Three California firearm bills with direct effects on dealers, 3D-printer sellers, and firearm purchasers are scheduled for appropriations hearings on August 13. The state’s official status pages show AB 1810 and AB 2047 in the Senate Appropriations Committee, while SB 948 is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. All three remain active bills in committee, not enacted law. Their placement on the suspense files means the fiscal committees can advance, amend, or hold them before either proposal reaches its next floor stage.
Dealer inspections and centralized-list removal
AB 1810 would change how the California Department of Justice manages the centralized list of licensed firearm dealers. The June 25 Senate version says DOJ must remove a dealer who no longer meets the listed licensing requirements. It also would let DOJ remove a dealer who does not remedy specified violations within 90 days after an inspection. A dealer removed on that basis could be fined and could be ineligible for the list for two years. The bill also says such a person could not own, operate, or work for a firearm or ammunition business during that period.
The same bill would require annual inspections of the 10 dealer locations with the highest percentage of recovered firearms that had a “time to crime” under one year. A location would qualify for that targeted process only if at least 20 recovered firearms were attributed to it. DOJ could skip that particular inspection if it had inspected the location during the six months before the relevant annual report. AB 1810 would retain the broader requirement for dealer inspections at least once every three years and require an audit sampling at least 25 percent of each record type.
AB 1810 would also replace several fixed fee caps with “reasonable” annual fees tied to program costs. The text limits an adjustment to no more than 15 percent above the prior year and bars collections beyond the amount needed to cover the specified costs. The official status record says the bill passed its latest policy committee on a 4-2 vote, was amended on June 25, and entered the Senate Appropriations suspense file on August 3. Those steps did not change current dealer obligations by themselves.
Controls proposed for consumer 3D printers
AB 2047 would build a California compliance system for consumer 3D printers. DOJ would have until September 1, 2028, to publish performance guidance for firearm-blueprint detection algorithms and software controls. Manufacturers seeking to sell a make and model in California would have to submit a self-attestation by March 1, 2029. DOJ would publish a model list by June 1, 2029 and update it at least quarterly. Starting December 1, 2029, covered printers could not be sold or transferred for consideration unless they had the required blocking technology and appeared on that list.
The proposal defines blocking technology as an integrated system that evaluates a print file before a job proceeds. Standards would have to address detection accuracy, false positives, false negatives, updates, and resistance to circumvention, but the bill does not demand a zero false-negative rate. Listed exemptions include printers made and sold exclusively to state-licensed firearm manufacturers, government or law-enforcement buyers for military or law-enforcement firearm production, specified industrial companies and government contractors outside the consumer market, and entertainment-industry prop shops. Certain private transfers of printers originally bought before publication of DOJ’s list would also be exempt.
Enforcement would include civil and criminal provisions. State or local public lawyers could seek penalties up to $25,000 per violation for prohibited sales, and a person harmed in California could seek damages and an injunction. Knowingly defeating installed blocking technology with intent to manufacture firearms, or selling a modified listed printer with intent to facilitate unlawful firearm manufacture, would be a misdemeanor. The status page records a 5-1 vote in its latest policy committee and referral to the Senate suspense file on August 3.
A four-hour certificate course
SB 948 would require most firearm safety certificate applicants on or after July 1, 2028, to complete a course of at least four hours during the prior year. At least one hour would be live fire. The course would cover possession, transport, storage, transfers, safe handling, shooting fundamentals, voluntary surrender, self-defense law, use of force, and conflict resolution. A California DOJ-certified instructor would supervise it, and applicants would have to demonstrate safe handling and basic shooting proficiency at a range. Holders of valid concealed-carry permits would be exempt from this training provision.
SB 948 separately would extend the reporting period for a personal firearm importer from 60 to 180 days and require a valid safety certificate with the report. The text classifies failure to obtain that certificate within 180 days as an infraction, while preserving alternative routes such as a qualifying transfer to a dealer or law-enforcement agency. Its official status record shows an 7-1 policy-committee vote before referral to Assembly Appropriations and placement on suspense on August 5. Costs, course availability, implementing regulations, and final wording remain unsettled unless the bills clear the August 13 hearings and later legislative stages.
About the Author
Nick Sawinyh - Nick Sawinyh is a father, husband, hobby farmer, and gun enthusiast from Kentucky. He founded GunsNation and writes most of what appears on this blog.
