(a)
(1)Commencing on January 1, 2019, any person who is 18 years of age or older may apply to the Department of Justice for an ammunition purchase authorization.
(2)
The ammunition purchase authorization may be used by the authorized person to purchase or otherwise seek the transfer of ownership of ammunition from an ammunition vendor, as that term is defined in Section 16151, and shall have no other force or effect.
(3)
The ammunition purchase authorization shall be valid for four years from July 1, 2019, or the date of issuance, whichever is later, unless it is revoked by the department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b)
The ammunition purchase authorization shall be promptly revoked by the department upon the occurrence of any event which would have disqualified the holder from being issued the ammunition purchase authorization pursuant to this section. If an authorization is revoked, the department shall upon the written request of the holder state the reasons for doing so and provide the holder an appeal process to challenge that revocation.
(c)
The department shall create and maintain an internal centralized list of all persons who are authorized to purchase ammunition and shall promptly remove from the list any persons whose authorization was revoked by the department pursuant to this section. The department shall provide access to the list by ammunition vendors for purposes of conducting ammunition sales or other transfers, and shall provide access to the list by law enforcement agencies
for law enforcement purposes.
(d)
The department shall issue an ammunition purchase authorization to the applicant if all of the following conditions are met:
(1)
The applicant is 18 years of age or older.
(2)
The applicant is not prohibited from acquiring or possessing ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law.
(3)
The applicant pays the fees set forth in subdivision (g).
(e)
(1)Upon receipt of an initial or renewal application, the department shall examine its records, and the records it is authorized to request from the State Department of State Hospitals, pursuant to Section 8104 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and if authorized, the
National Instant Criminal Background Check System, as described in Section 922(t) of Title 18 of the United States Code, in order to determine if the applicant is prohibited from possessing or acquiring ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law.
(2)
The applicant shall be approved or denied within 30 days of the date of the submission of the application to the department. If the application is denied, the department shall state the reasons for doing so and provide the applicant an appeal process to challenge that denial.
(3)
If the department is unable to ascertain the final disposition of the application within 30 days of the applicant’s submission, the department shall grant authorization to the applicant.
(4)
The ammunition purchase authorization number shall be the same as the number on the
document presented by the person as bona fide evidence of identity.
(f)
The department shall renew a person’s ammunition purchase authorization before its expiration, provided that the department determines that the person is not prohibited from acquiring or possessing ammunition under subdivision (a) of Section 30305 or federal law, and provided the applicant timely pays the renewal fee set forth in subdivision (g).
(g)
The department may charge a reasonable fee not to exceed fifty dollars ($50) per person for the issuance of an ammunition purchase authorization or the issuance of a renewal authorization, however, the department shall not set these fees any higher than necessary to recover the reasonable, estimated costs to fund the ammunition authorization program provided for in this section and Section 30352, including the enforcement of this program and maintenance of any
data systems associated with this program.
(h)
The Ammunition Safety and Enforcement Special Fund is hereby created within the State Treasury. All fees received pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Ammunition Safety and Enforcement Special Fund of the General Fund, and, notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, are continuously appropriated for purposes of implementing, operating and enforcing the ammunition authorization program provided for in this section and Section 30352, and for repaying the start-up loan provided for in Section 30371.
(i)
The department shall annually review and may adjust all fees specified in subdivision (g) for inflation.
(j)
The department is authorized to adopt regulations to implement the provisions of this section.