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