BILL NUMBER: SB 293 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Holden)
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
An act to amend Sections Section
31910 and 32010 of, and to add Sections 32040 and 32050 to,
of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 293, as amended, DeSaulnier. Firearms: owner-authorized
handguns.
Existing law establishes criteria for determining if a handgun is
unsafe. Existing law generally requires manufacturers to submit
samples of new handgun models for testing to determine if they are
unsafe or may be approved for sale, as specified. Existing law
requires the Department of Justice to compile a roster listing all of
the handguns that have been tested and determined not to be unsafe.
Other provisions of existing law, subject to exceptions,
generally make it an offense to manufacture or sell a handgun that is
not safe.
This bill would provide that commencing 18 months following the
Attorney General's reporting that owner-authorized handguns are
available for retail sale, as specified, a handgun would be unsafe if
it was not owner-authorized, as defined, and would provide an
exception to these provisions for the sale, loan, or transfer of
handguns manufactured in or imported into this state prior to that
date, as specified. The bill would specify requirements that
owner-authorized handguns would be required to meet in order for the
Attorney General to determine that owner-authorized handguns are
available for retail sale, and in order to comply with certain safety
standards, as specified.
This bill would define an owner-authorized handgun as a handgun
that has a permanent feature that renders the handgun incapable of
being fired except when activated by the lawful owner or owners of
the handgun. The bill would specify requirements that an
owner-authorized handgun would be required to meet, and would require
a manufacturer that has developed an owner-authorized handgun
meeting those requirements to submit the handgun for testing, at the
manufacturer's expense, before the handgun may be placed on the
roster of handguns determined not to be unsafe. If two
owner-authorized handguns have been placed on the roster, the bill
would, commencing two years from the date that the second handgun was
placed on the roster, prohibit the Department of Justice from
placing a handgun on the roster that is not an owner-authorized
handgun.
By expanding the application of provisions of law that define a
criminal offense, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The bill would require the Attorney General, commencing July 1,
2014, and every July 1 thereafter through July 1, 2019, to report to
the Governor and the Legislature regarding the progress made on the
availability for retail sale of owner-authorized handguns, as
specified.
The bill would also provide that, commencing 18 months following
the Attorney General's reporting that owner-authorized handguns are
available for retail sale, as specified, any person who intentionally
disables or circumvents the technology of an owner-authorized
handgun is guilty of a misdemeanor.
By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 31910 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
31910. As used in this part, "unsafe handgun" means any pistol,
revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the
person, for which any of the following is true:
(a) For a revolver:
(1) It does not have a safety device that, either automatically in
the case of a double-action firing mechanism, or by manual operation
in the case of a single-action firing mechanism, causes the hammer
to retract to a point where the firing pin does not rest upon the
primer of the cartridge.
(2) It does not meet the firing requirement for handguns.
(3) It does not meet the drop safety requirement for handguns.
(4) Commencing 18 months following the release of a report by the
Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that
owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, pursuant to
Section 32040, it is not an owner-authorized handgun, provided,
however, that this paragraph shall not apply to the sale, loan, or
transfer of a revolver manufactured in or imported into this state
prior to that date.
(b) For a pistol:
(1) It does not have a positive manually operated safety device,
as determined by standards relating to imported guns promulgated by
the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
(2) It does not meet the firing requirement for handguns.
(3) It does not meet the drop safety requirement for handguns.
(4) Commencing January 1, 2006, for a center fire semiautomatic
pistol that is not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
32015, it does not have either a chamber load indicator, or a
magazine disconnect mechanism.
(5) Commencing January 1, 2007, for all center fire semiautomatic
pistols that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
32015, it does not have both a chamber load indicator and if it has
a detachable magazine, a magazine disconnect mechanism.
(6) Commencing January 1, 2006, for all rimfire semiautomatic
pistols that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section
32015, it does not have a magazine disconnect mechanism, if it has a
detachable magazine.
