SACRAMENTO-  On April 25, 2016, Assembly Bill 2165 (Rob Bonta), an act to amend Section 32000 of the Penal Code relating to firearms passed the Assembly by a 73-2 vote and will now be sent and heard by the Senate.

“The  California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) took the lead in sponsoring this legislation because AB 2165 directly impacts our CSLEA peace officer members, many of whom are a part of mutual aid situations, task forces, sting operations and arrests,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “AB 2165 would allow officers who have gone through the appropriate training to carry and keep their ‘non-roster’ handguns while on active duty.”

Existing law makes it a crime for any person in this state to manufacture, import into the state, keep for sale, offer or expose for sale, give, or lend an unsafe handgun. Under existing law, this prohibition does not apply to the sale or purchase of a handgun if the handgun is sold to, or purchased by, a police department, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or any federal law enforcement agency, among other entities.  AB 2165 would add peace officers and law enforcement personnel who, in 2001,  were left off the list of agencies who may purchase non-roster firearms for use in the discharge of their official duties.

AB 2165 would add the following wording to Penal Code 32000 – “any other peace officer described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830.) of Title 3 of Part2 of the Penal Code.”

In addition to CSLEA, State Coalition of Probation Organizations and Peace Officers Research Association of California are co-sponsoring the bill.

To view Assembly Bill 2165 click here