BILL NUMBER: SB 38 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 6, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 11, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator De León
DECEMBER 5, 2012
An act to add Section 30009 to the Penal Code, relating to
firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 38, as amended, De León. Firearms: prohibited persons.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and
maintain an online database, known as the Prohibited Armed Persons
File, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of
a firearm and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or
possession, became a person who is prohibited from owning or
possessing a firearm.
This bill would, no later than January 1, 2015, require the
Department of Justice to establish a 30-day amnesty period during
which a person prohibited from possessing a firearm may surrender his
or her firearms to a local law enforcement agency without being
charged with illegal possession of a firearm, except as specified.
The bill would require the department to provide written notification
of the amnesty period to prohibited persons who are eligible to
participate in the amnesty period, and would require the notification
to include certain information. The bill would require a local law
enforcement agency that receives a firearm from a prohibited person
during the amnesty period to report specified information to the
department and to sell or destroy surrendered firearms, as provided.
The bill would require the department to use the specified
information provided by the local law enforcement agency to create a
record of each surrendered firearm in the Prohibited Armed Persons
File. The bill would also impose a civil fine of up to $2,500 per
firearm on a person prohibited from possessing a firearm and who
is eligible for the amnesty program who still maintains
possession of his or her firearm after the amnesty period. The bill
would specify that a prohibited person shall not be charged with
illegal possession of a firearm, nor be subject to the fine, if he or
she provides evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she
lawfully surrendered his or her firearm prior to the commencement of
the amnesty period. Because this bill would impose additional duties
on local law enforcement agencies, this bill would create 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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
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 30009 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
30009. (a) In order to reduce the number of firearms possessed by
prohibited persons listed in the Prohibited Armed Persons File, a
30-day amnesty period shall be established, commencing on a date to
be determined by the Department of Justice but not later than January
1, 2015, during which a person prohibited from possessing a firearm
may surrender his or her firearms to a local law enforcement agency
without being charged with illegal possession of firearms, as
provided in subdivision (e). No person convicted of a felony shall be
permitted to participate in the amnesty period.
(b) The department shall provide written notification of the
amnesty period to all prohibited persons eligible to participate in
the amnesty period by first-class mail no later than 60 calendar days
prior to the commencement of the amnesty period. The notification
shall specify the firearms possessed by the prohibited person and
provide instructions for the surrender of the illegal firearms.
(c) For each instance in which a local law enforcement agency
receives a firearm from a prohibited person during the amnesty period
described in subdivision (a), the agency shall submit to the
department the following information:
(1) The name of the prohibited person who surrendered the firearm.
(2) The person's date of birth.
(3) A description of the firearm or firearms surrendered.
(4) The serial number of the firearm or firearms surrendered.
(5) Any other information deemed necessary by the department.
(d) The department shall enter the information received pursuant
to subdivision (c) in the Prohibited Armed Persons File to create a
record of each firearm surrendered during the amnesty period.
(e) A prohibited person who surrenders a firearm pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall not be charged with illegal possession of
firearms for any firearm the department has on record as having been
surrendered pursuant to subdivision (d).
(f) At the expiration of the 30-day amnesty period described in
subdivision (a), a person prohibited from possessing a firearm
and eligible to participate in the amnesty program who still
maintains possession of his or her firearms shall be subject to a
civil fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per
firearm in addition to any criminal penalties authorized by law,
including, but not limited to, penalties described in Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 29900) of this code and Sections 8100 and
8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(g) A prohibited person shall not to be charged with illegal
possession of a firearm, nor be subject to the fine described in
subdivision (f), if he or she provides evidence satisfactory to the
department that he or she lawfully surrendered his or her firearm
prior to the commencement of the amnesty period.
(h) Any firearms surrendered to a local law enforcement agency
pursuant to this section shall be sold or destroyed as provided in
Section 18005.
(i) Sections 26500 and 27545, and subdivision (a) of Section
31615, shall not apply to the surrender of firearms to a local law
enforcement agency pursuant to this section.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.