AB 231, as amended, Ting. Firearms: criminal storage.
begin insertExisting law establishes civil liability for any injury to the person or property of another proximately caused by the discharge of a firearm by a minor under 18 years of age and imputes that liability to a parent or guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages. Existing law provides that the parent or guardian is jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from that act, if the parent or guardian either permitted the minor to have the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the minor. Existing law provides that the liability imposed is in addition to any liability otherwise imposed by law and that no person, or group of persons collectively, shall incur liability under those provisions in any amount exceeding $30,000 for injury to or death of one person as a result of any one occurrence or, subject to the limit as to one person, exceeding $60,000 for injury to or death of all persons as a result of any one occurrence. Existing law authorizes imputing liability to a parent or guardian for specified conduct of a minor, as specified, and provides that an insurer shall not be liable for certain conduct by a minor imputed to a parent or guardian for any amount in excess of $10,000.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would revise and recast these provisions to remove the dollar limitations in those liability provisions as to the parent or guardian. The bill would extend the liability limitations as to the insurer for liability arising out of the discharge of a firearm by a minor, as specified. The bill would make additional technical, nonsubstantive changes.
end insertExisting law establishes the offenses of criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree when a child obtains access to a person’s loaded firearm resulting in death or great bodily injury, as specified, and criminal storage of a firearm in the 2nd degree, where the child obtains access to the firearm resulting in injury other than great bodily injury or the firearm is carried off premises, as specified. Existing law provides several exceptions to these offenses, including, among others, when a child obtains the firearm as a result of illegal entry to the premises, when the firearm is locked with a locking device, or when a child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person. Existing law makes the first degree offense punishable as a felony or misdemeanor with specified penalties and makes the 2nd degree offense punishable as a misdemeanor with specified penalties.
This bill wouldbegin delete recast those offenses to make it a crime forend deletebegin insert
establish the offense of criminal storage of a firearm in the 3rd degree whenend insert a personbegin delete to keepend deletebegin insert keepsend insert a loaded firearm within any premises under his or her custody or control andbegin delete a child obtains access to a person’s loaded firearm, as specified, and would not require that the firearm be carried off premises or result in any injury or death. The only exception to the offense would be when a child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person.end deletebegin insert
negligently stores or leaves a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm, unless reasonable action is taken by the person to secure the firearm against access by the childend insertbegin insert.end insert The bill would make the offense punishable asbegin delete a felony orend delete a misdemeanorbegin delete with specified penaltiesend delete.begin insert The bill would also provide that “child” for all degrees of criminal storage of a firearm means an individual who is 14 years of age or younger.end insert The bill would make a person who owns a firearm strictlybegin insert
civillyend insert liable for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or death resulting from the use of his or her firearm. This bill would provide that strict liability does not apply if the owner of the firearm has reported his or her firearm to local law enforcement asbegin delete lost orend delete stolenbegin insert prior to the damage, injury, or deathend insert. Bybegin delete expanding the definition of a crime and imposing additional duties as local prosecutorsend deletebegin insert creating a new crimeend insert, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 1714.1 of the end insertbegin insertCivil Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
2read:end insert
(a) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that
4results in injury or death to another person or in any injury to the
5property of another shall be imputed to the parent or guardian
6having custody and control of the minor for all purposes of civil
7damages, and the parent or guardian having custody and control
8shall be jointly and severally liable with the minor for any damages
9resulting from the willful misconduct.
10Subject to the provisions of subdivision (c), the joint and several
11liability of the parent or guardian having custody and control of a
12minor under this subdivision shall not exceed twenty-five thousand
13dollars ($25,000) for each tort of the minor, and in the case of
14injury to a person, imputed liability shall be further limited to
15
medical, dental and hospital expenses incurred by the injured
16person, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). The
17liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability now
18imposed by law.
19(b) Any act of willful misconduct of a minor that results in the
20defacement of property of another with paint or a similar substance
21shall be imputed to the parent or guardian having custody and
22control of the minor for all purposes of civil damages, including
P4 1court costs, and attorney’s fees, to the prevailing party, and the
2parent or guardian having custody and control shall be jointly and
3severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the
4willful misconduct, not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars
5($25,000), except as provided in subdivision (c), for each tort of
6the minor.
7(c) The amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b) shall be
8adjusted every
two years by the Judicial Council to reflect any
9increases in the cost of living in California, as indicated by the
10annual average of the California Consumer Price Index. The
11Judicial Council shall round this adjusted amount up or down to
12the nearest hundred dollars. On or before July 1 of each
13odd-numbered year, the Judicial Council shall compute and publish
14the amounts listed in subdivisions (a) and (b), as adjusted according
15to this subdivision.
