BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 894


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          THIRD READING


          SB  
          894 (Jackson)


          As Introduced  June 22, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  24-15


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Public Safety   |5-2  |Jones-Sawyer, Lopez,  |Melendez, Lackey    |
          |                |     |Low, Quirk, Santiago  |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          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