SB 23-279 Summary

• Prohibits possession, transportation, sale, transfer, or purchase of unfinished firearm frames or receivers unless they have been imprinted with a serial number by a federal firearms licensee or comply with federal law.

• Bans unlicensed individuals from manufacturing firearm frames or receivers, including through 3-D printers, with exemptions for federally licensed manufacturers.

• Allows federal firearms licensees to serialize unserialized firearms and frames or receivers by imprinting a serial number formatted with the licensee's abbreviated federal license number followed by a unique identification number.

• Designates machine gun conversion devices as dangerous weapons under Colorado law.

• Establishes that violations constitute a Class 1 misdemeanor for first offense and Class 5 felony for second or subsequent offenses, with provisions requiring background checks when returning newly serialized firearms to owners; takes effect upon passage except possession and transportation provisions effective January 1, 2024.