Senate Bill No. 723
CHAPTER 306

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

[ Approved by Governor  September 29, 2020. Filed with Secretary of State  September 29, 2020. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 723, Jones. Firearms: prohibited persons.
Existing law makes it a crime for a person to own or possess a firearm if the person has an outstanding warrant for a felony or a warrant for one of several specified misdemeanors. Existing law makes these crimes inapplicable to a person who did not have knowledge of the outstanding warrant.
This bill would expressly clarify that this crime is committed if the person has an outstanding warrant for a felony or specified misdemeanor and has knowledge of the outstanding warrant.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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.
(3) Any person who has an outstanding warrant for any offense listed in this subdivision 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 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) Subdivision (a) shall not apply to a conviction or warrant for a felony under the laws of the United States unless either of the following 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, as amended by Section 13 of Chapter 840 of the Statutes of 2019, is amended to read:

29805.
 (a) (1) 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 487 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, 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.
(2) Any person who has an outstanding warrant for any misdemeanor offense described in this subdivision, 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 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) Except as provided in Section 29855, any person who is convicted on or after January 1, 2020, of a misdemeanor violation of Section 25100, 25135, or 25200, and who, within 10 years of the conviction 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 fine and imprisonment.
(d) The court, on forms prescribed by the Department of Justice, shall notify the department of persons subject to this section. 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.