BILL ANALYSIS
AB 334
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 334 (Levine)
As Introduced February 13, 2007
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-3 APPROPRIATIONS 10-5
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|Ayes:|Solorio, De La Torre, |Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, |
| |Leno, Portantino | |DeSaulnier, Huffman, |
| | | |Karnette, Krekorian, |
| | | |Lieu, Nava, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Aghazarian, Huff, Ma |Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La |
| | | |Malfa, Nakanishi, Sharon |
| | | |Runner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Creates an infraction for any person who acquires or
re-acquires ownership of a handgun or who reports his/her
ownership of a handgun to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on or
after July 1, 2008, to fail to notify local law enforcement if the
handgun is lost or stolen, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that any person whose handgun is stolen or
irretrievably lost and who, within five working days after
his/her discovery or knowledge, fails (or within five days after
the date he/she reasonably should have known of the theft or
loss of the handgun) to report the theft or loss to the local
law enforcement agency where the loss or theft occurred or where
the person resides.
2)States that any person who does not report a lost or stolen
handgun to local law enforcement within five days, as specified,
shall be punished as follows:
a) For the first violation, by a fine not to exceed $100;
and,
b) For a second or subsequent violation, by a fine not to
exceed $250.
3)Requires the licensee to sign and date an affidavit in duplicate
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stating that the person receiving the handgun has been given
notice. The licensee shall additionally obtain the signature of
the person receiving the handgun on the same affidavit.
4)States the licensee shall retain the original affidavit and
provide the duplicate to the person receiving the handgun.
5)States that this bill shall not be construed as preempting an
existing ordinance or to prevent a local government from
enacting an ordinance that imposes reporting requirements that
are stricter than those specified in this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that an infraction is not punishable by imprisonment
and specified infractions are punishable by a fine of up to
$250.
2)Defines a "handgun" as any pistol, revolver, or firearm capable
of being concealed on a person.
3)Requires DOJ to provide a report to the Legislature regarding
the specific types of firearms used in the commission of crimes.
4)States the general requirement that the sale, loan or transfer
of a firearm (i.e., handguns, rifles and shotguns) in California
be conducted through a state-licensed firearms dealer or through
a local sheriff's department in counties of less than 200,000 in
population. A 10-day waiting period, background check, and
handgun safety certificate for handgun transfers are required
prior to delivery of the firearm.
5)States that, on request, DOJ will register transactions relating
to handguns in the Automated Firearm System Unit for persons who
are exempt from dealer processing or are otherwise exempt by
statute from reporting processes.
6)Requires handguns to be centrally registered at time of transfer
or sale due to various transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ.
DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ
indicating who owns what handgun by make, model, and serial
number and the date thereof.
7)States that law enforcement agencies must promptly report to DOJ
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all reports it receives of lost, stolen, and found property.
8)States that DOJ must keep a centralized and computerized list of
all lost, stolen, and found serialized property reported to DOJ.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis:
1)Negligible state costs to DOJ to track and list additional lost
or stolen serialized property - current law requires DOJ to
maintain a list of lost, stolen and found serialized property,
which includes guns - and to develop an implementation protocol.
2)Minor local law enforcement costs, offset by minor fine revenue.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill seeks to limit the
ability of straw purchasers to supply guns to criminals who cannot
legally own firearms. Often, criminals who are not eligible to
own a gun contact a 'straw purchaser' who can legally purchase a
firearm. This straw purchaser buys a gun, and then sells the gun
on the black market to the person who cannot legally own a gun.
When the new owner commits a crime with the black market gun, it
is often traced back to the straw purchaser. The straw purchaser
can then claim he lost the gun prior to the crime, and law
enforcement is unable to prosecute. This bill would require a gun
owner to report a lost or stolen gun. If the loss is not reported
within five days, the registered owner of the firearm can be
fined. This should significantly curb the ability of criminals to
acquire firearms through straw purchasers. As gang violence has
increased across California, particularly in the City of Los
Angeles, new measures must be adopted to prevent dangerous
criminals from obtaining these deadly weapons. The current
patchwork of lost and stolen regulations adopted in some
municipalities has proven ineffective at curbing the ability of
straw purchasers to operate in the black market. A statewide lost
and stolen requirement is a logical policy remedy to curb
increasing gang violence in California."
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744 FN: 0000397