CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 340

Introduced by Assembly Member Irwin

January 31, 2019

An act to add Sections 30025 and 30030 to the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 340, as introduced, Irwin. Firearms: armed prohibited persons.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File, sometimes referred to as the Armed Prohibited Persons System, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1996, 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.
This bill would authorize a county to establish and implement a Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) team program, consisting of officers and agents from specified law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of, among other things, identifying, monitoring, arresting, and assisting in the prosecution of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm. The bill would additionally require the Department of Justice, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to award grants to DPPT teams that apply for the purpose of investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who are in possession of a firearm, despite their prohibited status, in the DPPT team’s jurisdiction.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 30025 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

30025.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) A substantial amount of firearm-related offenses are committed against the people of California by individuals who are legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
(2) In enacting this section, the Legislature intends to support efforts of the criminal justice community through a focused effort by law enforcement and prosecuting agencies to identify, locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who are in possession of a firearm despite their prohibited status.
(3) The mission of the programs established pursuant to this section shall be to reduce violent firearm-related offenses in the county through proactive surveillance, within the limits of statutory and constitutional law, and the arrest of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm.
(4) Identifying and developing a reliable and sustainable funding for the teams established by this section, including those established in rural and regional areas, is critical for reducing firearm-related crimes in California.
(b) Any county may establish and implement a Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) team program pursuant to this section.
(c) A DPPT team may consist of officers and agents from any of the following law enforcement agencies:
(1) Police departments.
(2) Sheriff’s departments.
(3) The Bureau of Investigations of the Office of the District Attorney.
(4) County probation departments.
(5) To the extent that any of these agencies have available resources and choose to participate:
(A) The Department of Justice.
(B) The Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(C) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(D) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(d) A DPPT team program established pursuant to this section shall have the following objectives:
(1) To identify, monitor, arrest, and assist in the prosecution of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm.
(2) To collect data to determine if the proactive law enforcement procedures adopted by the program are effective in reducing violent firearm-related crimes.
(3) To develop procedures for operating a multijurisdictional regional task force.

SEC. 2.

 Section 30030 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

30030.
 (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Department of Justice shall allocate grants to Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) teams established pursuant to Section 30025 for the purpose of investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who are in possession of a firearm, despite their prohibited status, in the DPPT team’s jurisdiction.
(b) A jurisdiction which has established a DPPT team may apply to the department to receive a grant by submitting a workplan that identifies the jurisdiction’s plans for use of the grants.
(c) The department shall award grants based on the following criteria:
(1) The quality and completeness of the workplan submitted.
(2) Whether the applying jurisdiction has provided, or plans to provide, additional training relating to firearm confiscation.
(3) The proportion and the total number of prohibited persons in the jurisdiction.
(4) The rate of gun-related crime in the jurisdiction.
(5) Commitments by other law enforcement partners to assist the taskforce.