BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 894
Page 1
THIRD READING
SB
894 (Jackson)
As Introduced June 22, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 24-15
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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: Requires that firearm owners report the theft or loss
of a firearm to a local law enforcement agency within five days
of the time they knew, or reasonably should have known, that the
firearm had been stolen or lost. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a person to report the theft or loss of a firearm he
or she owns or possesses to a local law enforcement agency in
the jurisdiction in which the theft or loss occurred within
five days of the time the person knew, or reasonably should
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have known, that the firearm had been stolen or lost.
2)Requires every person who has reported a firearm as lost or
stolen to notify the local law enforcement agency within 48
hours if the firearm is subsequently recovered.
3)Provides that the lost or stolen firearm reporting requirement
does not apply to:
a) Any law enforcement agency or peace officer acting
within the course and scope of his or her employment or
official duties, if he or she reports the loss or theft to
his or her employing agency;
b) Any United States Marshal or member of the Armed Forces
of the United States or the National Guard, while engaged
in his or her official duties;
c) Any federally licensed firearms dealer or manufacturer,
as specified, who reports the theft or loss in accordance
with specified federal law, or the successor thereto, and
the applicable regulations; and,
d) Any person whose firearm was lost or stolen before
January 1, 2017.
4)Provides that a first violation of either of the above
reporting requirements provisions is an infraction punishable
by a fine not to exceed $100. A second violation is an
infraction, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000. A
third or subsequent violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by
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a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
5)Makes it an infraction for a person to report to a local law
enforcement agency that a firearm has been lost or stolen,
knowing the report to be false. A violation is punishable by
a fine not exceeding $250 for a first offense, and by a fine
not exceeding $1,000 for a second or subsequent offense.
6)Requires every person reporting a lost or stolen firearm to
report the make, model, and serial number of the firearm, if
known.
7)Requires every sheriff or police chief to submit a description
of each firearm which has been reported lost or stolen
directly into the Department of Justice Automated Firearms
System.
8)Provides that, for purposes of the reporting requirement, a
"firearm" includes the frame or receiver of the weapon, but
does not include an unloaded antique firearm.
9)Requires firearms dealers to conspicuously post notice of
these reporting requirements within the licensed premises, as
specified.
10)Specifies that these reporting provisions do "not preclude or
preempt a local ordinance that imposes additional penalties or
requirements in regard to reporting the theft or loss of a
firearm."
11)Double joins this bill with AB 857 (Cooper) of the current
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legislative session, AB 1673 (Gipson) of the current
legislative session, and AB 1674 (Santiago) of the current
legislative session to avoid chaptering out issues.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that any licensed firearms dealer shall report,
within 48 hours of discovery, the loss or theft of specified
firearms to the appropriate law enforcement agency in the
city, county, or city or county where the licensee's business
is located.
2)Provides that any time a licensed firearms manufacturer
discovers that a firearm has been stolen or is missing from
the licensee's premises, the licensee shall report the loss or
theft within 48 hours of discovery to specified law
enforcement agencies, and shall maintain records of lost or
stolen firearms for at least 10 years.
3)Requires handguns to be centrally registered at time of
transfer or sale due to various transfer forms centrally
compiled by the DOJ. DOJ is required to keep a registry from
data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what handgun by make,
model, and serial number and the date thereof.
4)States that the DOJ must keep a centralized and computerized
list of all lost, stolen, and found serialized property
reported to DOJ.
5)Requires each sheriff or police executive to submit
descriptions of serialized property, or non-serialized
property that has been uniquely inscribed, which has been
reported stolen, lost, found, recovered, held for safekeeping,
or under observation into the DOJ automated property system
for firearms or other stolen property. Information about a
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firearm entered into the system shall remain in the system
until the reported firearm has been found, recovered, is no
longer under observation, or the record is determined to have
been entered in error.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author:
The public overwhelmingly supports laws requiring the
reporting of lost or stolen firearms. A nationwide
poll in 2011 found that 94% of Americans surveyed
favor laws to require the reporting of lost or stolen
firearms.
The reporting of lost or stolen firearms will bring
several critical improvements to public safety in
California.
1)Reduce Gun Trafficking
When a crime gun is traced by law enforcement to the
last known purchaser, that person may falsely claim
that the gun was lost or stolen to hide his or her
involvement in the crime or in gun trafficking. A
reporting law would provide a tool for law enforcement
to detect firearms trafficking and prosecute 'straw
purchasers,' individuals who buy firearms on behalf of
criminals who are prohibited from possessing guns.
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An analysis by Mayors Against Illegal Guns - a
nationwide coalition of over 600 mayors - found that
states without mandatory lost or stolen reporting laws
export two and a half times more crime guns across
state lines than jurisdictions with such laws.
Similarly, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Center
for Gun Policy and Research found that state laws
requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms
were associated with crime gun export rates that were
43% lower than in states that lacked this policy.
2)Enhance Armed Prohibited Persons System
Mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms would
enhance the California Department of Justice's efforts
to remove firearms from convicted criminals and others
identified in the state's Armed Prohibited Persons
System (APPS). Currently, these individuals, who own
firearms, but are prohibited from possessing them, may
falsely claim that their illegally-possessed firearms
were lost or stolen. Moreover, with a reporting
requirement, the APPS program will be more efficient
since law enforcement resources will not be wasted on
attempts to recover guns that have been reported lost
or stolen.
3)Alert Law Enforcement on Missing Firearms
A reporting requirement would alert law enforcement to
the existence of guns stolen by criminals in their
communities. It would also make it easier for law
enforcement to return lost or stolen firearms to their
rightful owners. A 2007 report by the International
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Association of Chiefs of Police [IACP] recommended
that state and local governments mandate reporting of
lost or stolen firearms. The IACP report concluded
that, "law enforcement's early awareness of every lost
and stolen gun will enhance their ability to recover
those guns and reduce gun violence."
Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S.
/ (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003529