BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2668|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
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|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2668
Author: Galgiani (D)
Amended: 8/16/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Weapons: possession at State Capitol and
legislative
building
SOURCE : Assembly Sergeants-at-Arms
California Highway Patrol
DIGEST : This bill makes it a misdemeanor to possess
specified weapons, including unloaded firearms, in or on
the grounds of the State Capitol Building or the
Legislative Office Building.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/16/10 add double-jointing
language.
ANALYSIS : Current law provides that any person who
brings or possesses within any state or local public
CONTINUED
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building, as defined, or at any meeting required to be open
to the public, as specified, any of the following is guilty
of a public offense punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for not more than one year, or in the state prison for
16 months, two or three years:
1. Any firearm.
2. Any deadly weapon described in Section 653k or 12020.
3. Any knife with a blade length in excess of four inches,
the blade of which is fixed or is capable of being fixed
in an unguarded position by the use of one or two hands.
4. Any unauthorized tear gas weapon.
5. Any taser or stun gun, as defined in Section 244.5.
6. Any instrument that expels a metallic projectile, such
as a BB or pellet, through the force of air pressure,
CO[2] pressure, or spring action, or any spot marker gun
or paint gun.
This prohibition does not apply to any of the following:
1. A person who possesses weapons in, or transports weapons
into, a court of law to be used as evidence.
A. A duly appointed peace officer as defined in
Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3
of Part 2, a retired peace officer with
authorization to carry concealed weapons as
described in subdivision (a) of Section 12027, a
full-time paid peace officer of another state or the
federal government who is carrying out official
duties while in California, or any person summoned
by any of these officers to assist in making arrests
or preserving the peace while he or she is actually
engaged in assisting the officer. This exception
shall not apply to any person who brings or
possesses any weapon specified therein within any
courtroom if he or she is a party to an action
pending before the court.
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2. A person holding a valid license to carry the firearm,
as specified.
3. A person who has permission to possess that weapon
granted in writing by a duly authorized official who is
in charge of the security of the state or local
government building.
4. A person who lawfully resides in, lawfully owns, or is
in lawful possession of, that building with respect to
those portions of the building that are not owned or
leased by the state or local government.
5. A person licensed or registered as an Alarm Service
Operator, acting within the course and scope of his or
her duties, as specified, who has been hired by the
owner or manager of the building if the person has
permission of a resident of the building.
A. A person who, for the purpose of sale or trade,
brings any weapon that may otherwise be lawfully
transferred, into a gun show, as specified.
B. A person who, for purposes of an authorized
public exhibition, brings any weapon that may
otherwise be lawfully possessed, into a gun show,
as specified.
As used in this section, "state or local public building"
means a building that meets all of the following criteria:
1. It is a building or part of a building owned or leased
by the state or local government, if state or local
public employees are regularly present for the purposes
of performing their official duties. A state or local
public building includes, but is not limited to, a
building that contains a courtroom.
2. It is not a building or facility, or a part thereof,
which is referred to in Section 171c, 171d, 626.9,
626.95, or 626.10 of this code, or in Section 18544 of
the Elections Code.
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3. It is a building not regularly used, and not intended to
be used, by state or local employees as a place of
residence. (Penal Code Section 171b.)
Current law provides that any person, except a duly
appointed peace officer as specified, a full-time paid
peace officer of another state or the federal government
who is carrying out official duties while in California,
any person summoned by any such officer to assist in making
arrests or preserving the peace while he is actually
engaged in assisting such officer, a member of the military
forces of this state or the United States engaged in the
performance of his duties, or a person holding a valid
license to carry the firearm, as specified, who brings a
loaded firearm into, or possesses a loaded firearm within,
the State Capitol, any legislative office, any office of
the Governor or other constitutional officer, or any
hearing room in which any committee of the Senate or
Assembly is conducting a hearing, or upon the grounds of
the State Capitol, which is bounded by 10th, L, 15th, and N
Streets in the City of Sacramento, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more
than one year, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars
($1,000), or both such imprisonment and fine, or by
imprisonment in the state prison. (Penal Code Section
171c.)
This bill would provide that any person who brings or
possesses, within the State Capitol, any legislative
office, any hearing room in which any committee of the
Senate or Assembly is conducting a hearing, the Legislative
Office Building at 1020 N Street in the City of Sacramento,
or upon the grounds of the State Capitol, which is bounded
by 10th, L, 15th, and N Streets in the City of Sacramento,
any of the following, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed
one year, or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both
that fine and imprisonment, if the area is posted with a
statement providing reasonable notice that prosecution may
result from possession of any of these items:
1. Any firearm.
2. Any deadly weapon described in Section 653k or 12020.
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3. Any knife with a blade length in excess of four inches,
the blade of which is fixed or is capable of being fixed
in an unguarded position by the use of one or two hands.
4. Any unauthorized tear gas weapon.
5. Any stun gun, as defined in Section 244.5.
6. Any instrument that expels a metallic projectile, such
as a BB or pellet, through the force of air pressure,
CO2 pressure, or spring action, or any spot marker gun
or paint gun.
7. Any ammunition as defined in Section 12316.
8. Any explosive as defined in Section 12000 of the Health
and Safety Code.
This bill states that its provisions would not apply to the
following:
1. A duly appointed peace officer as defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, a
retired peace officer with authorization to carry
concealed weapons as described in subdivision (a) of
Section 12027, a full-time paid peace officer of another
state or the federal government who is carrying out
official duties while in California, or any person
summoned by any of these officers to assist in making
arrests or preserving the peace while he or she is
actually engaged in assisting the officer.
2. A person holding a valid license to carry the firearm
pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 12050) of
Chapter 1 of Title 2 of Part 4, and who has permission
granted by the Chief Sergeants at Arms of the State
Assembly and the State Senate to possess a concealed
weapon upon the premises described in subdivision (a).
3. A person who has permission granted by the Chief
Sergeants at Arms of the State Assembly and the State
Senate to possess a weapon upon the premises described
in subdivision (a).
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This bill states that its provisions shall not preclude
prosecution under any other law with a penalty greater than
is set forth in this section.
This bill states that its provisions are cumulative, and
shall not be construed as restricting the application of
any other law. However, an act or omission punishable in
different ways by different provisions of law shall not be
punished under more than one provision.
This bill makes a technical change to existing law to
conform with these provisions.
The provisions of this bill are double-jointed with SB 1062
(Strickland).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/12/10)
Assembly Sergeants-at-Arms (co-source)
California Highway Patrol (co-source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Sponsored by the Assembly Sergeants-at-Arms and the
California Highway Patrol, Assembly Bill 2668 is a clean-up
bill to existing law affecting the possession of weapons
within the State Capitol building.
"There are 75,000 to 80,000 visitors a month to the
Capitol; 3 to 6 Concealed Weapons Permits a month are
granted; and 7 to 10 off duty peace officers with weapons a
month are permitted.
"In order to provide the California Highway Patrol and the
Sergeants-at-Arms the proper tools to deal with the safety
of all Capitol employees, the law needs to be re-defined to
remove ambiguities.
"AB 2668 clarifies the Penal Code to more closely mirror
the law relating to the possession of weapons in other
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state or local buildings, and will allow law enforcement to
carry out their job more efficiently."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, John
A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Norby, Audra
Strickland, Vacancy
RJG:do 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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