Existing law generally requires the loan of a firearm to be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer. A violation of this provision is a crime. Existing law exempts from this requirement a loan of a firearm between persons who are personally known to each other, if the loan is infrequent and does not exceed 30 days in duration.

This bill would instead limit that exemption to the loan of a firearm to a spouse or registered domestic partner, or to a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, related as specified. The bill would require a handgun loaned pursuant to these provisions to be registered to the person loaning the handgun. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Existing law generally requires the loan of a firearm to be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer. A violation of this provision is a crime. Existing law exempts from this requirement a loan of a firearm between persons who are personally known to each other, if the loan is infrequent and does not exceed 30 days in duration.

This bill would instead limit that exemption to the loan of a firearm to a spouse or registered domestic partner, or to a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, related as specified. The bill would require a handgun loaned pursuant to these provisions to be registered to the person loaning the handgun. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Existing law generally requires the loan of a firearm to be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer. A violation of this provision is a crime. Existing law exempts from this requirement a loan of a firearm between persons who are personally known to each other, if the loan is infrequent and does not exceed 30 days in duration.

This bill would instead limit that exemption to the loan of a firearm to a spouse or registered domestic partner, or to a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, related as specified. The bill would require a handgun loaned pursuant to these provisions to be registered to the person loaning the handgun. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

(1)Existing law generally requires the loan of a firearm to be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer. A violation of this provision is a crime. Existing law exempts from this requirement a loan of a firearm between persons who are personally known to each other, if the loan is infrequent and does not exceed 30 days in duration.

This bill would instead limit that exemption to the loan of a firearm to a spouse or registered domestic partner, or to a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, related as specified. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)Existing law exempts from the requirement to conduct the loan of a firearm through a licensed firearms dealer a loan made to a licensed hunter for use by that hunter for a period of time not to exceed the duration of the hunting season for which the firearm is to be used.

This bill would instead exempt from that requirement the loan of a firearm to a person personally known to the transferor if that person has a California hunting license and only possesses the firearm while engaged in who has a valid hunting license issued by the State of California and only possesses the firearm while hunting. By expanding the application of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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.

Existing law requires the Insurance Commissioner to submit specified reports, including reports on the insolvency of admitted insurers and the number of complaints by persons aggrieved by a rate charged, to the Governor and the Legislature. Existing law requires the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association to submit a financial report on its activities to the Governor and the Legislature.

This bill would require those reports to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Committee on Insurance instead of to the Legislature.

Existing law requires the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan to submit a report regarding the status of the low-cost automobile insurance program administered by the plan to the commissioner annually and as the plan deems prudent.

This bill would require the plan to submit the report to the Senate Committee on Insurance and the Assembly Committee on Insurance, in addition to the commissioner.

Existing law requires a licensed rating organization designated as the commissioners statistical agent to prepare a report on the potential underreporting of workers compensation exposure in the taxicab industry, and to submit that report to the commissioner by April 1, 2003, and to the Governor and the Legislature by May 1, 2003.

This bill would repeal that provision.

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA2 Bill Id:AB 1511

Author:(Santiago and Chiu)

As Amended Ver:May 17, 2016

Majority vote

(vote not relevant)

(Pub. S.)

Original Committee Reference: INS.

SUMMARY: Specifies that the infrequent loan of a firearm may only be made to family members.

The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and instead:

1. Specify that the infrequent loan of a firearm may only be made to family members.
2. Define "family members" as "spouses and registered domestic partners, or parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, whether related by blood, adoption, or a step-relation."
3. Require any handgun being loaned be registered to the person making the loan.

