The Beginning of the End: Legislative Update

The legislature has officially returned from its month-long recess; Lawmakers have until August 31^st to get their bills to the governor’s desk and the clock is ticking!

Despite the impending deadlines, today’s Senate Appropriations hearing was surprisingly relaxed. All of the CRPA tracked bills, good and bad, were referred to the suspense file, meaning that they will be dealt with at a later date.

In many ways, this is good news for law abiding California gun owners. AB 2382 (Gipson, D) which aims to regulate the sale of firearm precursor parts (ie. barrels, upper receivers, trigger groups, and 80% lower receivers). This bill would end the online sale of crucial and common firearm components and would subject purchasers to background checks. Additionally, firearm precursor parts will only be available for purchase through a licensed vendor. In a small but significant victory, the Department of Finance has declared its opposition to this bill based on the significant cost of implementing and enforcing the proposed regulations.

Thankfully, this bill did not make it to the Senate floor today. Despite being sent to the suspense file, this bill is far from dead. CRPA will continue to monitor AB 2382 and will provide updates as they become available. In the meantime, we urge you to contact the members of the Senate Appropriations committee and urge them to vote no on AB 2382.

Additionally, AB 931 (Weber, D), which will severely weaken California’s law enforcement officers right to self-defense in the line of duty, also failed to reach the Senate floor today. We are exceedingly glad to report that the anti-law enforcement bill has not moved forward.

Unfortunately, a great pro hunting bill, AB 986 (Gallagher, R), which would create discounted hunting licenses for veterans, was also sent to the suspense file. We hope that the committee will strongly consider this pro-hunting bill when it is heard again and balance the upfront costs of this legislation with the long-term financial benefits of revitalizing hunting in our state.

All of these bills will be reconsidered before the August 17th deadline to pass bills out of fiscal committees. It is imperative that all members of the 2^nd Amendment and hunting communities come together and make our voices heard on these critical pieces of legislation. Thank you for your support!