Bill Text: CA SB902 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Firearms: public safety.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-24 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 545, Statutes of 2024. [SB902 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB902-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 13, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 902

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Introduced by Senator Roth Senators Roth and Portantino
(Coauthors: Senators Min and Newman)

January 03, 2024

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An act to amend Section 29805 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 902, as amended, Roth. Firearms: public safety.

Existing law, subject to exceptions, provides that any person who has been convicted of certain misdemeanors may not, within 10 years of the conviction, own, purchase, receive, possess or have under their custody or control, any firearm and makes a violation of that prohibition a crime. punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Existing law, with certain exceptions, makes it a crime to maliciously and intentionally maim, mutilate, torture, wound, or kill a living animal. Existing law, with additional exceptions, makes it a crime to, among other things, overwork, cruelly beat, or overload an animal.

This bill would provide that any person convicted of a misdemeanor violation of the above-described crimes, on or after January 1, 2025, may not, within 10 years of the conviction, access a firearm as described above, and makes would make a violation of that prohibition a crime. misdemeanor. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime, and because this bill would expand the application of the crime to a larger class of potential offenders, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would make related findings and declarations.

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.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)Ample research backs up the finding that there is a direct link between acts of cruelty to animals and violence toward humans. This includes child abuse, domestic violence, elder abuse, and other violent behavior.

(b)A 2017 study showed that 89 percent of women who had companion animals during an abusive relationship reported that their animals were threatened, harmed, or killed by their abusive partner.

(c)In one study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 percent of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children.

(d)Another study, published in 2013, found that 43 percent of those who commit school massacres also committed acts of cruelty to animals, generally against cats and dogs.

(e)Violence toward animals is a strong predictor that the abuser may inflict violence on people, and it is in the interest of California citizens to prohibit animal abusers from owning or possessing firearms.

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Well-documented research shared in a law enforcement bulletin by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that cruelty to animals is “a predictive or co-occurring crime with violence against humans (including intimate partners, children, and elders).”

(b) According to a 2019 article in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, child exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health concern with 16 percent of children being exposed to IPV in their lifetimes.

(c) The same article pointed to a 2019 study of almost 300 women who had been in abusive intimate relationships: “90.7% . . . reported that children in the household experienced animal maltreatment through direct exposure to threats and violence against animals, which emerged as a notable theme in the data. As reported by participants, children were often present as observers in close proximity to violence and threats against their companion animals. In addition, firearms or household objects were often mentioned in the context of threats against pets or used as weapons to harm the animal.”

(d) In some instances, the child tried to protect their companion animals by either intervening or putting themselves between the abuser and the animal, putting the child at risk of being harmed.

(e) Exposure to co-occurring IPV and animal maltreatment may exacerbate children’s risk of negative outcomes in life, including health, mental health, substance abuse, and unlawful behavior, as well as perpetuating violent behaviors and warrants further study.

(f) Violence towards animals is strongly associated with violence against humans, and it is in the interest of California citizens to prohibit animal abusers from owning or possessing firearms.

SEC. 2.

 Section 29805 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

29805.

 (a) (1) Except as provided in Section 29855, subdivision (a) of Section 29800, or subdivision (b), 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, subdivision (f) of Section 148.5, Section 171b, paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 171c, Section 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, 422.6, 626.9, 646.9, 830.95, 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, Section 487 if the property taken was a firearm, 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, 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.

(2) Any person who has an outstanding warrant for any misdemeanor offense described in this subdivision, and who has knowledge of the outstanding warrant, and who owns, purchases, receives, or has in possession or under custody or control any firearm is guilty of a public offense, 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.

(b) Any person who is convicted, on or after January 1, 2019, of a misdemeanor violation of Section 273.5, and who subsequently owns, purchases, receives, or has in possession or under custody or control, any firearm is guilty of a public offense, 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.

(c) Any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2020, of a misdemeanor violation of Section 25100, 25135, or 25200, 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, 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 fine and imprisonment.

(d) Any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2023, of a misdemeanor violation of Section 273a, subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 368, or subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 29180, 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, 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 fine and imprisonment.

(e) Except as provided in Section 29855 or subdivision (a) of Section 29800, any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2024, of a misdemeanor violation of this section, 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, 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 fine and imprisonment.

(f) Any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2024, of a misdemeanor violation of paragraph (5), (6), or (7) of subdivision (c) of Section 25400, paragraph (5), (6), or (7) of subdivision (c) of Section 25850, subdivision (a) of Section 26350, or subdivision (a) of Section 26400, 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, 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 fine and imprisonment.

(g) Any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2025, of a misdemeanor violation of Section 597, 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, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison, year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(h) 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. 3.

 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.