BILL NUMBER: AB 106 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 26, 1999
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 23, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 29, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 1999
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 10, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Scott and Aroner and Senator Hayden
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Villaraigosa)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Corbett, Davis, Dutra, Havice,
Hertzberg, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville, Romero,
Shelley, Steinberg, Washington, Wesson, and Wildman)
(Coauthors: Senators Alpert, Figueroa, McPherson, Perata,
Polanco, Solis, and Vasconcellos)
DECEMBER 22, 1998
An act to add Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 12087) to
Chapter 1 of Title 2 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to firearm
safety devices.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 106, Scott. Firearms: safety devices.
Existing law generally regulates the transfer and possession of
firearms.
This bill would establish the Aroner-Scott-Hayden Firearms Safety
Act of 1999 (the act).
This bill would require that, except as provided, effective
January 1, 2002, all firearms sold or transferred in this state, or
manufactured in this state, be accompanied by a firearms safety
device approved by the Department of Justice.
This bill would require the Attorney General, not later than
January 1, 2000, to begin development of minimum safety standards for
firearms safety devices that are designed to reduce the risk of
unintentional injury by firearms. The bill would also provide that
the Attorney General report to the Legislature regarding the
standards by January 1, 2001, and that the standards be effective
January 1, 2002.
The bill would require the Department of Justice, effective
January 1, 2001, to certify laboratories to test child safety
devices, and would authorize the Department of Justice to charge the
laboratories a fee not exceeding the costs of certification. The
bill would also require the department to notify the manufacturer or
dealer of the department's determination regarding whether the
firearms safety device may be sold in this state. The bill would
further require the department, not later than July 1, 2001, to
compile, publish, and maintain a roster listing all safety devices
that have been tested as described above, have been determined by the
department to meet the standards for child safety devices, and that
may be sold in this state.
This bill would require any packaging or other descriptive
material that accompanies a firearm sold or transferred or
manufactured in this state, to bear a label with a specified warning.
The bill would also require the warning label be affixed to the
firearm if the firearm is sold, transferred or delivered in this
state without accompanying packaging.
This bill would authorize the Attorney General to recall any gun
safe or firearms safety device sold in this state after January 1,
2002, that does not conform to specified provisions of the act, as
specified.
This bill would require each lead law enforcement agency
investigating an incident to report specified information to the
State Department of Health Services in connection with unintentional
gunshot wounds sustained by children after the effective date of the
act.
This bill would provide that any violation of specified provisions
of the act would be punishable by a fine of $1,000. A second
violation of those provisions would be punishable by a fine of $1,000
and would render a licensed manufacturer, or a licensed California
dealer ineligible to manufacture or sell firearms for 30 days in this
state. A third violation of those provisions would render a
licensed manufacturer, or a licensed California dealer permanently
ineligible to manufacture, or sell firearms in this state.
By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
This bill would declare that the act does not relieve any person
from liability to any other person as may be imposed pursuant to
common law, statutory law, or local ordinance.
This bill would declare that the act does not apply to the
commerce of certain firearms, as specified.
The bill would authorize the Department of Justice to require a
firearm dealer to charge a firearm purchaser or transferee as
specified, a fee not to exceed one dollar for each firearm
transaction. The fee would be for the purpose of supporting various
department program costs related to the act, as specified. The fees
would be deposited into a special account created by this bill, to be
available upon appropriation for purposes of the program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 12087) is added to
Chapter 1 of Title 2 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
Article 4.5. Firearms Safety Devices
12087. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
"Aroner-Scott-Hayden Firearms Safety Act of 1999."
12087.5. The Legislature makes the following findings:
(a) In the years 1987 to 1996, nearly 2,200 children in the United
States under the age of 15 years died in unintentional shootings.
In 1996 alone, 138 children were shot and killed unintentionally.
Thus, more than 11 children every month, or one child every three
days, were shot or killed unintentionally in firearms-related
incidents.
(b) The United States leads the industrialized world in the rates
of children and youth lost to unintentional, firearms-related deaths.
A 1997 study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reveals that for unintentional firearm-related deaths for
children under the age of 15, the rate in the United States was nine
times higher than in 25 other industrialized countries combined.
(c) While the number of unintentional deaths from firearms is an
unacceptable toll on America's children, nearly eight times that
number are treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms each year for
nonfatal unintentional gunshot wounds.
(d) A study of unintentional firearm deaths among children in
California found that unintentional gunshot wounds most often involve
handguns.
(e) A study in the December 1995 issue of the Archives of
Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children as young as
three years old are strong enough to fire most commercially available
handguns. The study revealed that 25 percent of three to four year
olds and 70 percent of five to six year olds had sufficient finger
strength to fire 59 (92 percent) of the 64 commonly available
handguns referenced in the study.