EXISTING LAW:

1. States that where neither party to a firearm transaction holds a dealer's license issued as specified, the parties to the transaction shall complete the sale, loan, or transfer of that firearm through a licensed firearms dealer, as specified. (Penal Code Section (PC) 27545)
2. Specifies that the requirement that a firearm transaction go through a licensed firearms dealer, does not apply to the loan of a firearm between persons who are personally known to each other, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:
   1. The loan is infrequent, as specified. (PC 27880(a))
   2. The loan is for any lawful purpose. (PC Section 27880(b))
   3. The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration. (PC 27880(c))
   4. For any firearm, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid firearm safety certificate, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be used. (PC 27880(d))
3. An "infrequent" loan for purposes of handguns is defined as "less than six transactions per calendar year." (PC 16730(a)(1))
4. An "infrequent" loan for purposes of firearms other than handguns is defined as "occasional and without regularity." (PC 16730(a)(2))

AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill clarified reporting requirements for various reports related to insurance that must be submitted to the Legislature. Specifically, this bill:

1. Replaced the general requirement that reports be submitted to the Legislature with a requirement that the following reports be submitted to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Insurance:
   1. Reports regarding the insolvency of an insurer.
   2. Annual report of the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association.
   3. Annual report summarizing the number, type and disposition of complaints received by the Department of Insurance.
   4. Annual report from the California Assigned Risk Plan.
2. Repealed a requirement for the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Board report to the Legislature regarding workers' compensation issues for the taxi industry by May 1, 2003.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. State prisons: Potential minor to moderate increase in state costs (General Fund) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional commitments to state prison. Commitments to state prison under PC 27590(b), (c), or (e), in which violations of firearm loan provisions can be charged as a felony, have been infrequent, however, to the extent even two additional commitments to state prison occur statewide in any one year would result in new state costs of $58,000 based on the contract bed rate of $29,000 per inmate.
2. County jails: Potentially significant increase in local costs (Local Funds) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional misdemeanor and felony convictions subject to county jail sentences. The Department of Justice (DOJ) data indicates less than 100 arrests annually statewide for violations of existing firearm loan provisions of law. Potential costs would largely be dependent on the degree to which the narrowed firearm loan provisions are enforced, which is unknown.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "Several recent shootings around the country have shed light on a dangerous loophole in state laws. In California, anyone can borrow a gun from an acquaintance for up to 30 days without a background check – one of the most important safeguards in law. AB 1511 will close this loophole and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people."

This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly-approved version of this bill was deleted. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly actions and the provisions of this bill, as amended in the Senate, have not been heard in an Assembly policy committee.

Analysis Prepared by: David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003474

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1511

Author:

: in Senate

Vote:

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/10/16

AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning

NOES: Anderson, Stone

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 5/16/16

AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza

NOES: Bates, Nielsen

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not relevant

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill modifies firearm loan provisions relating to infrequent loans.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Requires licensed firearms dealers, before they may deliver a firearm to a purchaser, to perform a background check on the purchaser through the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). (18 U.S.C §§ 921, et seq.)
2. Requires that, except as specified, all sales, loans, and transfers of firearms to be processed through or by a state-licensed firearms dealer or a local law enforcement agency. (Penal Code § 27545.)
3. Provides that there is a 10-day waiting period when purchasing a firearm through a firearms dealer. During which time, a background check is conducted and, if the firearm is a handgun, a handgun safety certificate is required prior to delivery of the firearm. (Penal Code §§ 26815, 26840(b) and 27540.)
4. Creates numerous exceptions to a variety of different and specified firearms transfer requirements, including Penal Code Section 27545, for loans of firearms under a variety of different circumstances. The general categories of these exceptions are:
   1. For target shooting at target facility. (Penal Code § 26545.)
   2. To entertainment production. (Penal Code § 26580.)
   3. Several exceptions relating to law enforcement officers and government agencies (Penal Code §§ 2660, et seq.)
   4. For infrequent loan of non-handgun; curio or relic (Penal Code § 27966) [commencing January 1, 2014]
   5. To a consultant-evaluator. (Penal Code § 27005.)
   6. To minors. (Penal Code § 27505.)
   7. Infrequent loans to persons known to each other. (Penal Code § 27880.)
   8. Where the firearm stays within the presence of the owner. (Penal Code § 27885.)
   9. To a licensed hunter. (Penal Code § 27950.)
5. Provides for infrequent loans to person known to each other, as specified in Penal Code Section 27880, allows for the loan of a firearm between persons known to each other, if the following requirements are met:
6. The loan is infrequent, as defined in Section 16730;
7. The loan is for any lawful purpose;
8. The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration; and
9. Until January 1, 2015, if the firearm is a handgun, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid handgun safety certificate. Commencing January 1, 2015, for any firearm, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid firearm safety certificate, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be used.

