Existing law generally regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term firearm for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, possessing firearms. Under existing law, the term firearm includes the frame or receiver of the weapon. Existing law makes a violation of certain of these prohibitions a crime.

This bill would define a frame or receiver as that part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel, and would include within this definition a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional weapon so long as it has been designed and is clearly identifiable as being used exclusively as part of a functional weapon.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 16520 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 894, SB 1407, and AB 857 which would become operative if this bill and those bills are enacted, as specified, 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.

Existing law generally regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term firearm for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, possessing firearms. Under existing law, the term firearm includes the frame or receiver of the weapon. Existing law provides, for some of these provisions, that makes a violation of the provision is certain of these prohibitions a crime.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, 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 regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term firearm for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, possessing firearms. Existing law provides, for some of these provisions, that a violation of the provision is a crime.

This bill would expand the definition of firearm for those purposes and other purposes to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, 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 regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term firearm for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, possessing firearms. Existing law provides, for some of these provisions, that a violation of the provision is a crime.

This bill would expand the definition of firearm for those purposes and other purposes to include an unfinished frame or receiver that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver. a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, 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 regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term firearm for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, possessing firearms. Existing law provides, for some of these provisions, that a violation of the provision is a crime.

This bill would expand the definition of firearm for those purposes and other purposes to include an unfinished frame or receiver that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, 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.

GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson)

As Enrolled Ver:July 1, 2016

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.

SUMMARY: Defines a frame or receiver as that part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel, and would include within this definition a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional weapon so long as it has been designed and is clearly identifiable as being used exclusively as part of a functional weapon.

The Senate amendments:

1. Redefine a frame or receiver as that part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel, and would include within this definition a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional weapon so long as it has been designed and is clearly identifiable as being used exclusively as part of a functional weapon.
2. Double join this bill with SB 894 (Jackson) of 2016, SB 1407 (de León) of the current legislative session, and AB 857 (Cooper), Chapter 60, Statutes of 2016, to avoid chaptering out issues.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG).
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to United States Code Title 18 Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code Section 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year.
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make that change, alteration, or removal.
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process, the purchaser must present "clear evidence of identity and age" which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver's License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms.
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof.
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8104, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. Department of Justice (DOJ): Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
2. Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
3. Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
4. Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of "firearm" is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill expanded the definition of "firearm" to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver "blank," "casting," or "machined body" that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include 'unfinished frames and receivers,' which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

I am returning Assembly Bill 1673 without my signature.

This bill seeks to stem the growing tide of untraceable homemade firearms on our streets.

While I appreciate the author's intent, the actual wording of this bill is unduly vague and could have far reaching and unintended consequences. By defining certain metal components as a firearm because they could ultimately be made into a homemade weapon, this bill could trigger potential application of myriad and serious criminal penalties.

Analysis Prepared by: Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003611

(Without Reference to File)

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson)

As Amended Ver:May 31, 2016

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Expands the definition of "firearm" to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver "blank," "casting," or "machined body" that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG).
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code Section 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year.
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make that change, alteration, or removal.
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process, the purchaser must present "clear evidence of identity and age" which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms.
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof.
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8104, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, initial moderate DOJ cost in the range of $250,000 for each of the first two years, and $40,000 on every year thereafter (Dealers' Record of Sale Account). These cost include one-time cost for software programming, development and testing to register the new firearms. Current law requires DOJ to charge a dealer a fee for every firearm purchased.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include 'unfinished frames and receivers,' which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."

Analysis Prepared by: Gabriel Caswell/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003150

(Without Reference to File)

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson)

As Amended Ver:June 22, 2016

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.

SUMMARY: Defines a frame or receiver as that part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel, and would include within this definition a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional weapon so long as it has been designed and is clearly identifiable as being used exclusively as part of a functional weapon.

The Senate amendments:

1. Redefine a frame or receiver as that part of a firearm which provides housing for the hammer, bolt, or breechblock, and firing mechanism, and which is usually threaded at its forward portion to receive the barrel, and would include within this definition a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body that requires further machining or molding to be used as part of a functional weapon so long as it has been designed and is clearly identifiable as being used exclusively as part of a functional weapon.
2. Double join this bill with SB 894 (Jackson), SB 1407 (de León) and AB 857 (Cooper), all of the current legislative session, to avoid chaptering out issues.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG).
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code Section 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year.
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make that change, alteration, or removal.
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process, the purchaser must present "clear evidence of identity and age" which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver's License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms.
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof.
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8104, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. Department of Justice (DOJ): Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
2. Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
3. Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
4. Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of "firearm" is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

*Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill expanded the definition of "firearm" to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver "blank," "casting," or "machined body" that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include 'unfinished frames and receivers,' which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."

Analysis Prepared by: Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003565

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1673

Author:

: 6/22/16 Senate

Vote:

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/14/16

AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning

NOES: Anderson, Stone

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/20/16

AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza

NOES: Bates, Nielsen

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Senate Floor Amendments of 6/22/16 add a definition of “frame” and “receiver.” In addition, the amendments add chaptering language to avoid conflict with SB 894 (Jackson), SB 1407 (DeLeón), and AB 857 (Cooper).

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 licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General. (18 U.S.C. § 923(i).)
3. Makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922(p).)
4. Requires 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.)
5. Defines “firearm” as a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. (Penal Code § 16520.)
6. 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. (Penal Code §§ 26815 and 27540.)
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Penal Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement was extended to all firearms. (Penal Code § 26840.)
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Penal Code §§ 28160-28220.)
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code § 11106(a) and (c).)
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Penal Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the DROS fee, shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Penal Code § 28225.)
13. Allows the DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each a number of enumerated items, 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. (Penal Code §28230.)
14. Requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Penal Code § 30000.)

This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Background

This bill makes “the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion” a firearm in California. Items that fall under this new definition of firearms would be treated like other firearms in California. Specifically, to purchase one, a person would have to go through a dealer, have a background check and would be subject to a 10-day wait. Additionally, a prohibited person would not be allowed to possess them.

Note: See Senate Public Safety Committee analysis for additional comments.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• DOJ: Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
• Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
• APPS enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
• Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of “firearm” is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

* Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Senate Appropriations staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/27/16)

American Academy of Pediatrics

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

California Civil Liberties Advocacy

City of Carson

City of Santa Monica

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Los Angeles Professional Peace Officers Association

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/23/16)

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

California Rifle and Pistol Association

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

Gun Owners of California

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

Several individuals

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign:

A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirements are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. Lower receivers are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology are increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. The Brady Campaign supports this change and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the expanded definition is a good approach.

The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition:

We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what the new definition means

Put simply, AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punch line, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

“weapon, or a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.”

Clearly identifiable to whom?

This baffling new definition will result in untold thousands of arrests and incarcerations as “firearm” becomes defined by a strange mish-mash of words, disconnected from any known understanding or reality of what has been understood as working definitions of “firearm” for centuries. Maybe roadside analysis between peace officers and motorists would be able to hash out the “I’ll know it when I see it” approach to writing criminal law.

Have a piece of metal or plastic—GO TO JAIL

It is difficult to imagine the enforcement of hundreds of firearms laws and criminal enhancements that will be impacted by AB1673. A sample of the hundreds of new crimes this bill creates includes;

• Possession of a “blank” in a “gun free zone”

• Unloaded open carry of a “casting”

• Unlawful concealed carry of a “machined body”

• Unlawful transfer of a “…receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon…”

• Brandishing a “receiver blank”

• Failure to wait 10 days to “cool off” after acquiring a “machined body”

Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person System?

Should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ’s failed Armed Prohibited Persons System so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm.

Implementation Nightmare

The DOJ will have to update every regulation, every form, every database and every storefront interface to accept the new definition of firearms-- which is challenging given that the new definition targets things that are clearly not firearms at all.

In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These “clearly identifiable” pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the DOJ Dealer’s Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state.

