BILL NUMBER: SB 47 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 20, 2013
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 24, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
(Coauthors: Senators De León , Leno, and Steinberg)
( Coauthor: Assembly Member
Dickinson Coauthors: Assembly
Members Bloom, Dickinson, and Ting
)
DECEMBER 18, 2012
An act to amend Sections 30515 and 30900 of, and to add Section
30680 to, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 47, as amended, Yee. Firearms: assault weapons.
(1) Existing law generally prohibits the possession or transfer of
assault weapons, except for the sale, purchase, importation, or
possession of assault weapons by specified individuals, including law
enforcement officers. Under existing law, "assault weapon" means,
among other things, a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle or a
semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to accept a detachable
magazine and has any one of specified attributes, including, for
rifles, a thumbhole stock, and for pistols, a second handgrip.
This bill would revise these provisions to mean a semiautomatic,
centerfire rifle or a semiautomatic pistol that does not have a fixed
magazine but has any one of those specified attributes.
This bill would also define "fixed magazine" to mean an ammunition
feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a firearm
in such a manner that the device cannot be removed without
disassembly of the firearm action.
By expanding the definition of an existing crime, the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires that any person who, within this state,
possesses any .50 BMG rifle, an assault
weapon, except as otherwise provided, be punished by a
fine of $1,000, imprisonment in a county jail as a
felony or for a period not to exceed one year , or by
both that fine and imprisonment in a county jail
.
This bill would exclude exempt from
those provisions punishment a person
who possessed an assault weapon under that provision prior
to January 1, 2014, and until July 1, 2014, if specified
requirements are met.
(3) Existing law requires that, with specified exceptions, any
person who, prior to January 1, 2001, lawfully possessed an assault
weapon prior to the date it was defined as an assault weapon, and
which was not specified as an assault weapon at the time of lawful
possession, register the firearm with the Department of Justice.
Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee for
registration of up to $20 per person but not to exceed the actual
processing costs of the department. Existing law, after the
department establishes fees sufficient to reimburse the department
for processing costs, requires fees charged to increase at a rate not
to exceed the legislatively approved annual cost-of-living
adjustment for the department's budget or as otherwise increased
through the Budget Act. Existing law requires those fees to be
deposited into the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account. Existing
law, the Administrative Procedure Act, establishes the requirements
for the adoption, publication, review, and implementation
of regulations by state agencies.
This bill would require that any person who, from January 1, 2001,
to December 31, 2013, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault
weapon that does not have a fixed magazine, as defined, and including
those weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed
readily from the firearm with the use of a tool, register the firearm
before July 1, 2014, with the Department of Justice. This bill
would permit the department to increase the $20 registration fee as
long as it does not exceed the reasonable processing costs of the
department. This bill would also require registrations to be
submitted electronically via the Internet utilizing a public-facing
application made available by the department. This bill would require
the registration to contain specified information,
including, but not limited to, a description of the firearm that
identifies it uniquely and specified information about the
registrant. This bil l would permit the department to
charge a fee of up to $15 per person for registration through the
Internet, not to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the
department to be paid and deposited, as specified . This
bill would require the department to establish procedures for the
purpose of carrying out those provisions and would exempt them from
the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would also make technical
and conforming changes.
(4) 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 30515 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30515. (a) Notwithstanding Section 30510, "assault weapon" also
means any of the following:
(1) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed
magazine but has any one of the following:
(A) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action
of the weapon.
(B) A thumbhole stock.
(C) A folding or telescoping stock.
(D) A grenade launcher or flare launcher.
(E) A flash suppressor.
(F) A forward pistol grip.
(2) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has a fixed magazine
with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(3) A semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that has an overall length
of less than 30 inches.
(4) A semiautomatic pistol that does not have a fixed magazine but
has any one of the following:
(A) A threaded barrel, capable of accepting a flash suppressor,
forward handgrip, or silencer.
(B) A second handgrip.
(C) A shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely
encircles, the barrel that allows the bearer to fire the weapon
without burning the bearer's hand, except a slide that encloses the
barrel.
(D) The capacity to accept a detachable magazine at some location
outside of the pistol grip.
(5) A semiautomatic pistol with a fixed magazine that has the
capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
(6) A semiautomatic shotgun that has both of the following:
(A) A folding or telescoping stock.
(B) A pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action
of the weapon, thumbhole stock, or vertical handgrip.
(7) A semiautomatic shotgun that has the ability to accept a
detachable magazine.
(8) Any shotgun with a revolving cylinder.
(b) For purposes of this section, "fixed magazine" means an
ammunition feeding device contained in, or permanently attached to, a
firearm in such a manner that the device cannot be removed without
disassembly of the firearm action.
(c) The Legislature finds a significant public purpose in
exempting from the definition of "assault weapon" pistols that are
designed expressly for use in Olympic target shooting events.
Therefore, those pistols that are sanctioned by the International
Olympic Committee and by USA Shooting, the national governing body
for international shooting competition in the United States, and that
were used for Olympic target shooting purposes as of January 1,
2001, and that would otherwise fall within the definition of "assault
weapon" pursuant to this section are exempt, as provided in
subdivision (d).
(d) "Assault weapon" does not include either of the following:
(1) Any antique firearm.
