BILL NUMBER: AB 1587	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 22, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Scott

                        FEBRUARY 26, 1999

    An act to amend Section 12281 of the Penal Code, relating
to firearms   An act to add Article 10.4 (commencing
with Section 35294.10) to Chapter 2 of Part 21 of the Education Code,
relating to school violence, making an appropriation therefor 
, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1587, as amended, Scott.   Firearms:  SKS rifles
  School violence  . 
   Existing law declares the intent of the Legislature that all
California public schools in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, operated by a school district develop, in cooperation with
law enforcement agencies and others, a comprehensive school safety
plan and authorizes a governing board of a school district to apply
to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for a grant not to exceed
$15,000 per school to implement a plan meeting prescribed criteria.

   This bill would establish the School Emergency Response to Violent
Events program to require the State Department of Education to
provide assistance to schools and school districts in responding to a
violent event, including, but not limited to, the establishment of
regional training programs and the development of a crisis response
handbook.  The bill would appropriate $2,000,000 from the General
Fund to the State Department of Education for these purposes.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately, as
an urgency measure.  
   Existing law grants immunity from criminal prosecution to any
person, firm, company, or corporation that is subject to prosecution
under the provisions of law governing assault weapons for conduct
related to an SKS rifle, as defined, committed during a specified
period in which there were conflicting administrative designations of
that weapon, and also provides that the designated SKS rifles are
not subject to seizure by law enforcement for violation of specified
assault weapons provisions prior to January 1, 2000.
   This bill instead would require that these designated rifles be
subject to being taken into custody by a law enforcement officer in
the ordinary course of performing his or her duties.  The bill would
provide that if the weapon is taken into custody prior to January 1,
2000, the person, firm, company, or corporation from whom it was
taken, after providing proof as required in the above provisions to
the county prosecutor, shall not be prosecuted under the above
provisions, and would require the person, firm, company, or
corporation to be compensated for the weapon, as specified, or to
have the weapon returned for disposal, as specified.  By imposing a
higher level of service upon a local agency, the bill would create a
state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.   
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute. 
   Vote:  2/3.  Appropriation:   no   yes 
.  Fiscal committee:  yes. State-mandated local program:  
yes   no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  
  SECTION 1.  Section 12281 of the Penal Code is  
  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) In response to recent homicides on school campuses, there is
need to reduce the aftermath trauma created by violent events and to
restore a safe learning environment for pupil learning.
   (b) A single event that results in death can leave a school campus
in crisis and disrupt the school climate sufficiently to interfere
with pupil learning.
   (c) Youth between 12 and 17 years of age are crime victims five
times more often than adults over 35 years of age.
   (d) Homicides of youth between 12 and 17 years of age have
increased 95 percent between 1980 and 1994.
   (e) Mental health practitioners can provide valuable services in
response to the aftermath of violent events on school campuses in
which death has left survivors traumatized and unable to fully
participate in or benefit from school educational and other
activities.
   (f) A coordinated response team of school psychologists, school
counselors, other mental health professionals, and law enforcement
representatives who have received specialized training should be
available to schools and districts when a violent event occurs on
campus or in the adjacent school community.
   (g) Statewide training and resources are needed to assist schools
and school districts to anticipate specific processes and steps to
follow if and when a violent event, such as a suicide or homicide,
impacts a schoolsite.
  SEC. 2.  Article 10.4 (commencing with Section 35294.10) is added,
immediately preceding Section 35295, to Chapter 2 of Part 21 of the
Education Code, to read:

