In Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first year in office, a variety of gun bills were signed into law.
Most of the new laws will take effect Jan. 1, 2020.
Here’s a rundown of a few of those laws.
AB 12: This law extends the amount of time someone needs to wait to purchase a gun if a gun violence restraining order placed against them. The time is extended from one to five years under the new law.
“Far too many people that our courts have found to be too dangerous to possess firearms continue to possess these deadly weapons,” Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) said in a statement when she introduced the bill in February.
The number of the bill was chosen to symbolically represent the killing of 12 people in the Borderline bar in Thousand Oaks in November 2018.
AB 61: This law also deals with gun violence restraining orders and allows educators, employers and co-workers to the list of people who can petition a court to temporarily take someone’s firearms away if they pose a danger to themselves or others. Previously, state law only allowed law enforcement and family members to file for the restraining orders.
“With school and workplace shootings on the rise, it’s common sense to give the people we see every day a way to prevent tragedies,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), the lead sponsor of the bill, in a statement.
AB 645: This law requires gun manufacturers, starting June 1, 2020, to include statements about suicide prevention in the warning label on the firearm. That means adding the National Suicide Prevention Hotline phone number in the packaging as well as at gun shops and on California’s firearm safety certification exam.
“In 2015, half of all gun-related deaths in California were a direct result of suicide. And this issue disproportionately affects veterans, with 69.4% of veteran suicides in 2016 resulting from the use of a firearm,” Irwin said in October. “Losing a loved one to firearm suicide is a tragedy no one should have to face.”
This smart law closes a security loophole in ammunition sales by ensuring that all firearms and ammunition vendors who conduct business in California are subject to the same licensing and reporting requirements without exception. It also gives law enforcement needed tools to enforce critical gun safety laws and fight against gun violence.
AB 1669: This law essentially levels the playing field for gun shows. It ensures firearm and ammunition vendors at gun shows follow the same licensing and reporting requirements as others who conduct business in California, whether online or in brick-and-mortar shops.
Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) said the bill closes “a security loophole.”
SB 61: This law limits gun buyers to the purchase of one center-fire, semi-automatic firearm per month. It also prohibits purchases of center-fire, semi-automatic weapons by anyone younger than 21 years old.
“It is my hope that keeping these high capacity weapons out of the wrong hands will prevent a future horrendous violent action,” said Sen. Anthony Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge), the bill’s author.
Other new laws coming next year
Among scores of new non-firearm related legislation that will take effect next year are the following two:
Medical weed at school
Senate Bill 223, a new version of a law passed in 2018 but vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, will let local education authorities decide to allow grade school students to take medicinal cannabis on school grounds. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Named “Jojo’s Act” after a San Francisco teen with severe epilepsy who takes cannabis oil as a remedy, the law presents an opportunity for school district boards, county offices of education, or charter school boards to allow a student’s parent or guardian to administer medicinal cannabis products at school, excluding smokeable or vape-able forms.
Education loans for DACA recipients
Recipients Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in California will be soon be eligible for more state loans and in-state tuition to attend public universities.
When S.B. 354, an extension of the California DREAM Loan Program, takes effect in January, undocumented immigrants included under the state’s AB 540 will be able to get loans funded by the state to attend graduate schools. To be eligible, students must have attended high school in California for at least three years, among other requirements. Loans are already available for such students who want to go to undergraduate programs. The graduate school loans will be offered at University of California schools beginning in the 2020-2021 school year.
Grad school loans for Dreamers
— Aidan Freeman contributed to this report
