--- type: "Bill" title: "Firearms: unserialized firearms." description: "Existing law requires a person that is manufacturing a firearm or assembling a firearm from unserialized components, to apply to the Department of Justice for a unique mark of identification and to affix that mark to the firearm, as specified. Existing law prohibits a person, corporation, or firm from knowingly manufacturing or assembling, or to knowingly cause, allow, facilitate, aid, or abet the manufacture or assembling of, a firearm that is not imprinted with a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification. Under existing law, a person who knowingly possesses a firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification is guilty of a misdemeanor." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20232024" identifier: "AB 97" citation: "California AB 97 (20232024)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Firearms", "unserialized firearms"] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Rodriguez"] version_count: 6 action_count: 26 vote_count: 8 first_action: "2023-01-09" last_action: "2023-09-26" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/7dda526e-aacd-4741-bd8a-c9a4e19a4e9c" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97" source_hash: "57760f21fd4b7d6f0ee6635081577650e4ef161a7a4fdecd45961dc329be3085" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California AB 97 (20232024) — Firearms: unserialized firearms. Existing law requires a person that is manufacturing a firearm or assembling a firearm from unserialized components, to apply to the Department of Justice for a unique mark of identification and to affix that mark to the firearm, as specified. Existing law prohibits a person, corporation, or firm from knowingly manufacturing or assembling, or to knowingly cause, allow, facilitate, aid, or abet the manufacture or assembling of, a firearm that is not imprinted with a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification. Under existing law, a person who knowingly possesses a firearm that does not have a valid state or federal serial number or mark of identification is guilty of a misdemeanor. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **01/09/23 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97&version=20230AB9799INT) 2. **03/08/23 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97&version=20230AB9798AMD) 3. **09/01/23 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97&version=20230AB9797AMD) 4. **09/26/23 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97&version=20230AB9795CHP) 5. **AB97** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97) 6. **09/12/23 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB97&version=20230AB9796ENR) ## Votes - Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **8–0** (pass) · lower - AB 97 Rodriguez Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **80–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **5–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass. — **15–0** (pass) · lower - Placed on suspense file — **7–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass as amended — **6–0** (pass) · upper - AB 97 Rodriguez Assembly Third Reading — **77–0** (pass) · lower - 3rd Reading — **39–0** (pass) · upper ## Sponsors - Rodriguez — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2023-01-09** Read first time. To print. `reading-1` - **2023-01-10** From printer. May be heard in committee February 9. - **2023-01-26** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee` - **2023-02-14** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. - **2023-02-28** In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. - **2023-03-07** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 7). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, referral-committee` - **2023-03-08** Read second time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2023-03-09** Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `referral-committee` - **2023-03-29** In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. `referral-committee` - **2023-05-18** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 18). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2023-05-18** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2023-05-25** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1748.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2023-05-26** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **2023-06-07** Referred to Com. on PUB S. `referral-committee` - **2023-06-20** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 20). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2023-07-03** In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file. `referral-committee` - **2023-09-01** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (September 1). `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage` - **2023-09-01** Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2023-09-05** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2023-09-06** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2435.). `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2023-09-06** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after September 8 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77. - **2023-09-07** Assembly Rule 77 suspended. (Page 3011.) - **2023-09-11** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 3174.). `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2023-09-15** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. - **2023-09-26** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2023-09-26** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 233, Statutes of 2023. `became-law` ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/7dda526e-aacd-4741-bd8a-c9a4e19a4e9c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).