California 2017-2018 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 1968 — Mental health: firearms.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 861, Statutes of 2018.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 31, 2018. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 74% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 3 sponsors

    1 primary, 2 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has been taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder to own a firearm for a period of 5 years after the person is released from the facility. Existing law allows a person who is prohibited from owning a firearm pursuant to these provisions to petition the court for a hearing in which the district attorney is required to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the person would not be likely to use firearms in a safe and lawful manner. If the people do not meet this burden, existing law requires the court to order that the person not be subject to this prohibition on the possession of firearms. This bill would prohibit a person who has been taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder and who was previously taken into custody, assessed, and admitted one or more times within a period of one year preceding the most recent admittance from owning a firearm for the remainder of his or her life. The bill would extend the above hearing process to a person under these provisions. Because a violation of the firearm prohibition would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the facility to provide a person subject to the prohibition with a form to request a hearing and to forward the form to the superior court if the person requests a hearing. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to prescribe the form. This bill would require that form to include an authorization for the release of the person's mental health records, upon request, to the appropriate district attorney solely for use in the hearing. The bill would require the Department of Justice to update the form in accordance with these requirements and distribute the form to facilities by January 1, 2020. The bill would prohibit the facility from submitting the form on behalf of the person. Existing law requires the court to set a hearing within 30 days of receipt of a request. Existing law authorizes a continuance of 14 days, upon a showing of good cause by the district attorney. This bill would instead require the court to set the hearing within 60 days. The bill would further authorize a continuance of 30 days, upon a showing of good cause by the district attorney. The bill would allow a person who is subject to a lifetime firearm prohibition to file a subsequent petition every 5 years to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she can use firearms in a safe and lawful manner, as provided. Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has been certified for intensive treatment after being admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder, to own a firearm for a period of 5 years. Existing law allows a person who is prohibited from owning a firearm pursuant to these provisions to petition the court for an order that he or she may own a firearm. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to set a hearing date at the time the petition is filed. Existing law authorizes a continuance of 14 days after the district attorney is notified of the hearing date. This bill would require the court to set a hearing date within 60 days. The bill would further authorize a continuance of 30 days after the district attorney has been notified of the hearing date. If additional continuances are granted, the bill would limit the total length of time for continuances to 60 days. This bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2020. 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 861, Statutes of 2018.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 68. Noes 0. Page 6629.).

  5. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 24 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  6. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 4. Page 5595.).

  7. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  9. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (August 16).

  10. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  13. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  14. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 64. Noes 1. Page 5397.)

  15. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  16. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 25).

  17. Coauthors revised.

  18. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  19. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  20. Read second time and amended.

  21. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 3).

  22. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  23. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

  24. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  25. From printer. May be heard in committee March 3.

  26. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Gonzalez Fletcher · Cosponsor
  • Portantino · Cosponsor
  • Low · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 2 co-sponsors · 119 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Low

Co-sponsors (2)

  • Gonzalez Fletcher
  • Portantino

Not signed on (119)

119 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 119 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 1968 LOW Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 68 Yea · 0 Nay · 12 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 470011
Democratic 16000
Republican 5001
Total 680012
% of votes cast 85%0%0%15%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Acosta — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Yea
Kiley — Yea
Low — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Voepel — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chu — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Medina — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Salas — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Burke — Yea
Frazier — Not Voting
Rubio — Yea
Rivas — Yea
Harper — Not Voting
Holden — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Yea
Levine — Yea
Fong — Not Voting
Maienschein — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Gray — Not Voting
Baker — Yea
Melendez — Not Voting
O'Donnell — Yea
Obernolte — Not Voting
Chiu — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Steinorth — Not Voting
Waldron — Not Voting
Wood — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Daly — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Not Voting
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB1968 Low et al. By Allen