(2) Any of the following pistols, because they are consistent with
the significant public purpose expressed in subdivision (c):
MANUFACTURER MODEL CALIBER
BENELLI MP90 .22LR
BENELLI MP90 .32 S&W LONG
BENELLI MP95 .22LR
BENELLI MP95 .32 S&W LONG
HAMMERLI 280 .22LR
HAMMERLI 280 .32 S&W LONG
HAMMERLI SP20 .22LR
HAMMERLI SP20 .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI GPO .22 SHORT
PARDINI GP-SCHUMANN .22 SHORT
PARDINI HP .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI MP .32 S&W LONG
PARDINI SP .22LR
PARDINI SPE .22LR
WALTHER GSP .22LR
WALTHER GSP .32 S&W LONG
WALTHER OSP .22 SHORT
WALTHER OSP-2000 .22 SHORT
(3) The Department of Justice shall create a program that is
consistent with the purposes stated in subdivision (c) to exempt new
models of competitive pistols that would otherwise fall within the
definition of "assault weapon" pursuant to this section from being
classified as an assault weapon. The exempt competitive pistols may
be based on recommendations by USA Shooting consistent with the
regulations contained in the USA Shooting Official Rules or may be
based on the recommendation or rules of any other organization that
the department deems relevant.
SEC. 2. Section 30680 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
30680. Notwithstanding the meaning of "assault weapon" under
Section 30515, as amended by the act that added this section,
Section 30610 shall not apply to the possession of
any person who possessed an assault weapon
by a person who initially possessed the assault weapon
prior to July 1, 2014, January 1,
2014, is exempt from punishment pursuant to Section 30605 until July
1, 2014, if all of the following are applicable:
(a) During the person's possession, the person was eligible to
register that assault weapon pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
30900.
(b) The person lawfully possessed that assault weapon on January
1, 2014.
(c) During the person's possession, the person was otherwise in
compliance with the then-applicable version of former Chapter 2.3
(commencing with Section 12275) of Title 2 of Part 4 or this chapter,
as the case may be.
SEC. 3. Section 30900 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30900. (a) (1) Any person who, prior to
June 1, 1989, lawfully possessed an assault weapon, as defined in
former Section 12276, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the
Statutes of 1989, shall register the firearm by January 1, 1991, and
any person who lawfully possessed an assault weapon prior to the date
it was specified as an assault weapon pursuant to former Section
12276.5, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989
or as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 874 of the Statutes of 1990 or
Section 3 of Chapter 954 of the Statutes of 1991, shall register the
firearm within 90 days with the Department of Justice pursuant to
those procedures that the department may establish.
(b)
(2) Except as provided in Section 30600, any person who
lawfully possessed an assault weapon prior to the date it was
defined as an assault weapon pursuant to former Section 12276.1, as
it read in Section 7 of Chapter 129 of the Statutes of 1999, and
which was not specified as an assault weapon under former Section
12276, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989 or
as amended at any time before January 1, 2001, or former Section
12276.5, as added by Section 3 of Chapter 19 of the Statutes of 1989
or as amended at any time before January 1, 2001, shall register the
firearm by January 1, 2001, with the department pursuant to those
procedures that the department may establish.
(c) Any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31, 2013,
inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not have a
fixed magazine, as defined in Section 30515, and including those
weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily
from the firearm with the use of a tool, shall register the firearm
before July 1, 2014, with the department pursuant to those procedures
that the department may establish.
(d)
(3) The registration shall contain a description of the
firearm that identifies it uniquely, including all identification
marks, the full name, address, date of birth, and thumbprint of the
owner, and any other information that the department may deem
appropriate.
(e)
(4) The department may charge a fee for registration of
up to twenty dollars ($20) per person but not to exceed the
actual reasonable processing costs of the
department. After the department establishes fees sufficient to
reimburse the department for processing costs, fees charged shall
increase at a rate not to exceed the legislatively approved annual
cost-of-living adjustment for the department's budget or as otherwise
increased through the Budget Act but not to exceed the
actual reasonable processing costs of the
department. The fees shall be deposited into the Dealers' Record of
Sale Special Account.
(b) (1) Any person who, from January 1, 2001, to December 31,
2013, inclusive, lawfully possessed an assault weapon that does not
have a fixed magazine, as defined in Section 30515, including those
weapons with an ammunition feeding device that can be removed readily
from the firearm with the use of a tool, shall register the firearm
before July 1, 2014, with the department pursuant to those procedures
that the department may establish.
(2) Registrations shall be submitted electronically via the
Internet utilizing a public-facing application made available by the
department.
(3) The registration shall contain a description of the firearm
that identifies it uniquely, including all identification marks, the
date the firearm was acquired, the name and address of the individual
from whom, or business from which, the firearm was acquired, as well
as the registrant's full name, address, telephone number, date of
birth, sex, height, weight, eye color, hair color, and California
driver's license number or California identification card number.
(4) The department may charge a fee of up to fifteen dollars ($15)
per person but not to exceed the reasonable processing costs of the
department. The fee shall be paid by debit or credit card at the time
that the electronic registration is submitted to the department. The
fee shall be deposited in the Dealers' Record of Sale Special
Account.
(5) The department shall establish procedures for the purpose of
carrying out this subdivision. These procedures shall be exempt from
the Administrative Procedure Act.
SEC. 4. 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.