This bill:

1. Limits the infrequent loan provisions to a loan to “a spouse, registered domestic partner, or any of the following relations, whether by consanguinity, adoption, or steprelation: (1) Parent. (2) Child. (3) Sibling. (4) Grandparent. (5) Grandchild.”
2. States that if the firearm being loaned is a handgun, the handgun must be registered to the person making the loan, as specified.

Comments

This bill modifies firearm loan provisions relating to infrequent loans to persons known to each other.

The provisions of current law which allow for firearms to be infrequently loaned to a person known to the owner, authorizes a firearm to be loaned between persons who are personally known to each other, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

• The loan is infrequent, meaning, for handguns, less than six transactions per calendar year and for firearms other than handguns, occasional and without regularity.
• The loan is for any lawful purpose.
• The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration.
• If the firearm is a handgun, the individual being loaned the handgun shall have a valid handgun safety certificate.

(Penal Code § 27880.)

This bill deletes the requirement that the person be personally know to the owner of the firearm, and instead requires that the loan be made to a specified family member. This bill additionally requires that if the firearm being loaned is a handgun, it must be registered to the person making the loan.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• State prisons: Potential minor to moderate increase in state costs (General Fund) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional commitments to state prison. Commitments to state prison under Penal Code § 27590(b), (c), or (e), in which violations of firearm loan provisions can be charged as a felony, have been infrequent, however, to the extent even two additional commitments to state prison occur statewide in any one year would result in new state costs of $58,000 based on the contract bed rate of $29,000 per inmate.

• County jails: Potentially significant increase in local costs (Local Funds) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional misdemeanor and felony convictions subject to county jail sentences. The Department of Justice data indicates less than 100 arrests annually statewide for violations of existing firearm loan provisions of law. Potential costs would largely be dependent on the degree to which the narrowed firearm loan provisions are enforced, which is unknown.

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/17/16)

Coalition Against Gun Violence, a Santa Barbara County Coalition

Everytown for Gun Safety

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/17/16)

California Sportsman’s Lobby

California State Sheriffs’ Association

Firearms Policy Coalition

Outdoor Sportsmen’s Coalition of California

Safari Club International

Several individuals

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America state:

I am writing on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America in strong support of your legislation, AB 1511, to close a loophole in California law that allows dangerous people who are prohibited from possessing guns to borrow guns with no background check and no questions asked.

• Background checks on all gun sales save lives. California is generally a leader on this issue.
• California has strong gun violence prevention laws, including a requirement that all gun sellers run criminal background checks on their buyers, whether the seller is a federally licensed firearm dealer (FFL), or an unlicensed, private seller who sells guns online or at gun shows. Background checks are the most effective way to ensure that a prospective buyer is not a felon, domestic abuser, person with dangerous mental illness, or otherwise legally prohibited from having guns.
  • Federal law only requires licensed dealers to run background checks on potential buyers.
  • California is one of 18 states that go further and require background checks on all handgun sales. In these states:
    • Women are 46 percent less likely to be shot to death by intimate partners; [Footnote omitted]
    • Law enforcement are 48 percent less likely to be killed with handguns; [Footnote omitted] and
    • People are 48 percent less likely to kill themselves with guns. [Footnote omitted]
• But there is currently an unusual loophole in California’s background check law.
• California law has an exception that allows anyone to borrow a gun for up to 30 days without a background check.
• This exception is highly unusual among the states with comprehensive background check laws:
  • Of the 17 other states that require background checks on all handgun sales, only 2 have loan exceptions as broad as California’s. [Footnote omitted.]
  • In fact, of the 11 other states with a comprehensive system like California’s that requires background checks on all gun sales, no other state has a loan exception as broad as California’s.
• Several recent shootings around the country involving loaned guns demonstrate the danger of this broad exception (see appendix, below).
• All of these loans were to friends or acquaintances (as opposed to family members) who did not accurately assess the danger that the person posed.
• In the absence of a background check, the lender took the borrower’s word that the gun was to be used for a lawful purpose, and a tragedy resulted.
• AB 1511 will fix this loophole and help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.
• The bill retains the exception for loans to close family members, who are best positioned to know if the relative receiving the firearm has a background or circumstance that prohibits gun possession.
• This would bring California in line with the vast majority of the states with comprehensive background check laws, including the states that most recently enacted these measures like Washington and Oregon.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the California State Sheriffs’ Association:

California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, yet gun violence continues to plague our state. We must continue to take steps to keep guns and ammunition out of the hands of criminals and other prohibited persons. That said, this measure would make little progress toward that goal. Instead, it would place additional restrictions on law abiding citizens who wish lend firearms to each other. In doing so, AB 1511 would likely result in the allocation of law enforcement resources to regulating the gun-owning practices of otherwise law-abiding persons at the expense of efforts to keep firearms and ammunition out of the hands of criminals and other persons that should not be armed.

Sheriffs are generally supportive of efforts to create appropriate penalties for persons who steal firearms and for criminals who are found to possess firearms. We have supported bills that create mechanisms to keep firearms away from certain persons, including in the form of gun violence restraining orders. Ultimately, we do not believe AB 1511 will be successful in keeping firearms or ammunition away from dangerous persons.

Prepared by:

5/18/16 16:21:34

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 1511 (Santiago) - Firearms: lending

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

AB 1511 would modify and narrow existing firearm loan provisions relating to infrequent loans to persons known to each other, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• State prisons: Potential minor to moderate increase in state costs (General Fund) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional commitments to state prison. Commitments to state prison under PC § 27590(b), (c), or (e), in which violations of firearm loan provisions can be charged as a felony, have been infrequent, however, to the extent even two additional commitments to state prison occur statewide in any one year would result in new state costs of $58,000 based on the contract bed rate of $29,000 per inmate.
• County jails: Potentially significant increase in local costs (Local Funds) to the extent narrowing the firearm loan provisions results in additional misdemeanor and felony convictions subject to county jail sentences. The DOJ data indicates less than 100 arrests annually statewide for violations of existing firearm loan provisions of law. Potential costs would largely be dependent on the degree to which the narrowed firearm loan provisions are enforced, which is unknown.

Background:

Existing law requires that, except as specified, all sales, loans, and transfers of firearms are to be processed through or by a state-licensed firearms dealer or a local law enforcement agency. (Penal Code (PC) § 27545.).

Under existing law, a violation of the firearm loan provisions is generally a misdemeanor, however, in specified circumstances a violation may be punishable as a felony subject to imprisonment for two, three, or four years, or as an alternate felony-misdemeanor, subject to imprisonment in county jail for up to one year or in county jail or state prison for 16 months, two, or three years. Notably, a violation of the firearm loan provisions involving a handgun is an alternate felony-misdemeanor. (PC § 27590.)

Existing law creates numerous exceptions to a variety of different and specified firearm transfer requirements, including PC § 27545, for loans of firearms under a variety of circumstances, as follows:

• For target shooting at a target facility.
• For entertainment production.
• Law enforcement and government agencies.
• Infrequent loans of non-handgun, curio or relic.
• To a consultant-evaluator.
• To minors.
• Infrequent loans to persons known to each other.
• Where the firearm stays within the presence of the owner.
• To a licensed hunter.

