BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 31|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 445-6614 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 31
Author: Peace (D), et al
Amended: 8/28/00
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 1/11/00
AYES: Vasconcellos, Burton, Johnston, Polanco
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 26-1, 1/27/00
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Costa, Dunn,
Escutia, Figueroa, Hayden, Hughes, Johnston, Karnette,
McPherson, Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata,
Polanco, Rainey, Schiff, Sher, Solis, Speier,
Vasconcellos, Wright
NOES: Mountjoy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 62-14, 8/29/00 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Firearms: delivery and transfer
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes a number of changes to the
Dangerous Weapons' Control Law, including: authorizing the
State Department of Justice to require that licensed
dealers and sheriff's offices, in smaller counties, report
in a manner and format prescribed by the State Department
of Justice, the date and time of delivery of a handgun to
the purchaser or transferee of that firearm or the person
CONTINUED
SB 31
Page
2
being loaned that firearm until July 1, 2003, and to
require submission of such information after that date;
makes numerous changes to the laws pertaining to firearms,
which meet gubernatorial objections of SB 29, which
Governor Davis vetoed.
Assembly Amendments
1.Provide that Senator Perata and Senator Solis are joint
authors on the bill.
2.Require 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 ten days into the Automated
Firearms System, as specified.
3.Require that where any agency registered handgun is
transferred or destroyed, that information be entered
within ten days into the Automated Firearms System, as
specified.
4.Correct a chaptering/cross-referencing error which has
the effect of requiring owners of antique handguns to
serialize the same before they may legally transfer
ownership of the same by applying this requirement to
modern handguns (as was originally intended).
5.Delete the prohibition on "ownership" of firearms from
certain prohibitions involving domestic violence in order
to address certain due process and makes conforming
changes.
6. Clarify that guns purchased in "gun-buyback" programs
are not to be recycled to the general public.
7.Mandate a State Department of Justice study on the issue
of how persons who legally acquire guns who subsequently
become prohibited possessors can legally dispose of those
guns.
8.Clarify that returns of firearms by gunsmiths to their
owners will continue to be exempt from certain transfer
SB 31
Page
3
requirements.
9.Double-joins this bill with AB 273 (Scott) and AB 1989
(Dickerson).
ANALYSIS :
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, posses, ship, or transport a
firearm or ammunition, as specified.
2. Provides that handguns are centrally registered at time
of transfer or sale with the State Department of Justice
(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 Certification 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.
This bill:
1.Requires the Judicial Council to provide notice on all
SB 31
Page
4
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
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 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.
SB 31
Page
5
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) and AB 273 (Scott).
Comments
Prior Legislation
SB 29 (1999) - Vetoed by the Governor. Passed the Senate
Floor on 9/10/99 with a vote of 29-6 (NOES: Haynes,
Kelley, Knight, Lewis, Monteith, Mountjoy).
SB 218 - Chapter 662, Statutes of 1999. Passed the Senate
Floor on 9/10/99 with a vote of 23-9 (NOES: Brulte,
Johannessen, Kelley, Knight, Leslie, Lewis, Monteith,
Mountjoy, Wright).
SB 63 - Chapter 908, Statutes of 1998
AB 2011 - Chapter 911, Statutes of 1998
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/00)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, Inc.
California Antique Collectors Association
California District Attorney Association (for Contra Costa
County District Attorney)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "While
this bill does not contain all that we asked for when it
passed the Senate, including more improvements to the data
base, it at least solves the agency disposition issue and
deals with the immediate threat to public safety from the
failure to fully implement SB 218 (Solis) from last year.
I look forward to revisiting these issues next year so that
SB 31
Page
6
we truly have an accurate data base which serves everyone's
interests."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bates, Battin, Bock, Brewer,
Calderon, Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett,
Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis, Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice, Honda,
Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville,
Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox, Maldonado, Margett, Mazzoni,
Migden, Nakano, Olberg, Robert Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti,
Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg,
Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent,
Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wright,
Zettel, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Baugh, Briggs,
House, Kaloogian, Leonard, McClintock, Oller, Rod
Pacheco, Strickland, Thompson
RJG:cm 8/31/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****