BILL NUMBER: AB 2478	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Melendez

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2016

   An act to amend Section 27590 of the Penal Code, relating to
firearms, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2478, as introduced, Melendez. Firearms: violations.
   Existing law prohibits specified persons from owning, purchasing,
receiving, or having in his or her possession, any firearm. Existing
law prohibits a person, corporation, or firm from knowingly selling,
supplying, delivering, or giving possession or control of a firearm
to one of those prohibited persons, and makes a violation of that
prohibition a felony punishable by imprisonment for 2, 3, or 4 years
in the county jail.
   This bill would make that offense punishable by imprisonment for
2, 3, or 4 years in the state prison.
   Existing law prohibits a person, corporation, or firearms dealer
from selling, supplying, delivering, or giving possession or control
of a firearm to anyone whom the person, corporation, or dealer has
cause to believe is a prohibited person, and makes a violation of
that prohibition punishable as a felony or misdemeanor subject to
imprisonment in the county jail or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or
by both that fine and imprisonment. Under existing law, for each
felony case, a court is required to hold, and a prosecutor is
required to attend, a preliminary hearing.
   This bill would make that offense a felony punishable by
imprisonment for 2, 3, or 4 years in the state prison. By imposing
additional duties on local prosecutors by increasing the number of
preliminary hearings, and by increasing the penalties of an existing
crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   Existing law prohibits a person, corporation, or dealer from
selling, loaning, or transferring a firearm to anyone whom the
person, corporation, or dealer knows or has cause to believe is not
the actual purchaser or transferee of the firearm, or to anyone who
is not the one actually being loaned the firearm, if the person,
corporation, or dealer has knowledge that the firearm is to be
subsequently sold, loaned, or transferred to avoid provisions of law
requiring firearms transfers to be conducted through a firearms
dealer and other requirements pertaining to dealer transactions, or
to avoid provisions establishing exemptions from those requirements,
as specified. Existing law makes this offense punishable as a felony
or misdemeanor subject to imprisonment in the county jail or by a
fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   This bill would make that offense a felony punishable by
imprisonment for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years in the state prison. By
imposing additional duties on local prosecutors, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
   Existing law prohibits a person, corporation, or firearms dealer
from acquiring a firearm for the purpose of selling, loaning, or
transferring the firearm if, for a dealer, he or she has the intent
to transfer the firearm to a minor or to evade specified requirements
on the transfer of firearms, or in the case of a person or
corporation, the person or corporation intends to violate the
requirement, or provisions of an exception to the requirement, that
the transaction be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer.
Existing law makes this offense punishable as a misdemeanor by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or as a
felony punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for 16 months,
or 2 or 3 years, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
   This bill would make that offense punishable as a felony by
imprisonment for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years in the state prison. By
imposing additional duties on local prosecutors, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
   The bill would appropriate an unspecified sum from the General
Fund to the Department of Justice for vertical prosecution, as
defined, of those offenses described above, by the department. The
bill would require the department to submit a report to the
Legislature and the Governor, on or before January 1, 2020, which
details the number of prosecutions filed and convictions obtained by
the department for the offenses described above.
   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: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 27590 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   27590.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (e), a
violation of this article is a misdemeanor.
   (b) If any of the following circumstances apply, a violation of
this article is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision
(h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years. 
   (1) If the violation is of subdivision (a) of Section 27500.
 
   (2) 
    (1)  If the defendant has a prior conviction of
violating the provisions, other than Section 27535, Section 27560
involving a firearm that is not a handgun, or Section 27565 involving
a firearm that is not a handgun, of this article or former Section
12100 of this code, as Section 12100 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, or Section 8101 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. 
   (3) 
    (2)  If the defendant has a prior conviction of
violating any offense specified in Section 29905 or of a violation of
Section 32625 or 33410, or of former Section 12560, as that section
read at any time from when it was enacted by Section 4 of Chapter 931
of the Statutes of 1965 to when it was repealed by Section 14 of
Chapter 9 of the Statutes of 1990, or of any provision listed in
Section 16590. 
   (4) 
    (3)  If the defendant is in a prohibited class described
in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 29800) or Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 29900) of Division 9 of this title, or
Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. 
   (5) 
    (4)  A violation of this article by a person who
actively participates in a "criminal street gang" as defined in
Section 186.22. 
   (6) 
    (5)  A violation of Section 27510 involving the delivery
of any firearm to a person who the dealer knows, or should know, is
a minor.
   (c)  If any of the following circumstances apply, a
violation of this article   A   violation of
any of the following  shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of
Section 1170, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000), or by both that fine and  imprisonment. 
 imprisonment:  
   (1) A violation of Section 27515, 27520, or subdivision (b) of
Section 27500.  
   (2) 
    (1)  A violation of Section 27505 involving the sale,
loan, or transfer of a handgun to a minor. 
   (3) 
    (2)  A violation of Section 27510 involving the delivery
of a handgun. 
   (4) 
    (3) A violation of subdivision (a), (c), (d), (e), or
(f) of Section 27540 involving a handgun. 
   (5) 
    (4)  A violation of Section 27545 involving a handgun.

   (6) 
    (5)  A violation of Section 27550. 
   (7) 
    (6)  A violation of Section 27585 involving a handgun.

   (d) If both of the following circumstances apply, an additional
term of imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for
one, two, or three years shall be imposed in addition and consecutive
to the sentence prescribed.  
   (1) A violation of Section 27510 or subdivision (b) of Section
27500.  
   (2) The firearm transferred in violation of Section 27510 or
subdivision (b) of Section 27500 is used in the subsequent commission
of a felony for which a conviction is obtained and the prescribed
sentence is imposed.  
   (d) An additional term of imprisonment for one, two, or three
years shall be imposed in addition and consecutive to the sentence
prescribed for a violation of Section 27510 or subdivision (b) of
Section 27500 if the firearm transferred in violation of Section
27510 or subdivision (b) of Section 27500 is used in the subsequent
commission of a felony for which a conviction is obtained and the
prescribed sentence is imposed. 
   (e) (1) A first violation of Section 27535 is an infraction
punishable by a fine of fifty dollars ($50).
   (2) A second violation of Section 27535 is an infraction
punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
   (3) A third or subsequent violation of Section 27535 is a
misdemeanor.
   (4) For purposes of this subdivision each application to purchase
a handgun in violation of Section 27535 shall be deemed a separate
offense. 
   (f) A violation of the following shall be punished by imprisonment
in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years:  

   (1) A violation of Section 27515.  
   (2) A violation of Section 27520.  
   (g) A violation of Section 27500 shall be punished by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years. 
  SEC. 2.  (a) The sum of ____ is hereby appropriated from the
General Fund to the Department of Justice for vertical prosecution of
straw purchases of firearms and knowing transfers of firearms to
prohibited persons, in violation of Section 27500, 27515, or 27520 of
the Penal Code, or any combination of those offenses.
   (b) As used in this section, "vertical prosecution" means a
specially trained deputy attorney general assigned to the case from
its filing to its completion.
  SEC. 3.  (a) On or before January 1, 2020, the Department of
Justice shall submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor
which includes the number of prosecutions filed and convictions
obtained by the department for violations of Sections 27500, 27515,
and 27520, pursuant to this act. The report shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
   (b) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on January 1, 2024.
  SEC. 4.  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.