Firearms: lost or stolen: reports.

(1) Existing law requires each sheriff or police chief executive to submit descriptions of serialized property, or nonserialized property that has been uniquely inscribed, which has been reported stolen, lost, or found directly into the appropriate Department of Justice automated property system for firearms, stolen bicycles, stolen vehicles, or other property. Existing law requires that information about a firearm entered into the automated system for firearms remain in the system until the reported firearm has been found. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to implement an electronic system to receive comprehensive tracing information from each local law enforcement agency and to forward the information to the National Tracing Center. This bill would require every person, with exceptions, to report the theft or loss of a firearm he or she owns or possesses to a local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the theft or loss occurred within 7 days of the time he or she knew or reasonably should have known that the firearm had been stolen or lost, and requires every person who has reported a firearm lost or stolen to notify the local law enforcement agency within 48 hours if the firearm is subsequently recovered. The bill would make a violation of these provisions an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 for a first offense, an infraction punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for a 2nd offense, and a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both that fine and imprisonment, for a 3rd or subsequent offense. The bill would make it an infraction for any person to make a report to a local law enforcement agency that a firearm has been lost or stolen, knowing the report to be false. The bill would not preclude or preempt a local ordinance that imposes additional penalties or requirements in regard to reporting the theft or loss of a firearm. By creating new crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require every sheriff or police chief to submit a description of each firearm that has been reported lost or stolen directly to the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System. By imposing new duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would also require that persons licensed to sell firearms post a warning within the licensed premises in block letters stating the requirement that a lost or stolen firearm be reported to a local law enforcement agency, as specified. (2) Existing law prohibits a person from making an application to purchase more than one handgun within any 30-day period. Existing law makes an exception for the replacement of a handgun when the person's handgun was lost or stolen and the person reported the firearm lost or stolen prior to the completion of the application to purchase. This bill would instead make the exception for the replacement of a lost or stolen handgun applicable when the person has reported the handgun lost or stolen pursuant to the provisions of this bill. (3) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 16520 of the Penal Code made by this bill and AB 500, and additional changes to Section 26835 of the Penal Code made by this bill and AB 231, to take effect if either or both of those bills are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last. (4) 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.