Amended  IN  Assembly  February 21, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 92

Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Gipson, McCarty, and Ting)

January 05, 2023

An act to repeal Section 17320 of, and to repeal and add Section 31360 of, amend Section 16288 of, and to add Section 31361 to, the Penal Code, relating to crimes.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 92, as amended, Connolly. Body armor: prohibition.
Existing law makes it a felony for a person who has been convicted of a violent felony to purchase, own, or possess body armor. Existing law authorizes a person subject to that prohibition, whose employment, livelihood, or safety is dependent on the ability to legally possess and use body armor, to file a petition for an exception to the prohibition with the chief of police or county sheriff of the jurisdiction in which the person seeks to possess and use the body armor, as provided.
This bill would repeal those provisions and instead make it a felony for a person to commit any violent felony while possessing a firearm and in the course of and in furtherance of that crime they wear body armor. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person to purchase or take possession of body armor, unless they are employed in specified professions. The bill would additionally make it a misdemeanor for a person, firm, or corporation to sell or deliver body armor to any person not engaged in one of those professions. The bill would require a seller to verify that a transferee is from an eligible profession, as specified. The bill would authorize the Department of Justice to expand the list of eligible professions if the duties of the profession may expose an individual engaged in the profession to serious physical injury that may be prevented or mitigated by the wearing of body armor, or if the duties of the profession are necessary to facilitate the lawful purchase, sale, or use of body armor.
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: YES  

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


SECTION 1.Section 17320 of the Penal Code is repealed.
SEC. 2.Section 31360 of the Penal Code is repealed.

SECTION 1.

 Section 16288 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

16288.
 As used in Section 31360, Sections 31360 and 31361, “body armor” means any bullet-resistant material intended to provide ballistic and trauma protection for the person wearing the body armor.

SEC. 3.Section 31360 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
31360.

(a)A person is guilty of unlawful wearing of body armor when they commit any violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5, while possessing a firearm and in the course of and in furtherance of that crime they wear body armor.

(b)

SEC. 2.

 Section 31361 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

31361.
 (a) A person is guilty of the unlawful purchase of body armor when, not being engaged or employed in an eligible profession, they knowingly purchase or take possession of body armor. This subdivision does not apply to individuals or entities engaged or employed in eligible professions.

(c)

(b) (1) No person, firm, or corporation shall sell or deliver body armor to any person or entity not engaged or employed in an eligible profession. Before selling or delivering body armor, a person, firm, or corporation shall check proof of engagement in an eligible profession.
(2) No sale or delivery of body armor shall be made unless the transferee meets in person with the transferor to accomplish the sale or delivery.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), proof of engagement in an eligible profession may be satisfied by submission to the seller of a professional license issued by a federal, state, or local government, employment card or other credential issued by an employer, or in the absence of either of those, submission to the seller of a form approved by the Department of Justice that is notarized, verifying that the purchaser is engaged in an eligible profession.
(4) This subdivision does not apply to purchases made by federal, state, or local government agencies for the purpose of furnishing body armor to employees in eligible professions.

(d)

(c) For the purposes of this section, “eligible professions” means any of the following:
(1) Peace officers.
(2) Persons in military service in the state or military or other service for the United States.
(3) Federal law enforcement officers.
(4) Armored car guards.
(5) Security guards.
(6) Firefighters.
(7) Emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
(8) Firearms dealers.
(9) Body armor retailers or salespersons.
(10) Building safety inspectors.
(11) Code enforcement officers.
(12) Animal control officers.
(13) Private investigators.
(14) Journalists.

(12)

(15) Any profession added by the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (e). (d).

(e)

(d) (1) The Department of Justice may add additional professions pursuant to paragraph (12) (15) of subdivision (d). (c). The department shall add a profession to the list of eligible professions if the duties of the profession may expose an individual engaged in the profession to serious physical injury that may be prevented or mitigated by the wearing of body armor, or if the duties of the profession are necessary to facilitate the lawful purchase, sale, or use of body armor.
(2) An individual or entity engaged in a profession in the state that is not on the list of eligible professions may request that the Department of Justice add their profession to the list of eligible professions by filing a request with the Department of Justice in a form and method approved by the department.

(f)(1)A violation of subdivision (a) shall be a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years.

(2)

(e) A violation of subdivision (b) or (c) this section shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a first offense, and not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for any subsequent offense.

SEC. 4.SEC. 3.

 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.