AB 879 (2025): Unsafe Handgun Act Amendments

What the Bill Proposed

AB 879, authored by Assembly Member Joe Patterson (R), proposed changes to California's Unsafe Handgun Act exemptions and related requirements, codified at Penal Code section 32000 et seq. ^[1]. The Unsafe Handgun Act is the framework that establishes the Roster of Certified Handguns. Subject to statutory exemptions, the underlying statute prohibits manufacturing, importing into California for sale, keeping for sale, offering or exposing for sale, giving, or lending an unsafe handgun, punishable by up to one year in county jail. Exemptions include specified agency and peace officer purchases.

The amendments in AB 879 do not expand or contract the substantive design requirements (loaded chamber indicator, magazine disconnect mechanism, microstamping) that govern roster eligibility. The bill would have allowed a county probation peace officer using an unsafe handgun as a service weapon to satisfy the training requirement by completing the firearms portion of a POST course. It also extended related vehicle-storage, transfer-penalty, and DOJ database provisions to paragraph (8) of subdivision (b). The Senate Public Safety Committee approved the bill 6-0 with amendments, and the Assembly passed it 69-0.

Current Status

AB 879 did not pass in the 2025-26 session. It passed the Assembly on May 8, 2025 by a 69-0 vote and the Senate Public Safety Committee with amendments by a 6-0 vote. Having passed its house of origin in 2025, it survived the January 31, 2026 carryover deadline. Its last recorded action was August 29, 2025, when Senate Appropriations held it under submission.

Context

California's handgun roster has been the subject of sustained legal challenges. The microstamping requirement effectively halted new model additions to the roster, with the listed-model count declining steadily as manufacturers allow certifications to lapse. The Ninth Circuit has heard challenges to the roster requirement, and Boland v. Bonta remains active. AB 879 proposed changes to exemptions and related requirements rather than merely technical cleanup. It did not become law.