There is or was a discussion on this over at
http://www.colt380.com. Essentially there are 6 laboratories allowed by the state to certify guns. 3 specimans of each model are submitted and fired a number of rounds to verify they hold together. Then, they are drop tested to see they don't go off. Supposedly, this costs about $35k and then to have it on the approved list the company has to pay the State of Calif. a fee.
The whole scam is just another in a long line of bs to rid the state of guns. The latest proposals call for licensing of handgun owners as in Illinois and having them pass shooting proficiency and safety proficiency tests. I wonder how the new shooter passes the shooting test if he has never shot before?
Bear