BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2129
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2129 (Spitzer)
As Amended June 21, 2006
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |75-0 |(May 11, 2006) |SENATE: |26-7 |(August 10, |
| | | | | |2006) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Requires a person who has been served with a protective
order to relinquish any firearm within 24 hours regardless of
whether the person was present in court when the order was served.
The Senate amendments :
1)Require a person who is present in court, and is served with a
protective order demanding relinquishment of a firearm, to file
a surrender receipt with the court within 48 hours of being
served.
2)Mandate a person who is not present in court, and is served with
a protective order demanding relinquishment of a firearm to file
a surrender receipt with the court within 72 hours of being
served.
3)Make technical, non-substantive correction.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that a person subject to a temporary restraining order or
injunction issued pursuant to existing law, or subject to a
restraining order issued pursuant to other law, shall relinquish
the firearm pursuant to this section.
2)Provides if the person subject to the order or injunction is
present in court at a duly noticed hearing, the court shall
order the person to relinquish any firearm in that person's
immediate possession or control, or subject to that person's
immediate possession or control, within 24 hours of the order,
by either surrendering the firearm to the control of local law
enforcement officials, or by selling the firearm to a licensed
gun dealer, as specified. If the respondent is not present at
AB 2129
Page 2
the hearing, the respondent shall relinquish the firearm within
48 hours after being served with the order. A person ordered to
relinquish any firearm pursuant to this subdivision shall file
with the court a receipt showing the firearm was surrendered to
the local law enforcement agency or sold to a licensed gun
dealer within 72 hours after receiving the order. In the event
that it is necessary to continue the date of any hearing due to
a request for a relinquishment order pursuant to this section,
the court shall ensure that all applicable protective orders
described in existing law, remain in effect or bifurcate the
issues and grant the permanent restraining order pending the
date of the hearing.
3)States that the restraining order requiring a person to
relinquish a firearm pursuant to this section shall state on its
face that the respondent is prohibited from owning, possessing,
purchasing, or receiving a firearm while the protective order is
in effect and that the firearm shall be relinquished to the
local law enforcement agency for that jurisdiction or sold to a
licensed gun dealer, and that proof of surrender or sale shall
be filed with the court within a specified period of receipt of
the order. The order shall also state on its face the
expiration date for relinquishment. Nothing in this section
shall limit a respondent's right under existing law to petition
the court at a later date for modification of the order.
4)Provides during the period of the relinquishment order, a
respondent is entitled to make one sale of all firearms that are
in the possession of a local law enforcement agency pursuant to
this section. A licensed gun dealer, who presents a local law
enforcement agency with a bill of sale indicating that all
firearms owned by the respondent that are in the possession of
the local law enforcement agency have been sold by the
respondent to the licensed gun dealer, shall be given possession
of those firearms, at the location where a respondent's firearms
are stored, within five days of presenting the local law
enforcement agency with a bill of sale.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill specified a time frame of 24
hours under which a person who has been served with a protective
order must relinquish a firearm regardless of whether the person
was present in court when served.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill would enact a
AB 2129
Page 3
24-hour time period for the relinquishment of a firearm by a
person subject to a criminal, civil harassment, elder abuse, or
workplace violence protective order. This clear standard, which
is already in place for those subject to Domestic Violence
Prevention Act (DVPA) protective orders, will allow the Judicial
Council to eliminate all checkboxes pertaining to firearms
relinquishment on the protective order forms so that the
restrained person will know that he or she is required to
relinquish any firearms within the 24-hour period. This clarity
will assist law enforcement and the parties in understanding the
clear terms of the order, and result in better safety and
protection for those protected by these vital orders.
"In 2004, the Legislature amended the firearms relinquishment
provisions that apply to DVPA protective orders issued under the
Family Code to provide that persons subject to DVPA orders must
relinquish any firearms in their possession within 24 hours of
being served with the order. [See SB 1391 (Romero), Chapter 250,
Statutes of 2004.] Prior to this change, the restrained person
was afforded 48 hours to relinquish the firearm if he or she had
been present at a noticed hearing on the order request, but only
24 hours if he or she was not at the hearing. The changes made by
SB 1391 were to clarify and simplify the relinquishment standard,
and to eliminate the need to have checkboxes to indicate which
time applied in each situation on the order form. When the
Legislature simplified the provision for DVPA orders, it did not
change the provision applicable to other types of protective
orders. That provision is found in [Code of Civil Procedure] CCP
Section 527.9, and it governs protective orders issued by a
criminal court, as well as civil harassment, workplace violence,
and elder and dependent adult abuse protective orders. AB 2129
would make CCP Section 527.9 consistent with the DVPA firearms
relinquishment standard of 24 hours so that the parties, the
courts, and particularly law enforcement, have a clear standard to
follow and enforce."
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0015299