SACRAMENTO — Legislation Watch · Status: moving — reported out of suspense · Last verified August 9, 2026 · We update this post as the bill moves.
AB 2047 is nominally a firearms bill, but its reach is much wider: it targets consumer 3D printing itself. As drafted, it would create a state roster of approved 3D printers — echoing the handgun roster model — and impose criminal liability for modifying the software or firmware on a printer you own. For hobbyists, small manufacturers, and the maker community, that’s a regulatory framework with no real precedent.
Key facts
| What it does | Restricts sale and use of consumer 3D printers via an approved-device roster; criminalizes firmware/software modification of printers |
| Stated purpose | Preventing 3D-printed firearms and unserialized receivers |
| Status | Reported out of the Appropriations suspense file; moving through committee |
| Opposition | Petition campaigns circulating since May 2026; 2A and maker/right-to-repair communities aligned against it |
Why the opposition is broader than 2A
Most gun bills draw opposition from gun owners. AB 2047 also draws it from people who have never touched a firearm: the software-modification provision reads as a right-to-repair problem, and the roster model would put California’s 3D-printer market behind a state approval gate the way its handgun market already is. Community members reviewing the bill describe it as banning the tool to reach the use — the same structural criticism leveled at the handgun roster now being challenged by the federal DOJ.
One practical note on the petition drives: the most-circulated petition runs through a commercial platform whose privacy disclosure permits sale of signer data. If you want to be counted, contacting your assemblymember directly puts your position on record without the data resale.
What to watch
- Floor votes before the session deadline — suspense-file survivors usually move fast
- Amendments narrowing the software-modification provision — the likeliest concession if the bill advances
- Whether the DOJ’s roster lawsuit changes Sacramento’s appetite for another roster framework
Sources
- AB 2047 bill text and status (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Community reporting: suspense-file status and opposition organizing, May–August 2026
Educational information only, not legal advice. Bill text can change at every committee stop — verify current language before acting.