Amended  IN  Assembly  May 25, 2018
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 14, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 1927

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chiu)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chiu and Gonzalez Fletcher)

January 24, 2018

An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 30180) to Division 9 of Title 4 of Part 6 of and repeal Section 29880 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1927, as amended, Bonta. Firearms: California Do Not Sell List. prohibition: voluntary list.
Existing law makes possession of a firearm by certain classes of persons, including a convicted felon, a person convicted of specified misdemeanors, a person has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial, a person has been found not guilty of specified crimes by reason of insanity, or a person has been placed under conservatorship, a crime. Existing law additionally makes it a crime to sell or give possession of a firearm to these classes of persons prohibited from owning a firearm.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice, upon submission of firearm purchaser information by a licensed firearm dealer, to examine its records to determine whether a potential firearm purchaser is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing a firearm. Existing law requires the department to participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
This bill would require the Department of Justice to study options for allowing a person to register himself or herself on a list or database that prohibits the person from being able to purchase a firearm. The bill would require the department to recommend an approach to allow a person to prohibit himself or herself from purchasing a firearm. The bill would require the department to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2020.

This bill would require the Department of Justice to develop and launch a secure Internet-based platform to enable a person who resides in California to voluntarily add his or her own name to the California Do Not Sell List. The bill would require the department to ensure that information from the list is regularly transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The bill would make it a crime, punishable as misdemeanor or a felony, to transfer a firearm to a person who is on the California Do Not Sell List. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would allow a person on the list to request removal from the list through the secure Internet-based platform after 365 days have elapsed from the date the person last added his or her name to the list. The bill would allow the person to request removal prior to that time if he or she submits a declaration from a licensed physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist stating that the person does not present a substantial risk of harm to self or others with a firearm.

The bill would require the State Department of Public Health to create and distribute informational materials about the California Do Not Sell List to general acute care hospitals, acute psychiatric hospitals, and mental health facilities. The bill would specify that any suicide hotline maintained or operated by an entity funded in whole or in part by the state should generally inform callers on how to access the California Do Not Sell List Internet-based platform.

The bill would provide that its provisions are severable.

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: YESNO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 29880 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

29880.
 (a) The Department of Justice shall study options for allowing a person to register himself or herself on a list or database that prohibits the person from being able to purchase a firearm. The department shall recommend an approach to allow a person to prohibit himself or herself from purchasing a firearm.
(b) The department shall provide a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2020.
(c) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2024.

SECTION 1.Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 30180) is added to Division 9 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code, to read:
6.Voluntary Do Not Sell List
30180.

(a)The Department of Justice shall develop and launch a secure Internet-based platform to enable a person who resides in California to voluntarily add his or her own name to a confidential firearm background check database, to be referred to as the California Do Not Sell List. Inclusion on the list shall render a person ineligible to purchase or receive a firearm, but shall not subject a person on the list to any criminal or civil penalty for purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm. Inclusion on the list shall not cause a person to be entered into the Armed Prohibited Persons System.

(b)The department, in cooperation with the State Department of Public Health and other relevant state agencies, shall ensure that this Internet-based platform is easily accessible, user-friendly, and does all of the following credibly:

(1)Verify the identity of a person who opts to add his or her own name to the California Do Not Sell List or requests removal.

(2)Prevent unauthorized disclosure of the identity or private information of a person who has added his or her own name to the list.

(3)Provide prior notice of the legal effects of inclusion on the list.

(4)Allow a person to list up to five electronic mail addresses to be contacted if the person subsequently attempts to purchase a firearm while included on the list or if the person subsequently requests to be removed from the list.

(c)(1)Once the Internet-based platform is operative, a person who resides in California may request, via the platform, to be added to the California Do Not Sell List.

(2)The department shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that information from the list is regularly transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The list, and any information contained in or transmitted from the list, shall not be used for any purpose other than to determine a person’s eligibility to purchase or receive a firearm.

(d)(1)Upon receiving firearm purchaser information indicating that a prospective purchaser is a person on the California Do Not Sell List, the department shall notify the dealer that the purchase or transfer of the firearm is prohibited.

(2)It is unlawful to knowingly transfer a firearm to a person who is on the California Do Not Sell List. A violation of this paragraph is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. A violation of this paragraph by a licensed firearms dealer may result in a revocation of the dealer’s license.

(e)(1)A person on the California Do Not Sell List may, through the secure Internet-based platform, request to have his or her name removed from the list at any time after 365 days have elapsed from the date that the person last added his or her name to the list. The department shall remove the person from the list 21 days after receiving the request for removal and shall expunge all records related to the person’s inclusion on, and removal from, the list.

(2)A person on the California Do Not Sell List may request removal from the list before 365 days have elapsed from the date that the person last added his or her name to the list by submitting a declaration from a licensed physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist, on a form to be prescribed by the department, stating that to the best of the declarant’s professional judgment, the person does not present a substantial risk of harm to self or others with a firearm. A person may submit the declaration through the secure Internet-based platform on a form to be prescribed and provided for by the department. If a removal request satisfies this requirement, the department shall promptly remove the person from the list and shall expunge all records related to the person’s inclusion on, and removal from, the list.

(3)There shall be no limit to the number of times a person may add or remove his or her own name from the list.

(f)(1)The fact that a person is, or previously has been, included on the California Do Not Sell List shall be confidential with respect to all matters involving health care, employment, education, housing, insurance, government benefits, and contracting.

(2)A violation of confidentiality occurs if a person or entity engaged in any activity described in paragraph (1), other than a healthcare professional, therapist, or counselor, inquires as to any confidential matter described in paragraph (1), or if any person described in paragraph (1), including, but not limited to, a healthcare professional, therapist, or counselor, takes any adverse action based on that information.

(3)The person whose confidentiality is violated by an inquiry or adverse action in violation of this subdivision may bring a private civil action for appropriate relief, including reasonable attorney’s fees, for each violation that occurs.

30185.

(a)The State Department of Public Health shall create and distribute informational materials, including information on how to access the California Do Not Sell List Internet-based platform, to general acute care hospitals and acute psychiatric hospitals, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, and to mental health facilities, as defined in Section 5500 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(b)A suicide hotline maintained or operated by an entity funded in whole or in part by the state should generally, as a best practice, inform callers on how to access the California Do Not Sell List Internet-based platform.

SEC. 2.

If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable.

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.