CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 243

Introduced by Senator Seyarto

January 25, 2023

An act to add Section 6362 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to taxation, to take effect immediately, tax levy.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 243, as introduced, Seyarto. Sales and Use Tax Law: exemption: gun safety systems.
Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state, or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law provides various exemptions from those taxes.
This bill would, until January 1, 2028, exempt from those taxes the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, a gun safety system, as defined.
Existing law requires a bill authorizing a new tax expenditure to contain, among other things, specific goals, purposes, and objectives that the tax expenditure will achieve, detailed performance indicators, and data collection requirements.
This bill would make findings detailing the goals of the above-described tax expenditure and performance indicators for determining whether the tax expenditure meets those goals.
The Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws.
This bill would provide that exemption created by the bill does not apply to local sales and use taxes or transactions and use taxes.
Existing law imposes or dedicates certain state sales and use tax rates for local funding, including through the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
This bill would provide that the exemption created by the bill does not apply to those state sales and use tax rates imposed or dedicated for local government funding, including those rates for which revenues are deposited into the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 6362 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

6362.
 (a) There are exempted from the taxes imposed by this part the gross receipts from the sale in this state of, and the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of, a gun safety system.
(b) For purposes of this section, “gun safety system” means any of the following:
(1) A gun safe, as defined in Section 16610 of the Penal Code.
(2) A firearm safety device, as defined in Section 16540 of the Penal Code.
(3) A long-gun safe, as defined in Section 16870 of the Penal Code.
(c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200)) or the Transactions and Use Tax Law (Part 1.6 (commencing with Section 7251)), the exemption established by subdivision (a) does not apply with respect to any tax levied pursuant to, or in accordance with, either of those laws.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the exemption established by this section shall not apply with respect to any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051.2 or 6201.2, pursuant to Section 35 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, or any tax levied pursuant to Section 6051 or 6201 that is deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Local Revenue Fund 2011 pursuant to Section 6051.15 or 6201.15.
(d) For purposes of complying with Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The specific goal of the exemption provided by this section is to reduce unauthorized access to firearms by incentivizing greater access to high quality gun safety devices and storage.
(2) The performance indicator for the Legislature to use in determining if the tax exemption achieves the goal stated in paragraph (1) is whether there is a decrease in crimes committed with unsecured firearms accessed by an unauthorized person during the operational period of the exemption.
(e) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2028, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 This act provides for a tax levy within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.