BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 880|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 880
Author: Hall (D) and Glazer (D), et al.
Amended: 5/17/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 4/19/16
AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
NOES: Anderson, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/16/16
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Firearms: assault weapons
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill: (1) amends the definition of assault weapon
to refer to a firearm that has one of several specified
military-style features and does not have a "fixed magazine"
rather than a firearm that has one of those features and "has
the capacity to accept a detachable magazine;" (2) defines
"fixed magazine" as "an ammunition feeding device contained in,
or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a manner that the
device cannot be removed without disassembly of the firearm
action"; (3) provides that any person who was eligible to
register an assault weapon and lawfully possessed such a weapon
prior to January 1, 2017, would be exempt from penalties, if the
person registers the weapon by January 1, 2018; (4) requires
that any person who from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2016,
lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a fixed
magazine, as defined, register the firearm before January 1,
2018, with the Department of Justice (DOJ), as specified; (5)
provides that this registration be submitted online, as
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specified; (6) authorizes DOJ to charge a fee of up to $15 per
person but not to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the
DOJ for this registration; and (7) requires DOJ to establish
procedures for the purpose of carrying out this registration
requirement and specifies that these procedures shall be exempt
from the Administrative Procedure Act.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Contains legislative findings and declarations that the
proliferation and use of assault and .50 BMG rifles poses a
threat to the health, safety, and security of all citizens of
California. (Penal Code § 30505.)
2)States legislative intent to place restrictions on the use of
assault weapons and .50 BMG rifles and to establish a
registration and permit procedure for their lawful sale and
possession. (Penal Code § 30505.)
3)Defines "assault weapon" as one of certain specified rifles
and pistols (Penal Code § 30510) or as:
a) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has the capacity
to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the
following: a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously
beneath the action of the weapon; a thumbhole stock; a
vertical handgrip; a folding or telescoping stock; a
grenade launcher or flare launcher; a flash suppressor; or,
a forward handgrip;
b) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed
magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds;
c) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall
length of less than 30 inches;
d) A semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a
detachable magazine and has at least one of the following:
a threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor,
forward handgrip, or silencer; a second handgrip; a shroud
that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles,
the barrel that allows the bearer to fire the weapon
without burning his or her hand, excepting a slide that
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encloses the barrel; or, the capacity to accept a
detachable magazine at some location outside of the pistol
grip;
e) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has
the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds;
f) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
a folding or telescoping stock; and a pistol grip that
protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon,
thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip;
g) A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine; and
h) Any shotgun that has a revolving cylinder. (Penal Code
§ 30515.)
4)Defines a "detachable magazine" as any ammunition feeding
device that can be removed readily from the firearm with
neither disassembly of the firearm action nor use of a tool
being required. A bullet or ammunition cartridge is
considered a tool. Ammunition feeding device includes any
belted or linked ammunition, but does not include clips, en
bloc clips, or stripper clips that load cartridges into the
magazine. (11 Cal. Code of Regs. § 5469.)
5)Provides that unlawful possession of an assault weapon is an
alternate felony-misdemeanor and shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one
year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 (16 months, two or three years). Notwithstanding
the above, a first violation of these provisions is punishable
by a fine not exceeding $500 if the person was found in
possession of no more than two firearms and certain specified
conditions are met. (Penal Code § 30605.)
6)Provides that any person who within California manufactures,
imports into California, offers for sale, or who gives or
lends any assault weapon with specified exceptions is guilty
of a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison for
four, six, or eight years. (Penal Code § 30600.)
7)Defines a ".50 BMG rifle and cartridge," as specified. (Penal
Code §§ 30525, 30530.)
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8)Exempts the DOJ, law enforcement agencies, military forces,
and other specified agencies from the prohibition against
sales to, purchase by, importation of, or possession of
assault weapons or .50 BMG rifles. (Penal Code § 30625.)
9)Requires that any person who lawfully possesses an assault
weapon, as specified, must register the firearm with DOJ, as
specified. (Penal Code § 30900 et. seq.)
This bill:
1)Amends the definition of assault weapon to refer to a firearm
that has one of several specified features and does not have a
"fixed magazine" rather than a firearm with one of those
features and the "capacity to accept a detachable magazine."