The law is sacred and it affects real people in real communities. The Legislature is entrusted with passing laws that the governed can comply with and the executive can enforce. With that in mind, AB 1673 is simply not ready for serious consideration.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16

AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Cooley, Dahle, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Irwin, Rodriguez

Prepared by: Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /

6/27/16 11:54:20

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1673

Author:

: 6/22/16 Senate

Vote:

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/14/16

AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning

NOES: Anderson, Stone

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/20/16

AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza

NOES: Bates, Nielsen

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Senate Floor Amendments of 6/22/16 add a definition of “frame” and “receiver.” In addition, the amendments add chaptering language to avoid conflict with SB 894 (Jackson), SB 1407 (DeLeón), and AB 857 (Cooper).

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 licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General. (18 U.S.C. § 923(i).)
3. Makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922(p).)
4. Requires 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.)
5. Defines “firearm” as a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. (Penal Code § 16520.)
6. 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. (Penal Code §§ 26815 and 27540.)
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Penal Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement was extended to all firearms. (Penal Code § 26840.)
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Penal Code §§ 28160-28220.)
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code § 11106(a) and (c).)
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Penal Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the DROS fee, shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Penal Code § 28225.)
13. Allows the DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each a number of enumerated items, 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. (Penal Code §28230.)
14. Requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Penal Code § 30000.)

This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Background

This bill makes “the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion” a firearm in California. Items that fall under this new definition of firearms would be treated like other firearms in California. Specifically, to purchase one, a person would have to go through a dealer, have a background check and would be subject to a 10-day wait. Additionally, a prohibited person would not be allowed to possess them.

Note: See Senate Public Safety Committee analysis for additional comments.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations analysis the fiscal impact includes:

• DOJ: Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
• Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
• APPS enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
• Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of “firearm” is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

*Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Senate Appropriations staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/23/16)

American Academy of Pediatrics

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

California Civil Liberties Advocacy

City of Carson

City of Santa Monica

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/23/16)

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

California Rifle and Pistol Association

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

Gun Owners of California

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

Several individuals

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign:

A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirements are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. Lower receivers are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology are increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. The Brady Campaign supports this change and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the expanded definition is a good approach.

The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition:

We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what the new definition means

Put simply, AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punch line, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

“weapon, or a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.”

Clearly identifiable to whom?

This baffling new definition will result in untold thousands of arrests and incarcerations as “firearm” becomes defined by a strange mish-mash of words, disconnected from any known understanding or reality of what has been understood as working definitions of “firearm” for centuries. Maybe roadside analysis between peace officers and motorists would be able to hash out the “I’ll know it when I see it” approach to writing criminal law.

Have a piece of metal or plastic—GO TO JAIL

It is difficult to imagine the enforcement of hundreds of firearms laws and criminal enhancements that will be impacted by AB1673. A sample of the hundreds of new crimes this bill creates includes;

• Possession of a “blank” in a “gun free zone”

• Unloaded open carry of a “casting”

• Unlawful concealed carry of a “machined body”

• Unlawful transfer of a “…receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon…”

• Brandishing a “receiver blank”

• Failure to wait 10 days to “cool off” after acquiring a “machined body”

Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person System?

Should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ’s failed Armed Prohibited Persons System so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm.

Implementation Nightmare

The DOJ will have to update every regulation, every form, every database and every storefront interface to accept the new definition of firearms-- which is challenging given that the new definition targets things that are clearly not firearms at all.

In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These “clearly identifiable” pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the DOJ Dealer’s Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state.

The law is sacred and it affects real people in real communities. The Legislature is entrusted with passing laws that the governed can comply with and the executive can enforce. With that in mind, AB 1673 is simply not ready for serious consideration.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16

AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Cooley, Dahle, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Irwin, Rodriguez

Prepared by:

6/24/16 15:38:59

**** END ****

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1673

Author:

:

Vote:

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/14/16

AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning

NOES: Anderson, Stone

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 6/20/16

AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza

NOES: Bates, Nielsen

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

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 licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General. (18 U.S.C. § 923(i).)
3. Makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922(p).)
4. Requires 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.)
5. Defines “firearm” as a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. (Penal Code § 16520.)
6. 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. (Penal Code §§ 26815 and 27540.)
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Penal Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement was extended to all firearms. (Penal Code § 26840.)
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Penal Code §§ 28160-28220.)
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code § 11106(a) and (c).)
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Penal Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the DROS fee, shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Penal Code § 28225.)
13. Allows the DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for each a number of enumerated items, 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. (Penal Code §28230.)
14. Requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Penal Code § 30000.)

This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Background

This bill makes “the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion” a firearm in California. Items that fall under this new definition of firearms would be treated like other firearms in California. Specifically, to purchase one, a person would have to go through a dealer, have a background check and would be subject to a 10-day wait. Additionally, a prohibited person would not be allowed to possess them.

NOTE: See Senate Public Safety Committee analysis for additional comments.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.: Local:

According to the Senate Appropriations analysis the fiscal impact includes:

• DOJ: Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
• Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
• APPS enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
• Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of “firearm” is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

* Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Senate Appropriations staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

SUPPORT: (Verified 6/21/16)

American Academy of Pediatrics

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

California Civil Liberties Advocacy

City of Carson

City of Santa Monica

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/21/16)

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

California Rifle and Pistol Association

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

Gun Owners of California

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

Several individuals

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign:

A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirements are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. Lower receivers are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology are increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. The Brady Campaign supports this change and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the expanded definition is a good approach.

The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness.

ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition:

We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what the new definition means

Put simply, AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punch line, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

“weapon, or a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.”

Clearly identifiable to whom?

This baffling new definition will result in untold thousands of arrests and incarcerations as “firearm” becomes defined by a strange mish-mash of words, disconnected from any known understanding or reality of what has been understood as working definitions of “firearm” for centuries. Maybe roadside analysis between peace officers and motorists would be able to hash out the “I’ll know it when I see it” approach to writing criminal law.

Have a piece of metal or plastic—GO TO JAIL

It is difficult to imagine the enforcement of hundreds of firearms laws and criminal enhancements that will be impacted by AB1673. A sample of the hundreds of new crimes this bill creates includes;

• Possession of a “blank” in a “gun free zone”

• Unloaded open carry of a “casting”

• Unlawful concealed carry of a “machined body”

• Unlawful transfer of a “…receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon…”

• Brandishing a “receiver blank”

• Failure to wait 10 days to “cool off” after acquiring a “machined body”

Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person System?

Should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ’s failed Armed Prohibited Persons System so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm.

Implementation Nightmare

The DOJ will have to update every regulation, every form, every database and every storefront interface to accept the new definition of firearms-- which is challenging given that the new definition targets things that are clearly not firearms at all.

In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These “clearly identifiable” pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the DOJ Dealer’s Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state.

The law is sacred and it affects real people in real communities. The Legislature is entrusted with passing laws that the governed can comply with and the executive can enforce. With that in mind, AB 1673 is simply not ready for serious consideration.

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 44-33, 6/1/16

AYES: Alejo, Atkins, Baker, Bloom, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon

NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Arambula, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Cooley, Dahle, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Medina, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen, Patterson, Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk

NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Irwin, Rodriguez

Prepared by: Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /

6/22/16 18:01:49

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 1673 (Gipson) - Firearms: unfinished frame or receiver

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

Bill Summary:

AB 1673 would expand the definition of “firearm” under specified provisions of law to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Fiscal Impact:

• Department of Justice (DOJ): Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (Special Fund*/General Fund) to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. Costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation to enable the registration of additional firearms, as redefined.
• Firearms violations: Potential state and local incarceration costs (General Fund/Local Funds) to the extent the expanded definition of firearm results in the enforcement of felony and misdemeanor violations related to the registration, purchase, possession, and/or transfer of firearms, as redefined.
• APPS enforcement/administration: Potential increase in costs to the DOJ for administration and enforcement of the Armed Prohibited Persons List (Special Fund*) resulting from the revised definition of a firearm.
• Potential litigation: Unknown, potentially significant future costs for litigation (General Fund) to the extent the revised definition of “firearm” is challenged as unconstitutionally vague.

*Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) Account – Staff notes the DROS Account is structurally imbalanced, with an estimated reserve balance of less than $1 million by year-end FY 2016-17. Current revenues to the DROS Account may be insufficient to cover the costs of this bill in conjunction with the numerous other legislative measures requiring funding from the DROS Account, should they be enacted. As a result, an appropriation from an alternate fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the costs of this measure.

