2014 CRPA Bill Status Update

2014 Bill Status Update 

Bills which are enrolled may go to the Governor for signature or veto at anytime before September 30, 2014. The last day for the Governor to sign legislation is September 30, 2014.

AB 1014 – This bill would establish a procedure to obtain a gun violence restraining order and, when applicable, a firearm seizure warrant, when a person poses a significant risk of personal injury to himself or herself or others by possessing a firearm. (Updated 09/10/2014)-Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 10:00 am. Signed By Governor. (09/30/14)

AB 1545 – The current law required the Attorney General to maintain a registry of specified information concerning the sale, lease or transfer of firearms, and to include in the registry specified data provided to the Department of Justice. This bill would create an exemption from this requirement to complete a firearms transaction through a licensed dealer for a person who reports his or her ownership of a firearm to the Department. The bill would require the Department to register the firearm within 30 days of the receipt of the report, subject to the specified restrictions. (Updated 5/28/2014)

AB 1563 – This bill proposes to define self-defense as good cause for issuance of a license to carry a concealed handgun and would require the sheriff or head of a municipal police department to issue the license if the applicant meets all requirements of the law. (Updated 5/8/2014)

AB 1591 – This bill would require the court to provide electronic notice, within 24 hours, to the Department of Justice, when taking action to prohibit the possession of a firearm. (Updated 7/18/2014)

AB 1609 – This bill would increase the penalty for a California resident who imports a handgun into the State without conducting the transfer through a firearms dealer. The bill would allow prosecution as either a misdemeanor or a felony. (Updated 09/10/2014)-Enrolled and presented to Governor at 10:00 am. Signed By Governor. (09/30/14)

AB 1709 – This bill would extend the age eligibility for purchasing a junior hunting license from 16 to 18 years of age. (Updated 09/22/2014) Signed By Governor. (09/30/14)

AB 1798 – Bill would make technical, non-substantive changes to penal code definitions pertaining to firearms. (Updated 7/10/2014)

AB 1964 – Bill would make provisions defining and governing unsafe handguns inapplicable to a single-shot pistol with a break-top or bolt action. The bill would make this exemption inapplicable to semi-automatic pistol that has been temporarily or permanently altered so that it will not fire in a semi-automatic mode. (Updated 7/18/2014)

AB 1985 – Bill would exempt federal correction agencies or any federal law enforcement agency from current California state law prohibiting purchase, sale, and possession of “so-called” assault weapons or .50 BMG rifles. (Updated 5/13/2014)

AB 2105 – This bill would require the department to authorize a nonprofit organization designated by the department to assist in the sale of these tags to retain 5% of the amount of the sale price of the tag, plus any applicable credit card fees, as a reasonable vendor fee. (Updated 09/22/14) Signed By Governor. (09/30/14)

AB 2205 – This bill would require the Department of Fish and Wildlife to make a specified report to the Fish and Game Commission on the status of bear populations, management, and related issues every 3 years. The bill would require the first report to be submitted on or before December 15, 2015, and would require the department, not later than December 15 of each year the report is submitted, to notify, by certified mail, the board of supervisors of each county affected by bear interactions with the general public, of public safety impacts or concerns, bear depredation permit requests, and economic impacts due to bear damage to the extent of those incidences or impacts, and of its recommendations to the commission.  (Updated 8/22/14)

AB 2210 – This bill would require that non-native fox squirrels, instead of red fox squirrels, may be taken as specified. The bill would also prohibit the barter of raw furs and would require that all animals in the traps be removed within 24 hours of the setting of the trap instead of at least once daily. The bill would require that non-targeted species be released unharmed and not taken. (Updated 6/3/14)

AB 2268 – Note: This bill was originally a wild pig study bill and was substantially amended on 5/28/14. The bill may be amended further by the author. CRPA will continue to monitor the bill closely and evaluate any proposed amendments.

In it’s current form the bill would revise and recast the provisions applicable to wild pigs by, among other things, reclassifying the wild pig as a non-game mammal for taking or possessing purposes. The bill would replace the wild pig tag requirement with a validation on the hunting license that would allow for the unlimited take and possession of wild pigs. The bill would set the price of a wild pig validation at $15 for residents and $30 for nonresidents. The bill would prohibit the taking of wild pigs at night, as specified, except by landowners or their employees or agents of depredating wild pigs if the department is notified by 3:00 p.m. prior to the planned take or, if the daylight hours before the planned take are not on a business day, by 3:00 p.m. of the last business day before the planned take and the person taking the wild pig possesses a valid hunting license. (Updated 7/01/14)

