AB1344 (2025): District Attorney GVRO Petition Pilot in Four Counties

What the Bill Does

Assembly Bill 1344, signed by Governor Newsom on October 10, 2025 and chaptered as Chapter 573 of the Statutes of 2025, allows four California counties (Alameda, El Dorado, Santa Clara, and Ventura) to establish pilot programs authorizing district attorneys to petition for Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs) ^[1].

California's existing GVRO framework under Penal Code sections 18100 through 18205 already allows law-enforcement officers, immediate family members, employers, coworkers, and certain educators to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms and ammunition from an individual who poses a significant danger of personal injury to self or others. AB 1344 authorizes district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and deputy district attorneys in participating pilot counties to petition under the existing GVRO laws and procedures. In a named county that establishes a pilot program, it includes the district attorney, assistant district attorneys, and deputy district attorneys within the term "law enforcement officer" for purposes of Sections 18109, 18150, 18170, and 18190 ^[2]. The existing GVRO evidentiary standards and judicial-review process apply to DA-initiated petitions.

How the Pilot Works

A district attorney in a named county that establishes a pilot program may petition under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 18150) or Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 18170), using the same laws and procedures governing eligibility to petition under those chapters. The existing GVRO framework includes the following types of orders. The pilot authorizes district attorney petitions under Chapters 3 and 4.

- Temporary Emergency GVRO. A peace officer may request an oral order from a judge in an emergency, valid for up to 21 days.
- Ex Parte GVRO. The court may issue a written order without a hearing, valid for up to 21 days, if there is a substantial likelihood of significant danger of personal injury in the near future from firearm access and the order is necessary because less restrictive alternatives have failed or are inadequate or inappropriate.
- One-to-Five-Year GVRO. Following a noticed hearing where the respondent may appear, the court may issue an order for one to five years on clear and convincing evidence of significant danger of personal injury from firearm access and that the order is necessary because less restrictive alternatives have failed or are inadequate or inappropriate.

The same evidentiary standards and due-process protections apply to DA-initiated petitions as to petitions filed by family members or law-enforcement officers.

Pilot Duration and Reporting

The law took effect January 1, 2026. The four named counties may establish pilot programs until January 1, 2032. The chapter remains in effect only until January 1, 2034, when it is repealed unless later legislation deletes or extends that date. Beginning April 1, 2027, the district attorney of a county that establishes a pilot program must annually submit data to the California Firearm Violence Research Center at UC Davis on the number of petitions filed and their outcomes, if any, demographic data for restrained individuals, the reasons petitions were filed, and areas of success and areas for improvement in subsequent years. The district attorney must also make the data available upon request to the Department of Justice and the Judicial Council. The Firearm Violence Research Center may evaluate a pilot program's impact and effectiveness and may submit the evaluation to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Public Safety commencing on or before July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter.

Current Status

Enacted as Chapter 573, Statutes of 2025, and effective January 1, 2026. The law allows the four named counties to establish pilot programs.

What to Watch

The California Firearm Violence Research Center may evaluate a pilot program's impact and effectiveness. The constitutional framework remains the same as for all GVROs: due-process protections under the Fourteenth Amendment and Second Amendment scrutiny under the Bruen framework. If the center evaluates more than one pilot program, it may combine the evaluations into a comprehensive report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Public Safety. In Alameda, El Dorado, Santa Clara, and Ventura counties, the district attorney's authority under this law depends on the county establishing a pilot program.