Background:

Existing law generally regulates the transfer and possession of firearms. Existing law defines the term “firearm” for various regulatory purposes, including, among others and subject to exceptions, the requirement that firearms be transferred by or through a licensed firearms dealer, the requirement of a 10-day waiting period prior to delivery of a firearm by a dealer, the requirement that firearm purchasers be subject to a background check, and the prohibition on certain classes of persons, such as felons, from possessing firearms. Existing law provides, for specified provisions, that a violation of such specified provisions involving a firearm, is a crime.

Proposed Law:

This bill would expand the definition of “firearm” as used in the following provisions of law to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion:

(1) Penal Code § 16550.

(2) Penal Code § 16730.

(3) Penal Code § 16960.

(4) Penal Code § 16990.

(5) Penal Code § 17070.

(6) Penal Code § 17310.

(7) Penal Code §§ 26500 to 26588, inclusive.

(8) Penal Code §§ 26600 to 27140, inclusive.

(9) Penal Code §§ 27400 to 28000, inclusive.

(10) Penal Code § 28100.

(11) Penal Code §§ 28400 to 28415, inclusive.

(12) Penal Code §§ 29010 to 29150, inclusive.

(13) Penal Code §§ 29610 to 29750, inclusive.

(14) Penal Code §§ 29800 to 29905, inclusive.

(15) Penal Code §§ 30150 to 30165, inclusive.

(16) Penal Code § 31615.

(17) Penal Code §§ 31705 to 31830, inclusive.

(18) Penal Code §§ 34355 to 34370, inclusive.

(19) Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 8100, 8101, and 8103.

Related Legislation:

SB 1407 (de León) 2016 would require a person to apply to and obtain from the DOJ a unique serial number or other mark of identification prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm, subject to specified exceptions. This bill would require any person who, as of July 1, 2018, owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number, as specified, to apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number or other mark of identification by January 1, 2019. SB 1407 is pending hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

AB 857 (Cooper) 2016 is identical to SB 1407 (de León). AB 857 is pending on the Assembly Floor.

Prior Legislation: SB 808 (de León) was substantially similar to SB 1407 (de León) and AB 857 (Cooper) noted above. SB 808 was vetoed by the Governor with the following message:

I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature. SB 808 would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of Justice. I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence, but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety.

Staff Comments:

By revising the definition of “firearm,” this bill would require the DOJ to make enhancements to various automation systems to enable the registration of firearms, as redefined. Estimated one-time costs of $250,000 in FY 2016-17, $270,000 in FY 2017-18, and $42,000 in FY 2018-19 (DROS Account*/General Fund) are estimated to complete the necessary enhancements to various automation systems. These costs include staff overtime and external consultants for software development, testing, and implementation.

Staff notes the act of legislating invites litigation. Generally, this Committee treats the potential for litigation as an indirect cost of any bill and does not consider it as part of the fiscal analysis.  However, as noted in the Senate Public Safety Committee analysis (pp. 7-8, June 14, 2016) of this measure:

“While this legislation is less vague than the previous version that defined a firearm as a ‘weapon, or the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver,’ this legislation is still arguably vague.”

It is established that in order for a criminal statute to satisfy the dictates of due process, two requirements must be met. First, the provision must be definite enough to provide a standard of conduct for those whose activities are proscribed. Because we assume that individuals are free to choose between lawful and unlawful conduct, “we insist that laws give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited, so that he [or she] may act accordingly. Vague laws trap the innocent by not providing fair warning. Second, the statute must provide definite guidelines for the police in order to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” (People v. Heitzman, 9 Cal.4^th 189, 199-200 (Cal. 1994) [citations omitted].)

Consequently, to the extent this measure contains language that could be challenged as unconstitutionally vague, this bill could result in potentially significant costs associated with litigation, both to the courts and the Attorney General.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Loni Hancock, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 1673 Hearing Date: June 14, 2016

Subject: Firearms: Unfinished Frame or Receiver

HISTORY

Source: Author

Prior Legislation: SB 808 (De León) – 2013, vetoed

AB 809 (Feuer) – Chap. 745, Stats. of 2011

AB 302 (Beall) – Chap. 344, Stats. of 2010

AB 1810 (Feuer) – 2010, failed passage on the Senate floor

AB 161 (Steinberg) – Chap. 754, Stats. of 2003

AB 950 (Brulte) – Chap. 944, Stats. of 2001

AB 2188 (Scott) – Chap. 398, Stats. of 1998

Support: American Academy of Pediatrics; California Chapters of the Brady Campaign; California Civil Liberties Advocacy; City of Carson; City of Santa Monica; Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Opposition: California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees; California Rifle and Pistol Association; California Sportsmen's Lobby; Crossroads of the West Gun Shows; Firearms Policy Coalition; Gun Owners of California; National Rifle Association; National Shooting Sports Foundation; Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California; Safari Club International

Assembly Floor Vote: 44 - 33

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to expand the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

Existing 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 federal law requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General. (18 U.S.C. § 923(i).)

Under existing federal law, the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922(p).)

Existing law requires 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 defines “firearm” as a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. (Penal Code § 16520.)

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. (Penal Code §§ 26815 and 27540.)

Existing law requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sales (DROS) process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Penal Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)

Existing law requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement was extended to all firearms. (Penal Code § 26840.)

Existing law requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the Department of Justice to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Penal Code §§ 28160-28220.)

Existing law requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Penal Code § 11106(a) and (c).)

Existing law requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Penal Code § 28220.)

Existing law allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the DROS fee, shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Penal Code § 28225.)

Under existing law, the DOJ 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:

• 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.
• For the actual processing costs associated with the submission of a Dealers’ Record of Sale to the department.
• For the actual costs associated with the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of reports utilized pursuant to Sections 26905, 27565, or 28000, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 27560.
• For the actual costs associated with the electronic or telephonic transfer of information pursuant to Section 28215.
  
• 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. (Penal Code § 28230.)

Under existing law, the Attorney General shall establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Penal Code § 30000.)

This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

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. Need for Legislation

According to the author:

AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include 'unfinished frames and receivers,' which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them.

2. Recent Events

According to a July 15, 2013, briefing prepared by the Minority Staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States House of Representatives:

On June 7, 2013, John Zawahri, 23, killed five people and injured several more during a shooting rampage that lasted approximately 13 minutes in Santa Monica, California. He first shot and killed his father, Samir Zawahri, and brother, Christopher, at their home. He then pulled over and carjacked Laurie Sisk, forcing her to drive at gunpoint to Santa Monica College. Zawahri shot at numerous cars, pedestrians, and a bus en route, killing the college’s groundskeeper, Carlos Franco, and his daughter, Marcela. Upon arriving at the campus, he then fatally shot another woman, Margarita Gomez. He then entered the school library, where he attempted to kill several library patrons who were hiding in a safe room. Police, who had been alerted to the shooting and to Zawahri’s location by numerous 911 calls, exchanged gunfire in the library with the shooter and pronounced him dead at the scene. According to authorities, Zawahri fired approximately 100 rounds in total.

Zawahri had a history of mental illness. In 2006, a teacher at his high school discovered Zawahri researching assault weapons online. School officials contacted the police and he was subsequently admitted to the psychiatric ward at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Zawahri attempted to buy a weapon in 2011, but a background check conducted by the California Department of Justice found him ineligible and denied the purchase. The reasons for this denial have not been publicly released.

Zawahri used a modified AR-15 rifle in the shooting and also carried a .44-caliber handgun. He possessed more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition. The AR-15 rifle is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. The AR-15 firearm held 30 rounds. California state law bans the sale of AR-15 rifles with a magazine capacity greater than ten rounds. Authorities believe that Zawahri assembled his AR-15 rifle using parts he bought in pieces from a number of different sources, including an 80% completed lower receiver. Police found a drill press at Zawahri’s home, a tool that can make holes in the lower receiver to complete the weapon. (Citations Omitted.)

