BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1961
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 26, 2000

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                              Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                AB 1961 (Machado) - As Introduced:  February 18, 2000 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  6-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill expands the definition of prohibited machineguns to  
          include trigger mechanisms that can be used to make a  
          machinegun.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor, if any, costs for increased state incarceration. This  
          bill is essentially a technical clarification of current law.

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  . Current law makes it a felony to possess a  
          machinegun, defined as any gun that fires more than one shot  
          without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger,  
          and includes any frame or receiver that can only be used with  
          that gun. The term also includes any part designed to convert  
          the gun into a machinegun. 

          According to the author and the sponsor - the Department of  
          Justice - a loophole in the law last year allowed a person to  
          avoid penalty after he sold a trigger mechanism to make a  
          semiautomatic gun fully automatic. The person sold the converter  
          switch to an undercover agent at a gun show. The law lacked  
          sufficient specificity to convict the individual.
           
           
           

           
           








                                                                  AB 1961
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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081