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Assembly panel approves bill to vet firearm vendors for state law enforcement purchases
Summary
The Assembly Public Safety Committee voted to pass AB 4 58 as amended, requiring state law enforcement procurement to consider vendors' compliance history to avoid buying from dealers with serious violations of firearms laws.
Assemblymember Stephanie’s AB 4 58, the Firearm Procurement Act, was passed as amended by the Assembly Public Safety Committee and sent to the Appropriations Committee.
The bill would require state agencies that purchase firearms, ammunition and accessories for law enforcement to evaluate potential vendors’ compliance histories with relevant laws and inspections before awarding contracts. Assemblymember Stephanie said the bill is “not about infringing on any second amendment rights, but rather it ensures responsibility with taxpayer funds.”
The measure’s author and witnesses told the committee that state agencies spend millions of taxpayer dollars each year on firearms-related procurement and that past purchases have included products from dealers with documented federal-law violations. Rebecca Marcus of Brady said a 2023 Brady report found that at least 90 California law enforcement agencies had contracted with dealers cited for federal violations; the bill, she said, would “ensure that firearms, ammunition, and accessories are acquired from responsible sellers.” Jonathan Feldman of the California Police Chiefs Association said the bill would help the state “ascertain which dealers are operating with adequate care and award the contracts accordingly.”
Opponents questioned whether the bill would create subjective, political gatekeeping. Adam Wilson, legislative liaison for Gun Owners of California, said AB 4 58 would require vendors to disclose extensive historical compliance data and risk the use of undefined “public safety values” to deny contracts. Assemblymember Stephanie and the committee said committee amendments addressed ambiguity about those values, and the author accepted the amendments.
The committee record shows the motion to pass AB 4 58 as amended to the Appropriations Committee carried. The bill will now move to the Appropriations Committee for further review.
AB 4 58 drew public support from gun violence-prevention groups (Brady, Everytown, Moms Demand Action), local government representatives (City and County of San Francisco board of supervisors), and law enforcement organizations; Gun Owners of California and at least one district-level speaker registered opposition during the hearing.
Votes at the committee were recorded as passing the measure as amended to Appropriations.
Implementation details and next steps: if enacted, the bill would require state procurement offices to add vendor vetting steps; the committee accepted amendments to clarify ambiguous language identified in testimony.