The manufacturing and selling of illegal guns continues to be an issue in California:

Manufacturing and selling illegal guns -- including so-called “ghost guns” -- is the most common type of investigation the Sacramento Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms deals with.

“Ghost guns” are missing a serial number and have been manufactured with parts likely bought online.

“In this office we find quite a few of them and we have made a number of cases over the last few years of people that are selling these firearms for profit, and I would expect that we continue to make those types of cases,” said ATF spokesman Graham Barlowe.

Last October, two brothers were indicted for illegally manufacturing and selling guns in Sacramento. Agents seized 345 guns as part of that investigation.

Daniel Crowninshield, who is also known as “Dr. Death,” was also indicted last year for manufacturing unlicensed firearms, using computer-controlled machines at a North Sacramento metal shop.

In Elk Grove, machinist Richard Gray usually restores cars at his shop, but said he has had people bring in parts claiming they need a broken gun fixed.

“But (I) then started realizing that wasn’t exactly what they were doing. What they were really doing was trying to create a gun that didn't have any serial numbers on it,” Gray said.

Now, Gray said he won’t accept any type of firearm.

“We just tell them straight up that we’re not in that kind of business.” 

He’s a supporter for stricter legislation on assembling guns, but thinks it’ll make illegal gun manufacturers more desperate.

“They’re gonna go someplace else. They’re gonna get the parts and bring them in here by hook or crook,” he said.

There are several websites dedicated to selling parts to build any firearm.

“We do have cases ongoing at this time, and as I said, I would expect that we’ll have cases, we’ll be opening cases in the months and year following until, really until there’s a change in the way that we see this problem,” Barlowe said.

(Dana Griffin, ATF: 'Ghost guns' a growing trend in Sacramento area, August 6, 2015, http://www.kcra.com/news/atf-ghost-guns-a-growing-trend-in-sacramento-area/34586452.)

In 2016, the federal grand jury returned an indictment against Craig Mason, of Auburn, charging him with unlawful dealing and manufacturing firearms:

According to court documents, Mason and others involved in the scheme sold the parts necessary to assemble a firearm. Mason operated a workshop on his property that he used to manufacture firearms by converting AR-15-style blanks into lower receivers.

A “blank” is a metal casting that is not considered a firearm by ATF. It is converted into a “lower receiver” by using a drill press or automated machine to create the precise shape and space necessary for the lower receiver to accept the parts that will allow the firing of a projectile. These parts (e.g., the hammer, bolt or breechlock, and firing mechanism) are the internal mechanical parts that combine with a trigger, firing pin, and other parts to form a functioning firearm. Once the blank is converted to a lower receiver, it is considered firearm by statute, even if there is no barrel, handle, or trigger, etc., and it is subject to regulation.

On April 23, 2013, Mason manufactured two AR-15-style lower receivers for an ATF confidential informant. Despite being told that the confidential informant had been to prison and therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm, Mason created the firearms and sold his services to the confidential informant.

(https://www.atf.gov/news/pr/auburn-man-indicted-illegally-manufacturing-firearms.)

3. Effect of This Legislation

This legislation makes “the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion” a firearm in California. Items that fall under this new definition of firearms would be treated like other firearms in California. Specifically, to purchase one, a person would have to go through a dealer, have a background check and would be subject to a 10-day wait. Additionally, a prohibited person would not be allowed to possess them.

4. Constitutionality: Vagueness Concern

This legislation expands the definition of “firearm” to include “the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.” While this legislation is less vague than the previous version that defined a firearm as a “weapon, or the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver,” this legislation is still arguably vague.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 7 of the California Constitution, each guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. This constitutional command requires “a reasonable degree of certainty in legislation, especially in the criminal law ….” “[A] penal statute [must] define the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.”

It is established that in order for a criminal statute to satisfy the dictates of due process, two requirements must be met. First, the provision must be definite enough to provide a standard of conduct for those whose activities are proscribed. Because we assume that individuals are free to choose between lawful and unlawful conduct, “we insist that laws give the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited, so that he [or she] may act accordingly. Vague laws trap the innocent by not providing fair warning.”

Second, the statute must provide definite guidelines for the police in order to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” (People v. Heitzman, 9 Cal. 4th 189, 199-200 (Cal. 1994) [citations omitted].)

Members may wish to consider whether an ordinary person would be able to identify a firearm as defined by this legislation, so as to know whether he or she is breaking the law. Specifically, would a person of ordinary intelligence would be able to recognize a “frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver ‘blank,’ ‘casting’ or ‘machined body’ that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.”

5. Argument in Support

According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign:

A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirements are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. Lower receivers are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology are increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of “firearm” to include a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. The Brady Campaign supports this change and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the expanded definition is a good approach.

The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness.

6. Argument in Opposition

According to the Firearms Policy Coalition:

We specialize in firearms policy and have no idea what the new definition means

Put simply, AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punch line, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

“weapon, or a frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.”

Clearly identifiable to whom?

This baffling new definition will result in untold thousands of arrests and incarcerations as “firearm” becomes defined by a strange mish-mash of words, disconnected from any known understanding or reality of what has been understood as working definitions of “firearm” for centuries. Maybe roadside analysis between peace officers and motorists would be able to hash out the “I’ll know it when I see it” approach to writing criminal law.

Have a piece of metal or plastic—GO TO JAIL

It is difficult to imagine the enforcement of hundreds of firearms laws and criminal enhancements that will be impacted by AB1673. A sample of the hundreds of new crimes this bill creates includes;

• Possession of a “blank” in a “gun free zone”

• Unloaded open carry of a “casting”

• Unlawful concealed carry of a “machined body”

• Unlawful transfer of a “…receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon…”

• Brandishing a “receiver blank”

• Failure to wait 10 days to “cool off” after acquiring a “machined body”

Persons could end up in the Un-Armed Prohibited Person System?

Should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ’s failed Armed Prohibited Persons System so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm.

Implementation Nightmare

The DOJ will have to update every regulation, every form, every database and every storefront interface to accept the new definition of firearms-- which is challenging given that the new definition targets things that are clearly not firearms at all.

In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These “clearly identifiable” pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the DOJ Dealer’s Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state.

The law is sacred and it affects real people in real communities. The Legislature is entrusted with passing laws that the governed can comply with and the executive can enforce. With that in mind, AB 1673 is simply not ready for serious consideration.

-- END –

(Without Reference to File)

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson)

As Amended Ver:May 31, 2016

Majority vote

SUMMARY: Expands the definition of "firearm" to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver "blank," "casting," or "machined body" that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG).
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code Section 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year.
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make that change, alteration, or removal.
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated.
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer's number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated.
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) process, the purchaser must present "clear evidence of identity and age" which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms.
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof.
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser's information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8104, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, initial moderate DOJ cost in the range of $250,000 for each of the first two years, and $40,000 on every year thereafter (Dealers' Record of Sale Account). These cost include one-time cost for software programming, development and testing to register the new firearms. Current law requires DOJ to charge a dealer a fee for every firearm purchased.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include 'unfinished frames and receivers,' which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."

Analysis Prepared by: Gabriel Caswell/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003150

Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson) – As Amended Ver:March 29, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill expands the definition of “firearm” to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver “blank,” “casting” or “machined body” that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Initial moderate DOJ cost in the range of $250,000 for each of the first two years, and $40,000 on every year thereafter (Dealers’ Record of Sale Account). These cost include one-time cost for software programming, development and testing to register the new firearms. Current law requires DOJ to charge a dealer a fee for every firearm purchased.

COMMENTS:

1. Current law:
   1. Federal law requires licensed importers and manufacturers to identify each gun imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame.
   2. The U.S. Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, possess, or receive any gun that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection by containing at least 3.7 oz. of steel, or any gun with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology.
   3. Allows the state DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark to any gun that lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or if the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed.
   4. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm
   5. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a firearm, or provide the dealer with proof of exemption
   6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with exceptions, to buy, receive, sell, or possess a gun that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification altered, or obliterated.

