A California lawmaker plans to introduce a tax on firearms to fund programs combating gun violence.
State Assembly member Marc Levine (D) announced November 28 that he will propose a tax on the sale of semiautomatic guns in the state to generate revenue for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (CalVIP), which helps fund programs that combat violent crime and is overseen by the Board of State and Community Corrections.
The gun tax “will support the kind of interventions that make gun violence less likely in the first place,” Levine said in a press statement.
CalVIP issues grants of up to $500,000 to cities and community-based organizations. This year it awarded money to fund programs run by Oakland, Richmond, Los Angeles, and other California cities, as well as to fund numerous community groups.
Levine told Tax Notes November 29 that the gun tax could be similar to one approved in Seattle that levies a $25 tax on guns to fund programs to combat gun violence. The city adopted the tax in August 2015 and prevailed against an effort by gun rights groups to overturn it.
However, Levine said the legislation, which he intends to introduce by December 3, won’t specify a rate, leaving that detail more open for negotiation. He said that among the facts needing review is how many semiautomatic guns are sold in the state each year versus other types of firearms, such as bolt-action rifles or pump-action shotguns.
“We’re going to leave [a proposed tax rate] out on introduction — but it is an excise tax” on gun sales, Levine said. Rather than dictate a specific amount upfront, “we want to work with everyone to gain the support necessary for passage,” he added.
Levine said he’s also open to emulating another provision of Seattle’s gun tax law, which is a tax on ammunition.
According to Levine, the legislation is necessary in large part to create a stable source of revenue for CalVIP, which he said currently doles out approximately $8 million annually. “It’s going to essentially give us a dedicated funding source for CalVIP,” he said.
Gun control groups including the California chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence support Levine's proposal, according to the press release. Ari Freilich, California legislative affairs director for the Giffords Law Center, said CalVIP’s program has received “inadequate and unstable funding,” and argued that the proposed gun tax would help shore up the program in future.
A bill introduced earlier this year (A.B. 2497) by Assembly member Jim Cooper (D) sought to tax sales of all guns and ammunition in the state to generate revenue for a “School Gun Violence Protection Fund” that would pay for school counselors at California middle schools and school resource officers at high schools. The bill died in committee.