31360.
(a) A person is guilty of the unlawful purchase of body armor when, not being engaged or employed in an eligible profession, they knowingly purchase or take possession of body armor. This subdivision does not apply to individuals or entities engaged or employed in eligible professions.(b) (1) No person, firm, or corporation shall sell or deliver body armor to any person or entity not engaged or employed in an eligible profession. Before selling or delivering body armor, a person, firm, or corporation shall check proof of engagement in an eligible profession.
(2) No sale or delivery
of body armor shall be made unless the transferee meets in person with the transferor to accomplish the sale or delivery.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), proof of engagement in an eligible profession may be satisfied by submission to the seller of a professional license issued by a federal, state, or local government, employment card or other credential issued by an employer, or in the absence of either of those, submission to the seller of a form approved by the Department of Justice that is notarized, verifying that the purchaser is engaged in an eligible profession.
(4) This subdivision does not apply to purchases made by federal, state, or local government agencies for the purpose of furnishing body armor to employees in eligible professions.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “eligible professions” means any of the following:
(1) Peace officers.
(2) Persons in military service in the state or military or other service for the United States.
(3) Federal law enforcement officers.
(4) Armored car guards.
(5) Security guards.
(6) Firefighters.
(7) Emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
(8) Firearms dealers.
(9) Body armor retailers or salespersons.
(10) Private investigators.
(11) Building safety inspectors.
(12) Code enforcement officers.
(13) Animal control officers.
(14) Humane officers.
(15) Violence intervention and prevention workers.
(16) Movie actors.
(17) Attorneys.
(18) Journalists.
(13)
(19) Any profession added by the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d) (1) The Department of Justice may add additional professions pursuant to paragraph (13)
(19) of subdivision (d). (c). The department shall add a profession to the list of eligible professions if the duties of the profession may expose an individual engaged in the profession to serious physical injury that may be prevented or mitigated by the wearing of body armor, or if the duties of the profession are necessary to facilitate the lawful purchase, sale, or use of body armor.
(2) An individual or entity engaged in a profession in the state that is not on the list of eligible professions may request that the Department of Justice add their profession to the list of eligible professions by filing a request with the Department
of Justice in a form and method approved by the department.
(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a violation of subdivision (a) or (b) shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a first offense, and not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for any subsequent offense.
(2) A violation of subdivision (a) by a person who has been convicted of a violent felony under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country shall be punishable by imprisonment in state prison for 16 months, or two or three years.
(f) For the
purposes of this section, “body armor” has the same meaning as in Section 16288.