There are no provisions in existing law, however, which prevent a person from buying an 80% lower receiver and then making it into a fully functional firearm. According to Tactical Machining, “An 80% Receiver is a partially completed piece of material that requires special tooling and skills to be completed and considered a firearm.”

Because 80% lower receivers are not considered firearms, a person purchasing them does not have to go through a federal firearms dealer, and does not have to undergo a background check. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "firearms that began as receiver blanks have been recovered after shooting incidents, from gang members and from prohibited people after they have been used to commit crimes.”

1. Purpose. According to the author, AB 1673 will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. Unfinished receivers and frames will be treated the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application.
2. Support: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, "Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

“A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology is increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.”

1. Opposition. According to the Firearms Policy Coalition, "AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

“In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These 'readily convertible' pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state. (Can you imagine what the DOJ's DROS DES technical support logs will look like after AB 1673?)

"Unfortunately for Assemblymember Gipson, the DOJ's systems are designed for actual firearms. AB 1673 would necessitate the promulgation of new regulations as well as costly modifications to DOJ's many systems and databases. (While the cost of doing as much would certainly be substantial, California would at least have bragging rights to the first non-firearm firearm database in the known history of the world.)

"Adding insult to injury, following the entry of the non-firearm firearm into the DROS system, the non-firearm firearm owner would then be required to wait at least 10 days (and up to 30) to take possession of their non-firearm firearm from the transferring dealer.

"And should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ's failed Armed Prohibited Persons system so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm."

1. Related Legislation: SB 1407 (De Leon), requires a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to first apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number or other identifying mark; requires any person who owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification; prohibits the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions; and prohibits a person from aiding in the manufacture or assembly of a firearm by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. SB 1407 has been referred to Senate Rules Committee for further assignment.
2. Prior Legislation: SB 808 (De Leon) of the 2013-2014 legislative session, required a person, commencing January 1, 2016, to apply to and obtain from the Department of Justice (DOJ) a unique serial number or other mark of identification prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm. The Governor vetoed the bill with the following message:

"I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature.

"SB 808 would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of Justice.

"I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence, but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety."

Analysis Prepared by: Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: March 15, 2016

Counsel: Gabriel Caswell

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON

, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:

Author:() – As Ver:

As Proposed to be Amended in Committee

SUMMARY:

Expands the definition of “firearm” to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver “blank,” “casting” or “machined body” that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG). (18 U.S.C. § 923 subd. (i).)
   
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922 subd. (p).)
   
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code § 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year. (Pen. Code § 29010 subd. (b).)
   
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DO)J to make that change, alteration, or removal. (Pen. Code § 23900.)
   
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated. (Pen. Code § 23910.)
   
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated. (Pen. Code §§ 23920 and 23925.)
   
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the DROS process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Pen. Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
   
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms. (Pen. Code § 26840.)
   
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code §§ 28160-28220.)
   
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Pen. Code § 11106 subds. (a) & (c).)
    
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Pen. Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS or DROS fee), shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Pen. Code § 28225.)
    
13. Provides the AG shall establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code § 30000.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include “unfinished frames and receivers”, which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."
   
2. Lower Receivers: There are no provisions in existing law that prevents a person from buying an 80% lower receiver and then making it into a fully functional firearm. According to Tactical Machining, “An 80% Receiver is a partially completed piece of material that requires special tooling and skills to be completed and considered a firearm.” (http://www.tacticalmachining.com/80-lower-receiver.html.) Because 80% lower receivers are not considered firearms, a person purchasing them does not have to go through a federal firearms dealer, and does not have to undergo a background check. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "firearms that began as receiver blanks have been recovered after shooting incidents, from gang members and from prohibited people after they have been used to commit crimes.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/have-firearms-made-unmarked-receiver-blanks-been-recovered-after-being-used-crime.) “ATF successfully traces crime guns to the first retail purchaser in most instances. ATF starts with the manufacturer and goes through the entire chain of distribution to find who first bought the firearm from a licensed dealer. Because receiver blanks do not have markings or serial numbers, when firearms made from such receiver blanks are found at a crime scene, it is usually not possible to trace the firearm or determine its history, which hinders crime gun investigations jeopardizing public safety.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-functioning-firearms-made-receiver-blanks-be-traced.
   
3. Amendments Taken in Committee to Avoid Vagueness: As currently written the bill is arguably vague. Laws which are so vague that a person is unable to determine whether they are in violation of the law may be held "void for vagueness" by courts. The concept was articulated by Supreme Court Justice Sutherland as the following:

"[T]he terms of a penal statute [...] must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties… and a statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law." Connaly v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 285 (1926)

In this case, a felon in possession of a block of metal could arguably be found to be a felon in possession of a firearm. This crime holds relatively serious consequences in California. The term "readily converted to the functional condition" is arguably vague and overbroad. The author should consider amendments to be more specific in the definition of what constitutes a lower receiver or unfinished frame.

The author has agreed to take amendments that include a much more definite description of the items which will constitute a firearm under the provisions of the bill. Unlike the prior version of the bill, these amendments make it clear that the objects in question must be "clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon."

1. Santa Monica Shooting: According to a July 15, 2013, briefing prepared by the Minority Staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States House of Representatives:

On June 7, 2013, John Zawahri, 23, killed five people and injured several more during a shooting rampage that lasted approximately 13 minutes in Santa Monica, California. He first shot and killed his father, Samir Zawahri, and brother, Christopher, at their home. He then pulled over and carjacked Laurie Sisk, forcing her to drive at gunpoint to Santa Monica College. Zawahri shot at numerous cars, pedestrians, and a bus en route, killing the college’s groundskeeper, Carlos Franco, and his daughter, Marcela. Upon arriving at the campus, he then fatally shot another woman, Margarita Gomez. He then entered the school library, where he attempted to kill several library patrons who were hiding in a safe room. Police, who had been alerted to the shooting and to Zawahri’s location by numerous 911 calls, exchanged gunfire in the library with the shooter and pronounced him dead at the scene. According to authorities, Zawahri fired approximately 100 rounds in total.

Zawahri had a history of mental illness. In 2006, a teacher at his high school discovered Zawahri researching assault weapons online. School officials contacted the police and he was subsequently admitted to the psychiatric ward at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Zawahri attempted to buy a weapon in 2011, but a background check conducted by the California Department of Justice found him ineligible and denied the purchase. The reasons for this denial have not been publicly released.

Zawahri used a modified AR-15 rifle in the shooting and also carried a .44-caliber handgun. He possessed more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition. The AR-15 rifle is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. The AR-15 firearm held 30 rounds. California state law bans the sale of AR-15 rifles with a magazine capacity greater than ten rounds. Authorities believe that Zawahri assembled his AR-15 rifle using parts he bought in pieces from a number of different sources, including an 80% completed lower receiver. Police found a drill press at Zawahri’s home, a tool that can make holes in the lower receiver to complete the weapon. (Citations Omitted.)

1. Governor's Veto Message of 2013's SB 808 (De Leon): SB 808 required serial numbers on lower receivers. The governor vetoed the bill with the following message:

"I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature.

"SB 808 would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of Justice.

"I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence, but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety."

1. Argument in Support: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, " In furtherance of our goal to reduce firearm violence in our communities, the California Brady Campaign Chapters support AB 1673, introduced by Assemblymember Mike Gipson. The bill addresses an alarming development in California that threatens public safety.

"A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirement are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

"The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. They are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology is increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

"AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of firearms to include unfinished frames and receivers that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver. The Brady Campaign supports this concept and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the 'readily converted' standard, with, perhaps, more definition, is a good approach.

"The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness. Accordingly, the California Brady Campaign Chapters are in strong support of AB 1673 and urge your AYE vote."

1. Argument in Opposition: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition, "AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

"In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punchline, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

"As used in the following provisions, 'firearm' includes the finished frame or receiver of a weapon, or the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver…

"(Note the obvious lack of definition for the new term of art, 'unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver.')

"AB 1673 is as dangerous as it is Orwellian in its linguistic dissonance, creating severe new penalties for non-violent crimes with what amounts to paperweights by calling things firearms that are not actually firearms.

