BILL NUMBER: AB 2111 CHAPTERED 07/12/06 CHAPTER 71 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE JULY 12, 2006 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR JULY 12, 2006 PASSED THE SENATE JUNE 26, 2006 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 17, 2006 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 30, 2006 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Haynes FEBRUARY 17, 2006 An act to amend Section 12131 of the Penal Code, relating to firearms. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2111, Haynes Firearms: unsafe handgun registry. Existing law provides that the Department of Justice may charge licensed firearms manufacturers, as specified, and persons who import into the state for sale, keep for sale, or offer or expose for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in this state, an annual fee not exceeding the costs of preparing, publishing, and maintaining the roster listing handguns that are not unsafe, and the costs of research and development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program infrastructure costs necessary to implement those provisions related to determining unsafe handguns, as specified. This bill would provide that if a purchaser has initiated a transfer of a handgun that is listed on the roster as not unsafe, and prior to the completion of the transfer, the handgun is removed from the roster of not unsafe handguns because of nonpayment of the fee required to list the handgun on the register, the handgun would be deliverable to the purchaser if the purchaser is not otherwise prohibited from purchasing or possessing the handgun. The bill would also provide that if a purchaser has initiated a transfer of a handgun that is listed on the roster as not unsafe, and prior to the completion of the transfer, the handgun is removed from the roster because of a failure during retesting, as specified, the handgun would not be deliverable to the purchaser. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 12131 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 4 of Chapter 912 of the Statutes of 2002, is amended to read: 12131. (a) On and after January 1, 2001, the Department of Justice shall compile, publish, and thereafter maintain a roster listing all of the pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed upon the person that have been tested by a certified testing laboratory, have been determined not to be unsafe handguns, and may be sold in this state pursuant to this title. The roster shall list, for each firearm, the manufacturer, model number, and model name. (b) (1) The department may charge every person in this state who is licensed as a manufacturer of firearms pursuant to Chapter 44 (commencing with Section 921) of Title 18 of the United States Code, and any person in this state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in this state, an annual fee not exceeding the costs of preparing, publishing, and maintaining the roster pursuant to subdivision (a) and the costs of research and development, report analysis, firearms storage, and other program infrastructure costs necessary to implement this chapter. (2) Any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person that is manufactured by a manufacturer who manufactures or causes to be manufactured, imports into the state for sale, keeps for sale, or offers or exposes for sale any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person in this state, and who fails to pay any fee required pursuant to paragraph (1), may be excluded from the roster. (3) If a purchaser has initiated a transfer of a handgun that is listed on the roster as not unsafe, and prior to the completion of the transfer, the handgun is removed from the roster of not unsafe handguns because of failure to pay the fee required to keep that handgun listed on the roster, the handgun shall be deliverable to the purchaser if the purchaser is not otherwise prohibited from purchasing or possessing the handgun. However, if a purchaser has initiated a transfer of a handgun that is listed on the roster as not unsafe, and prior to the completion of the transfer, the handgun is removed from the roster pursuant to subdivision (f), the handgun shall not be deliverable to the purchaser. (c) The Attorney General may annually retest up to 5 percent of the handgun models that are listed on the roster described in subdivision (a). (d) The retesting of a handgun model pursuant to subdivision (c) shall conform to the following: (1) The Attorney General shall obtain from retail or wholesale sources, or both, three samples of the handgun model to be retested. (2) The Attorney General shall select the certified laboratory to be used for the retesting. (3) The ammunition used for the retesting shall be of a type recommended by the manufacturer in the user manual for the handgun. If the user manual for the handgun model makes no ammunition recommendation, the Attorney General shall select the ammunition to be used for the retesting. The ammunition shall be of the proper caliber for the handgun, commercially available, and in new condition. (e) The retest shall be conducted in the same manner as the testing prescribed in Sections 12127 and 12128. (f) If the handgun model fails retesting, the Attorney General shall remove the handgun model from the roster maintained pursuant to subdivision (a). (g) A handgun model removed from the roster pursuant to subdivision (f) may be reinstated on the roster if all of the following are met: (1) The manufacturer petitions the Attorney General for reinstatement of the handgun model. (2) The manufacturer pays the Department of Justice for all of the costs related to the reinstatement testing of the handgun model, including the purchase price of the handguns, prior to reinstatement testing. (3) The reinstatement testing of the handguns shall be in accordance with subdivisions (d) and (e). (4) The three handgun samples shall be tested only once for reinstatement. If the sample fails it may not be retested. (5) If the handgun model successfully passes testing for reinstatement, and if the manufacturer of the handgun is otherwise in compliance with this chapter, the Attorney General shall reinstate the handgun model on the roster maintained pursuant to subdivision (a). (6) The manufacturer shall provide the Attorney General with the complete testing history for the handgun model. (7) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), the Attorney General may, at any time, further retest any handgun model that has been reinstated to the roster.