The Wire · CalGunHub

Assembly passes 3-D printer gun-blocking bill 58-19, sends it to Senate

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AB 2047 cleared the Assembly on May 26, 2026 after a May 18 amendment, with a circumvention misdemeanor criticized by the EFF.

Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting

Who this affects: As passed by the Assembly, AB 2047 would affect 3-D printer sellers and manufacturers in California and printer owners who disable mandated blocking software, with phased dates from 2028 through Dec. 1, 2029. The version described here was not final; the enacted law removed the roster and owner misdemeanor and requires an ASTM standard first. This is general information, not legal advice.

The California Assembly passed AB 2047 on third reading May 26, 2026, by a vote of 58 ayes to 19 noes, sending the 3-D printer regulation bill to the Senate, according to bill tracking records and news coverage.

The bill was amended May 18, 2026 ahead of the floor vote. As passed by the Assembly, the bill would make disabling or bypassing the required blocking software by printer owners a misdemeanor, a provision criticized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for its effect on open-source firmware, according to Tom's Hardware.

The measure's 2026 committee path included Assembly Public Safety, 6-0 on March 24; Assembly Judiciary, 9-3 on April 14; and Assembly Appropriations, 11-4 on May 14.

In the Senate, the Judiciary Committee heard the June 15, 2026 version on June 23, 2026 and passed it 11-2; Senate Public Safety passed it 5-1 on June 30, 2026. According to the digest of the June 15 Senate version, the Department of Justice would issue guidance by Sept. 1, 2028, manufacturers would submit attestations, the DOJ would publish a compliant-printer list by June 1, 2029, and a sales prohibition would operate from Dec. 1, 2029, backed by civil penalties of up to $25,000 and a misdemeanor for circumvention.

Update: AB 2047 passed the Senate 29-10 on Aug. 31, 2026, received Assembly concurrence 60-18, and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 26, 2026 (Chapter 461, Statutes of 2026), effective Jan. 1, 2027. The final law conditions the blocking requirement on an ASTM standard and drops both the printer roster and the owner-tampering misdemeanor.

Sources

  1. Tom's Hardware: California Assembly passes 3D printer bill that would criminalize bypassing mandated gun-blocking software
  2. FastDemocracy: AB 2047 bill tracking (full history/votes)
  3. California Senate: Senate Judiciary Committee analysis of AB 2047
  4. California Legislative Information: Bill Status AB-2047

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