"Given that 'readily convertible' is a function of time, skill, knowledge, experience, and access to tools, information, materials, and equipment (stamps, molds, mandrels, hydraulic presses, jigs, drills, mills, rivets, welders, sandblasters, software, blueprints, CNC machines, computer numerical control routers, raw materials, etc.), one must wonder if AB 1673 is simply lazy or purposefully hostile to people with access to tools, information, knowledge, and commodity materials.

"In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These 'readily convertible' pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state. (Can you imagine what the DOJ's DROS DES technical support logs will look like after AB 1673?)

"Unfortunately for Assemblymember Gipson, the DOJ's systems are designed for actual firearms. AB 1673 would necessitate the promulgation of new regulations as well as costly modifications to DOJ's many systems and databases. (While the cost of doing as much would certainly be substantial, California would at least have bragging rights to the first non-firearm firearm database in the known history of the world.)

"Adding insult to injury, following the entry of the non-firearm firearm into the DROS system, the non-firearm firearm owner would then be required to wait at least 10 days (and up to 30) to take possession of their non-firearm firearm from the transferring dealer.

"And should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ's failed Armed Prohibited Persons system so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm."

1. Related Legislation: SB 1407 (De Leon), requires a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to first apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number or other identifying mark. Requires any person who owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification. Prohibits the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions. Prohibits a person from aiding in the manufacture or assembly of a firearm by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. SB 1407 has been referred to Senate Rules Committee for further assignment.
2. Prior Legislation: SB 808 (De Leon) of the 2013-2014 legislative session, required a person, commencing January 1, 2016, to apply to and obtain from the Department of Justice (DOJ) a unique serial number or other mark of identification prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm. SB 808 was vetoed by the governor.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

California Civil Liberties Advocacy

Coalition Against Gun Violence

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Opposition

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

One private individual.

Analysis Prepared by:

Date of Hearing:

Counsel: Gabriel Caswell

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson) – As Introduced Ver:January 19, 2016

As Proposed to be Amended in Committee

SUMMARY:

Expands the definition of “firearm” to include the frame or receiver of the weapon or a frame or receiver “blank,” “casting” or “machined body” that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG). (18 U.S.C. § 923 subd. (i).)
   
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922 subd. (p).)
   
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code § 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year. (Pen. Code § 29010 subd. (b).)
   
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DO)J to make that change, alteration, or removal. (Pen. Code § 23900.)
   
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated. (Pen. Code § 23910.)
   
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated. (Pen. Code §§ 23920 and 23925.)
   
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the DROS process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Pen. Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
   
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms. (Pen. Code § 26840.)
   
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code §§ 28160-28220.)
   
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Pen. Code § 11106 subds. (a) & (c).)
    
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Pen. Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS or DROS fee), shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Pen. Code § 28225.)
    
13. Provides the AG shall establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code § 30000.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include “unfinished frames and receivers”, which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."
   
2. Lower Receivers: There are no provisions in existing law that prevents a person from buying an 80% lower receiver and then making it into a fully functional firearm. According to Tactical Machining, “An 80% Receiver is a partially completed piece of material that requires special tooling and skills to be completed and considered a firearm.” (http://www.tacticalmachining.com/80-lower-receiver.html.) Because 80% lower receivers are not considered firearms, a person purchasing them does not have to go through a federal firearms dealer, and does not have to undergo a background check. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "firearms that began as receiver blanks have been recovered after shooting incidents, from gang members and from prohibited people after they have been used to commit crimes.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/have-firearms-made-unmarked-receiver-blanks-been-recovered-after-being-used-crime.) “ATF successfully traces crime guns to the first retail purchaser in most instances. ATF starts with the manufacturer and goes through the entire chain of distribution to find who first bought the firearm from a licensed dealer. Because receiver blanks do not have markings or serial numbers, when firearms made from such receiver blanks are found at a crime scene, it is usually not possible to trace the firearm or determine its history, which hinders crime gun investigations jeopardizing public safety.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-functioning-firearms-made-receiver-blanks-be-traced.
   
3. Amendments Taken in Committee to Avoid Vagueness: As currently written the bill is arguably vague. Laws which are so vague that a person is unable to determine whether they are in violation of the law may be held "void for vagueness" by courts. The concept was articulated by Supreme Court Justice Sutherland as the following:

"[T]he terms of a penal statute [...] must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties… and a statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law." Connaly v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 285 (1926)

In this case, a felon in possession of a block of metal could arguably be found to be a felon in possession of a firearm. This crime holds relatively serious consequences in California. The term "readily converted to the functional condition" is arguably vague and overbroad. The author should consider amendments to be more specific in the definition of what constitutes a lower receiver or unfinished frame.

The author has agreed to take amendments that include a much more definite description of the items which will constitute a firearm under the provisions of the bill. Unlike the prior version of the bill, these amendments make it clear that the objects in question must be "clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon."

1. Santa Monica Shooting: According to a July 15, 2013, briefing prepared by the Minority Staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States House of Representatives:

On June 7, 2013, John Zawahri, 23, killed five people and injured several more during a shooting rampage that lasted approximately 13 minutes in Santa Monica, California. He first shot and killed his father, Samir Zawahri, and brother, Christopher, at their home. He then pulled over and carjacked Laurie Sisk, forcing her to drive at gunpoint to Santa Monica College. Zawahri shot at numerous cars, pedestrians, and a bus en route, killing the college’s groundskeeper, Carlos Franco, and his daughter, Marcela. Upon arriving at the campus, he then fatally shot another woman, Margarita Gomez. He then entered the school library, where he attempted to kill several library patrons who were hiding in a safe room. Police, who had been alerted to the shooting and to Zawahri’s location by numerous 911 calls, exchanged gunfire in the library with the shooter and pronounced him dead at the scene. According to authorities, Zawahri fired approximately 100 rounds in total.

Zawahri had a history of mental illness. In 2006, a teacher at his high school discovered Zawahri researching assault weapons online. School officials contacted the police and he was subsequently admitted to the psychiatric ward at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Zawahri attempted to buy a weapon in 2011, but a background check conducted by the California Department of Justice found him ineligible and denied the purchase. The reasons for this denial have not been publicly released.

Zawahri used a modified AR-15 rifle in the shooting and also carried a .44-caliber handgun. He possessed more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition. The AR-15 rifle is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. The AR-15 firearm held 30 rounds. California state law bans the sale of AR-15 rifles with a magazine capacity greater than ten rounds. Authorities believe that Zawahri assembled his AR-15 rifle using parts he bought in pieces from a number of different sources, including an 80% completed lower receiver. Police found a drill press at Zawahri’s home, a tool that can make holes in the lower receiver to complete the weapon. (Citations Omitted.)

1. Governor's Veto Message of 2013's SB 808 (De Leon): SB 808 required serial numbers on lower receivers. The governor vetoed the bill with the following message:

"I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature.

"SB 808 would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of Justice.

"I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence, but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety."

1. Argument in Support: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, " In furtherance of our goal to reduce firearm violence in our communities, the California Brady Campaign Chapters support AB 1673, introduced by Assemblymember Mike Gipson. The bill addresses an alarming development in California that threatens public safety.

"A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirement are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

"The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. They are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology is increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

"AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of firearms to include unfinished frames and receivers that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver. The Brady Campaign supports this concept and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the 'readily converted' standard, with, perhaps, more definition, is a good approach.

"The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness. Accordingly, the California Brady Campaign Chapters are in strong support of AB 1673 and urge your AYE vote."

1. Argument in Opposition: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition, "AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

"In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punchline, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

"As used in the following provisions, 'firearm' includes the finished frame or receiver of a weapon, or the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver…

"(Note the obvious lack of definition for the new term of art, 'unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver.')

"AB 1673 is as dangerous as it is Orwellian in its linguistic dissonance, creating severe new penalties for non-violent crimes with what amounts to paperweights by calling things firearms that are not actually firearms.