      Article 10.4  School Emergency Response to Violent Events

   35294.10.  (a) The School Emergency Response to Violent Events
(SERVE) program is hereby established.  Pursuant to this article, the
State Department of Education shall do all of the following:
   (1) Establish and operate regional training programs to assist
schools and school districts to develop plans to anticipate their
initial steps in the event of a violent event and to incorporate
those plans within school and school district emergency response
plans.
   (2) Establish and train a cadre of mental health professionals and
law enforcement officials to be on call for those school districts
that must address the aftermath of a violent event.
   (3) Develop a crisis response handbook for distribution to every
school and school district.
   (4) Identify services and resources available to schools and
school districts to help them anticipate and respond to violent,
disruptive situations.
   (5) Assist school districts in conducting practice responses, and
in performing periodic reviews and updates of the disaster procedure
policies.
   (b) An evaluation of the effectiveness of training shall be
conducted by the State Department of Education and reported to the
Legislature by March 1, 2002.
  SEC. 3.  The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) is hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of
Education for the School Emergency Response to Violent Events (SERVE)
program for the purposes of Article 10.4 (commencing with Section
35294.10) of Chapter 2 of Part 21 of the Education Code.
  SEC. 4.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order for training and assistance to be provided to schools and
school districts, at the earliest possible time, for preparing
crisis response plans, as well as identifying services and resources
available to schools and school districts to held them anticipate and
respond to violent, disruptive situations, it is necessary that this
act take effect immediately.    amended to read:
   12281.  (a) Any person who, or firm, company, or corporation that,
operated a retail or other commercial firm, company, or corporation,
and manufactured, distributed, transported, imported, possessed,
possessed for sale, offered for sale, or transferred, for commercial
purpose, an SKS rifle in California between January 1, 1992, and
December 19, 1997, shall be immune from criminal prosecution under
Section 12280.  The immunity provided in this subdivision shall apply
retroactively to any person who, or firm, company, or corporation
that, is or was charged by complaint or indictment with a violation
of Section 12280 for conduct related to an SKS rifle, whether or not
the case of that person, firm, company, or corporation is final.
   (b) Any person who possessed, gave, loaned, or transferred an SKS
rifle in California between January 1, 1992, and December 19, 1997,
shall be immune from criminal prosecution under Section 12280.  The
immunity provided in this subdivision shall apply retroactively to
any person who was charged by complaint or indictment with a
violation of Section 12280 for conduct related to an SKS rifle,
whether or not the case of that person is final.
   (c) Any SKS rifle in the possession of any person who, or firm,
company, or corporation that, is described in subdivision (a) or (b),
shall be subject to being taken into custody by a law enforcement
officer in the ordinary course of performing his or her duties.  If
the SKS rifle is taken into custody prior to January 1, 2000, the
person, firm, company, or corporation from whom it was taken, after
providing proof as required in this section to the county prosecutor,
shall not be prosecuted for violation of Section 12280 and shall be
compensated for the weapon as if it had been relinquished in
accordance with paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) or shall have the
weapon returned to be disposed of in accordance with paragraph (1) of
subdivision (f).
   (d) Any person, firm, company, or corporation, convicted under
Section 12280 for conduct relating to an SKS rifle, shall be
permitted to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or nolo contendere,
or to reopen his or her case and assert the immunities provided in
this section, if the court determines that the allowance of the
immunity is in the interests of justice.  The court shall interpret
this section liberally to the benefit of the defendant.
   (e) The Department of Justice shall notify all district attorneys
on or before January 31, 1999, of the provisions of this section.
The department shall identify all criminal prosecutions in the state
for conduct related to SKS rifles within 90 days of the effective
date of this section.  In all cases so identified by the Attorney
General, the district attorneys shall inform defense counsel, or the
defendant if the defendant is in propria persona, in writing, of the
provisions of this section within 120 days of the effective date of
this section.
   (f) (1) Any person, firm, company, or corporation that is in
possession of an SKS rifle shall do one of the following on or before
January 1, 2000:
   (A) Relinquish the SKS rifle to the Department of Justice pursuant
to subdivision (h).
   (B) Relinquish the SKS rifle to a law enforcement agency pursuant
to Section 12288.
   (C) Dispose of the SKS rifle as permitted by Section 12285.
   (2) Any person who has obtained title to an SKS rifle by bequest
or intestate succession shall be required to comply with subparagraph
(A) or (B) of paragraph (1) of this subdivision unless he or she
otherwise complies with paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section
12285.
   (3) Any SKS rifle relinquished to the department pursuant to this
subdivision shall be in a manner prescribed by the department.
   (4) The department shall conduct a public education and
notification program as described in Section 12289, commencing no
later than January 1, 1999.
   (g) Any person who complies with subdivision (f) shall be exempt
from the prohibitions set forth in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section
12280 for those acts by that person associated with complying with
the requirements of subdivision (f).
   (h) (1) The department shall purchase any SKS rifle relinquished
pursuant to subdivision (f) from funds appropriated for this purpose
by the act amending this section in the 1997-98 Regular Session of
the Legislature or by subsequent budget acts or other legislation.
The department shall adopt regulations for this purchase program that
include, but are not limited to, the manner of delivery, the
reimbursement to be paid, and the manner in which persons shall be
informed of the state purchase program.
   (2) Any person who relinquished possession of an SKS rifle to a
law enforcement agency pursuant to Section 12288 prior to the
effective date of the purchase program set forth in paragraph (1)
shall be eligible to be reimbursed from the purchase program.  The
procedures for reimbursement pursuant to this paragraph shall be part
of the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to paragraph
(1).
   (i) Notwithstanding paragraph (11) of subdivision (a) of Section
12276, an "SKS rifle" under this section means all SKS rifles
commonly referred to as "SKS Sporter" versions, manufactured to
accept a detachable AK-47 magazine and imported into this state and
sold by a licensed gun dealer, or otherwise lawfully possessed in
this state by a resident of this state who is not a licensed gun
dealer, between January 1, 1992, and December 19, 1997.
   (j) Failure to comply with subdivision (f) is a public offense
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail,
not exceeding one year.
   (k) In addition to the regulations required pursuant to
subdivision (h), emergency regulations for the purchase program
described in subdivision (h) shall be adopted pursuant to Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code.
  SEC. 2.  Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
  SEC. 3.  This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect.  The facts constituting the necessity are:
   In order to authorize law enforcement officers to take SKS rifles
into custody in the ordinary course of performing their duties at the
earliest possible time, it is necessary that this act take effect
immediately.