BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 869
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
869 (Hill)
As Amended August 11, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 25-13
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Melendez, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |13-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, |Jones, Obernolte, |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, |Wagner |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 869
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SUMMARY: Requires every person who is leaving a handgun in a
vehicle to secure the handgun by locking it either in the trunk
or in a locked container which is out of plain view.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a person, when leaving a handgun in an unattended
vehicle, to lock the handgun in the vehicle's trunk, or to
lock it in a locked container permanently affixed to the
interior of the vehicle to and place the container out of
plain view.
2)Makes a violation of the vehicle-securement requirement an
infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000.
3)Defines "vehicle" as "a device by which any person or property
may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a
device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively
upon stationary rails or tracks."
4)Defines "locked container" as "a secure container that is
fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, keylock, combination
lock, or similar locking device." A locked container "does
not include the utility or glove compartment of a motor
vehicle."
5)Provides that a vehicle is unattended when a person who is
lawfully carrying or transporting a handgun in a vehicle is
not within close enough proximity to the vehicle to reasonably
prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle or its contents.
6)Exempts a peace officer from this requirement during
circumstances requiring immediate aid or action that are
within the course of his or her official duties.
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7)States that local ordinances pertaining to handgun storage in
unattended cars supersede this section if the jurisdiction had
enacted the ordinance before the effective date of this
statute.
8)States that the vehicle-securement requirement does not apply
to, or affect, the transportation of unloaded firearms by a
person operating a licensed common carrier or an unauthorized
agent or employee thereof when the firearms are transported in
conformance with applicable federal law.
9)Makes conforming cross-references to other statutes.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that a person is guilty of carrying a concealed
firearm when the person:
a) Carries concealed within any vehicle that is under the
person's control or direction any pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person;
b) Carries concealed upon the person any pistol, revolver,
or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person; and
c) Causes to be carried concealed within any vehicle in
which the person is an occupant any pistol, revolver, or
other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.
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2)Provides that carrying a concealed firearm is punishable as
follows:
a) If the person previously has been convicted of any
felony, or of any crime made punishable by a provision
listed in Penal Code Section 16580, as a felony;
b) If the firearm is stolen and the person knew or had
reasonable cause to believe that it was stolen, as a
felony;
c) If the person is an active participant in a criminal
street gang, as a felony;
d) If the person is not in lawful possession of the firearm
or the person is within a class of persons prohibited from
possessing or acquiring a firearm, as a felony;
e) If the person has been convicted of a crime against a
person or property, or of a narcotics or dangerous drug
violation, by imprisonment pursuant to Penal Code Section
1170(h), or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed
one year, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both that
imprisonment and fine; and
f) If both of the following conditions are met, by
imprisonment pursuant to Section 1170(h), or by
imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, by a
fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both that fine and
imprisonment:
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i) The pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person is loaded, or both it and
the unexpended ammunition capable of being discharged
from it are in the immediate possession of the person or
readily accessible to that person; and
ii) The person is not listed with the Department of
Justice pursuant to Penal Code Section 11106(c)(1) as the
registered owner of that pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person.
3)Exempts the following persons from the prohibition on carrying
concealed weapons:
a) Any peace officer, as specified, whether active or
honorably retired;
b) Any other duly appointed peace officer;
c) Any honorably retired peace officer, as specified;
d) Any other honorably retired peace officer who during the
course and scope of his or her appointment as a peace
officer was authorized to, and did, carry a firearm;
e) Any full-time paid peace officer of another state or the
federal government who is carrying out official duties
while in California; or
f) Any person summoned by any of these officers to assist
in making arrests or preserving the peace while the person
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is actually engaged in assisting that officer.
4)States that the prohibition on concealed carry is not
construed to prohibit any citizen of the United States over
the age of 18 years who resides or is temporarily within this
state, and who is not prohibited by state or federal law from
possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm, from
transporting or carrying any pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, provided
that the following applies to the firearm:
a) The firearm is within a motor vehicle and it is locked
in the vehicle's trunk or in a locked container in the
vehicle; and
b) The firearm is carried by the person directly to or from
any motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and, while
carrying the firearm, the firearm is contained within a
locked container.
5)States that the prohibition on concealed carry, also does not
apply to, or affect:
a) Any member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or
Marine Corps of the United States, or the National Guard,
when on duty, or any organization that is by law authorized
to purchase or receive those weapons from the United States
or this state;
b) The carrying of unloaded pistols, revolvers, or other
firearms capable of being concealed upon the person by duly
authorized military or civil organizations while parading
or the members thereof when going to and from the places of
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meeting of their respective organizations;
c) Any guard or messenger of any common carrier, bank, or
other financial institution, while actually employed in and
about the shipment, transportation, or delivery of any
money, treasure, bullion, bonds, or other thing of value
within this state;
d) Members of any club or organization organized for the
purpose of practicing shooting at targets upon established
target ranges, whether public or private, while the members
are using pistols, revolvers, or other firearms capable of
being concealed upon the person upon the target ranges, or
transporting these firearms unloaded when going to and from
the ranges;
e) Licensed hunters or fishermen carrying pistols,
revolvers, or other firearms capable of being concealed
upon the person while engaged in hunting or fishing, or
transporting those firearms unloaded when going to or
returning from the hunting or fishing expedition;
f) The transportation of unloaded firearms by a person
operating a licensed common carrier or an authorized agent
or employee thereof when the firearms are transported in
conformance with applicable federal law;
g) Upon approval of the sheriff of the county in which the
retiree resides, any honorably retired federal officer or
agent of any federal law enforcement agency, including, but
not limited to, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
United States Secret Service, the United States Customs
Service, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the United
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States Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States
Border Patrol, and any officer or agent of the Internal
Revenue Service who was authorized to carry weapons while
on duty, who was assigned to duty within the state for a
period of not less than one year, or who retired from
active service in the state; and
h) The carrying of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person by a person who
is authorized to carry that weapon in a concealed manner,
as specified.
6)Requires a firearm to be unloaded and kept in a locked
container when it is being transported from one place to
another, and contains other conditional exemptions for the
transportation of firearms.
7)Makes it a crime to carry a loaded firearm either upon the
person, or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any
public street in an incorporated city, or in any public place
or on any public street in a prohibited area of unincorporated
territory.
8)Exempts peace officers and concealed carry weapon permit
holders from the crime of carrying a loaded firearm in public.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill's fiscal effect is "[u]nknown, probably
minor costs to local law enforcement for enforcement, but these
costs will be offset to some degree by fines."
COMMENTS: According to the author, "To prevent handgun thefts
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from vehicles, current law requires civilian handgun owners to
store the weapon in a locked box or in the trunk when leaving it
unattended in the car. This common sense requirement however,
does not apply to law enforcement officers and concealed carry
license holders and unfortunately, several handguns have been
stolen out of police vehicles and used in deadly crimes.
"For example, an unattended handgun stolen out of a law
enforcement vehicle was used to kill Kate Steinle on Pier 14 in
San Francisco in July last year. Just this February, the
California Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence for a man
who murdered four people using a handgun stolen out of the
vehicle of an off duty deputy sheriff.
"SB 869 simply extends the existing vehicle handgun storage
requirement to anyone who leaves a handgun unattended in their
car."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003929
SB 869
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