California SB 140: Budget Act of 2012: Firearms

Link to proposed legislation

 

SENATE BILL

No. 140

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Introduced  by  Senator Leno, Steinberg (Principal Coauthor(s): Senator Hancock, Jackson) (Coauthor(s): Senator Beall, Block, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Hill, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Pavley, Roth, Rubio, Wolk, Wright) (Coauthor(s): Assembly Member Ammiano, Blumenfield)

January 29, 2013

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An act to amend the Budget Act of 2012 by amending Item 0820-001-0460 of Section 2.00 of that act, relating to the state budget, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 140, as introduced, Leno. Budget Act of 2012: firearms.

The Budget Act of 2012 made appropriations for the support of state government for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

This bill would amend the Budget Act of 2012 by revising an item of appropriation for the Department of Justice relating to the Armed Prohibitive Persons System (APPS).

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

DIGEST KEY

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: yes   Fiscal Committee: yes   Local Program: no

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BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) California is the first and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status.

(b) The online database, which is currently known as the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS), cross-references all handgun and assault weapon owners across the state against criminal history records to determine persons who have been, or will become, prohibited from possessing a firearm subsequent to the legal acquisition or registration of a firearm or assault weapon.

(c) Each day, the list of armed prohibited persons in California grows by about 15 to 20 people. There are currently more than 19,000 armed prohibited persons in California. Collectively, these individuals are believed to be in possession of over 34,000 handguns and 1,590 assault weapons.

(d) Neither the Department of Justice nor local law enforcement has sufficient resources to confiscate the enormous backlog of weapons, nor can they keep up with the daily influx of newly prohibited persons.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure to allow the Department of Justice to utilize additional Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account funds for the limited purpose of addressing the current APPS backlog and the illegal possession of these firearms, which presents a substantial danger to public safety.

SEC. 2.

Item 0820-001-0460 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2012 is amended to read:

0820-001-0460—For support of Department of Justice, for payment to Item 0820-001-0001, payable from the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account ……………………							18,670,000 ______
	Provisions:
	1.	Dealers’ Record of Sale fees collected pursuant to the state law for the registration of assault weapons shall not exceed $20 per registrant.
	2.	The Attorney General may augment the amount appropriated in the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account up to an aggregate of 10 percent above the amount approved in this act for the Division of Law Enforcement, Bureau of Firearms for unanticipated workload associated with this fund. The Attorney General shall notify the chairpersons of the budget committees of both houses of the Legislature, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, and the Department of Finance within 15 days after the augmentation is made as to the amount and justification of the augmentation.
	3.	Of the amount appropriated in this item, the sum of $______ may be used to address the backlog in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS). No later than _____, the department shall report to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee the degree to which the backlog has been reduced or eliminated and the number of weapons confiscated through this effort.

SEC. 3.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to address the current Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) backlog and the illegal possession of firearms, which presents an immediate danger to public safety, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.