BILL ANALYSIS AB 106 Page 1 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 AB 106 Page 2 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. AB 106 Page 3 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 AB 106 Page 4