Amended  IN  Senate  March 20, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 452

Introduced by Senator Blakespear
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Friedman)

February 13, 2023

An act to add Sections 27531, 27532, 27533, and 27534 to the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 452, as amended, Blakespear. Firearms.
Existing law, subject to exceptions, generally makes it an offense to manufacture or sell an unsafe handgun, as defined, and requires the Department of Justice to compile a roster listing all of the handguns that have been tested and determined not to be unsafe handguns. Existing law establishes criteria for determining if a handgun is an unsafe handgun, including, for firearms manufactured after a certain date and not already listed on the roster, the lack of a chamber load indicator, magazine disconnect mechanism, and technology that transfers a microscopic array of characters from the firearm to the cartridge case when the firearm is fired, known as a microstamp.
This bill would prohibit, commencing on January 1, 2027, a licensed firearms dealer from selling, offering for sale, exchanging, giving, transfering, or delivering a semiautomatic pistol, as defined, unless the pistol has been verified as a microstamping-enabled pistol. The bill would also prohibit a person from modifying a microstamping-enabled pistol or microstamping component with the intent to prevent the production of a microstamp. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide written guidance concerning qualifying criteria and performance standards for microstamping components, as defined, and would require the department to establish standards for the training and licensure of entities to retrofit semiautomatic pistols with microstamping components.
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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation relating to firearm microstamping.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 27531 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

27531.
 The following terms have the following meanings for purposes of this article:
(a) “Microstamping component” means a component part of a semiautomatic pistol that will produce a microstamp on at least one location of the expended cartridge case each time the pistol is fired.
(b) “Microstamping-enabled pistol” means a semiautomatic pistol that contains a microstamping component installed by its manufacturer or by a person licensed by the state, an association, a partnership, a corporation, or another entity in compliance with standards established by the Department of Justice or its designee.
(c) “Semiautomatic pistol” means a pistol, as defined in Section 16530, that has an operating mode that uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed cartridge to extract a fired cartridge and chamber a fresh cartridge with each single pull of the trigger.

SEC. 2.

 Section 27532 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

27532.
 (a) On or before July 1, 2025, the Department of Justice shall provide written guidance concerning qualifying criteria and performance standards for microstamping components.
(b) On or before July 1, 2026, the Department of Justice shall establish processes and standards for the training and licensure of persons, associations, partnerships, corporations, or other entities so that those entities may engage in the business of servicing semiautomatic pistols and their components to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 27533.
(c) On or before July 1, 2026, the Department of Justice shall designate a state body to facilitate the service of semiautomatic pistols and their components to ensure compliance with the requirements of Section 27533.
(d) The Department of Justice shall adopt rules or regulations that may be necessary or proper to carry out the provisions of this section.

SEC. 3.

 Section 27533 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

27533.
 (a) Commencing on July 1, 2027, it shall be unlawful for a firearms dealer licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, to sell, offer for sale, exchange, give, transfer, or deliver any semiautomatic pistol unless the pistol has been verified as a microstamping-enabled pistol.
(b) The first violation for unlawful sale of a nonmicrostamping-enabled pistol pursuant to this section shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) The second violation for unlawful sale of a nonmicrostamping-enabled pistol pursuant to this section shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) and may result in the revocation of the dealer’s license issued under Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive.
(d) The third violation for unlawful sale of a nonmicrostamping-enabled pistol pursuant to this section is a misdemeanor and shall result in the revocation of the dealer’s license issued under Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive.

SEC. 4.

 Section 27534 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

27534.
 (a) A person who modifies a microstamping-enabled pistol or microstamping component with the intent to prevent the production of a microstamp is, for a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, and for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail of not more than one year, by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) For the purposes of this section, it shall not be unlawful to replace the microstamping component of a microstamping-enabled pistol when the component is damaged or in need of replacement with another valid microstamping component for the safe use of the firearm or replacing a microstamping component for a legitimate sporting purpose.

SEC. 5.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because 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.
SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to require all semiautomatic pistols sold in the state to be equipped with a microscopic array of characters used to identify the make, model, and serial number of the pistol, etched or otherwise imprinted in one or more places on the interior surface or internal working parts of the pistol, that are transferred by imprinting on each cartridge case when the firearm is fired.