The Wire · CalGunHub

AB 1743 expands who can request DOJ data on crime guns

Published September 26, 2026 · Updated October 12, 2026

The Wicks bill lets cities, local agencies and university researchers ask the Department of Justice for data on firearms recovered in criminal investigations.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: AB 1743 concerns data access, not firearm possession or purchase rules. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, a wider set of state and local agencies and university researchers may request Department of Justice records on firearms recovered in criminal investigations, which supporters say aids research into trafficking and opponents say raises privacy questions after the 2022 data breach. Individual gun owners are not assigned new duties by the statute's text, but information about recovered firearms tied to retail sales could reach more requesters. Researchers and local agencies interested in the data should watch for the department's request procedures. This is general information, not legal advice.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 1743 on Sept. 26, 2026, and it was chaptered the same day as Chapter 457 of the Statutes of 2026, the first chapter number in the governor's 10-bill gun package. The author is Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), with coauthors Grayson and Stefani. The Assembly concurred in the final amendments 60-18 on Aug. 24, and the bill was enrolled Aug. 28.

The measure amends Penal Code section 11108.3, widening the pool of state and local agencies and university researchers that may request Department of Justice data on firearms recovered during criminal investigations, according to CalMatters. Brady, which sponsored the bill and calls it the Trace Data Sharing bill, says the data can connect a recovered gun to where it was first sold at retail, information researchers and local officials have used to study trafficking patterns.

Wicks said in a statement released by the Governor's office that broader access would give agencies and researchers another tool for community safety. Opponents raised privacy concerns. The California Rifle and Pistol Association said the bill "poses significant risks to the privacy and safety of California's law-abiding gun owners," according to CalMatters, and NRA-ILA pointed to the 2022 Department of Justice data breach that exposed firearm owners' personal information.

Supporters, including Brady and the bill's legislative coauthors, argued the change will help researchers map how crime guns move from first retail sale to recovery. AB 1743 is a non-urgency bill and takes effect Jan. 1, 2027. The amendment changes who may request the data; it does not itself release any records or alter the underlying trace process run by federal and state authorities.

Informational only, not legal advice. Facts are attributed to the sources listed above.