AB 2300 – Current law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database, the Prohibited Armed Persons File, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1991, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This bill would instead require that the Prohibited Armed Persons File include persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1996.  (Updated 7/23/14)

AB 2305 – This bill would make a person who carries a concealed handgun “on or about the person” in violation of carrying a concealed firearm. The bill would also make any person who carries a loaded firearm “on or about the person” a violation of carrying a loaded or concealed firearm. Currently the law states that the handgun must be “on the person” to be considered a violation of law. This bill is vague as there is no definition of “on or about the person.” (Updated 5/28/14)

AB 2662 – This bill would require a city, county, city and county, or state government entity operating a voluntary firearm buy-back program, as defined, to process functioning handguns received pursuant to the program by either performing ballistics testing, a firearm trace, or by cataloging and storing the handgun, as specified. The bill would except antique firearms, as defined, from these provisions. (Updated 09/04/14)

SB 38 – Proposes to give persons prohibited from possessing firearms a 30-day amnesty period to surrender firearms to local law enforcement without being subject to arrest; civil penalties would be imposed for failure to comply. Bill was amended on 8/19/14  and is no longer a firearms bill. The bill now deals with electrical utilities rate restructuring.(08/28/14)

SB 53 – This bill proposes to require purchasers to obtain an annual permit, issued by the Department of Justice, to purchase ammunition and limit purchases to face-to-face transactions through a licensed ammunition vendor. This bill would ban mail order and internet sales of ammunition. (Updated 09/04/2014) Defeated. Refused Passage.

SB 199 – This bill would require that all “BB devices” sold, or manufactured for sale, in California be either brightly colored or transparent. The bill applies to 6mm and 8mm airsoft BB devices only. the bill was amended on 08/05/14 to exclude a BB device that expels a projectile, such as a BB or pellet, that is other than 6mm or 8mm diameter (this bill no longer applies to traditional BB and pellet guns made in 0177, 020, .22, or .25 caliber) (Updated 09/04/14) Signed By Governor. (09/30/14)

SB 580 – This bill would appropriate the sum of $5,000,000 from the Firearms Safety and Enforcement Special Fund to the CA Department of Justice for the 2014-15 fiscal year to contract with local law enforcement agencies to reduce the backlog of individuals who are identified by the Armed Prohibited Persons System as illegally possessing firearms. (Updated 08/18/2014)

SB 808 – This bill would, commencing on July 1, 2016, require a person who manufactures or assembles a firearm to  first apply to the department for a unique serial number or other identifying mark, as provided. The bill would, by January 1, 2017, require any person who, as of July 1, 2016, owns a firearm that does not bear a serial number to likewise apply to the department for a unique serial number or other mark of identification. The bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of ownership of a firearm manufactured or assembled pursuant to these provisions, unless sold or transferred to a law enforcement agency. (Updated 09/02/14) Vetoed By Governor. (09/30/14)

SB 916 – Current law requires the Department of Justice to maintain a roster listing the handguns that have been tested and have been determined not to be unsafe. This bill would allow a handgun model removed from the roster for any other reason to be reinstated to the roster upon a petition to the Attorney General for reinstatement and successful retesting, as specified. The will would require that a handgun model that is reinstated to the roster pursuant to these provisions only meet the requirements for listing as of the date the handgun model was originally submitted for testing. (Updated 5/8/2014)

SB 1354 – Bill would require, except as otherwise provided, the Department to make a determination on each applicant for a license or permit for certain deadly weapons within 90 days, and to notify the applicant in writing of that determination within 10 days of the determination. The bill would define “determination” and “each application” for those purposes. (Updated 5/28/14)

SB 1362 – This would exclude, from the definition of the term “disposal” under those laws, the onsite movement of soil at an active outdoor sport shooting range, as defined, if this movement is done to facilitate the removal and recycling of spent ammunition materials existing on the site as a result of the normal use of the shooting range and the residual soil is replaced within the area from which it was originally removed. (Updated 5/8/14)

SB 1434 – Existing federal law imposes a sales tax on the sale of bows and arrows, ammunition, and certain firearms. Existing federal law, the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, makes certain revenues collected from those taxes available to the states by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to apportion an amount available to each state according to a specified formula. The bill would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to consult with specified hunting advisory committees regarding any project funded by the federal act. The bill would also require the department to post a brief description of projects funded by monies received from the federal act on its website. (Updated 7/7/14)

SB 1456 – Bill would exempt the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection from current state law prohibiting purchase, sale, and possession of so-called assault weapons or .50BMG rifles. (Updated 5/28/14)