2)Defines "fixed magazine" as "an ammunition feeding device
contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such a
manner that the device cannot be removed without disassembly
of the firearm action."
3)Provides that, notwithstanding the new definition of assault
weapon contained in this bill, any person who possessed an
assault weapon prior to January 1, 2017, is exempt from
punishment pursuant to Section 30605, if all of the following
are applicable:
a) Prior to January 1, 2017, the person was eligible to
register that assault weapon pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 30900;
b) The person lawfully possessed that assault weapon on
January 1, 2017; and
c) The person registers the assault weapon by January 1,
2018, a specified.
4)Provides that any person who, from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2016, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault
weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined in
Section 30515, including those weapons with an ammunition
feeding device that can be removed readily from the firearm
with the use of a tool, shall register the firearm before
January 1, 2018, with the DOJ pursuant to those procedures
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that the DOJ may establish.
a) Registrations shall be submitted electronically via the
Internet utilizing a public-facing application made
available by the DOJ.
b) The registration shall contain a description of the
firearm that identifies it uniquely, including all
identification marks, the date the firearm was acquired,
the name and address of the individual from whom, or
business from which, the firearm was acquired, as well as
the registrant's full name, address, telephone number, date
of birth, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and
California driver's license number or California
identification card number.
c) The DOJ may charge a fee of up to fifteen dollars ($15)
per person but not to exceed the reasonable processing
costs of the department. The fee shall be paid by debit or
credit card at the time that the electronic registration is
submitted to the DOJ. The fee shall be deposited in the
Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account.
d) The DOJ shall establish procedures for the purpose of
carrying out this subdivision. These procedures shall be
exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act.
Background
As the Court of Appeal explained, in 1999, the Assault Weapons
ban was amended to expand the definition of an assault weapon to
include a definition by the generic characteristics,
specifically, to include a "semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that
has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine" in addition to
one of several specified characteristics, such as a grenade
launcher or flash suppressor. SB 23 (Perata, Chapter 129,
Statutes of 1999, § 7 et seq) was enacted in response to the
marketing of so-called "copycat" weapons, firearms that were
substantially similar to weapons on the prohibited list but
differed in some insignificant way, perhaps only the name of the
weapon, thereby defeating the intent of the ban. "SB 23 takes
weapons that are made, then modified, named and re-named off the
market. It fixes the loophole in current law that bans guns by
name, not by capability, by providing a generic definition of
the weapons." (Committee analysis of SB 23 (Perata), Assembly
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Public Safety Committee.)
SB 23's generic definition of an assault weapon was intended to
close the loophole in the law created by its definition of
assault weapons as only those specified by make and model.
Regulations promulgated after the enactment of SB 23 define a
detachable magazine as "any ammunition feeding device that can
be removed readily from the firearm with neither disassembly of
the firearm action nor use of a tool being required. A bullet
or ammunition cartridge is considered a tool." (11 CFR §
5469(a).) In response to this definition, a new feature has
been developed by firearms manufacturers to make semi-automatic
rifles "California compliant," the bullet button.
In 2012, researchers at the nonprofit Violence Policy Center in
Washington, D.C. released a paper describing the phenomenon of
the bullet button and its effect on California's assault weapons
ban:
The "Bullet Button"-Assault Weapon Manufacturers'
Gateway to the California Market
Catalogs and websites from America's leading assault
rifle manufacturers are full of newly designed
"California compliant" assault weapons. Number one
and two assault weapon manufacturers Bushmaster and
DPMS, joined by ArmaLite, Colt, Sig Sauer, Smith &
Wesson, and others are all introducing new rifles
designed to circumvent California's assault weapons
ban and are actively targeting the state in an effort
to lift now-sagging sales of this class of weapon.
They are accomplishing this with the addition of a
minor design change to their military-style weapons
made possible by a definitional loophole: the "bullet
button." [Please see the Appendix beginning on page
six for 2012 catalog copy featuring "California
compliant" assault rifles utilizing a "bullet button"
from leading assault weapon manufacturers.]
California law bans semiautomatic rifles with the
capacity to accept a detachable ammunition magazine
and any one of six enumerated additional assault
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weapon characteristics (e.g., folding stock, flash
suppressor, pistol grip, or other military-style
features).
