BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          AB 202
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   March 24, 1999

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                    Carole Migden, Chairwoman

              AB 202 (Knox) - As Amended: 3/10/99 

Policy Committee:                              Public  
SafetyVote:  5 - 2

Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local  
Program:YesReimbursable:          No

  SUMMARY  
 
This bill makes it an infraction or a misdemeanor, punishable by  
fines and/or county jail, for any person to apply for more than  
one concealable gun within a 30-day period, and for a dealer to  
deliver a concealable gun to any person who has made an  
application to purchase more than one concealable gun within 30  
days. The bill triggers felony punishment based on specified  
prior offenses. The bill also provides specified exemptions for  
law enforcement , licensed collectors, etc. 

  FISCAL EFFECT  
 
Minor annual costs - likely less than $150,000 - for new state  
prison commitments.

Since there were no state prison admissions for similar  
prohibited gun transfers in 1997-98, it is unlikely this bill  
would have a significant impact on state prison admissions. 

  COMMENTS  

  1)Purpose  . The goal of this bill is to stop one gun purchaser  
  from buying several guns and transferring weapons to another  
  person who does not have the legal ability to buy a gun. These  
  transfers are called  straw purchases, which often involve a  
  third party under 21 years of age, a person with a  
  disqualifying prior conviction or a mental disorder, or a  
  person who is not a California resident. According to the  
  author, preventing multiple purchases takes the profit out of  
  black market sales and will help put gun traffickers and straw  
  purchasers out of business.








                                                          AB 202
                                                          Page  2


  2)Prior Legislation  . AB 532 (Knox, 1998) would have made it a  
  misdemeanor to take title to more than one concealable gun in  
  a 30-day period, and would have made it an alternate  
  felony/misdemeanor for a dealer to deliver a handgun after  
  being notified that a person was attempting to take title to  
  more than one gun in a 30-day period.  AB 532 failed passage  
  on the Assembly floor.

  SB 513 (Hayden, 1998), would have made it a misdemeanor to  
  purchase more than one concealable gun in a 30-day period and  
  would have made it a misdemeanor for a dealer to deliver a gun  
  after being  notified that a purchaser had applied to purchase  
  a gun within the last 30 days.  SB 513 was amended on the  
  Assembly floor into a bill relating to the California Habeas  
  Resource Center.

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