Existing law provides for infrequent loans to persons known to each other, if the following requirements are met:

• The loan is infrequent, as defined.
• The loan is for any lawful purpose.
• The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration, and
• For any firearm, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid firearms safety certificate, except in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be used. (PC § 27880.)

Proposed Law (as proposed to be amended):

This bill would modify firearm loan provisions relating to infrequent loans to persons known to each other, as follows:

• Narrows the infrequent loan provisions authorized under existing law “between persons who are personally known to each other,” to instead limit infrequent loans to a spouse, registered domestic partner, or any of the following relations, whether by consanguinity, adoption, or steprelation: (1) parent, (2) child, (3) sibling, (4) grandparent, or (5) grandchild.
• Specifies if the firearm being loaned is a handgun, the handgun must be registered to the person making the loan, as specified.

Staff Comments: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicated no fiscal impact to the DOJ associated with the provisions of this bill.

Amendments to be taken in Committee:

• Delete the changes to existing provisions of law with regard to licensed hunters.

On page 2, strike lines 22 to 24, on page 3, strike lines 1 to 3.

• Add the following additional amendment to Section 27880, on page 2, between lines 21 and 22, insert:

(f) If the firearm being loaned is a handgun, the handgun is registered to the person making the loan pursuant to Section 11106.

-- END --

.SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Loni Hancock, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 1511 Hearing Date: May 10, 2016

Subject: Firearms: Lending

HISTORY

Source: Author

Prior Legislation: None known

Support: Coalition Against Gun Violence, a Santa Barbara County Coalition; Everytown for Gun Safety; Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence; Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Opposition: California Sportsman’s Lobby; California State Sheriffs’ Association; Firearms Policy Coalition; Safari Club International; Outdoor Sportsmen’s Coalition of California

Assembly Floor Vote: Not Relevant

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to modify firearm loan provisions relating to (1) infrequent loans to persons known to each other, and (2) loans to a licensed hunter.

Current federal law requires licensed firearms dealers, before they may deliver a firearm to a purchaser, to perform a background check on the purchaser through the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (“NICS”). (18 U.S.C §§ 921, et seq.)

Existing law requires that, except as specified, all sales, loans, and transfers of firearms to be processed through or by a state-licensed firearms dealer or a local law enforcement agency. (Penal Code § 27545.)

Existing law provides that there is a 10-day waiting period when purchasing a firearm through a firearms dealer. During which time, a background check is conducted and, if the firearm is a handgun, a handgun safety certificate is required prior to delivery of the firearm. (Penal Code §§ 26815, 26840(b) and 27540.)

Existing law creates numerous exceptions to a variety of different and specified firearms transfer requirements, including penal code section 27545, for loans of firearms under a variety of different circumstances. The general categories of these exceptions are:

• For target shooting at target facility. (Penal Code § 26545.)
• To entertainment production. (Penal Code § 26580.)
• Several exceptions relating to law enforcement officers and government agencies (Penal Code §§ 2660, et seq.)
• For infrequent loan of non-handgun; curio or relic (Penal Code § 27966) [commencing January 1, 2014]
• To a consultant-evaluator. (Penal Code § 27005.)
• To minors. (Penal Code § 27505.)
• Infrequent loans to persons known to each other. (Penal Code § 27880.)
• Where the firearm stays within the presence of the owner. (Penal Code § 27885.)
• To a licensed hunter. (Penal Code § 27950.)

Existing law that provides for infrequent loans to person known to each other, as specified in penal code section 27880, allows for the loan of a firearm between persons known to each other, if the following requirements are met:

• The loan is infrequent, as defined in Section 16730;
• The loan is for any lawful purpose;
• The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration; and
• Until January 1, 2015, if the firearm is a handgun, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid handgun safety certificate. Commencing January 1, 2015, for any firearm, the individual being loaned the firearm shall have a valid firearm safety certificate, except that in the case of a handgun, an unexpired handgun safety certificate may be used.

