Ammunition Registration Bill Suspended!

Posted on 07-27-2009

Late last Thursday evening, July 23rd, or, Early Friday Morning July 24th, whichever you like, the Senate Appropriations Committee, upon hearing testimony from GOC placed the bill AB 962 into the Suspense File.

AB 962 by Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon (D), which calls for registration of handgun ammunition by purchasers and dealers, and also calls for placing all ammunition behind counters in locked cases, like spray paint and certain drugs, was scheduled for hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, July 23.

The author waived his right to present his testimony on the bill because it was recommended for the suspense file .

All bills with a cost of over $175,000 automatically go to the suspense file. while the legislature figures out how much money they will have to spend on new programs. Once the legislators have a dollar figure, they prioritize and cherry pick which programs they can pay for out of the suspense file.

The Senate Appropriations Committee analysis showed that the bill had an undetermined cost to the state but that it was probably more than $175,000. GOC testified that there are approximately $652 million in sales of handgun ammunition annually in California. Also, that since Assemblyman DeLeon has stated that the impact on the sale of ammunition would be the same as the impact on spray paint and pharmaceutical products when they placed them behind counters and in locked cases, GOC learned from the paint and drug industry that they saw a drop of as much as 30% in sales of those products as a result of those actions. GOC testified that even with a conservative estimate of a similar drop in sales of handgun ammunition, CA would experience a loss of $11 to $12 million in sales tax revenue. The Senate Appropriations Committee saw that as significant and requested more information for their review.

GOC Website editor