Amended  IN  Senate  June 29, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 13, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1133

Introduced by Assembly Member Schiavo

February 15, 2023

An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 26165 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1133, as amended, Schiavo. Firearms: concealed carry licenses.
Existing law authorizes the sheriff of a county or the chief or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county to issue a license to carry a concealed firearm to an applicant for that license if the applicant is of good moral character, good cause exists for issuance of the license, the applicant meets specified residency requirements, and the applicant has completed a specified course of training, acceptable to the licensing authority. Existing law requires the course of training to be no less than 8 hours, include instruction on firearm handling and shooting technique, as specified, and to include live-fire exercises conducted on a firing range. Existing law provides that, for license renewal applicants, the course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority, must be no less than 4 hours, and must meet the above-described requirements.
This bill would, on and after January July 1, 2026, require the Department of Justice to develop, evaluate, update, maintain, and publish a standardized curricula for a license to carry a concealed firearm. The bill would require the department to create a standardized test, as specified, and to make that test available on a web portal. The bill would require an applicant to submit proof of passing that examination as part of an application to carry a concealed firearm. The bill would authorize the department to charge a reasonable fee for taking the standardized test, and require that fee to be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the service, maintenance, and administration of the web portal for the test. The bill would additionally require the department to develop, evaluate, update, maintain, and publish ethical and professional standards for concealed carry instructors to maintain their certification with the department. The bill would require those instructors, for each applicant who receives a certificate of completion for any class taken by the certified instructor, to provide a sworn statement verifying that the applicant has successfully met the curriculum requirements, and would make any instructor who knowingly or willingly makes a false sworn statement punishable by an infraction. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require those instructors and issuing authorities for licenses to carry a concealed firearm to keep specified records for a minimum of 5 years. By imposing additional duties on local issuing authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.Section 26165 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
26165.

(a)For new license applicants, the course of training for issuance of a license under Section 26150 or 26155 may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority that meets all of the following criteria:

(1)The course shall be no less than eight hours, but shall not be required to exceed 16 hours in length.

(2)The course shall include instruction on firearm safety, firearm handling, shooting technique, and laws regarding the permissible use of a firearm.

(3)The course shall include live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range and shall include a demonstration by the applicant of safe handling of, and shooting proficiency with, each firearm that the applicant is applying to be licensed to carry.

(b)For license renewal applicants, the course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority, shall be no less than four hours, and shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a).

(c)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SECTION 1.

 Section 26165 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

26165.
 (a) For new license applicants, the course of training for issuance of a license under Section 26150 or 26155 may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The course shall be no less than eight hours, but shall not be required to exceed 16 hours in length.
(2) The course shall include instruction on firearm safety, firearm handling, shooting technique, and laws regarding the permissible use of a firearm.
(3) The course shall include live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range and shall include a demonstration by the applicant of safe handling of, and shooting proficiency with, each firearm that the applicant is applying to be licensed to carry.
(b) A licensing authority shall establish, and make available to the public, the standards it uses when issuing licenses with regards to the required live-fire shooting exercises, including, but not limited to, a minimum number of rounds to be fired and minimum passing scores from specified firing distances.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the licensing authority may require a community college course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, up to a maximum of 24 hours, but only if required uniformly of all license applicants without exception.
(d) For license renewal applicants, the course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority, shall be no less than four hours, and shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a). No course of training shall be required for any person certified by the licensing authority as a trainer for purposes of this section, in order for that person to renew a license issued pursuant to this article.
(e) The applicant shall not be required to pay for any training courses prior to the determination of good cause being made pursuant to Section 26202.
(f) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Section 26165 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