"Given that 'readily convertible' is a function of time, skill, knowledge, experience, and access to tools, information, materials, and equipment (stamps, molds, mandrels, hydraulic presses, jigs, drills, mills, rivets, welders, sandblasters, software, blueprints, CNC machines, computer numerical control routers, raw materials, etc.), one must wonder if AB 1673 is simply lazy or purposefully hostile to people with access to tools, information, knowledge, and commodity materials.

"In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These 'readily convertible' pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state. (Can you imagine what the DOJ's DROS DES technical support logs will look like after AB 1673?)

"Unfortunately for Assemblymember Gipson, the DOJ's systems are designed for actual firearms. AB 1673 would necessitate the promulgation of new regulations as well as costly modifications to DOJ's many systems and databases. (While the cost of doing as much would certainly be substantial, California would at least have bragging rights to the first non-firearm firearm database in the known history of the world.)

"Adding insult to injury, following the entry of the non-firearm firearm into the DROS system, the non-firearm firearm owner would then be required to wait at least 10 days (and up to 30) to take possession of their non-firearm firearm from the transferring dealer.

"And should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ's failed Armed Prohibited Persons system so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm."

1. Related Legislation: SB 1407 (De Leon), requires a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to first apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number or other identifying mark. Requires any person who owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification. Prohibits the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions. Prohibits a person from aiding in the manufacture or assembly of a firearm by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. SB 1407 has been referred to Senate Rules Committee for further assignment.
2. Prior Legislation: SB 808 (De Leon) of the 2013-2014 legislative session, required a person, commencing January 1, 2016, to apply to and obtain from the Department of Justice (DOJ) a unique serial number or other mark of identification prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm. SB 808 was vetoed by the governor.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

California Civil Liberties Advocacy

Coalition Against Gun Violence

Firearms Policy Coalition

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Opposition

California Association of Federal Firearms Licensees

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

One private individual.

Analysis Prepared by:

Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

Date of Hearing:

Counsel: Gabriel Caswell

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Bill Quirk, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1673

Author:(Gipson) – As Introduced Ver:January 19, 2016

REVISED

SUMMARY:

Expands the definition of “firearm” to include an unfinished frame or receiver that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver. Applies the same regulations that would apply to firearms to unfinished frames or receivers.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Requires licensed importers and licensed manufacturers to identify each firearm imported or manufactured by using the serial number engraved or cast on the receiver or frame of the weapon, in such manner as prescribed by the Attorney General (AG). (18 U.S.C. § 923 subd. (i).)
   
2. Specifies that the United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containing 3.7 oz. of steel, or any firearm with major components that do not generate an accurate image before standard airport imaging technology. (18 U.S.C. § 922 subd. (p).)
   
3. Prohibits a person, firm, or corporation licensed to manufacture firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code from manufacturing firearms in California, unless the person, firm or corporation is also licensed under California law (Penal Code § 29010). This prohibition does not apply to a person licensed under federal law, who manufactures less than 100 firearms a calendar year. (Pen. Code § 29010 subd. (b).)
   
4. Makes it illegal to change, alter, remove, or obliterate the name of the maker, model, manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification on any pistol, revolver, or any other firearm, without first having secured written permission from the Department of Justice (DO)J to make that change, alteration, or removal. (Pen. Code § 23900.)
   
5. Allows the DOJ, upon request, to assign a distinguishing number or mark of identification to any firearm whenever the firearm lacks a manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or whenever the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification, or a distinguishing number or mark assigned by the department has been destroyed or obliterated. (Pen. Code § 23910.)
   
6. Makes it a misdemeanor, with limited enumerated exceptions, for any person to buy, receive, dispose of, sell, offer to sell or have possession any pistol, revolver, or other firearm that has had the name of the maker or model, or the manufacturer’s number or other mark of identification changed, altered, removed, or obliterated. (Pen. Code §§ 23920 and 23925.)
   
7. Requires a person be at least 18 years of age to purchase a rifle or shotgun. To purchase a handgun, a person must be at least 21 years of age. As part of the DROS process, the purchaser must present “clear evidence of identity and age” which is defined as a valid, non-expired California Driver’s License or Identification Card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Pen. Code §§ 27510 and 16400.)
   
8. Requires purchasers to present a handgun safety certificate prior to the submission of DROS information for a handgun or provide the dealer with proof of exemption pursuant to California Penal Code Section 31700. Beginning on January 1, 2015, this requirement will be extended to all firearms. (Pen. Code § 26840.)
   
9. Requires that firearms dealers obtain certain identifying information from firearms purchasers and forward that information, via electronic transfer to the DOJ to perform a background check on the purchaser to determine whether he or she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code §§ 28160-28220.)
   
10. Requires firearms to be centrally registered at the time of transfer or sale by way of transfer forms centrally compiled by the DOJ. The DOJ is required to keep a registry from data sent to the DOJ indicating who owns what firearm by make, model, and serial number and the date thereof. (Pen. Code § 11106 subds. (a) & (c).)
    
11. Requires that, upon receipt of the purchaser’s information, the DOJ shall examine its records, as well as those records that it is authorized to request from the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from purchasing a firearm because of a prior felony conviction or because they had previously purchased a handgun within the last 30 days, or because they had received inpatient treatment for a mental health disorder, as specified. (Pen. Code § 28220.)
    
12. Allows the DOJ to require the dealer to charge each firearm purchaser a fee not to exceed $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. This fee, known as the Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS or DROS fee), shall be no more than is necessary to fund specific codified costs. (Pen. Code § 28225.)
    
13. Provides the AG shall establish and maintain an online database to be known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The purpose of the file is to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, as indicated by a record in the Consolidated Firearms Information System, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. (Pen. Code § 30000.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 1673 will expand the definition of a firearm, to include “unfinished frames and receivers”, which will close a dangerous loophole that allows anyone to sell, trade and manufacture in partial-completion the only part of a firearm that is subject to serial-number identification and registration. The change will treat unfinished receivers and frames the same way a finished receiver is treated, and require background checks in order to be sold, prohibit them from the possession of the mentally ill and convicted felons, and require mandatory serial number application. This expanded definition will not affect the activities of gun manufacturers or home firearm-crafting enthusiasts. Gun manufacturers and home firearm-crafting enthusiasts will however be required to register their firearms as they manufacture them."
   
2. Lower Receivers: There are no provisions in existing law that prevents a person from buying an 80% lower receiver and then making it into a fully functional firearm. According to Tactical Machining, “An 80% Receiver is a partially completed piece of material that requires special tooling and skills to be completed and considered a firearm.” (http://www.tacticalmachining.com/80-lower-receiver.html.) Because 80% lower receivers are not considered firearms, a person purchasing them does not have to go through a federal firearms dealer, and does not have to undergo a background check. Additionally, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "firearms that began as receiver blanks have been recovered after shooting incidents, from gang members and from prohibited people after they have been used to commit crimes.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/have-firearms-made-unmarked-receiver-blanks-been-recovered-after-being-used-crime.) “ATF successfully traces crime guns to the first retail purchaser in most instances. ATF starts with the manufacturer and goes through the entire chain of distribution to find who first bought the firearm from a licensed dealer. Because receiver blanks do not have markings or serial numbers, when firearms made from such receiver blanks are found at a crime scene, it is usually not possible to trace the firearm or determine its history, which hinders crime gun investigations jeopardizing public safety.” (https://www.atf.gov/firearms/qa/can-functioning-firearms-made-receiver-blanks-be-traced.
   
3. Vagueness: As currently written the bill is arguably vague. Laws which are so vague that a person is unable to determine whether they are in violation of the law may be held "void for vagueness" by courts. The concept was articulated by Supreme Court Justice Sutherland as the following:

"[T]he terms of a penal statute [...] must be sufficiently explicit to inform those who are subject to it what conduct on their part will render them liable to its penalties… and a statute which either forbids or requires the doing of an act in terms so vague that men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning and differ as to its application violates the first essential of due process of law." Connaly v. General Construction Co., 269 U.S. 285 (1926)

In this case, a felon in possession of a block of metal could arguably be found to be a felon in possession of a firearm. This crime holds relatively serious consequences in California. The term "readily converted to the functional condition" is arguably vague and overbroad. The author should consider amendments to be more specific in the definition of what constitutes a lower receiver or unfinished frame.

