Firearms: dealer centralized list.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about how yearly inspections will be conducted or what violations could lead to removal from the list.

Firearms Dealers List Rules

This law changes how the Department of Justice manages a list of licensed firearm dealers by adding stricter rules for removal and inspections.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Department of Justice to remove firearms dealers from its centralized list if they fail to comply with requirements or do not fix violations found during inspections.
• Makes it illegal for removed dealers to reapply to be on the list for two years after being taken off due to non-compliance.
• Adds yearly inspections for the top 10 firearm dealer locations based on sales of guns recovered by police and used in crimes.
• Limits annual fee increases to no more than a 15% raise over the previous year.

Who It Names or Affects

• Licensed firearms dealers who must follow new rules about inspections and compliance with requirements.
• The Department of Justice which will manage the list and conduct inspections according to these new guidelines.

Terms To Know

Centralized List

A single, official record kept by a government agency that lists all licensed firearm dealers in California.

Federal Firearms License

A license required by the federal government for businesses to sell firearms legally.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if a dealer is removed from the list and then applies again after two years.
• It's unclear how the new yearly inspections will be conducted or what specific violations could lead to removal from the list.

Official Summary Text

AB 1810, as amended, Berman.
Firearms: dealer centralized list.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to keep a centralized list of all persons who are licensed firearms dealers and satisfy certain requirements, including having a valid federal firearms license and a regulatory or business license required by local government. Existing law requires the department to remove a person from the list if the person’s federal license has expired or been revoked. Existing law, beginning on January 1, 2024, requires the department to conduct inspections of firearms dealers at least every 3 years, except as provided, to ensure compliance with specified requirements. As part of the department’s inspections of firearms dealers, existing law requires the department to audit a dealer’s records that includes a sampling of at least 25% but no more than 50% of each record type. Existing law requires the department to assess annual fees not to exceed
specified amounts to cover the reasonable costs of inspecting and maintaining this list and other similar centralized lists.
This bill would require the department to remove from the list a person who fails to comply with the requirements to be on the list and authorize the department to remove a person from the list who fails to remedy specified violations discovered as a result of the above-described inspections. The bill would subject a person removed from the list
for these 2 reasons
for failure to remedy specified violations
to a fine and make that person ineligible to be placed on the list for a period of 2 years. The bill would require the department to conduct a yearly inspection of the 10 firearm dealer locations with the highest percentage
of total sales
of firearms that were recovered by law enforcement and found to be illegally possessed, used in a crime, or suspected to have been used in a crime, as specified, pursuant to a certain yearly report. The bill would, for the fees charged for inspecting and maintaining the above-described lists, instead require the department to assess a reasonable annual fee. The bill would prohibit a fee adjustment from exceeding 15% over the previous year and exceeding the amount necessary to cover the costs described above.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF