SB 649 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Firearms: silencers.

Summary

Existing law generally regulates deadly weapons, including assault weapons. Existing law defines an assault weapon, including, among others, as a semiautomatic centrefire firearm, as specified, that has a threaded barrel capable of accepting a silencer. Existing law defines a silencer, among others, as any device or attachment intended to muffle the sound of a firearm. Existing law makes it a felony for any person, firm, or corporation to possess a silencer for a firearm. Existing law exempts specified actions from those provisions, including the manufacture, possession, transportation, or sale or other transfer of a silencer to specified law enforcement agencies and military or naval forces by dealers or manufacturers registered under federal law. Existing law authorizes a court to sentence an eligible person convicted of a felony to probation. Existing law prohibits granting probation in specified circumstances, including if the person possesses a silencer. Existing law requires any weapon, including a firearm and any attachments, that was carried unlawfully for specified crimes to be surrendered to specified law enforcement entities. Existing law requires weapons surrendered pursuant to these provisions to be destroyed by the law enforcement entity. This bill would replace the term "silencer" with the term "suppressor" in the above provisions.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

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What changed between versions

02/20/25 - Introduced → 03/24/25 - Amended Senate · 10 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MAJOR

SB 649 was dramatically expanded from a minor technical fix to victim and witness definitions into a comprehensive effort to replace the term 'silencer' with 'suppressor' across multiple firearms statutes in both the Business and Professions Code and the Penal Code. The amendment adds six new sections covering assault weapon definitions, probation restrictions, the silencer/suppressor definition itself (renumbered from Section 17210 to 17233), weapon destruction requirements, and exemptions for law enforcement. The original technical changes to Section 679.01 are retained but moved to the end of the bill.

SCOPE

The bill's scope expanded from a single technical amendment to Penal Code Section 679.01 (victim/witness definitions) to amendments across six sections in two different codes (Business and Professions Code and Penal Code), covering assault weapon definitions, silencer/suppressor possession penalties, probation eligibility, weapon destruction, and law enforcement exemptions.

The original technical, nonsubstantive changes to Section 679.01 (changing 'shall control' to 'shall apply' and removing redundant articles in victim/witness definitions) are preserved but repositioned at the end of the bill as a final section.

DEFINITION

The term 'silencer' is replaced with 'suppressor' throughout the definition in former Section 17210 (now renumbered to Section 17233), which defines the device or attachment designed to muffle the sound of a firearm.

In Business and Professions Code Section 22949.61, the assault weapon definition is updated so that a threaded barrel 'capable of accepting a silencer' becomes 'capable of accepting a suppressor' in two places (for semiautomatic pistols and other centerfire firearms).

Penal Code Section 18005(f)(1), defining 'destroy' for weapon destruction purposes, now includes 'or suppressor' alongside 'silencer' when listing attachments that must be destroyed.

Penal Code Section 30515, which defines assault weapons in certain contexts, replaces 'silencer' with 'suppressor' in two places describing threaded barrels.

REQUIREMENT

Penal Code Section 1203(e)(11) is updated so that the probation prohibition applies to possession of a 'suppressor' rather than a 'silencer' under Section 33410.

ENFORCEMENT

Penal Code Section 33410, the felony provision for possessing a silencer/suppressor, is updated to use the term 'suppressor.'

ELIGIBILITY

Penal Code Section 33415, which lists exemptions from the silencer/suppressor possession prohibition (for law enforcement agencies, military, and registered dealers), replaces all instances of 'silencers' with 'suppressors.'

TECHNICAL

Former Penal Code Section 17210 is renumbered to Section 17233 as part of the amendment.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

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Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 24, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Mar 5, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on RLS.

upper

Feb 20, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors