California 2021-2022 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 715 — Criminal law.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 250, Statutes of 2021.

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 19, 2021. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 72% · 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.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 11 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 authorizes the state prosecutor to investigate and gather facts in an incident involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of an unarmed civilian. Existing law defines the Attorney General as the state prosecutor. This bill would also authorize the state prosecutor to investigate and gather facts in an incident involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of a civilian if there is a reasonable dispute as to whether the civilian was armed. Existing law requires the sale, transfer, or loan of a firearm to be processed, as specified, through a licensed firearm dealer. This bill would exempt from these provisions a licensed manufacturer of ammunition, as specified. Existing law prohibits the transfer of a firearm to a minor, except as specified. This bill amends those exceptions to include new requirements for loans based upon the type of firearm and the age of the minor. Existing law requires a dealer who is unable to process the sale, transfer, or loan of a firearm, to return the firearm to the person making the sale, transfer, or loan. This bill would additionally prohibit the dealer from returning a firearm to the person making the sale, transfer, or loan, if that person is prohibited from obtaining a firearm and would, in those cases, provide a procedure by which that person could transfer the firearm to a law enforcement agency or to a third party, as specified. The bill would authorize the dealer to charge a fee for any firearm stored by the dealer pursuant to this procedure. Existing law requires, with certain exceptions, a person who purchases or receives a firearm to possess a valid firearm safety certificate. This bill would extend the exceptions to include a manufacturer of ammunition, as specified, and certain transfers to minors, as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm to any person who does not have a firearm safety certificate, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm by a licensed firearm dealer to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law exempts from these provisions the sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of a firearm, other than a handgun, to or by a person without a firearm safety certificate, but in possession of a valid, unexpired hunting license, or a recently expired hunting license, as specified. Existing law also exempts the sale or transfer of a firearm, other than a handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle, to a person 18 years of age or older who possesses a valid, unexpired hunting license, as specified. This bill would, for purposes of these provisions, define a valid and unexpired hunting license and would no longer allow a hunting license from the immediately preceding year to be used for this purpose. The bill would require a dealer to refuse delivery of a firearm if the validity of a hunting license cannot be determined upon visual inspection. Existing law, subject to exceptions, imposes a 10-day waiting period for delivery of a firearm, during which time a background check is conducted by the Department of Justice to determine if the proposed recipient of the firearm is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This bill would require the department, commencing July 1, 2025, for sales of firearms to persons under 21 years of age who are eligible to purchase a firearm based upon their possession of a hunting license, to confirm the validity of the hunting license as part of the background check. Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for specified costs related to the sale or transfer of firearms, such as the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of required reports and costs associated with the submission of a Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) , as specified. Existing law requires that firearm purchaser information be provided to the department exclusively by electronic means. Existing law directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of ammunition through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and prior to the purchaser taking possession of the ammunition, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. Existing law, commencing on July 1, 2022, directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of firearm precursor parts through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and before the purchaser taking possession of the firearm precursor part, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. This bill would delete obsolete provisions relating to the department's authority to impose fees for nonelectronic transfers of firearm purchaser information to the department. Existing law prohibits the possession of a handgun by a minor. This bill would additionally prohibit the possession of a semiautomatic centerfire rifle and, commencing July 1, 2023, the possession of any firearm, by a minor, with certain exceptions. This bill would make other conforming changes. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. This bill would declare that certain of its provisions are declaratory of existing law. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11108.2 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 320 to be operative only if this bill and SB 320 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 250, Statutes of 2021.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2:30 p.m.

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 26. Noes 9. Page 2625.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 54. Noes 22. Page 3107.) Ordered to the Senate.

  7. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended. (Ayes 52. Noes 12. Page 2785.)

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 4.) (August 26).

  11. August 19 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  12. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (July 13). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  14. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  15. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  16. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 7. Page 1378.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  18. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  19. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 5. Noes 2. Page 1201.) (May 20).

  20. Set for hearing May 20.

  21. May 3 hearing: Placed on APPR suspense file.

  22. Set for hearing May 3.

  23. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1. Page 861.) (April 20). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  24. Set for hearing April 20.

  25. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  26. Joint Rule 55 suspended. (Ayes 32. Noes 4. Page 272.)

  27. (Ayes 32. Noes 4.)

  28. Art. IV. Sec. 8(a) of the Constitution dispensed with.

  29. Read first time.

  30. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 24.

  31. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Portantino · Primary
  • McCarty · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 15 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Portantino

Co-sponsors (1)

  • McCarty

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"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

Unfinished Business SB715 Portantino et al. Concurrence

Passed 26 Yea · 9 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 10003
Unaffiliated 16502
Republican 0400
Total 26905
% of votes cast 65%23%0%13%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Bradford — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Min — Yea
Pan — Yea
Newman — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Roth — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Borgeas — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Bates — Nay
Gonzalez — Not Voting
Eggman — Not Voting
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Not Voting
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Not Voting
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Not Voting
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 715 Portantino Senate Third Reading By McCarty

Passed 54 Yea · 22 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 26100
Unaffiliated 281204
Republican 0900
Total 542204
% of votes cast 68%28%0%5%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Holden — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Wood — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
Low — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Levine — Yea
Daly — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Gray — Yea
Burke — Yea
Chau — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Cooley — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Salas — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Frazier — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Smith — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Rodriguez — Not Voting
Cooper — Not Voting
Mayes — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Not Voting
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. 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
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 715 Portantino Senate Third Reading By McCarty Amend By MCCARTY Set #1

