BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1332
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Date of Hearing: June 28, 2016
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair
SB
1332 (Mendoza) - As Amended May 31, 2016
SUMMARY: Provides for the joint registration of firearms between
spouses and domestic partners, as specified, and modifies
existing firearm loan provisions. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires, commencing January 1, 2019, the Department of
Justice (DOJ) to permanently keep and properly file and
maintain the name of the person and his or her spouse or
domestic partner, if the firearm is registered to both
individuals, as specified.
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2)Requires, commencing January 1, 2019, DOJ to modify its
registration forms, if it has not already done so, so that
both spouses or both domestic partners may register as the
owners of the firearm, as specified.
3)Provides that requirements that a loan of a firearm must go
through a licensed firearms dealer does not apply to the loan
of a firearm provided all of the following are met (loans
within a single residence):
a) If the firearm being loaned is registered to the person
making the loan;
b) The loan occurs within the individual receiving the
firearm and the lender's place of residence or private
property, which is not zoned for commercial, retail, or
industrial activity;
c) The firearm at all times stays within the individual
receiving the firearm and the lender's place of residence
or private property, which is not zoned for commercial,
retail, or industrial activity;
d) The individual receiving the firearm is not prohibited
by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning,
or purchasing a firearm;
e) The individual receiving the firearm is 18 years of age
or older;
f) The individual receiving the firearm has a valid firearm
safety certificate, except that if the firearm being loaned
is a handgun, the individual may instead have an unexpired
handgun safety certificate; and
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g) The person being loaned the firearm resides within the
same residence as the lender.
4)Provides that requirements that a loan of a firearm must go
through a licensed firearms dealer does not apply to the loan
of a firearm provided all of the following are met (loans
outside a single place of residence for purposes of storage):
a) If the firearm being loaned is registered to the person
making the loan;
b) The firearm being loaned is stored in the receiver's
place of residence or in an enclosed structure on the
receiver's private property, which is not zoned for
commercial, retail, or industrial activity;
c) The firearm at all times stays within the receiver's
place of residence or in an enclosed structure on the
receiver's private property, which is not zoned for
commercial, retail, or industrial activity;
d) The individual receiving the firearm is not prohibited
by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning,
or purchasing a firearm;
e) The individual receiving the firearm is 18 years of age
or older;
f) The individual receiving the firearm has a valid firearm
safety certificate, except that if the firearm being loaned
is a handgun, the individual may instead have an unexpired
handgun safety certificate;
g) One of the following applies:
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i) The firearm is maintained within a locked container;
ii) The firearm is disabled by a firearm safety device;
iii) The firearm is maintained within a locked gun safe;
or
iv) The firearm is locked with a locking device, as
defined in Section 16860, which has rendered the firearm
inoperable.
h) The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration;
i) The loan is made without consideration;
j) There is writing in a format prescribed by the DOJ that
explains the obligations imposed by this section that is
signed by both the party loaning the firearm for storage
and the person receiving the firearm; and
aa) Both parties to the loan have signed copies of the
writing, as specified.
5)Defines "residence" for purposes of this legislation and
"resides within the same residence," as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States, in order to assist in the investigation of crime, the
prosecution of civil actions by city attorneys, the arrest and
prosecution of criminals, and the recovery of lost, stolen, or
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found property, the Attorney General shall keep and properly
file a complete record of all copies of fingerprints, copies
of licenses to carry firearms issued as provided, information
reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ) as specified,
dealers' records of sales of firearms, specified forms and
reports, that are not dealers' records of sales of firearms,
other specified information, and reports of stolen, lost,
found, pledged, or pawned property in any city or county of
this state, and shall, upon proper application therefor,
furnish this information to the officers authorized to receive
state summary criminal history information. (Pen. Code, §
11106, subd. (a).)
2)Requires the Attorney General to permanently keep and properly
file and maintain all information reported to DOJ pursuant to
specified provisions of law as to firearms and maintain a
registry thereof. (Pen. Code, § 11106, subd. (b).)
3)Provides that any officer referred to in provisions of law
related to who may receive state summary criminal history
information may disseminate the name of the subject of the
record, the number of the firearms listed in the record, and
the description of any firearm, including the make, model, and
caliber, from the record relating to any firearm's sale,
transfer, registration, or license record, or any information
reported to DOJ if certain conditions are met. (Pen. Code, §
11106, subd. (c)(1).)
