Part 6 — REDUCTION OF GUN HARM - LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIREMENT AND GUN HARM

A.

This Part is passed and adopted in the exercise of the police power of the City, and for the protection of the welfare, peace and comfort of the residents of the City of San José. Specifically, it is the intent of this Ordinance to reduce gun harm.

B.

Findings:

Firearm injuries have a significant adverse public health and safety impact nationally, in the State of California, and locally; and

Each year more than twenty-three thousand (23,000) United States residents die by firearm suicide, fourteen thousand (14,000) die by firearm homicide, and nearly five hundred (500) die from unintentional firearm injuries; and

In California, between 2005 and 2015, nearly four thousand (4,000) children and teenagers were killed or injured with firearms, and five hundred thirty-three (533) children and teenagers committed suicide with firearms, according to data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention; and

During 2010-2014 in Santa Clara County, thirty-one percent (31%) of emergency department visits and sixteen percent (16%) of hospitalizations from firearms injuries were due to unintentional shootings; and

A 2014 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that access to firearms within the home doubles the risk that family members will become a victim of homicide, and triples the risk of suicide; and

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2020 found that handgun ownership is associated with eight (8) times greater likelihood for firearm suicide among men, and thirty-five (35) times greater likelihood of firearm suicide among women; and

Based upon a November 2021 analysis by Dr. Ted Miller, Ph.D. and the Pacific for Institute Research and Evaluation (PIRE), on average, 206 people suffer death or serious injury from gunshots each year in the City of San José; and

Conservatively, San José taxpayers annually spend approximately $39.7 million, or approximately $151 per firearm-owning household, to respond to gun violence with such public services as emergency police and medical response, victim assistance, incident investigation, acute and long-term health care, and perpetrator adjudication and judicial sanctioning; and

Including private costs to individuals and families in the calculation, San José residents incur an annual financial burden of $442 million per year for gun deaths and injuries; and

Injuries from unintentional shootings, which are generally insurable, comprise more than a third of all gun- related injuries nationally; and

Auto insurers have used risk-adjusted premiums to reward good driving and incentivize use of airbags and other safety features, and by using a comprehensive public health approach to car safety the United States reduced per-mile auto fatalities by nearly eighty percent (80%) from 1967 to 2017; and

Liability insurance can reduce the number of gun incidents by encouraging safer behavior and it can also provide coverage for losses and damages related to gun incidents; and

Programs and services to gun owners and their households can also encourage safer behavior, and provide education and resources to those residents.

(Ord. 30716.)

As used in this Part, the following terms have the following meaning:

A.

"Firearm" means a device, designed to be used as a weapon, from which is expelled through a barrel, a projectile by the force of an explosion or other form of combustion. Firearm does not include antique firearms as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 921(a).

B.

"Designated Nonprofit Organization" means an entity that qualifies as a nonprofit corporation under the federal internal revenue code and is designated pursuant to the City Manager's authority under Section 10.32.235. No City official or employee shall sit on the board of directors of the Designated Nonprofit Organization.

(Ord. 30716.)

A.

Insurance required. A person who resides in the City and owns or possesses a Firearm in the City shall obtain and continuously maintain in full force and effect a homeowner's, renter's or gun liability insurance policy from an admitted insurer or insurer as defined by the California Insurance Code, specifically covering losses or damages resulting from any accidental use of the Firearm, including but not limited to death, injury or property damage.

B.

For purposes of this Section, a person shall be deemed to be the owner of a Firearm if such Firearm is lost or stolen until such loss or theft is reported to the police department or sheriff which has jurisdiction in which such Firearm owner resides.

C.

Any person who owns a Firearm on the effective date of this Section shall obtain the insurance required by this Section within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this Ordinance, or by a later date certain established in the regulations promulgated by City Manager pursuant to Section 10.32.235.

(Ord. 30716.)

A person who resides in the City and owns or possesses a Firearm in the City shall pay an Annual Gun Harm Reduction Fee to the Designated Nonprofit Organization each year. The date by which payment shall be made annually shall be established in the regulations promulgated by City Manager pursuant to Section 10.32.235. The annual fee will be set forth in the schedule of fees and charges established by resolution of the City Council.

(Ord. 30716.)

A.

