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Firearms Initiative Enters Circulation

Firearms Regulation. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Debra Bowen today announced the proponent of a new initiative may begin collecting petition signatures for his measure.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General's official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

FIREARMS REGULATION. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends California Constitution to establish a right to acquire, possess, transport, transfer, and use firearms for lawful purposes, including for defense of self, family, home, and property. Eliminates state firearms owner registration, regulation of ammunition, and assault weapons restrictions. Permits limited state regulation in areas of: possession of firearms and ammunition by, and sale to, the dangerous mentally ill and felons; handguns for those under 21; tefloncoated, armor-piercing, or explosive ammunition; concealed weapons; fully automatic weapons; and background checks. Limits seizure of firearms. Prohibits special taxes or fees on firearm sales, except sales taxes. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown increase in state sales tax revenue due to increased purchases of firearms, ammunition, and accessories. Reduction in local sales tax revenues of several million dollars annually due to the elimination of local sales taxes on firearm-related purchases. Reduction of around $30 million in annual revenue from fees applied to firearm purchases for various firearm regulation and enforcement activities. Costs for some of these activities would still be incurred by state and local governments if the measure was enacted. Reduction in state and local correctional costs that could eventually exceed a couple million dollars annually. (13-0031.)

The Secretary of State's tracking number for this measure is 1619 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 13-0031.

The proponent for the measure, Robert Carrell, must collect signatures of 807,615 registered voters – the number equal to eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the 2010 gubernatorial election – in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 150 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be collected by May 27, 2014.

The initiative proponent can be reached at (916) 230-2123.

To sign up for regular ballot measure updates via email, RSS feed, or Twitter, go to www.sos.ca.gov/multimedia.

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