Firearms: possession of assault weapons: law enforcement officers.

Existing law generally prohibits the possession of an assault weapon, as defined, or a .50 BMG rifle, as defined. Existing law imposes specified penalties for a violation of these provisions, including imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, or a fine, or both imprisonment and a fine, as specified. Existing law does not prohibit the sale, delivery, or transfer of an assault weapon or a .50 BMG rifle to, or the possession of an assault weapon or a .50 BMG rifle by, a sworn peace officer member of a state law enforcement entity if the peace officer is authorized by the officer's employer to possess or receive the assault weapon or the .50 BMG rifle. Existing law defines the required authorization as verifiable written certification from the head of the agency, identifying the recipient or possessor of the assault weapon or the .50 BMG rifle as a peace officer and authorizing that person to receive or possess the specific assault weapon. Existing law also requires the officer to register the weapon, as specified. These requirements do not apply to members of federal law enforcement agencies who are authorized by their employing agency to possess these weapons. This bill would require that the written authorization from an officer's employer necessary to exempt the officer from restrictions on the sale, delivery, transfer, or possession of an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle also include language stating that the use of the assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle is "for law enforcement purposes, whether on or off duty." The bill would require that a peace officer who purchases an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle pursuant to this provision on or after January 1, 2013, be limited to the purchase of one assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle and would prohibit the peace officer from purchasing another assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle pursuant to this provision unless the peace officer has relinquished his or her possession of the original assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle and transferred registration of the weapon out of his or her name. The bill would also require a peace officer who lawfully purchased an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle, either before or after January 1, 2013, and properly registered the firearm in his or her name, as required pursuant to the provisions described above, and who has honorably retired, as defined, from the law enforcement agency, to notify the Department of Justice, within 90 days of the date of retirement, of his or her change in status and continued ownership of the assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle. The bill would specify that an honorably retired peace officer who acquired an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle pursuant to the above provisions and retired prior to January 1, 2013, would not be required to surrender the weapon if he or she provides the notification specified above to the department on or before April 1, 2013. The bill would require the notification to include written documentation from the head of the law enforcement agency from which the officer retired, or a designee of the department head, stating that the officer honorably retired from the agency. The bill would require the Department of Justice to develop a program authorizing a retired officer to file a "change of status" form for purposes of these provisions, and to develop and adopt a form for that purpose. The bill would also authorize the department to charge the retired officer seeking to file that form a fee covering the reasonable cost of providing this service.