(f) The Government Accounting Office (GAO), in its March 1991
study, "Accidental Shootings: Many Deaths and Injuries Caused by
Firearms Could be Prevented," estimates that 31 percent of accidental
deaths caused by firearms might be prevented by the addition of two
safety devices: a child-resistant safety device that automatically
engages and a device that indicates whether the gun is loaded.
According to the study results, of the 107 unintentional
firearms-related fatalities the GAO examined for the calendar years
1988 and 1989, eight percent could have been prevented had the
firearm been equipped with a child-resistant safety device. This
eight percent represents instances in which children under the age of
six unintentionally shot and killed themselves or other persons.
(g) Currently, firearms are the only products manufactured in the
United Stated that are not subject to minimum safety standards.
(h) A 1997 public opinion poll conducted by the National Opinion
Research Center at the University of Chicago in conjunction with the
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research found that 74
percent of Americans support safety regulation of the firearms
industry.
(i) Some currently available trigger locks and other similar
devices are inadequate to prevent the accidental discharge of the
firearms to which they are attached, or to prevent children from
gaining access to the firearm.
12088. Effective January 1, 2001:
(a) The Department of Justice shall certify laboratories to verify
compliance with standards for firearms safety devices set forth in
Section 12088.2.
(b) The Department of Justice may charge any laboratory that is
seeking certification to test firearms safety devices a fee not
exceeding the costs of certification, including costs associated with
the development and approval of regulations and standards pursuant
to Section 12088.2.
(c) The certified laboratory shall, at the manufacturer's or
dealer's expense, test the firearms safety device and submit a copy
of the final test report directly to the Department of Justice along
with the firearms safety device. The department shall notify the
manufacturer or dealer of its receipt of the final test report and
the department's determination as to whether the firearms safety
device tested may be sold in this state.
(d) On and after July 1, 2001, the Department of Justice shall
compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster listing all of the
safety devices that have been tested by a certified testing
laboratory, have been determined to meet the department's standards
for firearms safety devices and may be sold in this state.
(e) The roster shall list, for each firearms safety device, the
manufacturer, model number, and model name.
12088.1. Effective January 1, 2002:
(a) All firearms sold or transferred in this state by a licensed
firearms dealer, including private transfers through a dealer, and
all firearms manufactured in this state, shall include or be
accompanied by a firearms safety device that is listed on the
Department of Justice's roster of approved firearms safety devices.
(b) All firearms sold or transferred in this state by a licensed
firearms dealer, including private transfers through a dealer, and
all firearms manufactured in this state shall be accompanied with
warning language or labels as described in Section 12088.3.
(c) The sale or transfer of a firearm shall be exempt from
subdivision (a) if both of the following apply:
(1) The purchaser or transferee owns a gun safe that meets the
standards set forth in Section 12088.2. Gun safes shall not be
required to be tested, and therefore may meet the standards without
appearing on the Department of Justice roster.
(2) The purchaser or transferee presents an original receipt for
purchase of the gun safe, or other proof of purchase or ownership of
the gun safe as authorized by the Attorney General, to the firearms
dealer. The dealer shall maintain a copy of this receipt or proof of
purchase with the dealers' record of sales of firearms.
(d) The sale or transfer of a firearm shall be exempt from
subdivision (a) if all of the following apply:
(1) The purchaser or transferee purchases an approved safety
device no more than 30 days prior to the day the purchaser or
transferee takes possession of the firearm.
(2) The purchaser or transferee presents the approved safety
device to the firearms dealer when picking up the firearm.
(3) The purchaser or transferee presents an original receipt to
the firearms dealer which shows the date of purchase, the name, and
the model number of the safety device.
(4) The firearms dealer verifies that the requirements in (1) to
(3), inclusive, have been satisfied.
(5) The firearms dealer maintains a copy of the receipt along with
the dealers' record of sales of firearms.
12088.2. (a) No later than January 1, 2000, the Attorney General
shall commence development of regulations to implement a minimum
safety standard for firearms safety devices and gun safes to
significantly reduce the risk of firearms-related injuries to
children 17 years of age and younger. The final standard shall do
all of the following:
(1) Address the risk of injury from unintentional gunshot wounds.
(2) Address the risk of injury from self-inflicted gunshot wounds
by unauthorized users.
(3) Include provisions to ensure that all firearms safety devices
and gun safes are reusable and of adequate quality and construction
to prevent children and unauthorized users from firing the firearm
and to ensure that these devices cannot be readily removed from the
firearm or that the firearm cannot be readily removed from the gun
safe except by an authorized user utilizing the key, combination, or
other method of access intended by the manufacturer of the device.
(4) Include additional provisions as appropriate.