Existing law provides for the loan of a firearm, other than a handgun, to a licensed hunter for use by that hunter for a period of time not to exceed the duration of the hunting season for which the firearm is to be used. (Penal Code § 27950.)

This bill would limit the infrequent loan provisions to a loan to “a spouse, registered domestic partner, or any of the following relations, whether by consanguinity, adoption, or steprelation: (1) Parent. (2) Child. (3) Sibling. (4) Grandparent. (5) Grandchild.”

This bill would limit the licensed hunter loan provision to only allow for a loan to a “person personally known to the transferor if that person has a California hunting license and only possesses the firearm while engaged in hunting.”

RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the state’s ability to provide a constitutional level of health care to its inmate population and the related issue of prison overcrowding, this Committee has applied its “ROCA” policy as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison overcrowding.

On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:

• 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
• 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
• 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.

In December of 2015 the administration reported that as “of December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State’s 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February 2015.” (Defendants’ December 2015 Status Report in Response to February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State’s 34 adult institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity, and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities. (Defendants’ December 2014 Status Report in Response to February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)

While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison population, the state must stabilize these advances and demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place the “durable solution” to prison overcrowding “consistently demanded” by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Request For Extension of December 31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee’s consideration of bills that may impact the prison population therefore will be informed by the following questions:

• Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed to reducing the prison population;
• Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety or criminal activity for which there is no other reasonable, appropriate remedy;
• Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
• Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or legislative drafting error; and
• Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other reasonably appropriate remedy.

COMMENTS

1. Effect of This Legislation

This legislation would modify firearm loan provisions relating to (1) infrequent loans to persons known to each other, and (2) loans to a licensed hunter.

The provisions of current law which allow for firearms to be infrequently loaned to a person known to the owner, authorizes a firearm to be loaned between persons who are personally known to each other, if all of the following requirements are satisfied:

• The loan is infrequent, meaning, for handguns, less than six transactions per calendar year and for firearms other than handguns, occasional and without regularity.
• The loan is for any lawful purpose.
• The loan does not exceed 30 days in duration.
• If the firearm is a handgun, the individual being loaned the handgun shall have a valid handgun safety certificate.

(Penal Code § 27880.)

This legislation would delete the requirement that the person be personally know to the owner of the firearm, and would instead require that the loan be made to a specified family member.

Existing law provides for the loan of a firearm, other than a handgun, to a licensed hunter for the duration of the hunting season for which the firearm is to be used. This legislation limits this loan provision to a person who is personally known to the owner of the firearm and would only allow that person to possess the firearm while engaged in hunting.

-- END –

Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON INSURANCE

Tom Daly, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1511

Author:(Committee on Insurance) – As Introduced Ver:March 5, 2015

SUBJECT: Insurance: reports

SUMMARY: Clarifies reporting requirements for various reports related to insurance that must be submitted to the Legislature. Specifically, this bill:

1. Replaces the general requirement that reports be submitted to the Legislature with a requirement that the following reports be submitted to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Insurance:
   
   

   1. Reports regarding the insolvency of an insurer.
      
      

   2. Annual report of the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association.
      
      

   3. Annual report summarizing the number, type and disposition of complaints received by the Department of Insurance.
      
      

   4. Annual report from the California Assigned Risk Plan.
      
      

2. Repeals a requirement for the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Board report to the Legislature regarding workers' compensation issues for the taxi industry by May 1, 2003.

EXISTING LAW requires the submission of numerous reports to the Legislature regarding insurance issues.

FISCAL EFFECT: Undetermined

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. The committee has repeatedly received questions from staff within the Department of Insurance regarding where in the Legislature the reports should be sent. This bill resolves those questions by specifying the relevant policy committees in the statutes that require the reports to be submitted. The bill also repeals the reporting requirement on taxi driver wages as the due date for the report has long since passed. In addition, this bill would provide a vehicle for noncontroversial issues that insurance stakeholders might raise during the course of this Legislative Session.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

None received

Opposition

None received

Analysis Prepared by: Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086