Amended  IN  Senate  March 26, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 704

Introduced by Senator Arreguín

February 21, 2025

An act to amend Section 30312 of Section 28235 of, to add Section 16525 to, and to add Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 33700) to Division 10 of Title 4 of Part 6 of, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 704, as amended, Arreguín. Firearms: ammunition sales. firearm barrels.
Existing law generally requires the sale or transfer of firearms to be conducted through a licensed firearms dealer. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines “firearm” to mean 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 and to include the frame or receiver of the weapon, including both a completed frame or receiver, or a firearm precursor part. For these purposes, existing law defines “firearm precursor part” as any forging, casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar article that has reached a stage in manufacture where it may readily be completed, assembled, or converted to be used as the frame or receiver of a functional firearm, or that is marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as the frame or receiver of a functional firearm once completed, assembled, or converted.
Commencing on July 1, 2026, this bill would, except as specified, prohibit the sale or transfer of a firearm barrel, as defined, unless the transaction is completed in person by a licensed firearms dealer. The bill would require the licensed firearms dealer to conduct a background check of the purchaser or transferee and to record specified information pertaining to the transaction, including the date of the sale or transfer. The bill would require any costs incurred by the Department of Justice to implement these provisions, which cannot be absorbed by the department, to be funded from the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, this bill would create 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, as amended by the Safety for All Act of 2016, an initiative statute approved by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, requires the sale of ammunition to be conducted by or processed through a licensed ammunition vendor. Existing law exempts from that requirement the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to specified individuals, including a sworn peace officer or sworn federal law enforcement officer who is authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of the officer’s duties. A violation of this provision is a misdemeanor. Proposition 63 allows its provisions to be amended by a vote of 55% of the Legislature so long as the amendments are consistent with and further the intent of the act.

This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 16525 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

16525.
 As used in Section 33700, “firearm barrel” means the tube, usually metal and cylindrical, through which a projectile or shot charge is fired. A firearm barrel includes a firearm barrel that has reached a stage in manufacture where it may readily be completed, assembled, or converted to be used as a firearm barrel, or that is marketed or sold to the public to become or be used as a firearm barrel once completed, assembled, or converted. A firearm barrel may have a rifled or smooth bore.

SEC. 2.

 Section 28235 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

28235.
 Except as otherwise provided in Section 28233, moneys received by the department pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account of the General Fund, which is hereby created, to be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for expenditure by the department to offset the costs incurred pursuant to any of the following:
(a) This article.
(b) Section 18910.
(c) Section 27555.
(d) Subdivisions (d) and (e) of Section 27560.
(e) Chapter 4.1 (commencing with Section 28010).
(f) Article 6 (commencing with Section 28450).
(g) Section 31110.
(h) Section 31115.
(i) Subdivision (a) of Section 32020.
(j) Section 32670.
(k) Section 33320.
(l) Section 33700.

SEC. 3.

 Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 33700) is added to Division 10 of Title 4 of Part 6 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER  11. Firearm Barrel

