Bill Text: CA AB48 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Firearms: large-capacity magazines.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-10-11 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 728, Statutes of 2013. [AB48 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB48-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 48	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 4, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  FEBRUARY 4, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Skinner
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Bonta, and Williams)
   (Coauthors: Senators De León and Hancock)

                        DECEMBER 20, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 16740, 16890, and 32390 of, and to add
Sections 16740.5, 30301,  30302, 30303,  and 32311 to, the
Penal Code, relating to firearms.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 48, as amended, Skinner. Firearms: ammunition: sales.
   (1) Except as specified, existing law makes it a crime to
manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, or give
or lend any large-capacity magazine, and makes a large-capacity
magazine a nuisance. Existing law defines "large-capacity magazine"
to mean any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept
more than 10 rounds but excludes, in pertinent part, a feeding device
that has been permanently altered so that the magazine cannot
accommodate more than 10 rounds.
   This bill would make it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not
more than $1,000 or imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed 6
months, or by both that fine and imprisonment, to knowingly
manufacture, import, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, or give
or lend any device that is capable of converting an ammunition
feeding device into a large-capacity magazine. The bill would revise
the definition of "large-capacity magazine" to mean any ammunition
feeding device with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds,
including a readily restorable, as defined, disassembled
large-capacity magazine, and an oversize magazine body that appears
to hold in excess of 10 rounds. The bill would make related,
conforming changes. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
   (2) Existing law prohibits any person, corporation, or dealer from
selling ammunition to a person under 18 years of age, selling
ammunition designed for use in a handgun to a person under 21 years
of age, or providing possession of any ammunition to any minor who
the person, corporation, or dealer knows is prohibited from
possessing that ammunition at that time. Existing law prohibits a
person, corporation, or firm from giving possession or control of
ammunition to any person who he or she knows is prohibited by law
from possessing ammunition. Existing law also regulates handgun
ammunition vendors and provides that a handgun ammunition vendor
shall not permit any employee who the vendor knows or reasonably
should know is a person who has been convicted of a felony or other
specified crimes to handle, sell, or deliver handgun ammunition in
the course and scope of employment.
   This bill would require anyone in the state, prior to
selling, transferring, or otherwise furnishing   selling
or otherwise transferring ownership of any  ammunition to an
individual or business entity in this state or any other state 
to possess a license to sell ammunition or a license to sell
firearms, as provided,  to require proper identification, as
 prescribed, to be an authorized firearms dealer, and to
  prescribed, and to  report the sales to the
Department of Justice. An individual who fails to make the required
report or who knowingly makes a report with false or fictitious
information would be guilty of a  misdemeanor,  
crime, and the ammunition dealer would be subject to an
administrative enforcement action by the department  as
specified. This bill would exempt an individual in the state who
sells, transfers, or furnishes ammunition to certain specified law
enforcement individuals from those identification and reporting
requirements. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
    The bill would require the department to alert local law
enforcement entities in the community in which the purchaser resides
if an individual purchaser who is not a peace officer obtains more
than  ____   3,000  rounds within a 5-day
period. 
   The bill would allow a person to request a license to sell
ammunition from the Department of Justice, would require the
department to conduct a background check to determine if the
applicant is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a
firearm, and would require the department to issue a license to sell
ammunition to an applicant if the applicant is not prohibited. The
bill would require the department to adopt regulations to recover the
costs of administering the program by imposing a fee on applicants.
 
   The bill would require the department to create the California
Ammunition Database, and would require the department to
cross-reference specified information about ammunition purchasers
provided by licensed ammunition dealers with the Prohibited Armed
Persons File. If the dealer failed to report that information, the
bill would authorize an administrative enforcement action against the
dealer by the department. The bill would make these provisions and
the above reporting requirements regarding the sale of ammunition
operative upon the creation of the California Ammunition Database by
the department. The bill would require the department to adopt
regulations and to recover costs of administering the program by
imposing a fee on ammunition dealers. 
   (3) 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 16740 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   16740.  (a) As used in this part, "large-capacity magazine" means
any ammunition feeding device with the capacity to accept more than
10 rounds, including, but not limited to, a readily restorable
disassembled large-capacity magazine and an oversize magazine body
that appears to hold in excess of 10 rounds. A magazine body is not a
large-capacity magazine if it is only of sufficient size to
accommodate no more than 10 rounds of ammunition and the internal
working parts of the magazine, including the follower and spring.
   (b) As used in this section, "readily restorable" means magazine
parts under the custody and control of an individual or individuals
that can be assembled into a complete magazine.
  SEC. 2.  Section 16740.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   16740.5.  As used in this part, a "large-capacity magazine" shall
not be construed to include any of the following:
   (a) A .22 caliber tube ammunition feeding device.
   (b) A tubular magazine that is contained in a lever-action
firearm.
  SEC. 3.  Section 16890 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   16890.  As used in Section 16150, 16740, 30305, or 30515,
"magazine" means any ammunition feeding device, including readily
restorable disassembled magazines. For purposes of this section,
"readily restorable" means magazine parts under the custody and
control of an individual or individuals that can be assembled into a
complete magazine.
  SEC. 4.  Section 30301 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   30301.  (a) Anyone in this state, prior to selling, transferring,
or otherwise furnishing ammunition to an individual or business
entity in this state or any other state, shall do all of the
following: 
   (1) Possess a license to sell ammunition, as described in Section
30302, or a license to sell firearms pursuant to Article 1
(commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with
Section 26800) of Chapter 2.  
   (1) 
    (   2)  Require proper identification from the
purchaser in the form of a driver's license or other photographic
identification issued by a state or the federal government. 
   (2) Be an authorized firearms dealer, pursuant to Section 26500.

