Amended  IN  Senate  March 07, 2018
Amended  IN  Senate  September 14, 2017
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 30, 2017
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 09, 2017
Amended  IN  Assembly  February 17, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 3


Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

December 05, 2016


An act to amend Sections 853.6, 978.5, and 4024.1 of, to add Sections 490.4, 490.55, 786.5, and 1210.6 to, and to add Chapter 2.9D (commencing with Section 1001.81) to Title 6 of Part 2 of, 27510, 29182, and 30300 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes. firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3, as amended, Bonta. Crimes: repeat offenders and recidivism reduction. Firearms: age restrictions.
Existing law requires the transfer of a firearm to be made through a licensed dealer, except as specifically exempted. Existing law prohibits the sale or transfer of a handgun, except as specifically exempted, to any person below the age of 21 years. Existing law also prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm, other than a handgun, except as specifically exempted, to any person below the age of 18 years. A violation of this prohibition by a dealer is a crime.
This bill would prohibit the sale or transfer of any firearm by a licensed dealer to any person under 21 years of age.
The bill would also make conforming changes to age restrictions on the purchase of ammunition and the issuance of a serial number by the Department of Justice for an assembled firearm.
By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.

Under existing law, grand theft is the theft of anything of a value exceeding $950, with exceptions, and is punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of money, labor, or property petty theft, punishable as a misdemeanor, whenever the value of the property taken does not exceed $950.

This bill would make it a crime for a person to, on more than one occasion within any 180-day period, acting in concert with 2 or more other persons, receive, purchase, or possess merchandise knowing or believing it to have been stolen from a merchant’s premises, if the aggregated value of such merchandise received, purchased, or possessed over the 180-day period exceeds $1,500. The bill would make this crime punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Existing law authorizes a merchant to detain a person for a reasonable time for the purpose of conducting an investigation in a reasonable manner whenever the merchant has probable cause to believe the person to be detained is attempting to unlawfully take or has unlawfully taken merchandise from the merchant’s premises. Existing law authorizes the merchant to request the person to voluntarily surrender the item. Existing law authorizes the merchant to conduct a limited and reasonable search of that merchandise pursuant to certain restrictions. Upon surrender or discovery of the item, existing law authorizes the person detained to be requested, but not to be required, to provide adequate proof of his or her true identity.

This bill would provide that no law precludes a merchant, directly or through an independent educational provider, from offering a person suspected of theft involving merchandise that is taken from the merchant’s premises an opportunity to complete a precomplaint education program in lieu of making or filing a report of theft with a law enforcement agency, from informing the person of relevant criminal and civil remedies available to the state and the merchant, or from reducing or waiving the program fee based on the person’s ability to pay.

Existing law establishes the proper jurisdictions of a criminal action for burglary, carjacking, robbery, theft, or embezzlement when property taken in one jurisdictional territory is brought into another, or when property is received in one jurisdictional territory with the knowledge that it has been stolen or embezzled and the property was stolen or embezzled in another jurisdictional territory, as any competent court within either jurisdictional territory, or any contiguous jurisdictional territory if the arrest is made within the contiguous territory, the prosecution secures on the record the defendant’s knowing, voluntary, and intelligent waiver of the right of vicinage, and the defendant is charged with one or more property crimes in the arresting territory.

This bill would additionally establish the jurisdiction of a criminal action for theft or other specified crimes as including the county where an offense involving the theft or receipt of the stolen merchandise occurred, the county in which any such merchandise was recovered, or the county where any act was done by the defendant in instigating, procuring, promoting, or aiding in the commission of the offense. The bill would also, if multiple offenses of theft or other specified crimes all involving the same defendant or defendants and the same merchandise or the same defendant or defendants and the scheme or substantially similar activity occur in multiple jurisdictions, establish that any of those jurisdictions is a proper jurisdiction for all of the offenses.

Existing law requires a peace officer, upon arresting a person for a misdemeanor offense, to issue him or her a notice to appear in court and to release the person, unless the individual demands to be taken before a magistrate. Existing law permits a peace officer to not release a person if, among other reasons, there were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person, there is reason to believe that the person would not appear at the time and place specified in the notice, or there is a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses would continue or resume.

This bill would permit a peace officer to not release a person if there are unresolved failures to appear in court on previous misdemeanor citations. The bill would additionally permit a peace officer to not release a person if he or she has been cited, arrested, or convicted for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or from a vehicle 2 or more times in the last 180 days. By increasing the number of persons subject to detention at the county jail, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

Existing law authorizes a court to issue a bench warrant whenever a defendant fails to appear in court as required by law, as specified.