4)Requires licensed firearms dealers, before they may deliver a
firearm to a purchaser, to perform a background check on the
purchaser through the federal National Instant Criminal
Background Check System ("NICS"). (18 U.S.C §§ 921, et seq.)
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5)Requires that, except as specified, all sales, loans, and
transfers of firearms to be processed through or by a
state-licensed firearms dealer or a local law enforcement
agency. (Pen. Code, § 27545.)
6)Provides that there is a 10-day waiting period when purchasing
a firearm through a firearms dealer. During which time, a
background check is conducted and, if the firearm is a
handgun, a handgun safety certificate is required prior to
delivery of the firearm. (Pen. Code, §§ 26815, 26840, subd.
(b) & 27540.)
7)Creates numerous exceptions to a variety of different and
specified firearms transfer requirements, including penal code
section 27545, for loans of firearms under a variety of
different circumstances. The general categories of these
exceptions are:
a) For target shooting at target facility. (Pen. Code, §
26545.)
b) To entertainment production. (Pen. Code, § 26580.)
c) Several exceptions relating to law enforcement officers
and government agencies (Pen. Code, §§ 2660, et seq.)
d) For infrequent loan of non-handgun; curio or relic (Pen.
Code, § 27966) [commencing January 1, 2014]
e) To a consultant-evaluator. (Pen. Code, § 27005.)
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f) To minors. (Pen. Code, § 27505.)
g) Infrequent loans to persons known to each other. (Pen.
Code, § 27880.)
h) Where the firearm stays within the presence of the
owner. (Pen. Code, § 27885.)
i) To a licensed hunter. (Pen. Code, § 27950.)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "According to
the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), about 1.4 million
firearms were stolen during household burglaries and other
property crimes between 2005 and 2010. A 2010 audit conducted
by the San Jose Police Department reported that around 300 of
its firearms could not be accounted for, some of which may
have been stolen from officers' homes. Graham Barlowe, Agent
of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives, Sacramento Office, stated that "In this day and
age of technology, most of the electronics don't really have
any value at all? the firearms do. Even an old firearm is
still valuable" (NBC Bay Area, 2015).
"As an overview, per the provisions of the Federal Gun Control
Act of 1968 and implementing regulations, a federal firearms
licensee may not allow a firearm to leave that licensee's
licensed premises in the possession of a person who is not
licensed as a federal firearms licensee unless a federal form
4473 is completed. And since 1998, save in two cases a NICS
background check must be done as well before the gun leaves
the premises. Those two exceptions are for persons with Brady
permits (18 USC 922(t)(3)) and authorized law enforcement
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personnel (18 USC 925(a)(1)). The FBI in implementing NICS has
very stringent requirements for granting a Brady Permit which
is why most states do not have licenses/permits that qualify.
[<1>] In California only a FEP qualifies as a Brady-NICS
permit though with the APPS Program I would argue our license
to carry should be deemed a Brady-NICS Permit.
"In addition to strengthening gun laws, it is also critical
that laws regarding firearms are consistent and uniform. One
of the underlying issues in gun loans is intra-spouse 'loans'
where the gun in reality is probably viewed as jointly owned.
California gun laws do not currently expressly permit spousal
joint registration and ownership of a firearm save for .50 BMG
rifles and assault weapons.
"Joint registration has been occurring by default for several
reasons. First, as a result of some local jurisdictions
issuing a license to carry to both spouses for the same
handgun. In the case of carry licenses, the local jurisdiction
then transmits this information to the California Department
of Justice (DOJ).
"This bill seeks to create greater safeguards to prevent guns
from falling into the wrong hands and to bring consistency to
California's firearms laws."
2)Joint Registration by Spouses and Domestic Partners:
California gun laws do not explicitly permit joint
---------------------------
<1>
To be considered a qualifying permit, the permit must be issued
pursuant to a background check with continual review of the
person's eligibility being run through NICS.
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registration and ownership of a firearm. Joint registration
has been occurring by default as a result of some local
jurisdictions issuing a license to carry to both spouses for
the same handgun. The local jurisdiction then transmits this
information to the California Department of Justice (DOJ). It
also occurs by default via the new resident process and the
operation of law process. Joint spousal firearm registration
exists in Hawaii, Maryland, and New York. Joint spousal
registration will impact the operation of law if one spouse
dies, in which case, the firearm would remain in lawful
possession of the surviving spouse.
