CRPA March-April

Capital Report
OPPOSE AB 1663
Existing law regulates the sale, carrying,
and control of firearms, including
assault weapons, and requires assault
weapons to be registered with the Department
of Justice. Violation of these
provisions is a crime. Existing law defines
a semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that
has the capacity to accept a detachable
magazine and other specified features
and a semiautomatic weapon that has a
fixed magazine with a capacity to accept
10 or more rounds as an assault weapon.
This bill would, instead, classify a
semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does
not have a fixed magazine with the capacity
to accept no more than 10 rounds
as an assault weapon. The bill would require
a person who, between January 1,
2001, and December 31, 2016, inclusive,
lawfully possessed an assault weapon
that does not have a fixed magazine, including
those weapons with an ammunition
feeding device that can be removed
readily from the firearm with the use of
RECLASSIFY 'BULLET BUTTON' GUNS
AS 'ASSAULT WEAPONS' NEW
a tool, and who, on or after January 1,
2017, possesses that firearm, to register
the firearm by July 1, 2018.
AB 1664 is detrimental to the Golden
State’s law-abiding gun owners, which
number in the hundreds of thousands.
It would turn legally-owned semi-automatic
firearms into what California law
defines as an “assault weapon.” These
same firearms are used in hunting, competitive
shooting and for general legal
use throughout the United States.
SUPPORT AB 665
IMPROVING STATE PREEMPTION FOR HUNTING
AB 665, as amended, Frazier. Hunting
or fishing: local regulation.
(1) The California Constitution provides
for the delegation to the Fish and
Game Commission of powers relating
to the protection and propagation of
fish and game. Existing statutory law
delegates to the commission the power
to regulate the taking or possession
of birds, mammals, fish, amphibia, and
reptiles in accordance with prescribed
laws. Under existing law, a city or
county has no authority to regulate fish
and game except that a city or county
may adopt an ordinance that incidentally
affects fishing and hunting for the
protection of public health and safety.
This bill would provide that the
state fully occupies the field of the
taking and possession of fish and
game. The bill would provide that unless
otherwise authorized by the Fish
and Game Code, other state law, or
federal law, the commission and the
department are the only entities that
may adopt or promulgate regulations
regarding the taking or possession of
fish and game on any lands or waters
within the state.
This bill would require the commission
to consider specific factors
when adopting certain regulations re-
lating to the taking or possession of
fish, amphibians, and reptiles. The bill
would also require the commission
to consider public health and safety
when adopting these regulations.
(3) Existing law makes it unlawful
for a person to intentionally discharge
a firearm or release an arrow
or crossbow bolt over or across a public
road or other established way open
to the public in an unsafe and reckless
manner. Existing law makes a violation
of this provision a misdemeanor.
This bill would delete the “reckless”
element from that provision.
SUPPORT AB 1154 CCW PRIVACY
AB 1154, as amended, Gray. The California
Public Records Act: applications
for licenses and licenses to carry firearms.
Existing law, the California Public
Records Act, provides that public records
are open to inspection at all times
during the office hours of the state or local
agency that retains those records, and
every person has a right to inspect any
public record, except as provided. However,
existing law provides that nothing
in the act shall be construed to require
disclosure of information contained in
an application for a license to carry a
firearm that indicates when or where the
applicant is vulnerable to attack or that
concerns the applicant’s medical or psychological
history or that of members of
his or her family.
This bill would instead provide that
the California Public Records Act shall
not be construed to require the disclosure
of home address information, as
specified, and telephone numbers of applicants
that are set forth in applications
to carry firearms or of licensees that are
set forth in licenses to carry firearms, as
specified. This bill would also prohibit
this provision from being construed as
prohibiting the disclosure of public records
relating to the reason an application
for a license to carry a firearm was
granted or denied, as specified. Because
this bill would increase the duties of
county sheriffs and the chiefs or other
heads of police departments that issue
firearms license applications, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local
program.
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MARCH / APRIL