HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11302004 - C43 i
' SUPERVISORS ���.�=�'�` -L,.'-,
TO. BOARD OF SU � _ ~�-""-`�
Contra
• B. Marchesi Count Counsel
FROM. Silvano y Costa
November 30 2004
DATE: .F
County
r'4 COUI`Z
SUBJECT: Ordinance Rescinding Large Caliber Firearms Ordinance
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
CONSIDER introducing Ordinance No. 2004-43 to rescind Chapter 54-22 of the Ordinance Code
(Ordinance No. 2004-10, entitled "Large Caliber Firearms -- Conveyance Prohibited"), waiving
reading, and fixing December 7, 2004 for adoption.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.
BACKGROUND:
On March 23, 2004, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 2004-10, which generally prohibits the sale
or transfer of .50 caliber rifles in unincorporated areas of the County.
On June 3, 2004, four nonprofit entities that advocate on behalf of gun owners, two publishing
companies that specialize in gun-related publications, and a gun manufacturer filed California Side
by side Society, et al. v. Contra Costa County, et al. (U.S. District Court Case No. C 04-2198 EMC).
The action for declaratory and injunctive relief seeks to have Ordinance No. 2004-10 declared
invalid.
On September 13, 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 50 (Koretz) into law. The
bill amends the California Penal Code to define a .50 caliber BMG rifle as an assault weapon. The
provisions governing assault weapons now also generally govern .50 caliber BMG rifles. With very
limited exceptions, no person may manufacture, distribute, transport, import into the state, keep for
sale, offer or expose for sale, give, or lend a .50 caliber BMG rifle. A violation of this law is a felony,
punishable by imprisonment for four, six, or eight years. In addition, a person generally may not
possess a .50 caliber BMG rifle unless the person lawfully poss s ed the weap n before January 1,
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE:
--------- i_____________________________rr____--------_--_---_--_a--------------------_--------_--__---_--__ _______________________________a__-___
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE
OTHER
e-,02
SIGNATURE(S):
--------------------- _--------------'---______------------
-------------------------------------------------- --------------------- .--------------__-_____--__________-ACTION OF
BOARD ON C. �Jt/' APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OT R
01
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN:
ATTESTEDi�
CONTACT: Thomas L.Geiger(335-1813) JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC: Sheriff
BY r PUTY
HA20041Board of Supervisors150 ca1150 cel rescind board order.wpd
2005 and the person registered the weapon with the California Department of Justice on or before
April 30, 2006. The bill becomes effective January 1, 2005.
By regulating the sale, possession and manufacturing of .50 caliber BMG rifles, the new law is broader
than the County ordinance, which only regulates the sale of these weapons. A.B. 50 also provides that a
violation of the law is a felony, while a violation of the ordinance is only an infraction. Because an
ordinance is preempted when its provisions duplicate or contradict state law, A.B. 50 appears to preempt
Ordinance No. 2004-10.
On October 12, 2004, the Board authorized entering into a joint stipulation with the plaintiffs in the above-
referenced case. The stipulation would require the Board to consider adopting an ordinance repealing
Ordinance No. 2004-10; require plaintiffs to file a request to dismiss with prejudice the above-referenced
case within one week of the Board's adoption of the repealing ordinance, if the Board decides to adopt
the ordinance; and provide that each side waives any right to recover attorneys' fees or costs. The
stipulation with plaintiffs has been executed. If the Board introduces the attached ordinance today and
adopts it on December 7, 2004, the plaintiffs would be required to file a request to dismiss their lawsuit by
December 14, 2004.
H:\2004\Board of Supervisors\50 cal\50 cal rescind board order.wpd
ORDINANCE NO. 2004-43
LARGE CALIBER FIREARMS —CONVEYANCE
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors ordains as follows (omitting the parenthetical footnotes
from the official text of the enacted or amended provisions of the County Ordinance Code):
SECTION I. Chapter 54-22 of the County Ordinance Code is rescinded in its entirety.
SECTION II. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance becomes effective 30 days after passage, and
within 15 days after passage shall be published once with the names of supervisors voting for or against
it in the Contra Costa Times, a newspaper published in this County.
PASSED on ,by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST: JOHN SWEETEN,
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Board Chair
and County Administrator
By: [SEAL]
Deputy
TLG:
H:120041Board of Supervisors150 ca1150 cal rescind ord.wpd
ORDINANCE NO. 2004-4.:)
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