Illinois 2026 PICA Repeal and Assault Weapons Affidavit Bills

What the Bills Would Do

Subject to statutory exceptions, the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), signed as Public Act 102-1116 on January 10, 2023, banned the sale and manufacture of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in Illinois. Existing owners could retain lawfully possessed assault weapons by submitting an endorsement affidavit prior to January 1, 2024, subject to the statutory possession and transfer restrictions. Magazines lawfully possessed before January 10, 2023 were grandfathered without registration, subject to the statutory possession and transfer restrictions. Multiple bills in the 104th General Assembly seek to roll back or modify this law:

SB3348, Assault Weapons Affidavit: Would require ISP to immediately and permanently destroy or have destroyed each endorsement affidavit and all information collected from it held by ISP or any law enforcement agency if Section 24-1.9 is found unconstitutional by a court with all appeals exhausted or expired. The bill initially had a March 27, 2026 committee deadline, which was extended to April 24, then May 15 and May 22 before it was re-referred to Assignments on May 22, 2026^[1]. Under current law, the grandfather provision for assault weapons lawfully possessed before January 10, 2023 required an endorsement affidavit to ISP prior to January 1, 2024, subject to the statutory exemptions. The proposed destruction requirement would apply to every endorsement affidavit and all information collected from it held by ISP or another law enforcement agency after that final constitutional ruling.

HB3242, Partial Repeal of PA 102-1116: Would repeal specific provisions of PICA while leaving others intact. The bill has accumulated co-sponsors as recently as September 2025^[2].

SB2136 (PICA partial repeal) is already covered in a separate article on this site. These bills represent additional legislative vehicles pursuing similar goals.

Current Status

SB3348 was re-referred to Assignments on 5/22/2026 and remains unenacted. Official bill status. HB1040 and HB3242 in the House and SB2136 in the Senate would repeal PICA's assault-weapon and magazine restrictions. The latest co-sponsor additions in the October 14, 2026 official records were July 15, 2026 for HB1040, September 29, 2025 for HB3242, and May 30, 2025 for SB2136. The Illinois Supreme Court rejected a state-constitution challenge to PICA in Caulkins v. Pritzker (2023), and the Seventh Circuit upheld the law against the federal Second Amendment challenge in Barnett v. Raoul on July 9, 2026. After granting certiorari on June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled argument for December 2, 2026 in Viramontes v. Cook County, consolidated with Grant v. Higgins, on whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to possess AR-15 platform and similar semiautomatic rifles.

Neither SB3348 nor HB3242 had passed either chamber as of October 14, 2026. SB3348 was re-referred to Assignments on May 22, 2026. HB3242 was referred to the Rules Committee on February 18, 2025.

What to Watch

The latest procedural action was re-referral to Assignments on May 22, 2026 after the committee and third-reading deadline had been extended to that date. Gun owners who registered should monitor any changes to the affidavit process, and those who did not register should watch for any amnesty or extension provisions.