Bill Text: CA AB2699 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Firearms: unsafe handguns.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 289, Statutes of 2020. [AB2699 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB2699-Chaptered.html
Assembly Bill
No. 2699
CHAPTER 289
An act to amend Sections 11106, 25555, 26379, 28230, and 32000 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 29, 2020.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 29, 2020.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2699, Santiago.
Firearms: unsafe handguns.
Existing law prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, or transfer of an unsafe handgun, as defined. Existing law exempts from this prohibition sales to specified law enforcement agencies or other specified government agencies for use by specified employees and sales to specified peace officers.
Existing law imposes certain vehicle storage requirements on specified persons who obtain an unsafe handgun. A violation of those provisions is a crime.
This bill would exempt from the prohibition on unsafe handguns, the sale of a handgun to, or the purchase of a handgun by, additional specified entities for use by sworn members of those entities, including the California Horse Racing Board and the State Department of Public Health. This bill would specify that the sale of an unsafe handgun to certain
specified entities and members of those entities is only authorized if the handgun is to be used as a service weapon by a peace officer who has successfully completed the basic course prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and who qualifies with the handgun, as specified, at least every 6 months. The bill would also provide that this training requirement would be satisfied by completion of other specified POST training before January 1, 2021. Because the bill would expand the application of the crime of improperly storing an unsafe handgun in an unattended vehicle to additional persons, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would require the Department of Justice to maintain, as specified, a database of unsafe handguns obtained pursuant to these exemptions, and would require the department, by no later than March 1, 2021, to provide a notification to the persons and entities who possess or thereafter
obtain an unsafe handgun, regarding the prohibitions on the sale and transfer of those handguns. The bill would also require these persons or entities to notify the department of the sale or transfer of such a handgun within 72 hours of the sale or transfer, as specified, but would provide that a sale or transfer made through a licensed firearm dealer would satisfy this requirement. The bill would authorize the department to charge a fee for these purposes. The bill would make other conforming changes. The bill would
impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 on a person or entity in possession of an unsafe handgun that fails to notify the department of any sale or transfer of the handgun and would impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for the unlawful sale or transfer of an unsafe handgun.
This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 28230 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 914 to be operative only if this bill and SB 914 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act
for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 11106 of the Penal Code is amended to read:11106.
(a) (1) In order to assist in the investigation of crime, the prosecution of civil actions by city attorneys pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the arrest and prosecution of criminals, and the recovery of lost, stolen, or found property, the Attorney General shall keep and properly file a complete record of all of the following:(A) All copies of fingerprints.
(B) Copies of licenses to carry firearms issued pursuant to Section 26150, 26155, 26170, or 26215.
(C) Information reported to the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 18120, Section 26225, 26556, 27875, 27920, 27966,
29180,
29830, or paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000.
(D) Dealers’ Records of Sale of firearms.
(E) Reports provided pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 27500) of Chapter 4 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6, or pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
(F) Forms provided pursuant to Section 12084, as that section read prior to being repealed on January 1, 2006.
(G) Reports provided pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6, that are not Dealers’ Records of Sale of firearms.
(H) Information
provided pursuant to Section 28255.
(I) Reports of stolen, lost, found, pledged, or pawned property in any city or county of this state.
(2) The Attorney General shall, upon proper application therefor, furnish the information to the officers referred to in Section 11105.
(b) (1) The Attorney General shall permanently keep and properly file and maintain all information reported to the Department of Justice pursuant to the following provisions as to firearms and maintain a registry thereof:
(A) Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(B) Article 1 (commencing with Section
27500) of Chapter 4 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(C) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050) of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(D) Any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
(E) Former Section 12084.
(F) Section 28255.
(G) Section 29180.
(H) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000.
(I) Any other law.
(2) The registry shall consist of all of the following:
(A) The name, address, identification of, place of birth (state or country), complete telephone number, occupation, sex, description, and all legal names and aliases ever used by the owner or person being loaned the particular firearm as listed on the information provided to the department on the Dealers’ Record of Sale, the Law Enforcement Firearms Transfer (LEFT), as defined in former Section 12084, or reports made to the department pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585, Section 28255 or 29180, or any other law.
(B) The name and address of, and
other information about, any person (whether a dealer or a private party) from whom the owner acquired or the person being loaned the particular firearm and when the firearm was acquired or loaned as listed on the information provided to the department on the Dealers’ Record of Sale, the LEFT, or reports made to the department pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585 or any other law.
