Amended  IN  Senate  March 25, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 257

Introduced by Senator Nielsen

February 12, 2019

An act to add Section 29880 to the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 257, as amended, Nielsen. Firearms: prohibited persons.
Existing law makes it a crime for certain persons to own, purchase, receive, or possess a firearm, including, among other persons, persons convicted of a felony, persons who are addicted to the use of a narcotic drug, persons convicted of specified violent offenses, persons who have been adjudicated by a court of any state to be a danger to others as a result of a mental disorder or mental illness, and persons who have been admitted to a facility, are receiving inpatient treatment, and, in the opinion of the attending health professional who is primarily responsible for the patient’s treatment, are a danger to themselves or others.
This bill would require the Department of Justice, if the department determines that a person prohibited from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm by the provisions described above has attempted to acquire a firearm, to notify the local law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the area in which the person was last known to reside. If the person is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm because of a mental illness, the bill would require the department to also notify the county department of mental health in the county in which the person was last known to reside.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 29880 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 29875, to read:

29880.
 (a) If the Department of Justice determines that a person prohibited from owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm by this chapter, Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 29900), or Section 8100 or 8103 of the Welfare and Institutions Code has attempted to acquire a firearm, the department shall notify the local law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the area in which the person was last known to reside.
(b) If a person described in subdivision (a) is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm because of a mental illness, the department shall also notify the county department of mental health in the county in which the person was last known to reside.