(7) (A) Commencing January 1, 2010, for all semiautomatic pistols
that are not already listed on the roster pursuant to Section 32015,
it is not designed and equipped with a microscopic array of
characters that identify the make, model, and serial number of the
pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in two or more places on the
interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, and that
are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm
is fired, provided that the Department of Justice certifies that the
technology used to create the imprint is available to more than one
manufacturer unencumbered by any patent restrictions.
(B) The Attorney General may also approve a method of equal or
greater reliability and effectiveness in identifying the specific
serial number of a firearm from spent cartridge casings discharged by
that firearm than that which is set forth in this paragraph, to be
thereafter required as otherwise set forth by this paragraph where
the Attorney General certifies that this new method is also
unencumbered by any patent restrictions. Approval by the Attorney
General shall include notice of that fact via regulations adopted by
the Attorney General for purposes of implementing that method for
purposes of this paragraph.
(C) The microscopic array of characters required by this section
shall not be considered the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's
number, or other mark of identification, including any distinguishing
number or mark assigned by the Department of Justice, within the
meaning of Sections 23900 and 23920.
(8) Commencing 18 months following the release of a report by the
Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that
owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, pursuant to
Section 32040, it is not an owner-authorized handgun, provided,
however, that this paragraph shall not apply to the sale, loan, or
transfer of a pistol manufactured in or imported into this state
prior to that date.
(c) In addition to complying with the provisions of subdivisions
(a) and (b), as applicable, owner-authorized handguns shall comply
with the following minimum performance standards:
(1) The firearm shall not fail to recognize the authorized user,
and shall not falsely recognize an unauthorized user, more than one
time per thousand recognition attempts.
(2) The time from first contact to use recognition and firearm
enablement shall be no more than 0.5 0.3
seconds.
(3) The time from loss of contact with the authorized user to
firearm disablement shall be no more than 0.5
0.3 seconds.
(4) When the firearm is enabled, the "ready" condition shall be
indicated by a visible indicator.
(5) If the recognition technology on the firearm is battery
operated, the firearm shall be equipped with a low power indicator
that emits an audible signal.
(6) If the user is not recognized, or if the power supply fails,
the firearm shall be inoperable.
(7) Enabling authorized user information shall be stored in the
firearm as permanent memory that is restored when power is restored.
(8) The firearm shall be capable of use by more than one
authorized user and, if the firearm uses hand recognition technology,
it shall recognize either of the authorized user's hands.
(d) As used in this section, an "owner-authorized handgun" means a
handgun that has a permanent programmable biometric or other
permanent programmable feature as part of its original manufacture
that renders the handgun incapable of being fired except when
activated by the lawful owner or other users authorized by the lawful
owner, and that cannot be readily deactivated.
(1) An owner-authorized handgun shall only be programmed by a
licensed firearms dealer.
(2) Biometric data collected for purposes of programming the
owner-authorized handgun shall not be used for any purpose other than
programming the owner-authorized handgun.
(3) The Department of Justice shall not retain any biometric data
that may be stored in an owner-authorized handgun.
(e) (1) A manufacturer that has developed an owner-authorized
handgun meeting the minimum standards specified in subdivision (c)
shall submit the handgun for testing pursuant to Section 31905 at the
manufacturer's expense before the handgun may be placed on the
roster described in subdivision (a) of Section 32015.
(2) The Department of Justice shall place the owner-authorized
handgun on the roster if it meets the standards specified in
subdivision (c).
(3) If two owner-authorized handguns have been placed on the
roster described in subdivision (a) of Section 32015, then commencing
two years from the date that the second handgun was placed on the
roster, no handgun may be placed on the roster by the Department of
Justice that is not an owner-authorized handgun.
SEC. 2. Section 32010 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
32010. (a) Any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person manufactured in this state, imported
into the state for sale, kept for sale, or offered or exposed for
sale, shall be tested within a reasonable period of time by an
independent laboratory certified pursuant to subdivision (b) to
determine whether that pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person meets or exceeds the standards
defined in Section 31910.
(b) On or before October 1, 2000, the Department of Justice shall
certify laboratories to verify compliance with the standards defined
in Section 31910. The department may charge any laboratory that is
seeking certification to test any pistol, revolver, or other firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person pursuant to Sections 31900
to 32110, inclusive, a fee not exceeding the costs of certification.
