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Bill

AB 1743

Firearms.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Tim Grayson and 2 co-sponsors

Expands access to recovered firearm data for public entities and researchers, mandates ongoing DOJ analysis and annual public reports with detailed firearm, dealer, and inspection

In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
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Bill Summary · AB 1743

Overview

AB 1743 (Wicks) is a California bill introduced in the 2025-2026 session that amends Penal Code Section 11108.3 regarding firearms recovered or reported to law enforcement. The bill focuses on enhancing access to recovered firearms data for research and public entities, and it requires ongoing reporting and data analysis by the California Department of Justice (DOJ) with an emphasis on facilitating academic and policy research, while detailing how the information is stored, shared, and reported.

Main purpose and intent

  • Expand and clarify the availability and use of information about recovered firearms for academic and policy research.
  • Ensure that a broader set of public entities (cities, counties, state agencies, universities) can request and receive data in formats suitable to their needs.
  • Maintain a structured, long-term data collection and reporting regime to analyze patterns, origins, and trends in recovered firearms.

Key provisions and changes

  • Information Sharing and Availability

    • DOJ must maintain information on recovered firearms for at least 10 years.
    • Information shall be available, under Attorney General guidelines, to:
    • Towns, cities, counties
    • State government agencies
    • University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges
    • Availability must be upon request and in a format suited to the requester’s needs.

  • Data Use and Reporting

    • The Attorney General must ensure information enables ATF to trace ownership and that reporting does not unduly burden law enforcement.
    • The bill requires ongoing analysis of recovered firearms for patterns and trends (leading sources and origins).
    • A public annual report to the Legislature (and consistent with Government Code 9795) detailing:
    • Total firearms recovered in the state
    • Breakdowns by county, city, and dealer (including dealer name, license number, address)
    • By manufacturer
    • Total and county/city counts of unserialized firearms
    • Data on unserialized firearms by county/city
    • The annual report must also include:
    • DOJ staffing levels for dealer inspections (Section 26720) and ammunition vendor inspections (Section 30345)
    • Details of dealer and ammunition vendor inspections, including violations, resolutions, fines, re-inspections, prior inspections
    • Background checks data (DROS submissions) and outcomes
    • Firearms traced back to dealers and the share of dealer sales represented by traced firearms
    • Lost or stolen firearms reported by dealers

  • Firearms Roster

    • Data regarding the roster of handguns deemed not to be unsafe (Section 32015), including totals added/removed/denied and reasons for removals or denials.

  • Timing and Data Year Coverage

    • The annual report due by July 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, includes data described in subdivisions (g) and (h).
    • For the initial expanded reporting, the 2025-2026 bill requires including data from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2024, in the 2025 report, with subsequent reports covering the prior year.

  • Regulatory Authority

    • The Attorney General is empowered to issue regulations to further the purposes of this section.

Who and what is affected

  • Law enforcement agencies: Required to report recovered firearms information within seven calendar days (existing framework) and may need to adopt reporting practices in line with the Attorney General’s guidance.
  • Department of Justice (DOJ): Responsible for maintaining the firearm recovery data, facilitating data sharing, and producing the annual public report.
  • Public entities and researchers: Towns, cities, counties, state government agencies, the University of California, the California State University system, and California community colleges can request data for academic and policy research purposes.
  • ATF (federal agency): The DOJ is tasked with promptly forwarding information to the ATF’s National Tracing Center as practicable.
  • Firearms dealers and ammunition vendors: Data related to inspections, background checks, violations, and compliance will be included in annual reports.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Annual reporting: A public report is due annually, with the data year defined in each report (initial period includes 2020-2024 data in the 2025 report; subsequent reports cover the preceding year).
  • Data format and accessibility: Information must be provided in a format that meets requester needs.
  • Regulations: The Attorney General may issue regulations to implement and further the purposes of the section.
  • Reporting efficiency: Provisions emphasize minimizing burden on law enforcement while maximizing traceability and data usability.

Fiscal considerations

  • The bill does not require new appropriations for its passage (the digest notes “Appropriation: NO”); however, it includes a Fiscal Committee review, indicating some anticipated administrative costs for DOJ data management and reporting.

If you’d like, I can provide a side-by-side comparison with current law (Penal Code 11108.3) to highlight each change in plain language.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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