Passed 52 Yea · 12 Nay · 15 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 25001
Unaffiliated 277010
Republican 0504
Total 5212015
% of votes cast 66%15%0%19%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Wood — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
Low — Yea
Levine — Yea
Medina — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Burke — Yea
Chau — Yea
Voepel — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Kiley — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Gray — Not Voting
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Smith — Not Voting
Waldron — Not Voting
Holden — Not Voting
Mayes — Not Voting
Cooper — Not Voting
Daly — Not Voting
Frazier — Not Voting
Salas — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. 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
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Not Voting
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Not Voting
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Not Voting
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 12 Yea · 4 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6200
Democratic 6000
Republican 0200
Total 12400
% of votes cast 75%25%0%0%
How each member voted (16)
Member Party Vote
Levine — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Chau — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

Passed 6 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 3000
Democratic 3000
Republican 0101
Total 6101
% of votes cast 75%13%0%13%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Not Voting
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay

Official roll call →

3rd Reading SB715 Portantino et al.

Passed 30 Yea · 7 Nay · 3 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 18302
Democratic 12001
Republican 0400
Total 30703
% of votes cast 75%18%0%8%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Dodd — Yea
Roth — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Newman — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Min — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Pan — Yea
Borgeas — Nay
Bates — Nay
Wilk — Nay
Melendez — Not Voting
Nielsen — Not Voting
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Not Voting
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Yea
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 5 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 1000
Unaffiliated 4100
Republican 0100
Total 5200
% of votes cast 71%29%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Portantino — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Bates — Nay
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 4001
Republican 1000
Democratic 1000
Total 6001
% of votes cast 86%0%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Portantino — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Bates — Not Voting
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety
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Frequently asked questions

What does SB 715 do?
Existing law authorizes the state prosecutor to investigate and gather facts in an incident involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of an unarmed civilian. Existing law defines the Attorney General as the state prosecutor. This bill would also authorize the state prosecutor to investigate and gather facts in an incident involving a shooting by a peace officer that results in the death of a civilian if there is a reasonable dispute as to whether the civilian was armed. Existing law requires the sale, transfer, or loan of a firearm to be processed, as specified, through a licensed firearm dealer. This bill would exempt from these provisions a licensed manufacturer of ammunition, as specified. Existing law prohibits the transfer of a firearm to a minor, except as specified. This bill amends those exceptions to include new requirements for loans based upon the type of firearm and the age of the minor. Existing law requires a dealer who is unable to process the sale, transfer, or loan of a firearm, to return the firearm to the person making the sale, transfer, or loan. This bill would additionally prohibit the dealer from returning a firearm to the person making the sale, transfer, or loan, if that person is prohibited from obtaining a firearm and would, in those cases, provide a procedure by which that person could transfer the firearm to a law enforcement agency or to a third party, as specified. The bill would authorize the dealer to charge a fee for any firearm stored by the dealer pursuant to this procedure. Existing law requires, with certain exceptions, a person who purchases or receives a firearm to possess a valid firearm safety certificate. This bill would extend the exceptions to include a manufacturer of ammunition, as specified, and certain transfers to minors, as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm to any person who does not have a firearm safety certificate, as specified. Existing law also prohibits the sale or transfer of a firearm by a licensed firearm dealer to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law exempts from these provisions the sale, transfer, purchase, or receipt of a firearm, other than a handgun, to or by a person without a firearm safety certificate, but in possession of a valid, unexpired hunting license, or a recently expired hunting license, as specified. Existing law also exempts the sale or transfer of a firearm, other than a handgun or semiautomatic centerfire rifle, to a person 18 years of age or older who possesses a valid, unexpired hunting license, as specified. This bill would, for purposes of these provisions, define a valid and unexpired hunting license and would no longer allow a hunting license from the immediately preceding year to be used for this purpose. The bill would require a dealer to refuse delivery of a firearm if the validity of a hunting license cannot be determined upon visual inspection. Existing law, subject to exceptions, imposes a 10-day waiting period for delivery of a firearm, during which time a background check is conducted by the Department of Justice to determine if the proposed recipient of the firearm is prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm. This bill would require the department, commencing July 1, 2025, for sales of firearms to persons under 21 years of age who are eligible to purchase a firearm based upon their possession of a hunting license, to confirm the validity of the hunting license as part of the background check. Existing law permits the Department of Justice to charge a fee sufficient to reimburse it for specified costs related to the sale or transfer of firearms, such as the preparation, sale, processing, and filing of required reports and costs associated with the submission of a Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) , as specified. Existing law requires that firearm purchaser information be provided to the department exclusively by electronic means. Existing law directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of ammunition through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and prior to the purchaser taking possession of the ammunition, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. Existing law, commencing on July 1, 2022, directs the department to electronically approve the purchase or transfer of firearm precursor parts through a vendor at the time of purchase or transfer and before the purchaser taking possession of the firearm precursor part, and permits the department to collect certain fees for these purposes. This bill would delete obsolete provisions relating to the department's authority to impose fees for nonelectronic transfers of firearm purchaser information to the department. Existing law prohibits the possession of a handgun by a minor. This bill would additionally prohibit the possession of a semiautomatic centerfire rifle and, commencing July 1, 2023, the possession of any firearm, by a minor, with certain exceptions. This bill would make other conforming changes. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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. This bill would declare that certain of its provisions are declaratory of existing law. The bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 11108.2 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 320 to be operative only if this bill and SB 320 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.
Who sponsors SB 715?
SB 715 is sponsored by Portantino and McCarty.
What is the current status of SB 715?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 19, 2021. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 715?
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