BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 610
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB 610 (Wright and Correa)
As Amended August 30, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :29-8
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Modifies conditions for the issuance of a concealed weapon's
(CCW) permit. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that applicants are not required to pay for any training
courses prior to a determination of good cause being made for a CCW
permit.
2)States that no applicants for CCW permits must obtain liability
insurance as a condition of the license.
3)Requires that the licensing authority provide written notification
of the determination of good cause to the applicant, as specified.
4)Requires that the licensing authority provide the reason from the
department's published policy as to why the determination was made
to deny the CCW permit.
5)Permits the licensing authority to charge any additional fee in an
amount equal to the actual costs for processing the application for
a new license, including any required notices, excluding fingerprint
and training costs, but may not exceed $100.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that when a person applies for a license to carry a pistol,
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revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person, the sheriff of a county may issue a license to that person
upon proof of all of the following: a) the applicant is of good
moral character; b) good cause exists for issuance of the license;
c) the applicant is a resident of the county or a city within the
county, or the applicant's principal place of employment or business
is in the county or a city within the county, and the applicant
spends a substantial period of time in that place of employment or
business; and, d) the applicant has completed a course of training,
as specified. The sheriff may issue this license in either of the
following formats:
a) A license to carry concealed a pistol, revolver, or other
firearm capable of being concealed upon the person;
b) Where the population of the county is less than 200,000
persons according to the most recent federal decennial census, a
license to carry loaded and exposed in only that county a pistol,
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person; or,
c) The police chief of a city or city and county may also issue
such licenses, according to the same criteria, to residents of
that city.
2)Provides that, for new license applicants, the course of training
for issuance of a license, as specified, may be any course
acceptable to the licensing authority, shall not exceed 16 hours,
and shall include instruction on at least firearm safety and the law
regarding the permissible use of a firearm. In addition, the
licensing authority may require a community college course certified
by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, up to a
maximum of 24 hours, but only if required uniformly of all license
applicants without exception. For license renewal applicants, the
course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing
authority, shall be no less than four hours, and shall include
instruction on at least firearm safety and the law regarding the
permissible use of a firearm. No course of training shall be
required for any person certified by the licensing authority as a
trainer for purposes of this section, in order for that person to
renew a license issued pursuant to this article.
3)Requires any applicant for a permit to carry a concealable weapon
pay specified fees and provides for the disposition of these fees.
Current law also states that, other than those fees specified in
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this section, an applicant may not be charged any other fees.
4)Provides that the fingerprints of each applicant shall be forwarded
to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and that, upon receipt of the
fingerprints and the appropriate fees, DOJ shall promptly furnish
the forwarding licensing authority a report of all data and
information pertaining to any applicant of which there is a record
in its office, including information as to whether the person is
prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving,
owning, or purchasing a firearm. Current law requires that no
license shall be issued by any licensing authority until after
receipt of the report from the department.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
unknown, potentially state-reimbursable local costs, possibly
exceeding $150,000, to provide good cause notification as well as
specific rationale if the CCW permit is denied. For example, if there
were 7,500 applications, which required an additional 20 minutes of
time, plus postage, the increased costs could be in the range of
$150,000.
Because current law authorizes a local fee of up to $100 for
processing CCW permit applications, plus $25 for renewals, it is not
likely a mandate claim would be successful. In addition, several
counties, including Los Angeles, have acknowledged they already
provide the notice required by the bill and that costs are covered by
the existing fee.
COMMENTS : According to the author, SB 610 will "streamline the
process by which Californians apply for a CCW permit. Currently there
is no standard by which CCW permits are processed by the Law
Enforcement agencies authorized in the Penal Code. SB 610 would
standardize the sequence of CCW application processing for all Law
Enforcement Agencies. Save Law Enforcement resources by limiting the
man hours of Law Enforcement staff that must process the CCW
applications to persons who are qualified under the 'Good Cause'
definition of the issuing Agency. SB 610 provides a standard
timeframe for Law Enforcement Agencies for the processing of CCW
applications."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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