Amended  IN  Senate  April 29, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 701


Introduced by Senator Jones

February 22, 2019


An act to amend Sections 29800 and 29805 of 29805 of, and to repeal Section 29851 of, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 701, as amended, Jones. Firearms: prohibited persons.
Existing law prohibits a person convicted of, or who has an outstanding warrant for, a felony, or one of several specified misdemeanors within the past 10 years, to own or possess a firearm or ammunition. Existing law makes violation of this prohibition a crime. punishable as a felony or misdemeanor.
This bill would relieve persons who have an outstanding warrant for one of these crimes from this prohibition. instead make it a misdemeanor for a person with an outstanding warrant, as specified, to own or possess a firearm or ammunition.
By changing the penalty for a 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NOYES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 29800 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

29800.
 (a) (1) Any person who has been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States, the State of California, or any other state, government, or country, or of an offense enumerated in subdivision (a), (b), or (d) of Section 23515, or who is addicted to the use of any narcotic drug, and who owns, purchases, receives, or has in possession or under custody or control any firearm is guilty of a felony.
(2) Any person who has two or more convictions for violating paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 417 and who owns, purchases, receives, or has in possession or under custody or control any firearm is guilty of a felony.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), any person who has been convicted of a felony or of an offense enumerated in Section 23515, when that conviction results from certification by the juvenile court for prosecution as an adult in an adult court under Section 707 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and who owns or has in possession or under custody or control any firearm is guilty of a felony.
(c) Any person who has an outstanding warrant for any offense listed in subdivision (a), 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 misdemeanor.

(c)Subdivision

(d) Subdivisions (a) and (c) shall not apply to a person who has been convicted of a conviction or warrant for a felony under the laws of the United States unless either of the following criteria criteria, as applicable, is satisfied:
(1) Conviction of a like offense under California law can only result in imposition of felony punishment.
(2) The defendant was sentenced to a federal correctional facility for more than 30 days, or received a fine of more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or received both punishments.

SEC. 2.

 Section 29805 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

29805.
 (a) 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 490.2 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, or if the individual has an outstanding warrant, 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 has an outstanding warrant for any misdemeanor offense described in subdivision (a), 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 misdemeanor.

(c)

(d) The court, on forms prescribed by the Department of Justice, shall notify the department of persons subject to this section. subdivisions (a) and (b). However, the prohibition in this section may be reduced, eliminated, or conditioned as provided in Section 29855 or 29860.

SEC. 3.

 Section 29851 of the Penal Code is repealed.
29851.

Sections 29800 and 29805 do not apply to or affect a person who otherwise violates those sections if the person did not have knowledge of the outstanding warrant.

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.