3)Loaning of Firearms: This bill requires the loaning of
firearms in two distinct scenarios. Generally, under existing
law, the loan of a firearm must be processed through a
state-licensed firearms dealer. This bill creates exemptions
to this requirement under two scenarios. The first scenario
is between two persons who reside in the same residence. The
second scenario is the loaning of a firearm to another person
for the purpose of safely storing the firearm.
a) Loan to a Person in the Same Residence: Under this bill,
loaning a firearm to a person who resides in the same
location will be exempted from having to go through a
licensed firearms dealer if all of the following conditions
are met:
i) The firearm being loaned is registered to the person
making the loan;
ii) The loan occurs within the individual receiving the
firearm and the lender's place of residence or private
property, which is not zoned for commercial, retail, or
industrial activity;
iii) The firearm at all times stays within the individual
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receiving the firearm and the lender's place of residence
or private property, which is not zoned for commercial,
retail, or industrial activity;
iv) The individual receiving the firearm is not
prohibited by state or federal law from possessing,
receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm;
v) The individual receiving the firearm is 18 years of
age or older;
vi) The individual receiving the firearm has a valid
firearm safety certificate, except that if the firearm
being loaned is a handgun, the individual may instead
have an unexpired handgun safety certificate; and
vii) The person being loaned the firearm resides within
the same residence as the lender.
b) Loan to a Person for Safe Storage: Under this bill,
loaning a firearm to another person for the purpose of safe
storage will be exempted from having to go through a
licensed firearms dealer if all of the following conditions
are met:
i) If the firearm being loaned is registered to the
person making the loan.
ii) The firearm being loaned is stored in the receiver's
place of residence or in an enclosed structure on the
receiver's private property, which is not zoned for
commercial, retail, or industrial activity.
iii) The firearm at all times stays within the receiver's
place of residence or in an enclosed structure on the
receiver's private property, which is not zoned for
commercial, retail, or industrial activity.
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iv) The individual receiving the firearm is not
prohibited by state or federal law from possessing,
receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.
v) The individual receiving the firearm is 18 years of
age or older.
vi) The individual receiving the firearm has a valid
firearm safety certificate, except that if the firearm
being loaned is a handgun, the individual may instead
have an unexpired handgun safety certificate.
vii) One of the following applies:
(1) The firearm is maintained within a locked
container.
(2) The firearm is disabled by a firearm safety
device.
(3) The firearm is maintained within a locked gun
safe.
(4) The firearm is locked with a locking device,
as defined in Section 16860, which has rendered the
firearm inoperable.
viii) The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration.
ix) The loan is made without consideration.
x) There is writing in a format prescribed by the DOJ
that explains the obligations imposed by this section
that is signed by both the party loaning the firearm for
storage and the person receiving the firearm.
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i) Both parties to the loan have signed copies of the
writing, as specified.
4)Stolen Firearms: According to the Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS), about 1.4 million firearms were stolen
during household burglaries and other property crimes between
2005 and 2010. A 2010 audit conducted by the San Jose Police
Department reported that around 300 of its firearms could not
be accounted for, some of which may have been stolen from
officer's homes. Graham Barlowe, Agent of the U.S. Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Sacramento Office,
stated that "In this day and age of technology, most of the
electronics don't really have any value at all? the firearms
do. Even an old firearm is still valuable" (NBC Bay Area,
2015). Although reports vary, stolen guns may account for
roughly 15% of guns used in crimes, thus it is essential that
a safekeeping program is available when a gun owner leaves
their property.
5)Argument in Support: According to Peace Officers Research
Association of California, "This bill would require the
Department of Justice to modify its registration form so that
both spouses or both domestic partners may register as the
owners of the firearm and would require the department to
maintain both names on the firearm's registry. The bill would
make related findings and declarations?PORAC supports this
bill."
6)Argument in Opposition: According to Safari Club
International, "Although joint registration of firearms for
spouses or domestic partners is desirable, it does not
outweigh our concerns with the provision of the bill that
would require all firearms that are loaned pursuant to the
proposed loan provisions to be registered with the Department
of Justice in order to qualify for an exemption to the
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existing law that requires loans be processed through a
licensed firearms dealer."
7)Related Legislation: AB 1551 (Santiago), specifies that the
infrequent loan of a firearm may only be made to family
members. AB 1551 was passed by this committee on June 21,
2016 and is currently awaiting a vote on the Assembly Floor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Courage Campaign
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition
California Sportsman's Lobby
Gun Owners of California
Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California
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Safari Club International
Analysis Prepared by:Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744