BILL NUMBER: SB 38	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 11, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator De León

                        DECEMBER 5, 2012

   An act  to add Section 30009 to the Penal Code, 
relating to  domestic violence   firearms 
.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 38, as amended, De León.  Domestic violence: fees.
  Firearms: prohibited persons.  
   Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and
maintain an online database, known as the Prohibited Armed Persons
File, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of
a firearm and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or
possession, became a person who is prohibited from owning or
possessing a firearm.  
   This bill would, no later than July 1, 2014, require the
Department of Justice to establish a 15-day amnesty period during
which a person prohibited from possessing a firearm may surrender his
or her firearms to a local law enforcement agency without being
charged with illegal possession of a firearm, except as specified.
The bill would require a local law enforcement agency that receives a
firearm from a prohibited person during the amnesty period to report
specified information to the department. The bill would require the
department to use the specified information to create a record of
each surrendered firearm in the Prohibited Armed Persons File. The
bill would also impose a civil fine up to $2,500 per firearm on a
person prohibited from possessing a firearm who still maintains
possession of his or her firearms after the amnesty period. The bill
would authorize the department to conduct a public awareness campaign
in conjunction with local law enforcement to promote the amnesty
period, as specified.  
   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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.  
   Existing law imposes a fee of $500 on every person who is granted
probation for a crime of domestic violence. Two-thirds of the fee is
deposited in the county's domestic violence programs special fund, to
be expended in support of domestic violence shelter programs, as
specified.  
   This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would clarify whether the assessment on domestic
violence probationers is a fine or a fee and clarify the allocation
of the collected funds. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 30009 is added to the 
 Penal Code   , to read:  
   30009.  (a) In order to reduce the number of firearms possessed by
prohibited persons listed in the Prohibited Armed Persons File, a
15-day amnesty period shall be established, commencing on a date to
be determined by the Department of Justice but not later than July 1,
2014, during which a person prohibited from possessing a firearm may
surrender his or her firearms to a local law enforcement agency
without being charged with illegal possession of firearms, as
provided in subdivision (d). No person convicted of a felony shall be
permitted to participate in the amnesty period.
   (b) For each instance in which a local law enforcement agency
receives a firearm from a prohibited person during the amnesty period
described in subdivision (a), the agency shall submit to the
department the following information:
   (1) The name of the prohibited person who surrendered the firearm.

   (2) The person's date of birth.
   (3) A description of the firearm or firearms surrendered.
   (4) The serial number of the firearm or firearms surrendered.
   (5) Any other information deemed necessary by the department.
   (c) The department shall enter the information received pursuant
to subdivision (b) in the Prohibited Armed Persons File to create a
record of each firearm surrendered during the amnesty period.
   (d) A prohibited person who surrenders a firearm pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall not be charged with illegal possession of
firearms for any firearm the department has on record as having been
surrendered pursuant to subdivision (c).
   (e) At the expiration of the 15-day amnesty period described in
subdivision (a), a person prohibited from possessing a firearm who
still maintains possession of his or her firearms shall be subject to
a civil fine of up to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per
firearm in addition to criminal penalties authorized by law,
including, but not limited to, penalties described in Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 29900) of this code and Sections 8100 and
8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (f) The department may conduct a public awareness campaign in
conjunction with local law enforcement to promote the amnesty period
described in this section and to educate prohibited persons on how to
surrender firearms to law enforcement in a safe and secure manner.

   SEC. 2.    If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.  
  SECTION 1.    It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would clarify whether the assessment on
domestic violence probationers pursuant to Section 1203.097 of the
Penal Code is a fine or a fee and clarify the allocation of the
collected funds.