BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2536
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 11, 2000
Counsel: Fredericka McGee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
AB 2536 (Scott) - As Amended: March 27, 2000
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to conduct a
study and an educational campaign regarding newly enacted gun
laws. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the DOJ to conduct an educational and injury
prevention campaign of the 1999 firearm laws and target law
enforcement agencies, firearm dealers and the public.
2)Requires the DOJ to contract with the University of
California, Davis, Violence Prevention Research Program to
evaluate the 1999 firearm laws.
3)Allows the balance of the fund appropriated for the SKS
Sporter Rifle Buy-Back Program to be reappropriated to the DOJ
for the purposes outlined in #1 and #2 above.
4)Is an urgency measure.
EXISTING LAW :
Summary of 1999 Gun Legislation
1)AB 106 (Scott), Chapter 246, Statutes of 1999, requires the
DOJ 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 accompanied by a safety warning
label or language, as specified. (Penal Code Section 12087 et
seq.)
2)AB 202 (Knox), Chapter 128, Statutes of 1999, prohibits a
person from applying for more than one concealable firearm
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within a 30-day period, and prohibits a dealer from delivering
a concealable firearm to any person who has made an
application to purchase more than one concealable firearm
within 30 days. (Penal Code Sections 12071,12072, 12076 and
12077.)
3)AB 295 (Corbett), Chapter 247, Statutes of 1999, makes
numerous changes to the laws regulating gun shows, gun show
promoters and vendors via the Gun Show Enforcement and
Security Act of 2000. Among those changes are obligating the
promoter to notify law enforcement regarding specified details
of a gun show, and each gun show must have a "security plan"
and a minimum $1 million insurance policy. (Penal Code
Sections 12071.1 and 12071.4)
4)AB 491 (Scott), Chapter 571, Statutes of 1999, makes
possession of a concealed or loaded firearm an alternate
misdemeanor/felony under certain circumstances. This new law
requires DOJ to keep an electronic record in its firearms
registry of firearms owners indicated by a Dealers' Record of
Sale (DROS) prior to 1979 if the owner makes a written request
that the DOJ do so. The DOJ is also required to make the
record within three days of the request and to notify the
owner that the request has been honored. (Penal Code Sections
12025 and 12031.)
5)AB 1587 (Scott), Chapter 578, Statutes of 1999, creates a
judicial procedure to determine if a person who has been taken
into custody and admitted for treatment because that person is
a danger to himself, herself, or others may possess, own,
control or purchase a firearm. (Welfare & Institutions Code
Section 8103.)
6)SB 15 (Polanco), Chapter 248, Statutes of 1999, makes it a
misdemeanor for any person in California to manufacture,
import for sale, offer for sale, sell, give, or lend any
"unsafe handgun", as defined, with certain specific
exceptions. (Penal Code Section 12125 et seq.)
7)SB 23 (Perata), Chapter 129, Statutes of 1999, adds a
"generic" definition of assault weapons to the Assault Weapons
Control Act of 1989; makes manufacturing, importing, selling,
lending, or giving of a large-capacity magazine, i.e., any
ammunition feeding device with a capacity to accept more than
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10 rounds, an alternate felony/misdemeanor with specified
exceptions; and makes numerous related changes. (Penal Code
Sections 12001 et seq.)
8)SB 130 (Hayden), Chapter 245, Statutes of 1999, requires DOJ
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 accompanied by a safety warning
label or language, as specified. (Penal Code Section 12087 et
seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In 1999, the
Legislature passed and Governor Davis signed into law eight
bills placing new regulations on firearms. As these new laws
come into effect, significant need has been expressed to
provide training to target law enforcement, firearm dealers,
and the public in the area of the recent changes in California
firearm laws.
"This need has been expressed in legislative hearings, public
hearings, and meeting with law enforcement and firearm
dealers. Additional evidence of this need is the more than
4,600 telephone calls received monthly regarding newly enacted
legislation and the law in general. In addition, because
California recently enacted these eight measures, there is a
need to assess that they are being correctly implement and
their immediate effect on gun commerce and gun crime."
2)University of California, Davis, Violence Prevention Research
Program : The Violence Prevention Research Program is an
organized research program of the University of California,
Davis. Its research addresses the causes, nature, and
prevention of violence. The current major areas of emphasis
are the prediction of criminal behavior, the effectiveness of
waiting period/background check programs for prospective
purchasers of firearms, and the determinants of firearm
violence
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3)SKS Sporter Rifle Buy-Back Program : AB 48 (Wright), Chapter
909, Statutes of 1998, grants immunity from criminal
prosecution to a person who possessed or transfers a SKS rifle
in California between January 1, 1992 and December 19, 1997.
AB 48 also required persons to relinquish or dispose of such
weapons prior to January 1, 2000 or be subject to an alternate
misdemeanor/felony. The DOJ purchased the weapons with funds
from a $1.3 million appropriation for such purchases.
For purposes of the Buy-Back Program, a SKS Sporter is defined
as a semi-automatic rifle configured to accept a detachable
magazine which is capable of firing a 7.62 x 39 mm cartridge
and is not otherwise prohibited under the Assault Weapons
Control Act provisions
4)Author's Amendments : The author plans to take the following
amendments in Committee:
a)On Page 2, line 9 strike "gun" and insert "firearm"
b)On Page 2, line 13 strike "gun" and insert "firearm"
c)Add an urgency clause.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Office of the Attorney General (Sponsor)
The Bell Campaign - Western Region
California Child, Youth and Family Coalition
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Handgun Control
Legal Community Against Violence
Los Gatos Police Department
Monte Soreno Police Department
Women Against Gun Violence
Opposition
None on File
AB 2536
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Analysis Prepared by : Fredericka McGee / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744