BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 347| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 347 Author: Jackson (D) Amended: 9/2/15 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 4-2, 4/14/15 AYES: Hancock, Leno, McGuire, Monning NOES: Anderson, Stone NO VOTE RECORDED: Liu SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-1, 5/28/15 AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Nielsen NO VOTE RECORDED: Bates SENATE FLOOR: 24-15, 6/3/15 AYES: Allen, Beall, Block, De León, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall, Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Pavley, Wieckowski, Wolk NOES: Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Huff, Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Roth, Runner, Stone, Vidak NO VOTE RECORDED: Hueso ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 46-30, 9/8/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Firearms: prohibited persons SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill adds specified offenses to the list of misdemeanors that result in the defendant being prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years. SB 347 Page 2 Assembly Amendments limit the specified offenses to include: (1) bringing or carrying ammunition onto school grounds; (2) petty theft if the property taken was a firearm; and, (3) buying or receiving stolen property if the property consists of a firearm. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1) Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Penal Code § 28160-28220.) 2) Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information, DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm. (Penal Code § 28220.) 3) Requires firearms to be centrally registered at time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ. DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code § 11106(a) and (c).) 4) Requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database to be known as Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System (CFIS), and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. The information contained in APPS shall only be available to specified entities through the California Law Enforcement SB 347 Page 3 Telecommunications System, for the purpose of determining if persons are armed and prohibited from possessing firearms. (Penal Code § 30000.) 5) Provides, in Section 933(g) of Title 18 of the United States Code, that certain people are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm, as specified. 6) Provides, in Penal Code Sections 29800, 23515 and 29805, that certain people are subject to a lifetime ban on owning or possessing a firearm, including: a) Anyone convicted of a felony; b) Anyone addicted to a narcotic drug; c) Any juvenile convicted of a violent crime with a gun and tried in adult court; d) Any person convicted of a federal crime that would be a felony in California and sentenced to more than 30 days in prison, or a fine of more than $1,000; e) Anyone convicted of certain violent misdemeanors, e.g., assault with a firearm, inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or significant other, or brandishing a firearm in the presence of a police officer. 7) Makes it a felony for a person subject to a lifetime ban to own or possess a firearm, as specified. (Id.) 8) Provides that anyone convicted of numerous misdemeanors involving violence or threats of violence is subject to a 10-year prohibition on prohibition on possession of a firearm. (Penal Code § 29805.) 9) Makes it a wobbler (can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor) for a person subject to a 10-year prohibition to own or possess a firearm, as specified. (Id.) 10)States that any person taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility due to that person being SB 347 Page 4 found to be a danger to themselves or others as a result of a mental disorder, is prohibited from possessing a firearm during treatment and for five years from the date of their discharge. (Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 8100 and 8103(f).) 11)Makes it a wobbler (can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor) for a person subject to a five-year prohibition to own or possess a firearm, as specified. (Id.) 12)States that persons who are bound by a temporary restraining order or injunction or a protective order issued under the Family Code or the Welfare and Institutions Code, may be prohibited from firearms ownership for the duration of that court order. (Penal Code § 29825.) 13)Makes it a wobbler (can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor) or a misdemeanor for a person subject to a temporary restraining order or injunction or a protective order issued under the Family Code or the Welfare and Institutions Code, as specified, to own or possess a firearm, as specified. (Id.) This bill: 1) Adds the following misdemeanor offenses to the list of crimes that result in a 10-year prohibition on possession of a firearm: a) Theft of a firearm (Penal Code § 490.2); b) Receipt of stolen property, if the property is a firearm (Penal Code § 496); and, c) Bringing ammunition on school grounds (Penal Code § 30310). 2) States that, with the exception of misdemeanor firearm theft, its provisions apply prospectively. Background SB 347 Page 5 As detailed above, current state and federal laws prohibit persons who have been convicted of specific crimes from owning or possessing firearms. For example, anyone convicted of any felony offense is prohibited for life from firearms ownership under both federal and state law. (18 U.S.C. § 922(g); Penal Code § 29800.) California goes further and imposes a 10-year firearms prohibition on persons convicted of numerous misdemeanor offenses that involve either violence or the threat of violence. (Penal Code § 29805.) Additionally, anyone who has been found to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness is subject to a five-year prohibition (Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 8100, 8103(f)), and people under domestic violence restraining orders are subject to a prohibition for the duration of that court order. (Penal Code § 29825.) According to the author: [S]tudies demonstrate the need to strengthen our firearms regulations. In particular, certain firearm-related misdemeanors should have been originally included in the 10-year ban on firearm purchases. To this end, this bill expands the number of misdemeanor convictions resulting in a 10-year prohibition. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1)Annual ongoing costs of over $220,000 (Dealer's Record of Sale Fund) to DOJ to address the additional workload and enhance CFIS and the Automated Firearms System. 2)Unknown nonreimbursable local law enforcement and incarceration costs offset to a degree by increased fine revenue. SB 347 Page 6 SUPPORT: (Verified 9/8/15) California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police City of Santa Barbara Coalition Against Gun Violence Courage Campaign Friends Committee on Legislation in California Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence Long Beach Police Officers Association Los Angeles Chapter of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sacramento Chapter Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association San Francisco Bay Area Physicians for Social Responsibility Santa Ana Police Officers Association Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County Youth ALIVE Five individuals OPPOSITION: (Verified 9/8/15) California Attorneys for Criminal Justice California Public Defenders Association California Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. California Sportsman's Lobby California Waterfowl Association Firearms Policy Coalition Gun Owners of California National Rifle Association of America Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California Shasta County Sheriff, Tom Bosenko Safari Club International Two individuals SB 347 Page 7 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 46-30, 9/8/15 AYES: Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Dahle, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Cooley, Perea, Rodriguez Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. / 9/8/15 21:55:25 **** END ****