BILL ANALYSIS
SB 31
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 31 (Peace)
As Amended August 28, 2000
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :26-1
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 19-2
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|Ayes:|Washington, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Migden, Campbell, |
| |Firebaugh, Keeley, Romero | |Alquist, Aroner, Brewer, |
| | | |Cedillo, Corbett, Davis, |
| | | |Kuehl, Maldonado, Papan, |
| | | |Romero, Runner, Shelley, |
| | | |Thomson, Wesson, Wiggins, |
| | | |Wright, Zettel |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Dickerson, Oller |Nays:|Ackerman, Ashburn |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes a series of changes to the Dangerous Weapons'
Control Act relative to the sale, transfer and delivery of guns.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires Judicial Council to provide notice on all protective
orders that the respondent is prohibited from possessing,
purchasing, or receiving a firearm.
2)Requires that any handgun sold, delivered, returned or
transferred by a local law enforcement agency pursuant to
Family Code Section 6389, which prohibits a person subject to
specified protective orders from possessing a firearm, be
entered within 10 days into the Automated Firearms System
(AFS), as specified.
3)Adds an additional exemption to Penal Code Section 12026.2
pertaining to the current prohibition against carrying
unloaded handguns in public to include transportation of a
firearm in order to comply with requirements in law to dispose
of those firearms.
4)Requires in all cases where a law enforcement agency, in
accordance of current law, transfers its ownership of a
SB 31
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handgun which is not a nuisance weapon and the firearm is not
being transferred by that agency pursuant to existing statutes
that includes a reporting requirement, within 10 days of the
date that the handgun is transferred, the transaction and its
detail shall be reported to the Department of Justice (DOJ)
using an existing computer system.
5)Requires in any case where a law enforcement agency destroys
its non-nuisance-registered handguns, within 10 days of the
date the handguns are destroyed, that fact and its details
shall be reported to DOJ using an existing computer system.
6)Provides that Penal Code Section 12071 relative to retail
licenses and dealers, and subdivisions (c) and (d) of Penal
Code Section 12072 relative to prohibited transfers, shall not
apply to the delivery of a firearm to a gunsmith for service
or repair, or the return of that firearms to the owner.
7)Declares legislative intent pertaining to procedures for any
person who legally acquires a firearm and thereafter becomes a
member of a class that is prohibited from possessing that
firearm to dispose of a firearm and avoid criminal liability.
8)Requires that DOJ conduct a study and make recommendations to
the Legislature regarding the procedure for disposing or
relinquishing possession of firearms legally acquired firearms
to avoid criminal liability.
9)Makes additional minor changes to existing firearms statutes.
10)Adds double-jointing language to prevent chaptering problems
with AB 1989 (Dickerson), pending on Senate Third Reading.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a person subject to a domestic violence
restraining order may not own or possess any firearm. The
court may order a person who is the subject of a domestic
violence protective order to relinquish possession or control
of any firearm during the period covered by the order.
Federal law provides that a person subject to a court order
that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or
threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate
partner cannot lawfully receive, possess, ship, or transport a
firearm or ammunition, as specified.
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2)Provides that handguns are centrally registered at time of
transfer or sale with DOJ. DOJ records pertaining to
transfers of firearms not pistols, revolvers, or other
firearms capable of being concealed upon the person are not
centrally registered.
3)Identifies specified exemptions to the current prohibition
against carrying a concealed weapon.
4)Provides for a DOJ Certificate of Eligibility (COE). A COE is
a fingerprint-based background check with the certificate
issued annually if the person applying is not within any
category of persons prohibited from possessing a firearm. The
person possessing a COE is entered into the DOJ system so that
if a COE possessor does fall into a class of persons
prohibited from possessing firearms, the DOJ will be notified
of that fact.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, unknown minor nonreimbursable local costs
for incarceration, offset to an indeterminable degree by fine
revenue.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill is the outgrowth
of a five-year bipartisan effort to create a truly accurate
central handgun registry which serves gun owners, gun dealers
and law enforcement. The bill is structured to provide maximum
regulatory flexibility to the DOJ consistent with the fee caps
and privacy protections contained in current law. At the same
time, this bill attempts to address issues associated with SB
218 (Solis) of last year at Senator Solis' request."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a more
comprehensive discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Fredericka McGee / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744 FN: 0006718