BRADY ORANGE COUNTY

ACTION ALERT FOR AB 1669

September 3, 2019

CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR AND URGE URGE A YES VOTE ON AB 1669 TO HELP FUND AND ENFORCE CALIFORNIA'S GUN LAWS

Funding for Firearm Enforcement Programs

To further Brady’s core goal to keep firearms out of dangerous hands, Brady California is in strong support of AB 1669. The bill reconfigures and raises the Dealers’ Record of Sale (DROS) fee to fund regulatory and enforcement activities related to the sale, purchase, manufacturing, lawful or unlawful possession, loan, or transfer of firearms.

Under existing law, the DROS fee is charged by Cal DOJ for most firearm transfers to pay for the background check process, firearm-related enforcement activities, and other reporting requirements. Although the DROS fee may be increased annually by the California Consumer Price Index (CPI), the fee has not been raised since 2004. Had the fee been raised with the CPI, it would be approximately $26 today.

AB 1669 will raise the DROS fee from $19.00 to $32.19. The new fee will be split between two accounts: 1) $1 fee on each firearm purchaser to fund non-regulatory costs associated with mental health-related reporting and other notifications and 2) $31.19 on each firearm purchaser to fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, firearm-related regulatory and enforcement activities. AB 1669 allows future fee increases no more than the CPI, but the fee cannot exceed the reasonable cost of regulation to Cal DOJ.

As new gun laws have been enacted, the workload has increased for CAL DOJ, even as gun sales, and collecting the associated fees, have recently declined. Cal DOJ estimates that a $13.19 fee increase, to be narrowly spent on key enforcement programs and statutory requirements, would enable Cal DOJ to meet its current obligations.

Additionally, AB 1669 will update existing law by applying gun show regulations for firearm dealers to ammunition vendors so that gun show regulations are consistent with the Safety for All Act (Prop 63), which was enacted by California voters in 2016.

As part of our mission to reduce firearm injury and death, Brady California has worked to enact many of the laws that have increased the duties of Cal DOJ.

We know that these laws are important as California’s firearm mortality rate has declined by 55 percent since 1993 —almost four times the decrease in the rest of the nation. Even more lives can be saved if Cal DOJ has adequate and stable funding to fully implement and enforce California’s strong gun laws.