High-capacity detachable ammunition magazines allow
shooters to expel large amounts of ammunition quickly
and have no sporting purpose.1 However, in
California an ammunition magazine is not viewed as
detachable if a "tool" is required to remove it from
the weapon. The "bullet button" is a release button
for the ammunition magazine that can be activated with
the tip of a bullet. With the tip of the bullet
replacing the use of a finger in activating the
release, the button can be pushed and the detachable
ammunition magazine removed and replaced in seconds.
Compared to the release process for a standard
detachable ammunition magazine it is a distinction
without a difference. 1 Department of the Treasury
Study on the Sporting Suitability of Modified
Semiautomatic Assault Rifles, April 1998. (Bullet
Buttons, The Gun Industry's Attack on California's
Assault Weapons Ban, Violence Policy Center,
Washington D.C., May 2012. )
This bill amends the definition of assault weapon to a firearm
that has one of several specified features and does not have a
"fixed magazine," rather than a firearm that has one of those
features and "has the capacity to accept a detachable magazine."
It also defines, "fixed magazine" as "an ammunition feeding
device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in
such a manner that the device cannot be removed without
disassembly of the firearm action." So, a semiautomatic rifle
could have a detachable magazine, as long as it does not also
have any features or it could have the features as long as it
had a fixed magazine. The purpose of this change is to clarify
that equipping a weapon with a "bullet button" magazine release
does not take that weapon outside the definition of an assault
weapon.
This bill also requires any person who, from January 1, 2001, to
December 31, 2016, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that
does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, including those
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weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed
readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, in other words,
those weapons with a "bullet button" magazine release, to
register the firearm before January 1, 2018, with the DOJ
pursuant to those procedures that the DOJ may establish.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the fiscal
impact includes:
Registration process: Estimated costs of $1.7 million in
FY 2016-17, $1.5 million in FY 2017-18, and $37,000 (DROS
Fund*/General Fund) annually thereafter, to be fully offset
by fees collected from registrants once fully implemented.
Staff notes the DROS Fund is structurally imbalanced, and
current revenues are insufficient to cover the costs of
this bill. As a result, a General Fund appropriation may be
required to enable completion of the activities within the
timelines prescribed.
State prisons: Potentially significant increase in
annual state incarceration costs (General Fund) to the
extent the narrower definition of "assault weapon" results
in additional firearms violations. For every 10 new
commitments to state prison (five each for manufacturing
and possession), additional annual costs of $290,000,
compounding to $1.2 million for overlapping sentences
assuming the middle term of the triads for violations of
both manufacturing and possession.
Local agencies: Potential future increase in local
enforcement and incarceration costs for unlawful possession
or sale/manufacture of assault weapons.
Firearms sales: Potential near-term loss of sales tax
revenue of $1.6 million (General Fund) per 10 percent of
annual rifle sales in California. Future year impact could
be somewhat mitigated to the extent consumers shift to
purchases of alternative firearms.
APPS enforcement: Unknown, potential increase in DOJ
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enforcement costs (Special Fund*) to the extent additional
persons are placed on the armed prohibited persons list
resulting from the provisions of this measure.
*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Special Account - Appropriations
staff notes that the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced,
with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by
year-end FY 2016-17. As a result, an appropriation from another
fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to
support the activities required by this bill.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/17/16)
Kamala Harris, California Attorney General
American Academy of Pediatrics
Bend the Arc
Brotherhood Crusade
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians
California Chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence
California Communities United Institute
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
City of Oakland
City of Long Beach
Coalition Against Gun Violence, a Santa Barbara Coalition
County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors
Community Clinic Association
Courage Campaign
Eric Garcetti, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Nevada County Democrats
Orange County Chapter, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Peace Over Violence
Physicians for Social Responsibility, San Francisco Bay Area
Chapter
Rainbow Services
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Youth Alive!
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Several Individuals
OPPOSITION: (Verified05/17/16)
California State Sheriffs' Association
California Sportsman's Lobby, Inc.
Crossroads of the West
Firearms Policy Coalition
Gun Owners of California
National Rifle Association
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc.
