CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 3064

Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein

February 16, 2024

An act to amend Sections 23630, 23655 and 23680 of, and to add Sections 23656 and 23658 to, the Penal Code, relating to firearms.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 3064, as introduced, Maienschein. Firearms: safety devices.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to compile, publish, and maintain a roster listing all of the firearm safety devices that have been tested by a certified testing laboratory, have been determined to meet the department’s standards for firearm safety devices, and therefore may be sold in this state.
This bill would, commencing on January 1, 2026, authorize the department to charge each entity that manufactures or imports into the state for sale any firearm safety device listed on the roster, an annual fee, as specified. The bill would additionally require that any device newly added to the roster have certain information engraved or otherwise permanently affixed to the device. The bill would also require any entity seeking to list a device to comply with specified business standards.
This bill would provide a process by which a device that has been removed from the roster for nonpayment of the fee, to be relisted. The bill would also provide a process for a device model that is identical to a listed model except for certain cosmetic differences to be listed without testing. These processes require the submission of certain statements signed under penalty of perjury.
By expanding the offense of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would also require the manufacturer of any device listed on the roster that becomes subject to a product recall, as specified, to notify the department, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to remove the device from the roster if the manufacturer fails to provide this notice.
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 include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2/3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 23630 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

23630.
 (a) This division does not apply to the commerce of any antique firearm.
(b) (1) This division does not apply to the commerce of any firearm intended to be used by a salaried, full-time peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, for purposes of law enforcement.
(2) Nothing in this division precludes a local government, local agency, or state law enforcement agency from requiring its peace officers to store their firearms in gun safes or attach firearm safety devices to those firearms.
(c) As used in this division, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Department” means the Department of Justice.
(2) “Device” means a firearm safety device as described in Section 23650.
(3) “Roster” means the roster of approved devices maintained by the department pursuant to Section 23655.

SEC. 2.

 Section 23655 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

23655.
 (a) The Department of Justice shall certify laboratories to verify compliance with standards for firearm safety devices set forth in Section 23650.
(b) The Department of Justice department may charge any laboratory that is seeking certification to test firearm safety devices a fee not exceeding the costs of certification, including costs associated with the development and approval of regulations and standards pursuant to Section 23650.
(c) The certified laboratory shall, at the manufacturer’s or dealer’s expense, test a firearm safety device and submit a copy of the final test report directly to the Department of Justice, regardless of whether the device has passed or failed to meet standards, along with the with, for those devices that have passed, one prototype of the firearm safety device. device to be retained by the department. The department shall notify the manufacturer or dealer of its receipt of the final test report and the department’s determination as to whether the firearm safety device tested may be sold in this state.
(d) Commencing on July 1, 2001, the Department of Justice (1) The department shall compile, publish, and maintain a roster listing all of the firearm safety devices that have been tested by a certified testing laboratory, have been determined to meet the department’s standards for firearm safety devices, and may be sold in this state.
(2) A device shall not be added to the roster after January 1, 2025, unless the entity seeking the listing has complied with all applicable provisions of Sections 2105, 15909.02, 16959, and 17708.02 of the Corporations Code.
(3) Commencing on January 1, 2026, the department may, for each device listed on the roster, charge the entity that manufactures, causes to be manufactured, or imports the device into the state for sale, an annual fee not to exceed the costs of research and development, report analysis, storage of prototype devices, and other program infrastructure costs necessary to implement the provisions of this division.
(4) The fee described in paragraph (3) shall be paid no later than on the first business day of each calendar year.
(5) The department may remove from the roster any device for which the fee described in paragraph (3) has not been paid.
(e) (1) The roster shall list, for each firearm safety device, the manufacturer, model number, and model name.
(2) A device shall not be added to the roster after January 1, 2025, unless the name of the manufacturer, the model number, and the model name, as they appear on the roster, are engraved or otherwise permanently affixed to the device.
(f) The department may randomly retest samples obtained from sources other than directly from the manufacturer of the firearm safety device listed on the roster to ensure compliance with the requirements of this division.
(g) Firearm safety devices Devices used for random sample testing and obtained from sources other than the manufacturer shall be in new, unused condition, and still in the manufacturer’s original and unopened package.

SEC. 3.

 Section 23656 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

23656.
 (a) If a device is removed from the roster pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 23655, the listing entity may request that the device be relisted by paying any delinquent fees and doing either of the following:
(1) Submitting a statement to the department, signed under penalty of perjury, that the device to be relisted is identical to the device previously listed on the roster.
(2) Submitting a petition for reinstatement to the department, along with a sample device to be relisted, the complete testing history of the device, and fees, as specified by the department, sufficient to pay for the retesting and relisting of the device.
(b) If a petition is submitted pursuant to paragraph (2), the sample device provided shall be retested pursuant to Section 23650.
(c) If a device retested pursuant to paragraph (b) passes testing and is otherwise in compliance with this division, the department shall relist the device on the roster.
(d) (1) If a device retested pursuant to paragraph (b) does not pass testing, it shall not be relisted and shall not be retested.
(2) This subdivision does not prevent the department from retesting any listed device at any time.

SEC. 4.

 Section 23658 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

23658.
 (a) The department may approve an untested device and list that device on the roster if a model of the device made by the same manufacturer is already listed and the unlisted device differs from the listed device in only one or more of the following features:
(1) Finish, including, but not limited to, color or engraving.
(2) Any feature that does not in any way alter the material or functioning of any of the components of the device. Dimensional changes may be approved by the department without additional testing on a case-by-case basis when the dimensional changes do not alter the device’s ability to operate in the same manner demonstrated in the laboratory, including when the dimensional changes do not alter the size of the door or the locking bolts.
(3) Any change in name or model number that does not affect the design or function of the device.
(4) Any engraved or permanently affixed marking added pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 23655.
(b) Any manufacturer seeking to have a device approved pursuant to this section shall provide the department with all of the following:
(1) The model name and model number of the device that is already listed on the roster.
(2) The model name and model number of each firearm safety device the manufacturer seeks to have listed pursuant to this section.
(3) A statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that each unlisted device for which listing is sought differs from the listed device only in one or more of the ways identified in subdivision (a) and is in all other respects identical to the listed device.
(c) The department shall review each device submitted pursuant to this section on a case-by-case basis to determine whether new testing by a certified testing laboratory is required.
(d) The department may, at its discretion and at any time, require a manufacturer to provide to the department a sample of any device model for which listing is sought pursuant to this section.

SEC. 5.

 Section 23680 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

23680.
 (a) (1) If a device on the roster is recalled by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, or by any other state government entity, the manufacturer of that firearm safety device must notify the department of the recall within seven days of public notice of the recall.
(2) The department may remove from the roster a device that is the subject of a recall if the manufacturer has failed to provide the notice required pursuant to paragraph (1).

(a)

(b) If at any time the Attorney General determines that a gun safe or firearm safety device subject to the provisions of this division and sold after January 1, 2002, does not conform with the standards required by subdivision (a) of Section 23635 or Section 23650, the Attorney General may order the recall and replacement of the gun safe or firearm safety device, or order that the gun safe or firearm safety device be brought into conformity with those requirements.

(b)

(c) If the firearm safety device can be separated and reattached to the firearm without damaging the firearm, the licensed manufacturer or licensed firearms dealer shall immediately provide a conforming replacement as instructed by the Attorney General.

(c)

(d) If the firearm safety device cannot be separated from the firearm without damaging the firearm, the Attorney General may order the recall and replacement of the firearm.

SEC. 6.

 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.