BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 106
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   April 28, 1999

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                    Carole Migden, Chairwoman

       AB 106 (Scott/Aroner) - As Amended: April 20, 1999 

Policy Committee:                              Public  
SafetyVote:  6-2

Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local  
Program:YesReimbursable:          No

  SUMMARY  :

This bill, tombstoned the Aroner/Scott/Hayden Firearms Safety  
Act, requires the Attorney General (AG) to implement safety  
standards for gun safety devices and requires that all guns  
manufactured, sold or transferred by a licensed gun dealer in  
California include an approved gun safety device and a safety  
warning label as specified. Specifically, this bill:

1)Provides that, effective January 1, 2002, all guns sold or  
  transferred in California by a licensed gun dealer, including  
  private transfers through a dealer, and all guns manufactured,  
  be accompanied by a safety device approved by the AG and a  
  specified warning label that states:

  "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 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."

2)Requires the AG, not later than January 1, 2000, to begin  
  developing regulations to implement minimum safety standards  
  for gun safety devices and gun safes to reduce the risk of  
  gun-related injuries. Requires the AG to adopt and issue  
  regulations and standards for safety devices and report to the  
  Legislature by January 1, 2001. The standards are to take  
  effect January 1, 2002.

3)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to certify  
  laboratories to test gun safety devices to verify 
  compliance, and to compile and publish a roster of approved  








                                                          AB 106
                                                          Page  2

  safety devices that meet DOJ standards. DOJ is authorized to  
  charge a fee to any participating laboratory to cover  
  certification costs.

4)Requires DOJ to compile, publish, and maintain a roster of all  
  safety devices and gun safes certified as meeting the DOJ  
  standards. Authorizes the AG, after January 1, 2002, to order  
  recall and replacement of any safety device that does not  
  conform to the standards and warnings required by this bill.

5)Requires that law enforcement investigating an incident must  
  report to the Department of Health Services (DHS) any incident  
  in which a child suffered an unintentional or self-inflicted  
  gunshot wound.

6)Makes a violation of this bill punishable by a fine of $1,000;  
  a second violation is punishable by a fine of $1,000 and a  
  30-day sales and manufacturing suspension; and a third  
  violation results in a permanent loss of the ability to sell  
  or manufacture guns.

  
FISCAL EFFECT  :

1)Significant costs  - at least $250,000 - to the DOJ for the  
  cost of developing and implementing gun safety device  
  regulations and standards, reporting to the Legislature, and  
  compiling, publishing and maintaining a roster of certified  
  safety devices meeting DOJ standards.

2)Potentially state-reimbursable costs for requiring local law  
  enforcement agencies to report to the DHS, any incident in  
  which a child suffered an unintentional or self-inflicted  
  gunshot wound.

3)Unknown significant costs for the certification of labs, fully  
  offset by fees paid by participating labs. 

4)The cost for testing the safety devices would be borne by the  
  gun manufacturer or dealer.

5)Indeterminable indirect state and local savings to the extent  
  safety devices reduce medical and law enforcement costs. The  
  authors contend that the average hospitalization cost for a  
  gunshot victim is in the range of $20,000 and the average cost  








                                                          AB 106
                                                          Page  3

  of investigating a gunshot injury is about $1,000.  

  COMMENTS  :

  1)Rationale  . According to the authors, by preventing injuries,  
  gun safety devices would save millions of dollars via reduced  
  medical costs. 

  2)Is the local report to the DHS necessary  ? Requiring local law  
  enforcement to report gunshot wounds to the DHS will create  
  local costs. The goal of the report is not clear.

  3)Should DOJ be required to certify labs biennially?  The bill  
  does not provide for updating certification. 

  4)Prior Legislation  .  AB 1124 (Aroner), of the 1997-98  
  Legislative Session, required a person licensed to sell guns  
  to provide each buyer a trigger lock. SB 1550 (Hayden), of the  
  1997-98 Legislative Session, required gun dealers to offer  
  use-limitation devices to gun purchasers.  Both bills were  
  vetoed. 

  5)Opposition  . The California Rifle and Pistol Association  
  contends that  "AB 106 is too complex in its provisions, and  
  would be much simpler, and no doubt equally a effective, to  
  just require that firearms sold by a dealer be accompanied by  
  a device that is reliable in preventing the firearm for which  
  it was intended from being discharged by an unauthorized  
  user."

  PORAC states that "?making the dealer purchase a lock and  
  provide it with the firearm does not guarantee the purchaser  
  of the firearm is going to use the device."
  





  Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081