BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2186
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 2186 (De Leon)
          As Amended  May 3, 2010
          Majority vote 

           PUBLIC SAFETY       5-0         APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Ammiano, Beall, Hill,     |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano,         |
          |     |Portantino, Skinner       |     |Bradford,                 |
          |     |                          |     |Charles Calderon, Coto,   |
          |     |                          |     |Davis,                    |
          |     |                          |     |De Leon, Hall, Skinner,   |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio, Torlakson,       |
          |     |                          |     |Torrico                   |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller,   |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby            |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Creates a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in  
          the county jail and/or a fine not more than $1,000 for any  
          person convicted of a misdemeanor offense of carrying a  
          concealed firearm and who, within 10 years of the conviction,  
          owns, purchases, receives, or has in his or her possession or  
          under his or her custody or control, any firearm.  The court, on  
          forms prescribed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), shall  
          notify the DOJ of persons subject to this requirement.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides a person is guilty of carrying a concealed firearm  
            when he or she does any of the following:  carries concealed  
            within any vehicle which is under his or her control or  
            direction any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of  
            being concealed upon the person; carries concealed upon his or  
            her person any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of  
            being concealed upon the person; or causes to be carried  
            concealed within any vehicle in which he or she is an occupant  
            any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being  
            concealed upon the person.  

          2)States any person who has been convicted of a felony under the  








                                                                  AB 2186
                                                                  Page  2


            laws of the United States, the State of California, or any  
            other state, government, or country or of an offense involving  
            violent use of a firearm, or who is addicted to the use of any  
            narcotic drug, and who owns, purchases, receives, or has in  
            his or her possession or under his or her custody or control  
            any firearm is guilty of a felony.  

          3)Provides that any person who has been convicted of a felony or  
            of an offense involving violent use of a firearm, when that  
            conviction results from certification by the juvenile court  
            for prosecution as an adult in an adult court, as specified,  
            and who owns or has in his or her possession or under his or  
            her custody or control any firearm is guilty of a felony.

          4)States any person who has been convicted of various  
            misdemeanors, and who, within 10 years of the conviction,  
            owns, purchases, receives, or has in his or her possession or  
            under his or her custody or control, any firearm is guilty of  
            a public offense, which shall be punishable by imprisonment in  
            a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison;  
            by a fine not exceeding $1,000; or by both that imprisonment  
            and fine.  The court, on forms prescribed by DOJ, shall notify  
            DOJ of persons subject to this provision.  

          5)Provides that it is a misdemeanor for a driver of any motor  
            vehicle or the owner of any motor vehicle, whether or not the  
            owner of the vehicle is occupying the vehicle, knowingly to  
            permit any other person to carry into or bring into the  
            vehicle a firearm in violation of existing law.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, unknown, likely minor non-state reimbursable local  
          incarceration costs, offset to a degree by increased fine  
          revenue. 

          For comparative purposes, in 2008, 33 persons were committed to  
          state prison for possessing a gun within 10 years of specified  
          misdemeanors, and 2,002 persons were committed to state prison  
          for possessing a gun within 10 years of a felony conviction or  
          determination of narcotic addiction.

           COMMENTS  :   According to the author, "Under current law, certain  
          convictions that do not involve a firearm carry a 10-year  
          prohibition on owning a firearm.  Unfortunately, individuals  








                                                                  AB 2186
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          convicted of misdemeanors involving carrying a concealed firearm  
          in a motor vehicle, carrying a loaded firearm or permitting  
          firearms in their vehicles are not prohibited from owning a  
          firearm.  These listed misdemeanors that involve the illegal  
          possession of a firearm should also be included in the list of  
          convictions that carry a 10-year prohibition. 

          "In support of this policy, a study published in the Journal of  
          the American Medical Association found that handgun purchasers,  
          who had prior convictions for non-violent firearm-related  
          offenses such as carrying a concealed firearm in public, but  
          none for violent offenses, were at increased risk for later  
          violent offenses.  This proposal does not limit the rights of  
          law abiding individuals; rather, it would set a 10-year  
          prohibition on individuals who have been convicted of illegally  
          possessing a firearm under the three specified Penal Code  
          sections.  Simply stated, if an individual abuses his or her  
          right to possess a weapon by doing so illegally, he or she  
          should lose the right to own a gun for a period of time.

          Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this  
          bill
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Kimberly Horiuchi / PUB. S. / (916)  
          319-3744 

                                                               FN:  0004233