Amended  IN  Senate  July 01, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 16, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 13, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 06, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 340

Introduced by Assembly Members Irwin and Ting

January 31, 2019

An act to add Sections 30025 and 30030 Section 30025 to the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 340, as amended, Irwin. Firearms: armed prohibited persons.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain an online database known as the Prohibited Armed Persons File, sometimes referred to as the Armed Prohibited Persons System, to cross-reference persons who have ownership or possession of a firearm on or after January 1, 1996, and who, subsequent to the date of that ownership or possession of a firearm, fall within a class of persons who are prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.
This bill would authorize the County of Ventura Counties of Alameda, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Ventura to establish and implement a Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) team program, consisting of officers and agents from specified law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of, among other things, identifying, monitoring, arresting, and assisting in the prosecution of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm. The bill would additionally authorize the Department of Justice, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to award a grant to the County of Ventura for the purpose of investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who are in possession of a firearm, despite their prohibited status, in the county. The bill would require the County of Ventura, if it applies for and receives a grant from the department, to, on or before 15 months after receiving the grant, The bill would require a team established pursuant to these sections to, on or before 15 months after establishing the team, submit a report to the department and to the Legislature containing specified information.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Ventura.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 30025 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
30025.

(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)A substantial amount of firearm-related offenses are committed against the people of California by individuals who are legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

(2)The mission of the programs established pursuant to this section shall be to reduce violent firearm-related offenses in the County of Ventura through proactive surveillance, within the limits of statutory and constitutional law, and the arrest of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm.

(3)Identifying and developing a reliable and sustainable funding for the teams established by this section, including those established in rural and regional areas, is critical for reducing firearm-related crimes in California.

(b)

30025.
 (a) The County of Ventura Counties of Alameda, San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Ventura may establish and implement a Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) team program pursuant to this section.

(c)The

(b) A DPPT team may consist of officers and agents from any of the following law enforcement agencies:
(1) Police departments.
(2) Sheriff’s departments.
(3) The Bureau of Investigations of the Office of the District Attorney.
(4) County probation departments.
(5) To the extent that any of these agencies have available resources and choose to participate:
(A) The Department of Justice.
(B) The Department of the California Highway Patrol.
(C) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(D) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(d)

(c) A DPPT team established pursuant to this section shall follow all federal and state laws, including Section 12525.5 of the Government Code.

(e)

(d) A DPPT team program established pursuant to this section shall have the following objectives:
(1) To identify, monitor, arrest, and assist in the prosecution of individuals who are armed and prohibited from possessing a firearm.
(2) To collect data to determine if the proactive law enforcement procedures adopted by the program are effective in reducing violent firearm-related crimes.
(3) To develop procedures for operating a multijurisdictional regional task force.
(e) If a county establishes a DPPT team program, on or before 15 months after receiving money appropriated for the team in the 2019 Budget Act, a DPPT team program shall submit a report to the Department of Justice and to the Legislature containing information relating to the team’s activities, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The number of individuals in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) in the team’s jurisdiction before and after receiving a grant pursuant to this section.
(2) The number of individuals in the team’s jurisdiction cleared from the APPS.
(3) The number of individuals in the team’s jurisdiction added to the APPS.
(4) The degree to which the backlog in the APPS in the team’s jurisdiction has been reduced or eliminated.
(5) The number of firearms recovered due to the enforcement activities of the team.
(6) The number of contacts and attempted contacts with individuals in the APPS during the team’s enforcement efforts.
(7) Information regarding collaboration with the Department of Justice.
(8) Improvements that could be made to the APPS to expedite investigations and promote collaboration across jurisdictions.
(f) A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (e) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 2.Section 30030 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
30030.

(a)Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the Department of Justice may establish a pilot program to allocate grants to the Disarming Prohibited Persons Taskforce (DPPT) team established pursuant to Section 30025 for the purpose of investigating, locating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who are in possession of a firearm, despite their prohibited status, in the County of Ventura.

(b)If the County of Ventura establishes a DPPT team, it may apply to the department to receive a grant by submitting a workplan that identifies the jurisdiction’s plans for use of the grants.

(c)The department shall determine whether to award a grant based on the following criteria:

(1)The quality and completeness of the workplan submitted.

(2)Whether the County of Ventura has provided, or plans to provide, additional training relating to firearm confiscation.

(3)The proportion and the total number of prohibited persons in the jurisdiction.

(4)The rate of gun-related crime in the jurisdiction.

(5)Commitments by other law enforcement partners to assist the taskforce.

(d)On or before 15 months after receiving a grant pursuant to this section, the DPPT team program shall submit a report to the Department of Justice and to the Legislature containing information relating to the team’s activities, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1)The number of individuals in the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) in the County of Ventura before and after receiving a grant pursuant to this section.

(2)The number of individuals in the County of Ventura cleared from the APPS.

(3)The number of individuals in the County of Ventura added to the APPS.

(4)The degree to which the backlog in the APPS in the County of Ventura has been reduced or eliminated.

(5)The number of firearms recovered due to the enforcement activities of the team.

(6)The number of contacts and attempted contacts with individuals in the APPS during the team’s enforcement efforts.

(7)Information regarding collaboration with the Department of Justice.

(8)Improvements that could be made to the APPS to expedite investigations and promote collaboration across jurisdictions.

(e)A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 3.

The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique law enforcement issues in the County of Ventura and its goal of addressing gun violence.