All monies from the Gun Harm Reduction Fee shall be expended by the Designated Nonprofit Organization on providing services to residents of the City that own or possess a Firearm in the City, to members of their

household, or to those with whom they have a close familial or intimate relationship. Such expenditures may include, but are not necessarily limited to the following:

Suicide prevention services or programs;

Violence reduction or gender based violence services or programs;

Addiction intervention and substance abuse treatment;

Mental health services related to gun violence; or

Firearms safety education or training.

B.

No portion of the monies from the Gun Harm Reduction Fee shall be used for litigation, political advocacy, or lobbying activities.

C.

The Designated Nonprofit Organization shall spend every dollar generated from the Gun Harm Reduction Fee, minus administrative expenses, exclusively for programs and initiatives designed to (a) reduce the risk or likelihood of harm from the use of firearms in the City of San José, and (b) mitigate the risk of physical harm or financial, civil, or criminal liability that a San José firearm owner or her family will incur through her possession of firearms. Otherwise, the City shall not specifically direct how the monies from the Gun Harm Reduction Fee are expended.

D.

The designated non-profit shall provide a biannual report to an appropriate council committee and the report may also be provided to the City Council, as directed by the council committee.

(Ord. 30716.)

The provisions of this Part shall not apply to any of the following:

A.

Those persons designated as peace officers pursuant to Chapter 4.5 of Title 3 of Part 2 of the California Penal Code (§ 830 et seq.), including sworn peace officers, active reserve peace officers and retired peace officers.

B.

Those persons who have a license to carry a concealed weapon issued pursuant to California Penal Code § 26150 or § 26155, for as long as these statutes are legally enforceable.

C.

Those persons for which compliance with this Part would create a financial hardship.

(Ord. 30716.)

A.

Insurance requirement. Each person required to obtain and maintain insurance under Section 10.32.210 shall demonstrate compliance with the insurance requirement by completing and executing a City- designated attestation form. Each such person shall state both the name of the insurance company issuing the policy and the number of the insurance policy on the attestation form, sign the form under penalty of perjury and keep the attestation form with the Firearms where they are being stored or transported. Each person shall complete and sign a new attestation form under penalty of perjury in the event any of the information on the form changes. Each person shall present the form when lawfully requested to do so by a peace officer who knows or has reason to believe that a person possesses a firearm.

B.

Fee provisions. Each person shall affix proof of payment of the annual Gun Harm Reduction Fee to the attestation form and keep it with the Firearm or Firearms where they are being stored or transported.

(Ord. 30716.)

A.

The City Manager is authorized to promulgate all regulations necessary to implement the requirements and fulfill the policies of this Part relating to the reduction of gun harm, including, but not limited, to the following subjects:

Processes and procedures related to the implementation of the liability insurance requirement, and forms necessary thereto.

Designation of the nonprofit organization that will receive the Gun Harm Reduction Fee, any processes and procedures related to the payment of the fee, and any additional guidelines or auditing of the use of the monies from the fee.

Designation of any third-party agency and/or organization that will aid in the implementation of the noticing of the requirements of this Part or any other administrative tasks related to the requirements of this Part.

The criteria by which a person can claim a financial hardship exemption from this Part pursuant to Section 10.32.225 C.

B.

Regulations shall be published on the City's website.

C.

Regulations promulgated by the City Manager shall have the same force and effect of law. Unless a later date is specified in a regulation, a regulation shall become effective upon date of publication.

(Ord. 30716.)

A.

Any violation of this Part shall be punishable by an administrative citation in accordance with the procedures set forth in Chapter 1.15 of Title 1 of this Code relating to the issuance of administrative citations, imposing of administrative fines, right to appeal, and the right to an administrative hearing.

B.

The amounts of the fines for violations imposed pursuant to this Part shall be set forth in the schedule of fines established by resolution of the City Council.

C.

A violation of this Part is also enforceable through all other civil and administrative remedies available to the City.

(Ord. 30716.)

To the extent allowed by law, the Firearm or Firearms of a person that is not in compliance with this Part may be impounded subject to a due process hearing.

(Ord. 30716.)

The City Manager is hereby authorized to charge and collect any and all cost recovery fees associated with fulfilling the policies of this Part relating to the reduction of gun harm, including any associated third-party costs. All fees shall be as set forth in the schedule of fees and charges established by resolution of the City Council.

(Ord. 30716.)