   (3) Submit a report to the Department of Justice for all of the
transactions, in a manner to be determined by the department.
   (b) The Department of Justice shall alert local law enforcement
entities in the community in which the purchaser resides if the
purchaser obtains more than  ____   3,000 
rounds within a five-day period and the purchaser is an individual
and not an authorized firearms dealer. The department is not required
to alert local law enforcement of sales of ammunition made to peace
officers.
   (c) (1) Any individual who does not submit the report required by
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), or who knowingly submits a report
with false or fictitious information, shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not
exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and
imprisonment  , and the dealer is subject to an administrative
enforcement action by the department to revoke or suspend the dealer'
s license to sell ammunition  .
   (2) Any individual who has previously been convicted of a
violation of paragraph (1) shall, upon a subsequent conviction
thereof, be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170 of the Penal Code, or by imprisonment in a county jail
not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
   (d) Subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) do not apply to or affect the
sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to any of the following:
   (1) An authorized law enforcement representative of a city,
county, city and county, or state or federal government, if the sale,
delivery, or transfer is for the exclusive use by that government
agency and, prior to the sale, delivery, or transfer of the
ammunition, written authorization from the head of the agency
employing the purchaser or transferee is obtained identifying the
employee as an individual authorized to conduct the transaction, and
authorizing the transaction for the exclusive use of the agency
employing the individual.
   (2) A sworn peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing
with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 who is authorized to carry a
firearm in the course and scope of his or her duties.
   SEC. 5.    Section 30302 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   30302.  (a) A person may request an ammunition license from the
Department of Justice.
   (b) The Department of Justice shall examine its records and
records available to the department in the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System in order to determine if the applicant is
prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving,
owning, or purchasing a firearm.
   (c) The department shall issue a license to sell ammunition to an
applicant if the department's records indicate that the applicant is
not a person who is prohibited by state or federal law from
possessing firearms.
   (d) The department shall adopt regulations to administer this
program and shall recover the reasonable costs of administering and
enforcing this program, by imposing fees assessed to applicants who
apply for those licenses.
   (e) All funds collected shall be deposited in the Ammunition
Dealer License Fund, which is hereby created. 
   SEC. 6.    Section 30303 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   30303.  (a) The Department of Justice shall create the California
Ammunition Database.
   (b) Ammunition dealers shall collect each ammunition purchaser's
name, date of birth, address, and the number of rounds of ammunition
to be sold, transferred, or furnished, and report that information
electronically to the Department of Justice. An ammunition dealer who
fails to report that information electronically to the department is
subject to an administrative enforcement action by the department to
revoke or suspend the dealer's license to sell ammunition.
   (c) Upon receipt of the information described in subdivision (a),
the Department of Justice shall immediately cross-reference the
purchaser's information with the Prohibited Armed Persons File. If a
purchaser's name appears in the Prohibited Armed Persons File, the
Department of Justice shall forward that individual's information to
local law enforcement through a secure mail box.
   (d) The department shall record the information in subdivision (a)
in the database for every purchaser and make the information readily
available to ammunition dealers in an electronic format. The
department shall also make the information in the database accessible
to state and local law enforcement if that access does not increase
the cost of the database.
   (e) Prior to each sale or transfer of ammunition, an ammunition
dealer shall, in a manner determined by the department, check the
ammunition purchaser's information against the California Ammunition
Database.
   (f) This section and the reporting requirement in Section 30301
shall not become effective until the Department of Justice creates
the California Ammunition Database, which shall occur on or before
January 1, 2016.
   (g) The department shall adopt regulations to administer this
program, and shall recover the reasonable costs of administering and
enforcing this program by imposing fees assessed to ammunition
dealers based upon the number of rounds of ammunition sold or
transferred to the ammunition purchaser.
   (h) For purposes of this section, an "ammunition purchaser"
includes any individual or business entity who receives ammunition,
whether by sale or transfer, or is otherwise furnished with
ammunition. An ammunition purchaser does not include any individual
or entity described in subdivision (d) of Section 30301. 
   SEC. 5.   SEC. 7.   Section 32311 is
added to the Penal Code, to read:
   32311.  Except as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section
32400) of this chapter and in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section
17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, commencing January 1, 2014, any
person in this state who knowingly manufactures or causes to be
manufactured, imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or
exposes for sale, or who gives or lends any device that is capable of
converting an ammunition feeding device into a large-capacity
magazine is punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000) or imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed six
months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   SEC. 6.   SEC. 8.   Section 32390 of the
Penal Code is amended to read:
   32390.  (a) Except as provided in Article 2 (commencing with
Section 32400) of this chapter and in Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 17700) of Division 2 of Title 2, and in subdivision (b), any
large-capacity magazine is a nuisance and is subject to Section
18010.
   (b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to the possession of a readily
restorable disassembled large-capacity magazine or an oversize
magazine body that has been permanently altered so that the magazine
cannot accommodate more than 10 rounds by a person who lawfully
possessed the magazine prior to January 1, 2014.
   SEC. 7.   SEC. 9.   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.