(C) Any waiting period exemption applicable to the transaction which resulted in the owner of or the person being loaned the particular firearm acquiring or being loaned that firearm.
(D) The manufacturer’s name if stamped on the firearm, model name or number if stamped on the firearm, and, if applicable, the serial number, other number (if more than one serial number is stamped on the firearm), caliber, type of firearm, if the firearm is new or used, barrel length, and
color of the firearm, or, if the firearm is not a handgun and does not have a serial number or any identification number or mark assigned to it, that shall be noted.
(3) Information in the registry referred to in this subdivision shall, upon proper application therefor, be furnished to the officers referred to in Section 11105, to a city attorney prosecuting a civil action, solely for use in prosecuting that civil action and not for any other purpose, or to the person listed in the registry as the owner or person who is listed as being loaned the particular firearm.
(4) If any person is listed in the registry as the owner of a firearm through a Dealers’ Record of Sale prior to 1979, and the person listed in the registry requests by letter that the Attorney General store and keep the record electronically, as well as in the record’s existing photographic, photostatic, or
nonerasable optically stored form, the Attorney General shall do so within three working days of receipt of the request. The Attorney General shall, in writing, and as soon as practicable, notify the person requesting electronic storage of the record that the request has been honored as required by this paragraph.
(c) (1) If the conditions specified in paragraph (2) are met, any officer referred to in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive, of subdivision (b) of Section 11105 may disseminate the name of the subject of the record, the number of the firearms listed in the record, and the description of any firearm, including the make, model, and caliber, from the record relating to any firearm’s sale, transfer, registration, or license record, or any information reported to the Department of Justice pursuant to any of the following:
(A) Section 26225, 26556, 27875,
27920, 27966, or 29180.
(B) Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(C) Article 1 (commencing with Section 27500) of Chapter 4 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(D) Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 28050) of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(E) Article 2 (commencing with Section 28150) of Chapter 6 of Division 6 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(F) Article 5 (commencing with Section 30900) of Chapter 2 of Division 10 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(G) Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 33850) of Division 11 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(H) Any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
(I) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000.
(2) Information may be disseminated pursuant to paragraph (1) only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(A) The subject of the record has been arraigned for a crime in which the victim is a person described in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of Section 6211 of the Family Code and is being prosecuted or is serving a sentence for the crime, or the subject of the record is the subject of an emergency protective order, a temporary restraining order, or an order after hearing, which is in effect and has been issued by a
family court under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act set forth in Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code.
(B) The information is disseminated only to the victim of the crime or to the person who has obtained the emergency protective order, the temporary restraining order, or the order after hearing issued by the family court.
(C) Whenever a law enforcement officer disseminates the information authorized by this subdivision, that officer or another officer assigned to the case shall immediately provide the victim of the crime with a “Victims of Domestic Violence” card, as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (9) of subdivision (c) of Section 13701.
(3) The victim or person to whom information is disseminated pursuant to this subdivision may disclose it as they deem necessary to protect
themselves or another person from bodily harm by the person who is the subject of the record.
SEC. 2.
Section 25555 of the Penal Code is amended to read:25555.
(a) Section 25400 does not apply to, or affect, the transportation of a firearm by a person in order to comply with Section 26556, 27870, 27875, 27915, 27920, 27925, 29810, or 29830, as it pertains to that firearm.(b) Section 25400 does not apply to or affect the transportation of a firearm by a person in order to comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000 as it pertains to that firearm.
SEC. 3.
Section 26379 of the Penal Code is amended to read:26379.
Paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 26350 does not apply to, or affect, the open carrying of an unloaded handgun incident to any of the following:(a) Complying with Section 27560 or 27565, as it pertains to that handgun.
(b) Section 28000, as it pertains to that handgun.
(c) Section 27850 or 31725, as it pertains to that handgun.
(d) Complying with Section 27870 or 27875, as it pertains to that handgun.
(e) Complying with Section 26556, 27915, 27920, 27925, 29810, or 29830, as it pertains to that handgun.
(f) Complying with paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000, as it pertains to that handgun.
SEC. 4.
Section 28230 of the Penal Code is amended to read:28230.
(a) The Department of Justice may charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each of the following but not to exceed fourteen dollars ($14), except that the fee may be increased at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the Department of Industrial Relations:(1) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of forms or reports required or utilized pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
(2) For the actual processing costs associated with the submission of a Dealers’ Record of Sale to the department.