This bill would authorize the issuance of a bench warrant when a defendant has been cited or arrested for misdemeanor or felony theft from a store or vehicle and has failed to appear in court in connection with that charge or those charges 3 or more times in the last 6 months.

Existing law authorizes a court, with the consent of the defendant and a waiver of the defendant’s speedy trial right, to postpone prosecution of a misdemeanor and place the defendant in a pretrial diversion program or a deferred entry of judgment program under specified situations.

This bill would authorize a city or county prosecuting attorney or a county probation department to create a diversion or deferred entry of judgment program for persons who commit repeat theft offenses, as specified. Under a program, the prosecuting attorney would be required to refrain from or defer prosecution on the offense or offenses if the person completes program requirements such as community service, and makes adequate restitution or an appropriate substitute for restitution to the establishment or person from which property was stolen.

Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships in California’s adult and juvenile criminal justice system.

This bill would additionally require the board to, upon appropriation by the Legislature, award funding for a grant program to 4 or more county superior courts or county probation departments to create demonstration projects to reduce the recidivism of high-risk misdemeanor probationers through the use of risk assessments at sentencing and formal probation.

Existing law allows, after being authorized by a court and when the actual inmate count exceeds the actual bed capacity of a county or city jail, the sheriff or chief of police to accelerate the release, discharge, or expiration of sentence date of sentenced inmates up to a maximum of 30 days. Existing law requires that inmates closest to their normal release, discharge, or expiration of sentence to be given accelerated release priority.

This bill would authorize the sheriff, chief of police, or other person responsible for the county or city jail to consider the risk to public safety posed by the inmate, as specified, in determining whether to grant the inmate accelerated release.

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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 27510 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

27510.
 No A person licensed under Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, shall not sell, supply, deliver, or give possession or control of a handgun firearm to any person under the age of 21 years, or any other firearm to a person under the age of 18 years. 21 years of age.

SEC. 2.

 Section 29182 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

29182.
 (a) (1) The Department of Justice shall accept applications from, and shall grant applications in the form of serial numbers pursuant to Section 23910 to, persons who wish to manufacture or assemble firearms pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 29180.
(2) The Department of Justice shall accept applications from, and shall grant applications in the form of serial numbers pursuant to Section 23910 to, persons who wish to own a firearm described in subdivision (c) of Section 29180.
(b) An application made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall only be granted by the department if the applicant does all of the following:
(1) For each transaction, completes a personal firearms eligibility check demonstrating that the applicant is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm.
(2) Presents proof of age and identity as specified in Section 16400. The applicant shall be 18 21 years of age or older to obtain a unique serial number or mark of identification for a firearm that is not a handgun, and shall be 21 years of age or older to obtain a unique serial number or mark of identification for a handgun. firearm.
(3) Provides a description of the firearm that he or she owns or intends to manufacture or assemble, in a manner prescribed by the department.
(4) Has a valid firearm safety certificate or handgun safety certificate.
(c) The department shall inform applicants who are denied an application of the reasons for the denial in writing.
(d) All applications shall be granted or denied within 15 calendar days of the receipt of the application by the department.
(e) This chapter does not authorize a person to manufacture, assemble, or possess a weapon prohibited under Section 16590, an assault weapon as defined in Section 30510 or 30515, a machinegun as defined in Section 16880, a .50 BMG rifle as defined in Section 30530, or a destructive device as defined in Section 16460.
(f) The department shall adopt regulations to administer this chapter.

SEC. 3.

 Section 30300 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

30300.
 (a) Any person, corporation, or dealer who does any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the imprisonment and fine:
(1) Sells any ammunition or reloaded ammunition to a person under 18 21 years of age.

(2)Sells any ammunition or reloaded ammunition designed and intended for use in a handgun to a person under 21 years of age. Where ammunition or reloaded ammunition may be used in both a rifle and a handgun, it may be sold to a person who is at least 18 years of age, but less than 21 years of age, if the vendor reasonably believes that the ammunition is being acquired for use in a rifle and not a handgun.

(3)

(2) Supplies, delivers, or gives possession of any ammunition to any minor who the person, corporation, or dealer knows, or using reasonable care should know, is prohibited from possessing that ammunition at that time pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 29610) of Division 9 of Title 4 of Part 6.
(b) Proof that a person, corporation, or dealer, or his or her agent or employee, demanded, was shown, and acted in reasonable reliance upon, bona fide evidence of majority and identity shall be a defense to any criminal prosecution under this section.

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.