Firearms: firearm barrels.

Section 5 corrected 'Article XIIIB' to 'Article XIII B' (spacing fix in the constitutional article reference for the no-reimbursement clause).

Header and formatting changed from enrolled bill format (with passage dates, governor receipt line, and private secretary signature block) to chaptered law format (STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL, CHAPTER 591, approval date October 10, 2025).

The definition of 'firearm barrel' now explicitly includes 'any forging, casting, printing, extrusion, machined body, or similar article' that has reached a stage in manufacture where it may readily be completed into a barrel. This closes a potential loophole for 3D-printed and other non-traditional barrel precursors.

A new exemption (g)(8) allows sales or transfers to authorized representatives of city, county, state, or federal government entities as part of an authorized voluntary gun buyback program. All such barrels must be disposed of pursuant to Sections 18000 and 18005.

The estate transfer exemption was expanded from covering only 'executor, personal representative, or administrator' to also include 'public administrator, public guardian, and public conservator.' Additional language requires that any subsequent sale from these persons to a third party (other than law enforcement or a licensed dealer) must go through a licensed firearms dealer.

Implementation is now phased: the requirement that sales/transfers go through a licensed firearms dealer takes effect January 1, 2027, while the eligibility check, record-keeping, and electronic submission requirements do not take effect until July 1, 2027. Previously all requirements were set to begin simultaneously on January 1, 2027.

A new provision requires licensed firearms dealers to charge purchasers a fee of up to $5 for each firearm barrel eligibility check, not to exceed the department's actual processing costs. The fee may increase by up to $1 per year as needed to cover costs.

Penalties were restructured and softened. First violation is now a plain misdemeanor (previously specified up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine). Second violation is a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine. Third and subsequent violations are punishable by county jail up to one year or a fine up to $2,000, or both. The previous version allowed state prison sentences of two, three, or four years for repeat offenders.

The eligibility check now covers whether a person is prohibited from 'possessing, receiving, owning, or purchasing' a firearm under state or federal law, rather than just 'possessing or purchasing.' This broadens the scope of disqualifying conditions considered.

The term 'background check' was replaced with 'eligibility check' throughout the bill, and a new standalone subsection (a)(3) explicitly prohibits possessing a firearm barrel with intent to sell in violation of the section.

The document was reformatted from a traditional chaptered legislative layout (with page numbers like '92' and headers like 'Ch. 591') to a web-based presentation that includes site navigation elements, a version history list, and metadata such as publication date and vote/appropriation/fiscal committee indicators.

The entire amendment to Penal Code Section 30312 (ammunition sales requirements) was removed. The bill no longer makes technical changes to ammunition vendor processing rules, exemptions for law enforcement, family transfers, target facilities, or other ammunition-related provisions.

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now requires a fiscal committee review, likely because the remaining provisions still involve funding from the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account.

The state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' acknowledging that the new misdemeanor offense for unauthorized firearm barrel sales creates a state-mandated local program for law enforcement agencies.

Subsection numbering in Section 33700 was adjusted: the violation provision moved from subsection (f) to (e) and the exemptions provision moved from (g) to (f), with blank lines indicating the renumbering.

The effective date for the firearm barrel sale/transfer prohibition was changed from July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, delaying implementation by approximately six months.

A new provision prohibits a person from possessing a firearm barrel with the intent to sell or offering to sell it unless they are a licensed firearms dealer, effective January 1, 2027.

New explicit eligibility criteria were added: a purchaser must be at least 18 years old and not prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm under state or federal law.

The penalty structure was restructured. The old version had a single misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. The new version makes the first violation a misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine, and any subsequent violation a wobbler punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison, or up to one year in county jail, or a fine up to $2,000, or both.

Exemptions were significantly expanded. New exemptions include: sales or transfers to a federal firearms licensee, sales or transfers to a federally licensed collector acquiring or being loaned a curio or relic barrel (with a current certificate of eligibility), transfers to an executor, personal representative, or administrator of an estate, and barrels that are attached to or affixed to a firearm. The existing exemptions were also reworded to specify 'sales or transfers to' rather than just listing the entities.

The data retention provision was changed. Instead of requiring DOJ to retain transaction information indefinitely in a manner it establishes, the new version requires DOJ to delete the information once the background check is completed and the barrel has been listed as delivered to the purchaser or transferee.

A severability clause was added (new Section 4), stating that if any provision or its application is held invalid, the remaining provisions continue in effect.

The regulatory authority provision no longer states that regulations are exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act. The new version simply authorizes DOJ to adopt regulations without specifying an APA exemption.

The provision requiring DOJ implementation costs to be funded from the Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account upon appropriation by the Legislature was removed from the operative text.

The effective date for the firearm barrel sale/transfer prohibition was pushed back from July 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, giving roughly six additional months before the law takes effect.

The penalty structure was restructured: previously the first violation was a misdemeanor and all subsequent violations were wobblers (eligible for 2-4 years in state prison). Now the first AND second violations are misdemeanors, and only the third and subsequent violations become wobblers. This gives offenders two strikes before facing potential state prison time.

A data retention limit was added: the Department of Justice must not retain transaction records once the background check is completed and the firearm barrel has been listed as delivered to the purchaser or transferee. The prior version allowed the department to retain information in a manner it established, with no explicit deletion requirement.

New Section 16525 defines 'firearm barrel' as the tube through which a projectile is fired, including barrels that have reached a stage where they can be readily completed, assembled, or converted into a functional barrel, or that are marketed or sold to become one.

New Section 33700(a) prohibits the sale or transfer of any firearm barrel unless the transaction is completed in person by a licensed firearms dealer who has conducted a background check on the purchaser or transferee, effective July 1, 2026.

New Section 33700(b) requires licensed dealers to record the date of sale, purchaser ID number and issuing state, make/model/caliber of the firearm the barrel is designed for, purchaser full name, salesperson name, purchaser address and phone number, and purchaser date of birth.

New Section 33700(c) requires licensed dealers to electronically submit all recorded transaction information to the Department of Justice, which must retain it in a manner established by the department.

Amended Section 28235 creates a Dealers' Record of Sale Special Account in the General Fund to offset DOJ implementation costs for the new barrel provisions and other enumerated sections, available upon legislative appropriation.

New Section 33700(f) makes violations a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

New Section 33700(g) exempts federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and persons purchasing a firearm who are already undergoing a state and federal background check under Section 28220 from the barrel sale requirements.

New Section 33700(d) authorizes the Department of Justice to adopt implementing regulations, exempt from the Administrative Procedure Act.