (Jackson) - Firearms: prohibited persons ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 21, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 4 - 2 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 28, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED. Bill Summary: SB 347 would add specified offenses to the list of misdemeanors that result in a 10-year prohibition on firearms possession. Fiscal Impact (as approved May 28, 2015): State prisons : Potential increase in state costs potentially in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually for additional commitments to state prison under the expanded list of crimes subject to the 10-year firearms ban resulting in felony convictions. Any cost savings due to a greater number of wobbler offenses prospectively being charged as misdemeanors instead of felonies are estimated to result in local savings, as the applicable wobbler offenses specify jail felonies pursuant to PC § 1170(h). To the extent the prohibition is applied retroactively would significantly increase the potential fiscal impact to the state. County jails : Potentially major increases and decreases SB 347 (Jackson) Page 1 of ? in non-reimbursable local costs in the millions of dollars (Local) as a result of: 1) new admissions to jail for violations of the 10-year firearms ban under the expanded list of applicable crimes resulting in misdemeanor convictions; and, 2) reductions in jail terms for wobbler offenses that otherwise would have been charged as jail felonies that are instead charged as misdemeanors with shorter jail sentences. To the extent the prohibition is applied retroactively would significantly increase the potential fiscal impact to counties. To the extent local agencies incur a net increase in overall costs, a subvention of funds could be required from the State (General Fund*). Department of Justice (DOJ) : Potentially significant increase in DOJ administration and enforcement costs of about $200,000 (Special Fund**) for increases to the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) list resulting from the expanded application of the firearms prohibition. *Proposition 30 (2012) provides that legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for public safety services, as defined, are not subject to mandate reimbursement, however, apply to local agencies only to the extent the State provides annual funding for the cost increase. Legislation creating a new crime or changing the definition of an existing crime is exempt from this funding provision, however, legislation changing the penalty for a crime is not similarly exempted. It is not clear that expanding the application of the 10-year firearms ban to a larger class of individuals would constitute a change in the definition of a crime. To the extent it is determined that the provisions of this bill instead change the penalty for the specified misdemeanor crimes by applying the firearms ban to those misdemeanor convictions, any net increase in costs to local agencies attributable to provisions of this legislation could potentially require annual funding from the State. **Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account Background: Existing law prohibits persons who have been convicted of specified crimes from owning or possessing firearms. Under both federal and state law, for example, any individual convicted of a felony offense is prohibited for life from firearms ownership. Existing state law also imposes a 10-year firearms prohibition SB 347 (Jackson) Page 2 of ? on any person convicted of numerous misdemeanor offenses involving violence or the threat of violence. A violation of this provision is an alternate felony-misdemeanor (wobbler), punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for 16 months, two, or three years, or in a county jail for up to one year, a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both. (Penal Code (PC) § 29805.) Proposed Law: This bill expands the list of misdemeanor offenses subject to the 10-year firearms prohibition in existing law to include the following: Theft, if the property is a firearm (PC § 490.2); Receipt of stolen property, if the property is a firearm (PC § 496); Sale of a firearm without a license (PC § 26500); Sale of ammunition to an underage person (PC § 30300); Possession of ammunition by a person prohibited from possessing a firearm (PC § 30305); Sale or supplying ammunition to a person prohibited from possessing a firearm (PC § 30306); Bringing ammunition on school grounds (PC § 30310); Carrying a concealed firearm where the person has been convicted of a drug offense or of a crime against a person or property (PC § 25400(c)(5)); Carrying a concealed firearm where the firearm was loaded and not registered to the person in possession (PC § 25400(c)(6)); Carrying a loaded firearm in public where the person has been convicted of a drug offense or of a crime against a person or property (PC § 25850(c)(5)); Carrying a loaded firearm in public where the firearm was not registered to the person in possession. (PC § 25850(c)(6)); and Prohibited person in possession of a firearm. (PC § 29805). Prior Legislation: SB 755 (Wolk) 2014 was similar but broader in scope than this measure. This bill was vetoed by the Governor with the following message: I am returning Senate Bill 755 without my signature. This bill adds substance-abuse offenses and court orders to undergo mental health outpatient treatment to criteria that result in a 10-year SB 347 (Jackson) Page 3 of ? prohibition on firearms possession. I am not