BILL NUMBER: AB 1717	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 23, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 15, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hertzberg
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Kuehl, Scott, and Wildman)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Alquist, Keeley, and Washington)


                        JANUARY 3, 2000

   An act to add Section 12072.5 to the Penal Code, relating to
firearms.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1717, as amended, Hertzberg.  Firearms:  ballistic testing.
   (1) Existing law regulates the sale, transfer, and delivery of
firearms by persons, corporations, firms, and dealers.  Violations of
specified provisions of law governing the sale or transfer of
firearms may be punished as a misdemeanor or a felony.
   This bill would provide that commencing one year after a date to
be determined by action of the Attorney General after January 1,
2002, regarding an adequate ballistic identification system, no
person who is licensed as a manufacturer or importer of firearms
pursuant to federal law shall sell or otherwise transfer their
ownership of a handgun  , or of a barrel designed and
intended to be attached to or be used for a handgun,  to a
resident of this state, unless the manufacturer or importer has
complied with provisions requiring the submission of ballistic
identification information for all handguns that the manufacturer has
manufactured, or the importer has imported.  This bill would
also prohibit, after the date described above, a person any from
importing a handgun for sale unless that person or company provides,
prior to importation, satisfactory evidence that ballistic
identification information, as specified, for each handgun has been
submitted to the Department of Justice.   The bill would exempt
antique firearms, as defined, and curios and relics, as defined, from
these provisions.  The bill would provide that a violation of these
provisions is a misdemeanor.  By creating a new crime punishable as a
misdemeanor, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

  (2) 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.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes.


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


  SECTION 1.  Section 12072.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   12072.5.  (a) Commencing on a date determined by the Attorney
General pursuant to subdivision  (c)   (b) 
, no person who is licensed as a manufacturer pursuant to Chapter 44
(commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code
and the regulations issued pursuant thereto or who is licensed as an
importer pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of
Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued
pursuant thereto, shall sell or otherwise transfer their ownership of
a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon
the person to a person who is at that time residing in this state
unless that manufacturer or importer has complied with subdivision
 (d)   (c)  .  
   (b) Commencing on a date determined by the Attorney General
pursuant to subdivision (c), no person who is licensed as a
manufacturer pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of
Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued
pursuant thereto or who is licensed as an importer pursuant to
Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United
States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall sell
or otherwise transfer their ownership of a barrel designed and
intended to be attached to or used for a pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon that person at the time of
its transfer of ownership to a person who is at that time in this
state unless that manufacturer or importer has complied with
subdivision (d).
   (c)  
   (b)  The Attorney General shall evaluate ballistic
identification systems, including any federal ballistic
identification system, and shall make a formal determination, after
January 1, 2002, as to whether an adequate ballistic identification
system or systems exist for law enforcement agencies in California to
utilize for crime prevention.  The Attorney General shall make that
determination public as soon as reasonably practical after the
determination has been made. 
   (d)  
   (c)  One year from the date the Attorney General makes public
the determination that an adequate ballistic identification system
or systems exist pursuant to subdivision  (c)  
(b)  , every person who is licensed as a manufacturer pursuant
to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United
States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto or who is
licensed as an importer pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with
Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the
regulations issued pursuant thereto, shall submit ballistic
identification information, as required by the Attorney General, for
all pistols, revolvers, or other firearms capable of being concealed
upon the person  , or barrels, as referenced in subdivision
(b),  that the manufacturer manufactured, or the importer
imported, on or after the one-year anniversary of the date in which
the determination is made public to:
   (1) The Department of Justice, in a format prescribed by the
department.
   (2) The ballistic identification system selected by the Attorney
General, in a format prescribed by the department. 
   (d) One year from the date the Attorney General makes public the
determination that an adequate ballistic identification system or
systems exist pursuant to subdivision (b), a person or company may
not import for sale a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person unless that person or company
provides, prior to importation, satisfactory evidence that ballistic
identification information, as required by the Attorney General, for
each pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed
upon the person has been submitted to the Department of Justice in
the format prescribed by the department. 
   (e) This  paragraph   section  does not
apply to any antique firearms, as defined in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (a) of Section 12020, or any curio or relic as defined in
Section 178.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
   (f) A violation of subdivision (a)  or (b)  
(c), or (d)  is a misdemeanor.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.