(3) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of reports utilized pursuant to Section 26556, 26905, 27565, 27875, 27966, or 28000, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 27560, or paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of, or subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of, Section 27920, or paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000.
(4) For the actual costs associated with the electronic or telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
(b) If the department charges a fee pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), it shall be charged in the same amount to all categories of transaction that are within that paragraph.
(c) Any costs incurred by the Department of Justice to implement this section shall be reimbursed from fees collected and charged pursuant to this section. No fees shall be charged to the dealer pursuant to Section 28225 for implementing this section.
SEC. 4.1.
Section 28230 of the Penal Code is amended to read:28230.
(a) The Department of Justice may charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each of the following but not to exceed fourteen dollars ($14), except that the fee may be increased at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the Department of Industrial Relations:(1) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of forms or reports required or utilized pursuant to any provision listed in subdivision (a) of Section 16585.
(2) For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of reports utilized pursuant to Section 26556, 26905, 27565, 27875, 27966, or 28000, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 27560, or paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) of, or subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of, Section 27920, or paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 32000.
(3) For the actual costs associated with the electronic or telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
(b) Any costs incurred by the Department of Justice to implement this
section shall be reimbursed from fees collected and charged pursuant to this section. No fees shall be charged to the dealer pursuant to Section 28225 for implementing this section.
SEC. 5.
Section 32000 of the Penal Code is amended to read:32000.
(a) (1) A person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, offers or exposes for sale, gives, or lends an unsafe handgun shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.(2) The failure to report to the Department of Justice in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) the sale or transfer of an unsafe handgun
obtained pursuant to paragraph (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (b) may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3) In addition to any criminal penalty provided in paragraph (1), the unlawful sale or transfer of an unsafe handgun obtained pursuant to paragraph (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (b) may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
(b) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) The manufacture in this state, or importation into this state, of a prototype handgun when the manufacture or importation is for the sole purpose of allowing an independent laboratory
certified by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 32010 to conduct an independent test to determine whether that handgun is prohibited by Sections 31900 to 32110, inclusive, and, if not, allowing the department to add the firearm to the roster of handguns that may be sold in this state pursuant to Section 32015.
(2) The importation or lending of a handgun by employees or authorized agents of entities determining whether the weapon is prohibited by this section.
(3) Firearms listed as curios or relics, as defined in Section 478.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) The sale or purchase of a handgun, if the handgun is sold to, or purchased by, the Department of Justice, a police department, a
sheriff’s official, a marshal’s office, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of the California Highway Patrol, any district attorney’s office, any federal law enforcement agency, or the military or naval forces of this state or of the United States for use in the discharge of their official duties. This section does not prohibit the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of these agencies of a handgun.
(5) The sale, purchase, or delivery of a handgun, if the sale, purchase, or delivery of the handgun is made pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 10334 of the Public Contract Code.
(6) Subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision (c), the sale or purchase of a handgun for use as a service weapon, if the handgun is sold to, or purchased by, any of the
following entities for use by, or sold to or purchased by, sworn members of these entities who have satisfactorily completed the POST basic course or, before January 1, 2021, have satisfactorily completed the firearms portion of a training course prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) pursuant to Section 832, and who, as a condition of carrying that handgun, complete a live-fire qualification prescribed by their employing entity at least once every six months:
(A) The Department of Parks and Recreation.
(B) The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
(C) The Division of Investigation of the Department of Consumer Affairs.
(D) The Department of Motor Vehicles.
(E) The Fraud Division of the Department of Insurance.
(F) The State Department of State Hospitals.
(G) The Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(H) The State Department of Developmental Services.
(I) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
(J) A county probation department.
(K) The Los Angeles World Airports, as defined in Section 830.15.
(L) A K–12 public school
district for use by a school police officer, as described in Section 830.32.
(M) A municipal water district for use by a park ranger, as described in Section 830.34.
(N) A county for use by a welfare fraud investigator or inspector, as described in Section 830.35.
(O) A county for use by the coroner or the deputy coroner, as described in Section 830.35.
(P) The Supreme Court and the courts of appeal for use by marshals of the Supreme Court and bailiffs of the courts of appeal, and coordinators of security for the judicial branch, as described in Section 830.36.