persuaded that it is necessary to bar gun ownership on the basis of crimes that are non-felonies, non-violent and do not involve misuse of a firearm. Staff Comments: By expanding the list of misdemeanors subject to the 10-year firearms prohibition, this bill could result in future increases in commitments to state prison for violations of the firearms ban resulting in felony convictions. Data from the DOJ indicates over 3,000 misdemeanor convictions per year on average over the last three years (2012-2014) for the enumerated crimes in this bill. Staff notes the offense of "receipt of stolen property," which constitutes 93 percent of total convictions, cannot be broken out specifically to stolen property of a firearm, however. Data from the CDCR indicates that only 20 individuals per year have been committed to state prison on average over the past three years (2012-2014) for a violation of the 10-year prohibition on firearms possession for existing crimes subject to the ban. While it is unknown how many additional individuals will be committed to state prison under this provision of law, future costs could potentially be significant given the size of the applicable population, especially if the application is determined to be retroactive. For every 10 new commitments to state prison, costs would be $340,000 per year, assuming the in-state contract bed cost of $34,000 per year. To the extent the number of individuals impacted is greater or fewer, costs would be affected accordingly. Local jails will potentially incur significant increases and decreases in local costs under the provisions of this measure. New commitments to county jail for misdemeanor violations of the 10-year firearms ban under the expanded list of applicable crimes will result in increased costs of an unknown, but potentially significant amount. Staff notes that most of the enumerated offenses specified in this measure are alternate felony/misdemeanors, with felony convictions subject to punishment pursuant to PC § 1170(h). Unless the defendant has been formerly convicted of a serious or SB 347 (Jackson) Page 4 of ? violent felony, or a felony requiring sex offender registration, the felony sentence will be served in county jail. Data from the DOJ indicates over 7,000 felony convictions per year on average attributable to the offenses specified in this measure. To the extent some percentage of felony convictions resulting in county jail sentences are instead charged as misdemeanors, local jails would realize cost savings due to shorter jail sentences. While the net impact to local agencies cannot be known with certainty and would vary by county, it is estimated the amount of potential savings to county jails could be substantial given the number of felony convictions annually. Under 2011 Realignment Legislation, the state provided funding to the counties to place offenders in county jail for specified felonies that previously would have required a state prison sentence. Pursuant to Proposition 30 (2012), legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011 Realignment Legislation apply to local agencies only to the extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost increase. Proposition 30 specifies that legislation defining a new crime or changing the definition of an existing crime is not subject to this provision, however, legislation changing the penalty for a crime is not similarly exempted. It is not clear that expanding the application of the 10-year firearms ban to a larger class of individuals would constitute a change in the definition of a crime. To the extent it is determined that the provisions of this bill instead change the penalty for the specified misdemeanor crimes by applying the 10-year firearms ban to those misdemeanor convictions, any net increase in costs to local agencies could potentially require annual funding from the State (General Fund). Staff notes that it is unclear whether the firearms prohibition would apply retroactively to those persons convicted of applicable misdemeanors prior to the effective date of this bill should it be enacted. As a result, the estimated fiscal impacts to the state and counties could vary widely. Similarly, to the extent the firearms prohibition is applied retroactively to prior misdemeanor convictions could result in a significant increase in DOJ administration and enforcement costs (Special Fund*) to input and address new listings on APPS. SB 347 (Jackson) Page 5 of ? The Three-Judge Court has ordered the State to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design capacity by February 28, 2016. Pursuant to its February 10, 2014 order, the Court has ordered the CDCR to implement several population reduction measures, prohibited an increase in the population of inmates housed in out-of-state facilities, and indicated the Court will maintain jurisdiction over the State for as long as necessary to ensure that the State's compliance with the 137.5 percent final benchmark is durable, and that such durability is firmly established. Any future increases to the State's prison population challenge the ability of the State to reach and maintain such a "durable solution," and could require the State to pursue one of several options, including contracting-out for additional bed space or releasing current inmates early onto parole. Author amendments (as adopted May 28, 2015): Clarify specified provisions are to be applied prospectively. Committee amendments (as adopted May 28, 2015): Narrow the applicable crime of dealing without a license to handguns only. -- END --