AB 116

This bill prohibits a gun manufacturer or a firearms dealer from transferring

a semiautomatic handgun that does not produce an identifying code (microstamp)

on each cartridge case it expends if both of the following apply: 1) the handgun was

manufactured on or after January 1, 2013; and 2) the handgun has not previously

been transferred to a person that is not a manufacturer or dealer (new handgun).

This bill also prohibits a manufacturer in this state from manufacturing, on or after

January 1, 2013, a semiautomatic handgun that does not produce a microstamp. A

person that violates one of these prohibitions is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or

imprisonment for up to nine months, or both.

The bill also requires manufacturers and dealers who transfer a handgun that

is required to produce microstamps to certify that the handgun, if it is a new

handgun, produces microstamps and that the manufacturer of the handgun will

disclose to a law enforcement agency that has collected a microstamp from an

expended cartridge during a criminal investigation the make, model, and serial

number of the handgun that expended the cartridge.

This bill prohibits a person from modifying a semiautomatic handgun that

produces microstamps if the person intends to prevent law enforcement from being

able to access the microstamp on an expended cartridge. A person who violates this

prohibition is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or

imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both. A person who transfers a

semiautomatic handgun that he or she knows has been modified in violation of this

prohibition is subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than nine

months, or both.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to

result if the bill is enacted.