(b) The Attorney General may consult, for the purposes of guidance
in development of the standards, test protocols such as those
described in Title 16 (commencing with Part 1700) of the Code of
Federal Regulations, relating to poison prevention packaging
standards. These protocols may be consulted to provide suggestions
for potential methods to utilize in developing standards and shall
serve as guidance only. The Attorney General shall also give
appropriate consideration to the use of devices that are not
detachable, but are permanently installed and incorporated into the
design of a firearm. The Attorney General shall adopt and issue
regulations implementing a final standard not later than January 1,
2001. The Attorney General shall report to the Legislature on these
standards by January 1, 2001. The final standard shall be effective
January 1, 2002.
12088.3. (a) The packaging of any firearm and any descriptive
materials that accompany any firearm sold or transferred in this
state, or delivered for sale in this state, by any licensed
manufacturer, or licensed dealer, shall bear a label containing the
following warning statement:
WARNING
Children are attracted to and can operate firearms that can cause
severe injuries or death.
Prevent child access by always keeping guns locked away and unloaded
when not in use. If you keep a loaded firearm where a child obtains
and improperly uses it, you may be fined or sent to prison.
A yellow triangle containing an exclamation mark shall appear
immediately before the word "Warning" on the label.
(b) If the firearm is sold or transferred without accompanying
packaging, the warning label or notice shall be affixed to the
firearm itself by a method to be prescribed by regulation of the
Attorney General.
(c) The warning statement required under subdivisions (a) and (b)
shall be:
(1) Displayed in its entirety on the principal display panel of
the firearm's package, and on any descriptive materials that
accompany the firearm.
(2) Displayed in both English and Spanish in conspicuous and
legible type in contrast by typography, layout, or color with other
printed matter on that package or descriptive materials in a manner
consistent with Part 1500.121 of Title 16, of the Code of Federal
Regulations, or successor regulations thereto.
12088.4. If at any time the Attorney General determines that a
gun safe or firearms safety device subject to the provisions of this
article and sold after January 1, 2002, does not conform with the
standards required by subdivision (a) of Section 12088.1 or Section
12088.2, the Attorney General may order the recall and replacement of
the gun safe or firearms safety device, or order that the gun safe
or firearm safety device be brought into conformity with those
requirements. If the firearms safety device cannot be separated from
the firearm without damaging the firearm, the Attorney General may
order the recall and replacement of the firearm. If the firearms
safety device can be separated and reattached to the firearm without
damaging the firearm, the licensed manufacturer or licensed firearms
dealer shall immediately provide a conforming replacement as
instructed by the Attorney General.
12088.5. Each lead law enforcement agency investigating an
incident shall report to the State Department of Health Services any
information obtained that reasonably supports the conclusion that:
(a) A child 18 years of age or younger suffered an unintentional
or self-inflicted gunshot wound inflicted by a firearm that was sold
or transferred in this state, or manufactured in this state.
(b) Whether as a result of that incident the child died, suffered
serious injury, or was treated for an injury by a medical
professional.
12088.6. Any violation of Section 12088.1 or Section 12088.3 is
punishable by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000). On the second
violation of any of those sections, the licensed firearm
manufacturer shall be ineligible to manufacture, or the licensed
firearm dealer shall be ineligible to sell, firearms in this state
for 30 days, and shall be punished by a fine of one thousand dollars
($1,000). On the third violation of any of those sections, a firearm
manufacturer shall be permanently ineligible to manufacture firearms
in this state. On the third violation of any of those sections, a
licensed firearm dealer shall be permanently ineligible to sell
firearms in this state.
12088.7. Compliance with the requirements set forth in this
article shall not relieve any person from liability to any other
person as may be imposed pursuant to common law, statutory law, or
local ordinance.
12088.8. (a) This article does not apply to the commerce of any
firearm defined as an "antique firearm" in paragraph (16) of
subsection (a) of Section 921 of Title 18 of the United States Code.
(b) This article shall not apply to the commerce of any firearm
intended to be used by a salaried, full-time peace officer as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2
for purposes of law enforcement. Nothing in this article shall
preclude local governments, local agencies, or state law enforcement
agencies from requiring their peace officers to store their firearms
in gun safes or attach firearms safety devices to those firearms.
12088.9. (a) The Department of Justice may require each dealer to
charge each firearm purchaser or transferee a fee not to exceed one
dollar ($1) for each firearm transaction. The fee shall be for the
purpose of supporting department program costs related to this act,
including the establishment, maintenance, and upgrading of related
data base systems and public rosters.
(b) There is hereby created within the General Fund the Firearm
Safety Account. Revenue from the fee imposed by subdivision (a)
shall be deposited into the Firearm Safety Account and shall be
available for expenditure by the Department of Justice upon
appropriation by the Legislature. Expenditures from the Firearm
Safety Account shall be limited to program expenditures as defined by
subdivision (a).
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.