1. Santa Monica Shooting: According to a July 15, 2013, briefing prepared by the Minority Staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, United States House of Representatives:

On June 7, 2013, John Zawahri, 23, killed five people and injured several more during a shooting rampage that lasted approximately 13 minutes in Santa Monica, California. He first shot and killed his father, Samir Zawahri, and brother, Christopher, at their home. He then pulled over and carjacked Laurie Sisk, forcing her to drive at gunpoint to Santa Monica College. Zawahri shot at numerous cars, pedestrians, and a bus en route, killing the college’s groundskeeper, Carlos Franco, and his daughter, Marcela. Upon arriving at the campus, he then fatally shot another woman, Margarita Gomez. He then entered the school library, where he attempted to kill several library patrons who were hiding in a safe room. Police, who had been alerted to the shooting and to Zawahri’s location by numerous 911 calls, exchanged gunfire in the library with the shooter and pronounced him dead at the scene. According to authorities, Zawahri fired approximately 100 rounds in total.

Zawahri had a history of mental illness. In 2006, a teacher at his high school discovered Zawahri researching assault weapons online. School officials contacted the police and he was subsequently admitted to the psychiatric ward at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. Zawahri attempted to buy a weapon in 2011, but a background check conducted by the California Department of Justice found him ineligible and denied the purchase. The reasons for this denial have not been publicly released.

Zawahri used a modified AR-15 rifle in the shooting and also carried a .44-caliber handgun. He possessed more than 1,300 rounds of ammunition. The AR-15 rifle is the same type of gun used in the mass shootings that occurred in Aurora, Colorado, and Newtown, Connecticut. The AR-15 firearm held 30 rounds. California state law bans the sale of AR-15 rifles with a magazine capacity greater than ten rounds. Authorities believe that Zawahri assembled his AR-15 rifle using parts he bought in pieces from a number of different sources, including an 80% completed lower receiver. Police found a drill press at Zawahri’s home, a tool that can make holes in the lower receiver to complete the weapon. (Citations Omitted.)

1. Governor's Veto Message of 2013's SB 808 (De Leon): SB 808 required serial numbers on lower receivers. The governor vetoed the bill with the following message:

"I am returning Senate Bill 808 without my signature.

"SB 808 would require individuals who build guns at home to first obtain a serial number and register the weapon with the Department of Justice.

"I appreciate the author's concerns about gun violence, but I can't see how adding a serial number to a homemade gun would significantly advance public safety."

1. Argument in Support: According to the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, " In furtherance of our goal to reduce firearm violence in our communities, the California Brady Campaign Chapters support AB 1673, introduced by Assemblymember Mike Gipson. The bill addresses an alarming development in California that threatens public safety.

"A priority policy objective for the California Brady Campaign is to ensure that every firearm owner has passed a background check and that all firearm transfers include a thorough background check, 10-day waiting period, and a record of the transaction that includes the serial number of the firearm. There have been numerous studies indicating that these requirement are good strategies for reducing gun violence and clearly, they further our core goal of keeping weapons out of dangerous hands. Although existing California law requires background checks and the retention of transfer records, people have found that they can avoid these requirements and other California gun laws by creating and marketing partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers or frames. According to media reports and law enforcement, there is a growing number of firearms assembled from partially complete receivers and fames and these firearms are increasingly used in crime. AB 1673 will address this problem.

"The lower receiver is that part of a long gun that contains the trigger, firing pin, and ammunition feeding mechanisms. They are treated the same as a long gun and are currently legally available, provided that the purchaser passes a background check, the lower receiver has a serial number, and a record of the purchase is created. Similarly, a frame for a pistol is treated as a handgun and has a serial number. However, partially complete or “80 percent” lower receivers and frames are not considered to be firearms, but with a few simple modifications, they can become fully functional. A person with a drill press can easily drill the necessary holes to complete the receiver or frame and advances in 3D printing technology is increasing the availability of unfinished lower receivers and frames. Firearms assembled from these partially complete lower receivers and frames are untraceable for law enforcement.

"AB 1673 will deal with this problem by expanding the definition of firearms to include unfinished frames and receivers that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver. The Brady Campaign supports this concept and believes that weapons assembled from unfinished lower receivers and frames should be subject to the full extent of the law. Determining at what point a piece of metal or other material should be considered a firearm is difficult to establish, but the 'readily converted' standard, with, perhaps, more definition, is a good approach.

"The shooter in the 2013 Santa Monica shooting, in which six people were killed, was prohibited from purchasing firearms. Instead, he machined himself an AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle from an aluminum partial lower receiver. This is an example of why it is essential that guns assembled from partial lower receivers and frames be regulated. AB 1673 will help keep weapons out of the hands of those considered at risk of violence, such as criminals, children, and persons with severe mental illness. Accordingly, the California Brady Campaign Chapters are in strong support of AB 1673 and urge your AYE vote."

1. Argument in Opposition: According to the Firearms Policy Coalition, "AB 1673 would change the definition of a firearm to include things that are not firearms.

"In the interest of clarity, and because the best comedy requires no punchline, we offer here the entire substance of AB 1673 (amending § 16520(b) of the Penal Code):

"As used in the following provisions, 'firearm' includes the finished frame or receiver of a weapon, or the unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver…

"(Note the obvious lack of definition for the new term of art, 'unfinished frame or receiver of a weapon that can be readily converted to the functional condition of a finished frame or receiver.')

"AB 1673 is as dangerous as it is Orwellian in its linguistic dissonance, creating severe new penalties for non-violent crimes with what amounts to paperweights by calling things firearms that are not actually firearms.

"Given that 'readily convertible' is a function of time, skill, knowledge, experience, and access to tools, information, materials, and equipment (stamps, molds, mandrels, hydraulic presses, jigs, drills, mills, rivets, welders, sandblasters, software, blueprints, CNC machines, computer numerical control routers, raw materials, etc.), one must wonder if AB 1673 is simply lazy or purposefully hostile to people with access to tools, information, knowledge, and commodity materials.

"In order to comply with AB 1673, non-firearm firearms would need to be taken to and transferred through a licensed (real) firearms dealer. These 'readily convertible' pieces of plastic, wood, aluminum, iron, or steel would then need to be entered into the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Dealer's Record of Sale Entry System (DROS DES) in order to provide the DOJ with the information required to register the non-firearm with the state. (Can you imagine what the DOJ's DROS DES technical support logs will look like after AB 1673?)

"Unfortunately for Assemblymember Gipson, the DOJ's systems are designed for actual firearms. AB 1673 would necessitate the promulgation of new regulations as well as costly modifications to DOJ's many systems and databases. (While the cost of doing as much would certainly be substantial, California would at least have bragging rights to the first non-firearm firearm database in the known history of the world.)

"Adding insult to injury, following the entry of the non-firearm firearm into the DROS system, the non-firearm firearm owner would then be required to wait at least 10 days (and up to 30) to take possession of their non-firearm firearm from the transferring dealer.

"And should the non-firearm firearm owner ever be found or thought to be prohibited from firearm possession, the person would be placed into the DOJ's failed Armed Prohibited Persons system so DOJ agents or local law enforcement could confiscate the non-firearm firearm."

1. Related Legislation: SB 1407 (De Leon), requires a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to first apply to the DOJ for a unique serial number or other identifying mark. Requires any person who owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification. Prohibits the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions. Prohibits a person from aiding in the manufacture or assembly of a firearm by a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm. SB 1407 has been referred to Senate Rules Committee for further assignment.
2. Prior Legislation: SB 808 (De Leon) of the 2013-2014 legislative session, required a person, commencing January 1, 2016, to apply to and obtain from the Department of Justice (DOJ) a unique serial number or other mark of identification prior to manufacturing or assembling a firearm. SB 808 was vetoed by the governor.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California Chapters of the Brady Campaign

Coalition Against Gun Violence

Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Opposition

California Sportsmen's Lobby

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows

Firearms Policy Coalition

National Rifle Association

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Outdoor Sportsmen's Coalition of California

Safari Club International

Analysis Prepared by:

Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744