Firearms: converter pistols.

California Assembly Members Gabriel and Stefani advance a measure that targets a narrow class of pistols by prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling semiautomatic pistols that can be readily converted into machineguns with a pistol converter, effective July 1, 2026, while expanding the machinegun definition to cover these convertible pistols. The centerpiece is a refined set of definitions and prohibitions designed to capture pistols that can be converted to automatic fire through a device attached to the pistol’s rear slide.

Key mechanisms include new definitions for a machinegun-convertible pistol, defined as a semiautomatic pistol with a cruciform trigger bar that can be converted by hand or with common household tools via a pistol converter that replaces the backplate and enables automatic fire, and a separate definition of a pistol converter that encompasses such devices, including those produced by three‑dimensional printing. The measure establishes a three-tier penalty structure for dealers who violate the prohibition, ranging from fines to license suspension or revocation and removal from centralized Department of Justice lists, with numerous explicit exemptions (for pre‑2026 deliveries, transfers to law enforcement or military, private-party transfers through licensed dealers, service or repair, and certain other transfers). It also creates regulatory authority for the Department of Justice to adopt implementing regulations and a roster/testing pathway for pistols listed on the state’s handgun roster, including transitional provisions allowing certain pistols to be re-evaluated and added to the roster upon meeting specified testing requirements by a 2027 deadline.

Operational and coordination features include a mechanism linking Civil Code amendments to broader firearm-related product definitions, with operative status conditioned on—and coordinated with—another bill addressing related civil-code changes, potentially delaying or shaping the civil-law effects depending on enactment order. The measure also specifies severability and a no-reimbursement stance for local agencies, while signaling a separate regulatory program and testing infrastructure to administer the new prohibitions and the roster rules. Taken together, the package expands state oversight of firearm-related products and introduces a staged enforcement framework intended to regulate the commercial sale and transfer of machinegun-convertible pistols while preserving a set of specified exceptions.