33700.
 (a) Commencing July 1, 2026, a firearm barrel, as defined in Section 16525, shall not be sold or transferred unless that transaction is completed in person by a firearms dealer licensed pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, and the licensed firearms dealer has conducted a background check to determine that the person is authorized to purchase a firearm, ammunition, and a firearm barrel in a manner prescribed by the department.
(b) The licensed firearms dealer shall legibly record all of the following on a form to be prescribed by the Department of Justice pertaining to the sale or transfer of the firearm barrel:
(1) The date of the sale or transfer.
(2) The purchaser’s or transferee’s driver’s license or other identification number and the state in which it was issued.
(3) The make, model, and caliber of the firearm that the firearm barrel is designed for or used in.
(4) The purchaser’s or transferee’s full name.
(5) The name of the salesperson who processed the sale or transfer.
(6) The purchaser’s or transferee’s full residential address and telephone number.
(7) The purchaser’s or transferee’s date of birth.
(c) Commencing July 1, 2026, a licensed firearms dealer shall electronically submit to the department the information required by subdivision (b) for all sales and transfers of ownership of a firearm barrel. The department shall retain this information in a manner established by the department.
(d) The Department of Justice is authorized to adopt regulations to implement this act. These regulations are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(e) Any costs incurred by the Department of Justice to implement this section, which cannot be absorbed by the department, shall be funded from the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account, as set forth in Section 28235, or former Section 12076 as it read at any time from when it was amended by Section 1.7 of Chapter 954 of the Statutes of 1991 to when it was repealed by Section 12 of Chapter 606 of the Statutes of 1993, or former Section 12076 as it read at any time from when it was enacted by Section 13 of Chapter 606 of the Statutes of 1993 to when it was repealed by the Deadly Weapons Recodification Act of 2010, upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(f) A violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a ten-thousand-dollar ($10,000) fine.
(g) The following are exempt from the process outlined in this section:
(1) Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
(2) The United States military.
(3) A person purchasing a firearm and undergoing a state and federal firearm background check pursuant to Section 28220.

SEC. 4.

 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.Section 30312 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
30312.

(a)(1)Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale of ammunition by any party shall be conducted by or processed through a licensed ammunition vendor.

(2)When neither party to an ammunition sale is a licensed ammunition vendor, the seller shall deliver the ammunition to a vendor to process the transaction. The ammunition vendor shall promptly and properly deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, if the sale is not prohibited, as if the ammunition were the vendor’s own merchandise. If the ammunition vendor cannot legally deliver the ammunition to the purchaser, the vendor shall forthwith return the ammunition to the seller. The ammunition vendor may charge the purchaser an administrative fee to process the transaction, in an amount to be set by the Department of Justice, in addition to any applicable fees that may be charged pursuant to the provisions of this title.

(b)Commencing January 1, 2018, the sale, delivery, or transfer of ownership of ammunition by any party may only occur in a face-to-face transaction with the seller, deliverer, or transferor, provided, however, that ammunition may be purchased or acquired over the Internet or through other means of remote ordering if a licensed ammunition vendor initially receives the ammunition and processes the transaction in compliance with this section and Article 3 (commencing with Section 30342) of Chapter 1 of Division 10 of Title 4 of this part.

(c)Subdivisions (a) and (b) shall not apply to the sale, delivery, or transfer of ammunition to any of the following:

(1)An authorized law enforcement representative of a city, county, city and county, or state or federal government, if the sale, delivery, or transfer is for exclusive use by that government agency and, prior to the sale, delivery, or transfer of the ammunition, written authorization from the head of the agency employing the purchaser or transferee is obtained, identifying the employee as an individual authorized to conduct the transaction, and authorizing the transaction for the exclusive use of the agency employing the individual.

(2)A sworn peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or sworn federal law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry a firearm in the course and scope of the officer’s duties.

(3)An importer or manufacturer of ammunition or firearms who is licensed to engage in business pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.

(4)A person who is on the centralized list of exempted federal firearms licensees maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 28450) of Chapter 6 of Division 6 of this title.

(5)A person whose licensed premises are outside this state and who is licensed as a dealer or collector of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto.

(6)A person who is licensed as a collector of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code and the regulations issued pursuant thereto, whose licensed premises are within this state, and who has a current certificate of eligibility issued by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 26710.

(7)An ammunition vendor.

(8)A consultant-evaluator.

(9)A person who purchases or receives ammunition at a target facility holding a business or other regulatory license, provided that the ammunition is kept within the premises of the facility at all times.

(10)A person who purchases or receives ammunition from a spouse, registered domestic partner, or immediate family member as defined in Section 16720.

(11)A person enrolled in the basic training academy for peace officers or any other course certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, an instructor of the academy or course, or a staff member of the academy or entity providing the course, who is purchasing the ammunition for the purpose of participation or use in the course.

(d)A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.