16(d) Civil liability for any injury to the person or property of
17another proximately caused by the discharge of a firearm by a
18minor under 18 years of age shall be imputed to a parent or
19guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes
20of civil damages, and that parent or guardian shall be jointly and
21severally liable with the minor for any damages resulting from the
22act, if the parent or guardian
either permitted the minor to have
23the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the minor.
24The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability
25otherwise imposed by law.
26(d)
end delete
27begin insert(e)end insert The maximum liability imposed by this section is the
28maximum liability authorized under this section at the time that
29the act of willful misconduct by a minor was committed.
30(e)
end delete
31begin insert(f)end insert Nothing in this section shall impose liability on an insurer
32for a loss caused by the willful act of the insured for purposes of
33Section 533 of the Insurance Code. An insurer shall not be liable
34for the conduct imputed to a parent or guardian by this section for
35any amount in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
begin insertSection 1714.3 of the end insertbegin insertCivil Codeend insertbegin insert is repealed.end insert
Civil liability for any injury to the person or property
38of another proximately caused by the discharge of a firearm by a
39minor under the age of 18 years shall be imputed to a parent or
40guardian having custody and control of the minor for all purposes
P5 1of civil damages, and such parent or guardian shall be jointly and
2severally liable with such minor for any damages resulting from
3such act, if such parent or guardian either permitted the minor to
4have the firearm or left the firearm in a place accessible to the
5minor.
6The liability imposed by this section is in addition to any liability
7otherwise imposed by law.
However, no person, or group of
8persons collectively, shall incur liability under this section in any
9amount exceeding thirty thousand dollars ($30,000) for injury to
10or death of one person as a result of any one occurrence or, subject
11to the limit as to one person, exceeding sixty thousand dollars
12($60,000) for injury to or death of all persons as a result of any
13one such occurrence.
begin insertSection 25100 of the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to read:end insert
(a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person
16commits the crime of “criminal storage of a firearmbegin delete ofend deletebegin insert inend insert the first
17degree” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
18(1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
19that are under the person’s custody or control.
20(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
21is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of
22the child’s parent or legal guardian.
23(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes
24death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person.
25(b) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the
26crime of “criminal storage of a firearmbegin delete ofend deletebegin insert inend insert the second degree”
27if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
28(1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
29that are under the person’s custody or control.
30(2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child
31is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of
32the child’s parent or legal guardian.
33(3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes
34injury, other than great bodily injury, to the child or any other
35person, or carries the firearm either to a public place or in violation
36of Section 417.
37(c) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the
38crime of “criminal storage of a firearm in the third degree” if the
39person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises that are
40under the person’s custody or control and negligently stores or
P6 1leaves a loaded firearm in a location where the person knows, or
2reasonably should know, that a child is likely to gain access to the
3firearm, unless reasonable action is taken by the person to secure
4the firearm against access by the child.
5(d) For purposes of this chapter, “child” means an individual
6who is 14 years of age or younger.
begin insertSection 25107 is added to the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert, to read:end insert
begin insert(a) A person who owns a firearm is strictly civilly liable
9for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or death
10resulting from the use of his or her firearm.
11(b) This section does not apply if the owner of the firearm
12reported the firearm to local law enforcement as stolen prior to
13the damage, injury, or death.
begin insertSection 25110 of the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to read:end insert
(a) Criminal storage of a firearm in the first degree is
16punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
171170 for 16 months, or two or three years, by a fine not exceeding
18ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and
19fine; or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
20by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both
21that imprisonment and fine.
22(b) Criminal storage of a firearm in the second degree is
23punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
24year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by
25both that imprisonment and fine.
26(c) Criminal storage of a firearm in the third degree is
27punishable as a misdemeanor.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
29Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
30the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
31district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
32infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
33for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
34the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
35the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
36Constitution.
Section 25100 of the Penal Code is amended to
38read:
(a) A person commits the crime of “criminal storage
40of a firearm” if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
P7 1(1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises
2that are under the person’s custody or control.
3(2) Regardless
of whether the person knows or reasonably
4should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm
5without the permission of the child’s parent or legal guardian, a
6child does obtain access to the firearm without permission of the
7child’s parent or legal guardian.
8(b) This section does not apply when the child obtains, or obtains
9and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or
10defense of another person.
Section 25105 of the Penal Code is repealed.
Section 25105 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
(a) A person who owns a firearm shall be strictly liable
14for each incidence of property damage, bodily injury, or death
15resulting from the use of his or her firearm.
16(b) This section does not apply if the owner of the firearm
17reports the firearm to local law enforcement as lost or stolen.
Section 25110 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
Criminal storage of a firearm is punishable by
20imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16
21months, or two or three years, by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
22dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine; or by
23imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine
24not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
25imprisonment and fine.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
27Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
28the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
29district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
30infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
31for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
32the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
33the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
34Constitution.
O
97