(Q) A fire department or fire
protection agency of a county, city, city and county, district, or the state for use by either of the following:
(i) A member of an arson-investigating unit, regularly paid and employed in that capacity pursuant to Section 830.37.
(ii) A member other than a member of an arson-investigating unit, regularly paid and employed in that capacity pursuant to Section 830.37.
(R) The University of California Police Department, or the California State University Police Departments, as described in Section 830.2.
(S) A California Community College police department, as described in Section 830.32.
(T) A harbor or port district or other entity employing peace
officers described in subdivision (b) of Section 830.33, the San Diego Unified Port District Harbor Police, and the Harbor Department of the City of Los Angeles.
(U) A local agency employing park rangers described in subdivision (b) of Section 830.31.
(7) (A) Subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision (c), the sale or purchase of a handgun, if the handgun is sold to, or purchased by, any of the following entities for use as a service weapon by the sworn members of these entities who have satisfactorily completed the POST basic course or, before January 1, 2021, have satisfactorily completed the firearms portion of a training course prescribed by the POST pursuant to Section 832, and who, as a condition of carrying that handgun,
complete a live-fire qualification prescribed by their employing entity at least once every six months:
(i) The California Horse Racing Board.
(ii) The State Department of Health Care Services.
(iii) The State Department of Public Health.
(iv) The State Department of Social Services.
(v) The Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(vi) The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.
(vii) The Public Employees’ Retirement System.
(viii) The Department of Housing and Community Development.
(ix) Investigators of the Department of Business Oversight.
(x) The Law Enforcement Branch of the Office of Emergency Services.
(xi) The California State Lottery.
(xii) The Franchise Tax Board.
(B) This paragraph does not authorize the sale to, or purchase by, sworn members of the entities specified in subparagraph (A) in a personal capacity.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding Section 26825, a person licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, shall not
process the sale or transfer of an unsafe handgun between a person who has obtained an unsafe handgun pursuant to an exemption specified in paragraph (6) or (7) of subdivision (b) and a person who is not exempt from the requirements of this section.
(2) (A) A person who obtains or has use of an unsafe handgun pursuant to paragraph (6) or (7) of subdivision (b) shall, when leaving the handgun in an unattended vehicle, lock the handgun in the vehicle’s trunk, lock the handgun in a locked container and place the container out of plain view, or lock the handgun in a locked container that is permanently affixed to the vehicle’s interior and not in plain view.
(B) A violation of subparagraph (A) is an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000).
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions shall apply:
(i) “Vehicle” has the same meaning as defined in Section 670 of the Vehicle Code.
(ii) A vehicle is “unattended” when a person who is lawfully carrying or transporting a handgun in the vehicle is not within close proximity to the vehicle to reasonably prevent unauthorized access to the vehicle or its contents.
(iii) “Locked container” has the same meaning as defined in Section 16850.
(D) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to a peace officer during circumstances requiring immediate aid or action that are
within the course of their official duties.
(E) This paragraph does not supersede any local ordinance that regulates the storage of handguns in unattended vehicles if the ordinance was in effect before January 1, 2017.
(d) Violations of subdivision (a) are cumulative with respect to each handgun and shall not be construed as restricting the application of any other law. However, an act or omission punishable in different ways by this section and other provisions of law shall not be punished under more than one provision, but the penalty to be imposed shall be determined as set forth in Section 654.
(e) (1) The Department of Justice shall maintain a database of unsafe handguns obtained pursuant to paragraph (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (b). This requirement shall apply retroactively to include information in the department’s possession. The department may satisfy this requirement by maintaining this information in
any existing firearm database that reasonably facilitates compliance with this subdivision.
(2) A person or entity that is in possession of an unsafe handgun obtained pursuant to paragraph (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (b), shall notify the department of any sale or transfer of that handgun within 72 hours of the sale or transfer in a manner and format prescribed by the department. This requirement shall be deemed satisfied if the sale or transfer is processed through a licensed firearms
dealer pursuant to Section 27545. A sale or transfer accomplished through an exception to Section 27545 is not exempt from this reporting requirement.
(3) By no later than March 1, 2021, the department shall provide a notification to persons or entities possessing an unsafe handgun pursuant to paragraph (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (b) regarding the prohibitions on the sale or transfer of that handgun contained in this section. Thereafter, the
department shall, upon notification of sale or transfer, provide the same notification to the purchaser or transferee of any unsafe handgun sold or transferred pursuant to those provisions.