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
Safari Club International
One Individual
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Chapters of the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence:
California's existing assault weapons statute prohibits
semi-automatic centerfire rifles or semiautomatic pistols
that have the capacity to accept a detachable magazine and
are equipped with any of the following features: a pistol
grip, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a
grenade or flare launcher, a flash suppressor, or a forward
pistol grip. These features are not found on sporting
guns and were designed specifically to facilitate the
killing of human beings in battle.
The California Brady Campaign Chapters support prohibiting
military-style semi-automatic assault weapons. The rapid
and controlled spray of bullets associated with assault
weapons is a threat to police officers, families, and
communities. As was shown by the tragedy at Sandy Hook
School and more recently in San Bernardino, an assault
weapon escalates the lethality and number of victims in a
mass shooting incident.
Unfortunately, firearm manufactures have found ways to
enable the dangerous quick reloading that the California's
assault weapons law sought to ban. For example, the
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"bullet button" is a feature that enables the firearm owner
to use a bullet or other pointed object to quickly detach
and replace the weapon's ammunition magazine. Because the
use of a bullet or other "tool" is required to remove the
magazine, the sale of bullet button-equipped guns has been
allowed, even though the California assault weapons law
prohibits weapons that have "the capacity to accept a
detachable magazine." In fact, in the first eleven months
after the retention of records for long guns became
operational (January 1, 2014 to December 2, 2014), there
were 50,574 sales or transfers of military-style weapons
with a bullet-button or other similar feature that allows
for the rapid exchange of the magazine.
The California Brady Campaign Chapters support clarifying
and strengthening California's assault weapons law as
proposed by SB 880. The bill recasts existing law by
listing as assault weapons those firearms with
military-style features that do not have a fixed magazine.
A fixed magazine is defined as an ammunition feeding device
contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm in such
a manner that the device cannot be removed without
disassembly of the firearm action. A weapon that does not
have a fixed magazine, as defined, and has any one of the
military-style features would be unlawful.
SB 880 would require any person who lawfully possessed from
January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2016 an assault weapon that
does not have a fixed magazine as defined in the bill to
register the weapon before July 1, 2017 with the California
Department of Justice. This record would enable law
enforcement to disarm the person through the Armed
Prohibited Persons System program if the person were to
become prohibited from possessing firearms and assist law
enforcement in the tracing of crime guns.
The gun industry has taken advantage of an imprecise
definition to evade the intent of the law. This loophole
must be closed and accordingly, the California Brady
Campaign Chapters are in strong support of SB 880.
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:According to the Firearms Policy
Coalition:
SB 880 attempts to subvert long-standing law regarding the
definition of "detachable magazine" and "fixed magazine".
It relies on unclear, undefined language such as "without
disassembly of the action" or "does not have a fixed
magazine" and seeks to prohibit the purchase, inheritance,
sale, transfer, transport, importation and manufacture of
the most common and popular protected weapons of the modern
era.
SB 880 is the largest gun-ban in California history
SB 880 would immediately ban and force the registration of
millions of semi-automatic rifles in common use and
protected under the Second Amendment to the United States
Constitution. With guns sales and the shooting sports
hitting new heights, SB 880 will result in potentially
millions of firearms being taken off the shelves for sale,
out of estates for bequests and ban the lawful transfer of
collections and firearms.
By moving the goal posts on millions of its own residents,
California would create new criminal liability for hundreds
of thousands of Californians and California visitors --
including shooting sports competitors -- without so much as
a simple outreach program, public service announcement, or
mandate that DOJ update the years-outdated (and, in some
cases, grossly misleading) information it promulgates in
its publications and on its website but refuses to correct
in spite of the real consequences to law-abiding people.
SB 880 creates overnight felons for mere possession,
transfer, transport or inheritance of common, protected
items, creating a crisis for residents and visitors who
have been law abiding all their lives and could lose all
they have worked for-by simply exercising a fundamental
right.
SB 880 may actually create a stock of millions of new
"Assault Weapons" that will remain for generations
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Counter-intuitively, while some people may get caught as
overnight felons, there are others who will be engaged and
will take advantage of the opportunity to register hundreds
of thousands or even millions of firearms- thereby having
state sanction to have whatever magazine style or
politically incorrect cosmetic features they like. Despite
the ban, these will remain in the civilian inventory for
many decades- all with the proper documentation and
blessing of the Attorney General.
Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /
5/18/16 16:27:48
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