Amended  IN  Assembly  March 15, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 2213

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 12, 2018

An act to amend Section 30312 Sections 28475, 30312, and 30314 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2213, as amended, Cooley. Firearms: ammunition sales.
Existing law, as amended by the Safety for All Act of 2016, approved by voters as Proposition 63 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, requires the sale of ammunition to be conducted by or processed through a licensed ammunition vendor. Existing law exempts the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to specified individuals, including a sworn peace officer or sworn federal law enforcement officer who is authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of the officer’s duties duties, and a representative of a law enforcement agency, with written authorization from the head of the agency, purchasing ammunition for the exclusive use of the agency. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. Proposition 63 allows its provisions to be amended by a vote of 55% of the Legislature so long as the amendments are consistent with and further the intent of the act.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

The bill would exempt from the above-described ammunition purchasing requirement a person licensed as a private patrol operator or registered as a security guard or security patrolperson who also holds a valid firearm permit issued by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs and who purchases or receives ammunition for use in the normal course and scope of his or her employment.
The bill would also, for purposes of the written authorization for a law enforcement representative to purchase ammunition for an agency, identify individuals who are deemed to be the head of the agency under specified circumstances.
The bill would authorize licensed ammunition vendors to access the Department of Justice centralized list of federal firearms licensees that are exempted from licensing in California for the purpose of verifying the validity of an ammunition purchase.
The bill would amend Proposition 63 by adding new exemptions to the requirement of buying ammunition through a licensed vendor.
Vote: MAJORITY55%   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 28475 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

28475.
 Information compiled from the list described in Section 28450 shall be made available for the following purposes:
(a) Requests from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the duly constituted city, county, and city and county licensing authorities.
(b) When the information is requested by a person licensed pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code for determining the validity of the license for firearm shipments.
(c) When the information is requested by a licensed ammunition vendor to determine the validity of the license for an ammunition sale.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 30312 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

30312.
 (a) (1) Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale of ammunition by any party shall be conducted by or processed through a licensed ammunition vendor.
(2) When neither party to an ammunition sale is a licensed ammunition vendor, the seller shall deliver the ammunition to a vendor to process the transaction. The ammunition vendor shall promptly and properly deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, if the sale is not prohibited, as if the ammunition were the vendor’s own merchandise. If the ammunition vendor cannot legally deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, the vendor shall forthwith return the ammunition to the seller. The ammunition vendor may charge the purchaser an administrative fee to process the transaction, in an amount to be set by the Department of Justice, in addition to any applicable fees that may be charged pursuant to the provisions of this title.
(b) Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale, delivery, or transfer of ownership of ammunition by any party may only occur in a face-to-face transaction with the seller, deliverer, or transferor, provided, however, that ammunition may be purchased or acquired over the Internet or through other means of remote ordering if a licensed ammunition vendor initially receives the ammunition and processes the transaction in compliance with this section and Article 3 (commencing with Section 30342) of Chapter 1 of Division 10 of Title 4 of this part.
(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to any of the following:
(1) An authorized law enforcement representative of a city, county, city and county, or state or federal government, if the sale, delivery, or transfer is for exclusive use by that government agency and, prior to the sale, delivery, or transfer of the ammunition, written authorization from the head of the agency employing the purchaser or transferee is obtained, identifying the employee as an individual authorized to conduct the transaction, and authorizing the transaction for the exclusive use of the agency employing the individual. For purposes of this paragraph, “head of the agency” shall include the lead procurement officer for an ammunition purchase contract, the head of procurement for the agency, or the head of any local field office of the agency, provided that the authorization is written on the official letterhead of the agency and provides a telephone number or other means of verifying its authenticity.
(2) A sworn peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or sworn federal law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of the officer’s duties.
(3) An importer or manufacturer of ammunition or firearms who is licensed to engage in business pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(4) A person who is on the centralized list of exempted federal firearms licensees maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 28450) of Chapter 6 of Division 6 of this title.
(5) A person whose licensed premises are outside this state and who is licensed as a dealer or collector of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(6) A person who is licensed as a collector of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, whose licensed premises are within this state, and who has a current certificate of eligibility issued by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 26710.
(7) An ammunition vendor.
(8) A consultant-evaluator.
(9) A person who purchases or receives ammunition at a target facility holding a business or other regulatory license, provided that the ammunition is kept within the premises of the facility at all times.
(10) A person who purchases or receives ammunition from a spouse, registered domestic partner, or immediate family member as defined in Section 16720.
(11) A person enrolled in the basic training academy for peace officers or any other course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, an instructor of the academy or course, or a staff member of the academy or entity providing the course, who is purchasing the ammunition for the purpose of participation or use in the course.
(12) A person licensed as a private patrol operator or registered as a security guard or patrolperson by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs, who holds a valid firearm permit issued pursuant to Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code and who purchases or receives ammunition for use in the normal course and scope of his or her business or employment.
(d) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

SEC. 3.

 Section 30314 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

30314.
 (a) Commencing January 1, 2018, a resident of this state shall not bring or transport into this state any ammunition that he or she purchased or otherwise obtained from outside of this state unless he or she first has that ammunition delivered to a licensed ammunition vendor for delivery to that resident pursuant to the procedures set forth in Section 30312.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any of the following:
(1) An ammunition vendor.
(2) A sworn peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or sworn federal law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of the officer’s duties.
(3) An importer or manufacturer of ammunition or firearms who is licensed to engage in business pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.
(4) A person who is on the centralized list of exempted federal firearms licensees maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 28450) of Chapter 6 of Division 6.
(5) A person who is licensed as a collector of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, whose licensed premises are within this state, and who has a current certificate of eligibility issued by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 26710.
(6) A person who acquired the ammunition from a spouse, registered domestic partner, or immediate family member as defined in Section 16720.
(7) A person licensed as a private patrol operator or registered as a security guard or patrolperson by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services of the Department of Consumer Affairs, who holds a valid firearm permit issued pursuant to Chapter 11.5 (commencing with Section 7580) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code and who purchases or receives ammunition for use in the normal course and scope of his or her business or employment.
(c) A violation of this section is an infraction for any first time offense, and either an infraction or a misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.