A bill is headed to California’s governor that would provide more money for the state’s program aimed at taking guns from felons, those deemed mentally unstable and others who are prohibited from owning them.
SB140 passed the Senate on a 37-0 vote Monday and is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk.
Sen. Joel Anderson (31st District) sponsored the bill with Sen. Marty Block (39th District) as co-sponsor, suggesting that money from more of the fees imposed on gun buyers and collected by gun dealers will go toward hiring more state Department of Justice Agents.
The amount would be $24 million to be used over the next three years to erase a current backlog in the program.
The Armed and Prohibited Persons program is unique to California. Under the program, agents cross-check databases to find people who bought weapons they are no longer legally allowed to own.
The department says nearly 20,000 people illegally own more than 39,000 handguns and 1,670 assault weapons.