Passed 33 Yea · 4 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 28403
Democratic 5000
Total 33403
% of votes cast 83%10%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Nay
Bates — Yea
Beall — Nay
Bradford — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hill — Yea
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Nay
Roth — Yea
Delgado — Yea
Allen — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
De León — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Chang — Not Voting
Hertzberg — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Lara — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Vidak — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Fuller — Not Voting
Glazer — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 5 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4101
Democratic 1000
Total 5101
% of votes cast 71%14%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Not Voting
Bradford — Yea
Hill — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Beall — Nay
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Beall — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Hill — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 1968 LOW Assembly Third Reading

Passed 64 Yea · 1 Nay · 13 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 451011
Democratic 15000
Republican 4002
Total 641013
% of votes cast 82%1%0%17%
How each member voted (78)
Member Party Vote
Acosta — Yea
Bigelow — Not Voting
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Yea
Harper — Not Voting
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Levine — Yea
Mathis — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Wood — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gloria — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Low — Yea
Medina — Yea
Salas — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chu — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Burke — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Holden — Yea
Kamlager-Dove — Nay
Kiley — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mayes — Not Voting
Fong — Not Voting
McCarty — Yea
Melendez — Not Voting
Gray — Not Voting
Baker — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Obernolte — Not Voting
Rendon — Yea
Steinorth — Not Voting
Voepel — Not Voting
Eggman — Not Voting
Cooley — Yea
Cunningham — Yea
Daly — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Travis Allen — Not Voting
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Choi, Steven S. Republican Not Voting
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 15 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 11002
Democratic 3000
Republican 1000
Total 15002
% of votes cast 88%0%0%12%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Bigelow — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Not Voting
Obernolte — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gonzalez Fletcher — Yea
Fong — Not Voting
Chau — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights healthcare
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1968 do?
Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has been taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder to own a firearm for a period of 5 years after the person is released from the facility. Existing law allows a person who is prohibited from owning a firearm pursuant to these provisions to petition the court for a hearing in which the district attorney is required to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the person would not be likely to use firearms in a safe and lawful manner. If the people do not meet this burden, existing law requires the court to order that the person not be subject to this prohibition on the possession of firearms. This bill would prohibit a person who has been taken into custody, assessed, and admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder and who was previously taken into custody, assessed, and admitted one or more times within a period of one year preceding the most recent admittance from owning a firearm for the remainder of his or her life. The bill would extend the above hearing process to a person under these provisions. Because a violation of the firearm prohibition would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law requires the facility to provide a person subject to the prohibition with a form to request a hearing and to forward the form to the superior court if the person requests a hearing. Existing law requires the Department of Justice to prescribe the form. This bill would require that form to include an authorization for the release of the person's mental health records, upon request, to the appropriate district attorney solely for use in the hearing. The bill would require the Department of Justice to update the form in accordance with these requirements and distribute the form to facilities by January 1, 2020. The bill would prohibit the facility from submitting the form on behalf of the person. Existing law requires the court to set a hearing within 30 days of receipt of a request. Existing law authorizes a continuance of 14 days, upon a showing of good cause by the district attorney. This bill would instead require the court to set the hearing within 60 days. The bill would further authorize a continuance of 30 days, upon a showing of good cause by the district attorney. The bill would allow a person who is subject to a lifetime firearm prohibition to file a subsequent petition every 5 years to show by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she can use firearms in a safe and lawful manner, as provided. Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has been certified for intensive treatment after being admitted to a designated facility because he or she is a danger to himself, herself, or others, as a result of a mental health disorder, to own a firearm for a period of 5 years. Existing law allows a person who is prohibited from owning a firearm pursuant to these provisions to petition the court for an order that he or she may own a firearm. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to set a hearing date at the time the petition is filed. Existing law authorizes a continuance of 14 days after the district attorney is notified of the hearing date. This bill would require the court to set a hearing date within 60 days. The bill would further authorize a continuance of 30 days after the district attorney has been notified of the hearing date. If additional continuances are granted, the bill would limit the total length of time for continuances to 60 days. This bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2020. 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.
Who sponsors AB 1968?
AB 1968 is sponsored by Gonzalez Fletcher, Portantino, and Low.
What is the current status of AB 1968?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 31, 2018. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 1968?
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