Bill Text: CA AB1176 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Theft: firearms.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Vetoed) 2016-08-01 - Consideration of Governor's veto pending. [AB1176 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1176-Enrolled.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1176	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  JUNE 30, 2016
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  JUNE 30, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 30, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 4, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 18, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 7, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 23, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 20, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Cooper, Gray, and Melendez

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2015

   An act to amend Sections 490.2, 496, and 29805 of the Penal Code,
relating to theft, and calling an election, to take effect
immediately.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1176, Cooper. Theft: firearms.
   (1) The existing Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an
initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at
the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of
property that does not exceed $950 in value petty theft, and makes
that crime punishable as a misdemeanor, with certain exceptions.
   The California Constitution authorizes the Legislature to amend an
initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective only
when approved by the electors.
   This bill would amend that initiative statute by making the theft
of a firearm grand theft in all cases and punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years.
   (2) Under existing law, a person who buys or receives property
that has been stolen, knowing the property to be stolen, or who
conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or
withholding property from the owner, knowing the property to be
stolen, is guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony, except that if the
value of the property does not exceed $950, Proposition 47 makes the
offense punishable as a misdemeanor if the defendant has not
previously been convicted of one or more specified serious or violent
felonies or an offense requiring registration as a sex offender.
   This bill would amend that initiative statute by making the buying
or receiving of a stolen firearm, with knowledge that the property
was stolen, or the concealing, selling, withholding, or aiding in
concealing, selling, or withholding of a firearm, with knowledge that
the property was stolen, a misdemeanor or a felony.
   (3) Existing law generally prohibits a person who has been
convicted of certain misdemeanors from possessing a firearm within 10
years of the conviction. Under existing law, a violation of this
prohibition is a crime, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
not exceeding one year or in the state prison, by a fine not
exceeding $1,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine.
   This bill would add to the list of misdemeanors, the conviction
for which is subject to the above prohibition on possessing a firearm
within 10 years of the conviction, the petty theft of a firearm and
the buying, receiving, concealing, selling, withholding, or aiding in
concealing, selling, or withholding, of stolen property consisting
of a firearm, as specified. Because a violation of this provision
would be a 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.
   (4) This bill would call a special election to be consolidated
with the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. This bill
would require the Secretary of State to submit the provisions of the
bill that amend the initiative statute, as described in (1) and (2)
above, to the electors for their approval at the November 8, 2016,
consolidated election.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an act calling an election.



THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) In submitting this act to the electors, the
Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (1) The theft of firearms and receipt of stolen firearms pose
dangers to public safety that are different in kind from other types
of theft or the receipt of other types of stolen property.
   (2) Many handguns have a value of less than nine hundred fifty
dollars ($950). The threat to public safety in regard to stolen
firearms goes above and beyond the monetary value of the firearm.
   (3) Given the significant and particular threat to public safety
in regard to stolen firearms, it is appropriate to restore the
penalties that existed prior to the passage of the Safe Neighborhoods
and Schools Act in regard to stolen firearms.
   (b) It is not the intent of the Legislature in submitting this act
to the electors to undermine the voter's decision to decrease
penalties for low-level theft and receiving stolen property, only to
give the voters the opportunity to decide whether firearm thefts and
the receipt of stolen firearms should be subject to the penalties
that existed prior to the passage of the Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Act.
  SEC. 2.  Section 490.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   490.2.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 487 or any other law defining
grand theft, except as provided in subdivision (c), obtaining
property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real property,
or personal property taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty
dollars ($950) is petty theft and shall be punished as a misdemeanor,
except that the person may instead be punished pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 if that person has one or more prior
convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph
(C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an
offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
290.
   (b) This section does not apply to a theft that may be charged as
an infraction pursuant to any other law.
   (c) If the property taken is a firearm, the theft is grand theft
in all cases, as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of
Section 487, and is punishable pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
489.
  SEC. 3.  Section 496 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   496.  (a) (1) Every person who buys or receives any property that
has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting
theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained,
or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling,
or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to
be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year, or imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170. However, except as provided in
subdivision (e), if the value of the property does not exceed nine
hundred fifty dollars ($950), the offense is a misdemeanor,
punishable only by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, if the person has no prior convictions for an offense specified
in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision
(e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant
to subdivision (c) of Section 290.
   (2) A principal in the actual theft of the property may be
convicted pursuant to this section. However, a person may not be
convicted both pursuant to this section and of the theft of the same
property.
   (b) (1) Every swap meet vendor, as defined in Section 21661 of the
Business and Professions Code, and every person whose principal
business is dealing in, or collecting, merchandise or personal
property, and every agent, employee, or representative of that
person, who buys or receives property of a value in excess of nine
hundred fifty dollars ($950) that has been stolen or obtained in any
manner constituting theft or extortion, under circumstances that
should cause the person, agent, employee, or representative to make
reasonable inquiry to ascertain that the person from whom the
property was bought or received had the legal right to sell or
deliver it, without making a reasonable inquiry, shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
   (2) Every swap meet vendor, as defined in Section 21661 of the
Business and Professions Code, and every person whose principal
business is dealing in, or collecting, merchandise or personal
property, and every agent, employee, or representative of that
person, who buys or receives property of a value of nine hundred
fifty dollars ($950) or less that has been stolen or obtained in any
manner constituting theft or extortion, under circumstances that
should cause the person, agent, employee, or representative to make
reasonable inquiry to ascertain that the person from whom the
property was bought or received had the legal right to sell or
deliver it, without making a reasonable inquiry, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   (c) A person who has been injured by a violation of subdivision
(a) or (b) may bring an action for three times the amount of actual
damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff, costs of suit, and
reasonable attorney's fees.
   (d) Notwithstanding Section 664, an attempt to commit any act
prohibited by this section, except an offense specified in the
accusatory pleading as a misdemeanor, is punishable by imprisonment
in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
   (e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person who buys or receives
a firearm that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any
manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so
stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in
concealing, selling, or withholding a firearm from the owner, knowing
the property to be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
  SEC. 4.  Section 29805 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   29805.  Except as provided in Section 29855 or subdivision (a) of
Section 29800, any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor
violation of Section 71, 76, 136.1, 136.5, or 140, subdivision (d) of
Section 148, Section 171b, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 171c, 171d, 186.28, 240, 241, 242, 243, 243.4, 244.5, 245,
245.5, 246.3, 247, 273.5, 273.6, 417, 417.6, 422, 490.2 if the
property taken was a firearm, 496 if the property consists of a
firearm, 626.9, 646.9, or 830.95, subdivision (a) of former Section
12100, as that section read at any time from when it was enacted by
Section 3 of Chapter 1386 of the Statutes of 1988 to when it was
repealed by Section 18 of Chapter 23 of the Statutes of 1994, Section
17500, 17510, 25300, 25800, 30315, or 32625, subdivision (b) or (d)
of Section 26100, or Section 27510, or Section 8100, 8101, or 8103 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, any firearm-related offense
pursuant to Sections 871.5 and 1001.5 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, or of the conduct punished in subdivision (c) of Section
27590, and who, within 10 years of the conviction, owns, purchases,
receives, or has in possession or under custody or control, any
firearm is guilty of a public offense, which shall be punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state
prison, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
both that imprisonment and fine. The court, on forms prescribed by
the Department of Justice, shall notify the department of persons
subject to this section. However, the prohibition in this section may
be reduced, eliminated, or conditioned as provided in Section 29855
or 29860.
  SEC. 5.  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.
  SEC. 6.  (a) Sections 2 and 3 of this act amend the Safe
Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Proposition 47, an initiative statute,
and shall become effective only when submitted to and approved by
the voters at a statewide election.
   (b) A special election is hereby called, to be held throughout the
state on November 8, 2016, for approval by the voters of Sections 2
and 3 of this act. The special election shall be consolidated with
the statewide general election to be held on that date. The
consolidated election shall be held and conducted in all respects as
if there were only one election, and only one form of ballot shall be
used.
   (c) Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 9040, 9043, 9044,
9061, 9082, and 9094 of the Elections Code, or any other law, the
Secretary of State shall submit Sections 2 and 3 of this act to the
voters for their approval at the November 8, 2016, statewide general
election.
  SEC. 7.  This act calls an election within the meaning of Article
IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.
                                                              
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