(a) Within 60 days of bringing a handgun, and commencing January 1, 2014, any firearm, into this state, a personal firearm importer shall do one of the following:
(1) Forward by prepaid mail or deliver in person to the Department of Justice, a report prescribed by the department including information concerning that individual and a description of the firearm in question.
(2) Sell or transfer the firearm in accordance with the provisions of Section 27545 or in accordance with the provisions of an exemption from Section 27545.
(3) Sell or transfer the firearm to a dealer licensed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2.
(4) Sell or transfer the firearm to a sheriff or police department.
(b) If all of the following requirements are satisfied, the personal firearm importer shall have complied with the provisions of this section:
(1) The personal firearm importer sells or transfers the firearm pursuant to Section 27545.
(2) The sale or transfer cannot be completed by the dealer to the purchaser or transferee.
(3) The firearm can be returned to the personal firearm importer.
(c) (1) The provisions of this section are cumulative and shall not be construed as restricting the application of any other law.
(2) However, an act or omission punishable in different ways by this article and different provisions of the Penal Code shall not be punished under more than one provision.
(d) The department shall conduct a public education and notification program regarding this section to ensure a high degree of publicity of the provisions of this section.
(e) As part of the public education and notification program described in this section, the department shall do all of the following:
(1) Work in conjunction with the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure that any person who is subject to this section is advised of the provisions of this section, and provided with blank copies of the report described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), at the time when that person applies for a California driver’s license or registers a motor vehicle in accordance with the Vehicle Code.
(2) Make the reports referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) available to dealers licensed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2.
(3) Make the reports referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) available to law enforcement agencies.
(4) Make persons subject to the provisions of this section aware of all of the following:
(A) The report referred to in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) may be completed at either a law enforcement agency or the licensed premises of a dealer licensed pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 26700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 26800) of Chapter 2.
(B) It is advisable to do so for the sake of accuracy and completeness of the report.
(C) Before transporting a firearm to a law enforcement agency to comply with subdivision (a), the person should give notice to the law enforcement agency that the person is doing so.
(D) In any event, the handgun should be transported unloaded and in a locked container and a firearm that is not a handgun should be transported unloaded.
(f) Any costs incurred by the department to implement this section shall be absorbed by the department within its existing budget and the fees in the Dealers’ Record of Sale Special Account allocated for implementation of subdivisions (d) and (e) of this section pursuant to Section 28235.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 745, Sec. 27. (AB 809) Effective January 1, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018