Editor’s note: Sacramento Snapshot is a weekly series during the legislative session detailing what Orange County’s representatives in the Assembly and Senate are working on — from committee work to bill passages and more.
A Republican Assemblymember is balancing gun control and public safety in a bill she’s working through the legislature this year.
Diane Dixon, who represents the coastal AD-72, is behind a bill that enhances penalties for people who use or possess a firearm without a valid serial number — otherwise known as a “ghost gun” — while committing a crime.
A person could be subjected to two additional years of imprisonment if a ghost gun is in their possession at the time a felony is committed or three years if it is used to commit or attempt to commit a felony.
“California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, and yet we still experience tragic mass shootings every year,” Dixon said. “I’m pro-Second Amendment, but I believe there is an area not fully addressed or covered by existing law.”
The bill was recently referred to the Committee on Public Safety, and Dixon said she’s hopeful it will make it out this session.
“By imposing enhancements, this is intended to become a strengthening of the existing gun laws or an additional deterrent and help crack down on the use of ghost guns so Californians can feel safer in our community,” Dixon said. “Ghost guns are a real problem.”
The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence notes California has the strongest gun safety laws in the U.S. — but legislators on both sides of the aisle vowed to work on additional violence prevention bills this year following mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.
In other news
• Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, introduced legislation to provide oversight over the billions of dollars appropriated for wildfire and forest resilience programs. To do this, it would require the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force to create a data portal of wildfire projects and expenditures.
• Sen. Bob Archuleta, whose district includes Brea in northern Orange County, recently met with County Veteran Service officers from around the state who advocated for veteran resources.
Thank you to all the County Veteran Service Officers from throughout the state who traveled to Sacramento to advocate for veteran resources. These men & woman continue to serve by helping veterans & their families understand the complexities of the VA system. @LACDMVA @CAVSA_vets pic.twitter.com/VyFHSNqT8D
— Senator Bob Archuleta (@SenBobArchuleta) March 2, 2023
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• Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, was sworn into a second term on the California Judicial Council, the policymaking arm of the California courts. He was sworn into the new term by fellow Orange County Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton.
Source: Orange County Register
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