BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 106 (Scott)
As Amended May 28, 1999
Majority vote 

  PUBLIC SAFETY       6-2         APPROPRIATIONS      14-7        
  
 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
|Ayes:|Honda, Cunneen, Cedillo,  |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis,   |
|     |Keeley,                   |     |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan,  |
|     |Romero, Washington        |     |Romero, Shelley,          |
|     |                          |     |Steinberg, Thomson,       |
|     |                          |     |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright,  |
|     |                          |     |Aroner                    |
|     |                          |     |                          |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Battin, Oller             |Nays:|Brewer, Ashburn, Battin,  |
|     |                          |     |Pescetti, Maldonado,      |
|     |                          |     |Runner, Zettel            |
|     |                          |     |                          |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
  SUMMARY  :   Requires the Attorney General (AG) to develop and  
implement minimum safety standards for firearms safety devices  
and gun safes, and mandates that all firearms manufactured in  
California or sold or transferred by a licensed firearms dealer  
be accompanied by an approved firearms safety device and be  
accompanies by a safety warning label or language as specified.   
Specifically,  this bill  : 

1)Provides that effective January 1, 2002 all firearms sold or  
  transferred in California except as provided, by a licensed  
  firearms dealer, including private transfers through a dealer,  
  and all firearms manufactured include or be accompanied by a  
  firearms safety device approved by the AG.

2)Requires the AG, not later than January 1, 2000, to commence  
  development of regulations to implement a minimum safety  
  standard for firearm safety devices and gun safes to reduce  
  the risk of firearms-related injuries to children.

3)Requires that the AG adopt and issue regulations regarding a  
  final safety standard for firearm safety devices and gun  
  safes, and report these standards to the Legislature by  
  January 1, 2001, and that these standards be effective January  
  1, 2002. 

4)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to certify  






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  laboratories to test firearm safety devices in order to verify  
  compliance with standards, and to compile and publish a roster  
  of approved safety devices that have met the DOJ's standards.

5)Authorizes the AG after January 1, 2002 to order recall and  
  replacement of any gun safe or firearm safety device that does  
  not conform to the standards required by the provisions of  
  this bill, requires that the licensed manufacturer bring the  
  firearm or the firearm safety device into conformity, or  
  provide a replacement.

6)Requires that all firearms sold or transferred in California  
  by a licensed firearms dealer, including private transfers  
  through a dealer, and all firearms manufactured specific  
  warning language or a label. 

7)Requires that each lead law enforcement investigating an  
  incident must report to the Department of Health Services any  
  incident in which a child 18 years of age or younger suffered  
  an unintentional or self-inflicted gunshot wound in which the  
  child suffered serious injury or was treated for an injury by  
  a medical professional.

8)Provides that a violation of this bill is punishable by a fine  
  of $1,000; a second violation is punishable by a fine of  
  $1,000 and a 30-day license suspension; and a third violation  
  results in a permanent loss of a license.

9)Provides that the DOJ may require a $1 charge on all firearms  
  purchased or transferred to pay for the costs of the program.

  FISCAL EFFECT  :  According the Assembly Appropriations Committee  
analysis, this bill has:

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.






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

  COMMENTS  :   According to the author, "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 on average,  
more than 11 children every month, or one child every three  
days, were shot or killed unintentionally in firearms-related  
incidents.

"The United States leads the industrialized world in the rates  
of children and youth lost to unintentional, firearms related  
death.  A 1997 study from the federal Center for Disease Control  
and Prevention reveals that for unintentional in firearm-related  
deaths for children under the age of 15, the rate the United  
States was nine times higher than in 25 other industrialized  
nations.

"The Aroner/Scott/Hayden Firearms Safety Act would do a great  
deal to prevent unintentional shootings by:  (a) creating  
standards for firearms safety devices, (b) requiring devices  
sold in California to meet these standards, and (c) mandating  
that safety devices be included with all firearms sold along  
with firearms.

"86% of Americans surveyed support legislation requiring  
handguns to be childproof.  Over 30 California cities have  
passed ordinances requiring safety devices to be sold with  
firearms.  The time has come for statewide legislation that  
certifies firearms safety devices, requires California  
manufacturers to package firearms with these devices and  
mandates that devices be sold along with firearms." 

Please see the policy committee analysis for a more  
  comprehensive discussion of this bill.  
  
Analysis Prepared by  :  Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

                                                      FN: 0001468






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