(c) The certified testing laboratory shall, at the manufacturer's
or importer's expense, test the firearm and submit a copy of the
final test report directly to the Department of Justice along with a
prototype of the weapon to be retained by the department. The
department shall notify the manufacturer or importer of its receipt
of the final test report and the department's determination as to
whether the firearm tested may be sold in this state.
(d) (1) Commencing January 1, 2006, no center-fire semiautomatic
pistol may be submitted for testing pursuant to Sections 31900 to
32110, inclusive, if it does not have either a chamber load
indicator, or a magazine disconnect mechanism if it has a detachable
magazine.
(2) Commencing January 1, 2007, no center-fire semiautomatic
pistol may be submitted for testing pursuant to Sections 31900 to
32110, inclusive, if it does not have both a chamber load indicator
and a magazine disconnect mechanism.
(3) Commencing January 1, 2006, no rimfire semiautomatic pistol
may be submitted for testing pursuant to Sections 31900 to 32110,
inclusive, if it has a detachable magazine, and does not have a
magazine disconnect mechanism.
(4) Commencing 18 months following the release of a report by the
Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting that
owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale, pursuant to
Section 32040, no handgun may be submitted for testing pursuant to
this chapter if it is not an owner-authorized handgun as defined in
Section 31910.
SEC. 3. Section 32040 is added to the Penal
Code, to read:
32040. (a) The Attorney General shall, commencing July 1, 2014,
and every July 1 thereafter through July 1, 2019, submit a written
report to the Governor and the Legislature summarizing the current
availability of owner-authorized handguns, as defined in subdivision
(d) of Section 31910. The Attorney General shall continue to submit
reports until he or she has reported that owner-authorized handguns
are available for retail sale.
(b) Each report shall state whether owner-authorized handguns are
available for retail sale, and if not, what progress, if any, has
been made in the development of that technology since the previous
report.
(c) Each report shall state what, if any, pressures exist within
the firearms industry to deliberately withhold owner-authorized
handguns from the market.
(d) The Attorney General shall consult with law enforcement
agencies, firearms industry representatives, private technology
providers, the State Department of Public Health, the University of
California, other higher learning institutions, and other appropriate
parties in making reports and recommendations pursuant to this
section.
(e) Each report shall explicitly state all sources consulted and
relied upon, including the names and affiliations of those sources,
and shall be made publicly accessible.
(f) Once the Attorney General has reported that owner-authorized
handguns are being produced and offered for sale in any state or
country, the Attorney General shall contact the manufacturer in
writing and inform it of the provisions of California law relating to
owner-authorized handguns. The Attorney General shall invite the
manufacturer to submit its owner-authorized handguns for testing at
the manufacturer's expense.
(g) Owner-authorized handguns shall be deemed available for retail
sale when at least one domestic or foreign manufacturer has
submitted its owner-authorized handgun for testing and the Attorney
General has determined that it meets the performance standards set
forth in subdivision (c) of Section 31910, provided that the Attorney
General may not certify that "owner-authorized handguns" are
available for retail sale, unless the Attorney General has determined
that the requirements in either paragraph (1) or (2) apply:
(1) The manufacturer has the capacity to meet the reasonably
expected demand of California residents for the new handguns, there
is one technology that meets the required standards, and the
manufacturer has provided written assurances that any applicable
patents will either not be asserted or will be available for
licensing on a nonexclusive basis on reasonable and nondiscriminatory
terms.
(2) There are at least two technologies that meet the required
standards.
(h) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (a) is inoperative on January 1, 2020, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
SEC. 4. Section 32050 is added to the Penal
Code, to read:
32050. Commencing 18 months following the release of a report by
the Attorney General to the Legislature and the Governor reporting
that owner-authorized handguns are available for retail sale,
pursuant to Section 32040, any person who intentionally disables or
circumvents the technology of an owner-authorized handgun, other than
a licensed dealer as necessary to program the owner-authorized
handgun, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
SEC. 5. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred
by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this
act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or
infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within
the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the
definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII
B of the California Constitution.