Financial transactions: firearms merchants: merchant category code.

Existing law, the California Financing Law, generally provides for the licensure and regulation of finance lenders, brokers, and program administrators by the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation. Existing law establishes a firearm industry standard of conduct that requires a firearm industry member to establish, implement, and enforce reasonable controls and to take responsible precautions to ensure that the member does not sell, distribute, or provide a firearm-related product to a downstream distributor or retailer of firearm-related products under specified circumstances. Existing law prohibits a firearm industry member from manufacturing, marketing, importing, offering for wholesale sale, or offering for retail sale a firearm-related product that is abnormally dangerous and likely to create an unreasonable risk of harm to public health and safety in California, as specified. Existing law authorizes, among others, the Attorney General to bring a civil action against a firearm industry member for an act or omission in violation of the firearm industry standard of conduct, as specified. Existing law defines various terms for these purposes. This bill would, by July 1, 2024, require a payment card network to make the merchant category code for firearms and ammunition businesses established by the International Organization for Standardization on September 9, 2022, available for merchant acquirers that provide payment services for firearms merchants. The bill would, beginning May 1, 2025, require a merchant acquirer to assign to a firearms merchant that merchant category code. The bill would provide that the Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce these provisions, and would authorize the Attorney General to bring a civil action to enforce these provisions and remedy harm caused by a violation of these provisions. The bill would require a court that determines that a person or entity has violated these provisions to award specified relief, including a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each violation. The bill would define various terms for these purposes.