Restrictions on firearm possession: pilot project.

Assembly Member Irwin, with Principal coauthor Assembly Member Stefani, advances a four-county GVRO pilot that authorizes district attorneys in Alameda, El Dorado, Santa Clara, and Ventura to petition for gun violence restraining orders using the same laws and procedures that govern petitions by other authorized filers within the existing GVRO framework. The authorization is time-limited, with the pilot running through January 1, 2032, and the accompanying chapter carrying a broader repeal date of January 1, 2034 unless extended.

The measure adds a distinct Chapter 6 to the Penal Code to overlay the current GVRO structure without rewriting substantive standards. It permits a county DA to file GVRO petitions under the same Chapters 3 or 4 that govern other petitioners, while explicitly expanding definitions so that “law enforcement officer” and “law enforcement agency” include the DA’s office within the pilot counties. Beginning April 1, 2027, the district attorney must annually submit data to the California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis, covering petition counts and outcomes, demographic information for restrained individuals, reasons petitions were filed, and suggested areas for improvement. The center may conduct evaluations of the pilot’s impact and, starting by July 1, 2027, may report findings to the Assembly and Senate Public Safety Committees; the district attorney must make the data available to the Department of Justice and the Judicial Council upon request.

The bill preserves the existing ex parte and order-duration framework for GVROs and confines the DA petition authority to the pilot counties. It creates mechanisms for data collection, evaluation, and reporting intended to inform legislative consideration of the pilot and any broader policy implications. Funding is not addressed in the text, and the proposal expressly relies on the current GVRO process rather than altering substantive standards outside the pilot. A potential drafting nuance arises from separate sunset provisions: pilot authorization ends January 1, 2032, while the chapter’s general repeal date is January 1, 2034, which could yield transitional questions absent clarifying language.