26165.
 (a) For new license applicants, the course of training for issuance of a license under Section 26150 or 26155 may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority that meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The course shall be no less than eight hours, but shall not be required to exceed 16 hours in length.
(2) The course shall include instruction on firearm safety, firearm handling, shooting technique, and laws regarding the permissible use of a firearm.
(3) The course shall include live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range and shall include a demonstration by the applicant of safe handling of, and shooting proficiency with, each firearm that the applicant is applying to be licensed to carry.
(b) For license renewal applicants, the course of training may be any course acceptable to the licensing authority, shall be no less than four hours, and shall satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a).
(c) The Department of Justice shall develop, evaluate, update, maintain, and publish standardized curricula for original-issue and renewal-issue instruction for a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, and shall develop, evaluate, update, maintain, and publish, where appropriate, test questions, written examinations, and testing formats for use in evaluating applicant class performance.
(d) The department shall develop and maintain a library of standardized test questions, which shall be used to populate standardized tests to be taken by applicants, such that many possible combinations of test questions are available for each written examination.
(e) The department shall develop, evaluate, update, maintain, and publish ethical and professional standards, which all concealed carry instructors certified by the department shall follow in order to remain certified.
(f) The department shall develop, update, maintain, and publish a web portal, accessible to the general public, which shall make available, at no cost, downloadable-format documents containing a concealed carry knowledge handbook, other informational materials, sample test questions, and the ethical and professional standards applying to concealed carry instructors certified by the department.
(g) Any resident of this state making an application to carry a concealed firearm shall register on the state-maintained web portal, described in subdivision (e), and shall take a written examination offered and administered by the web portal.
(h) The written examination made available to applicants for a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person on the state-maintained web portal shall consist of no fewer than 30 questions, and no more than 50 questions, and shall be automatically scored on the web portal, with that score immediately being made available to the applicant and the applicant’s certified instructor.
(i) A passing score of the written examination shall be no less than 80 percent correct answers of all questions on the examination. If the applicant fails the written examination, the applicant may retake the examination a maximum of one more time within a 30-day period. If the applicant fails the examination two times within a 30-day period, the applicant shall wait 60 days from the time of the last attempt at passing the examination to retake the examination a third time. Each subsequent failure shall require an additional 60-day waiting period between retaking written examinations. If an applicant fails the examination four times within one year following their first attempt, the applicant shall wait until one year following their first attempt before taking the examination again.
(j) Applicants taking the written examination on the state-maintained web portal shall pay a reasonable fee to the department. Funds collected by the department from fees paid by applicants for taking online written examinations shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in the service, maintenance, and administration of the web portal specified in subdivision (e).
(k) Each concealed carry instructor certified by the department shall keep and maintain records, for a period of no less than five years, of each applicant who has received instruction from the certified instructor, and the records shall contain, at a minimum, the applicant’s identity, California driver’s license number, date of birth, residential address, address where firearms are registered, type of class taken, whether original-issue, renewal-issue, or other training was offered, the make, model, and serial number of each firearm the applicant intended to apply to their permit, the applicant’s written test score, the applicant’s range qualification score, and whether the certified instructor issued a certificate of completion to the applicant.
(l) Each concealed carry instructor certified by the department shall, for each applicant who receives a certificate of completion for any class taken by the certified instructor, provide a sworn statement verifying that the applicant has successfully met the curriculum requirements, successfully passed the written examination, and successfully passed the range qualification. The sworn statement shall be signed by the certified instructor, and shall be made part of the certificate of completion. Any instructor knowingly or willingly making a false sworn statement is punishable by an infraction. If the above requirements are not met, the instructor may be subject to revocation of their certification.
(m) Each original-issue and renewal-issue applicant shall submit to their issuing agency, upon application for a permit, a certificate of completion bearing a sworn written statement from the concealed carry instructor certified by the department, bearing the instructor’s signature, stating that the applicant has successfully passed the written examination and successfully passed the range qualification. The application to the issuing agency shall include a receipt and test score from the state-maintained web portal where the applicant took the written examination.
(n) Each issuing authority shall retain an electronic or paper copy of the applicant’s certificate of completion, for a minimum of five years.
(o) Each issuing authority shall direct and refer all applicants only to those concealed carry instructors certified by the department meeting the ethical and professional standards as determined by the department, and who provide, at a minimum, the entire standardized curriculum and written examination, as determined by the department.
(p) This section shall become operative on January July 1, 2026.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.