§2. Eligibility under Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program
This section amends eligibility certification requirements for Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne JAG) grants—formula and block grants to states and localities for criminal justice purposes—by prohibiting applicants and their grantees or subgrantees from transferring firearms to or purchasing firearms from a covered licensed dealer, as listed by the ATF director. (A covered licensed dealer is one to which ATF's National Tracing Center traced at least 25 firearms with a short time-to-crime—i.e., recovered by law enforcement in an actual or suspected crime within three calendar years of retail sale—in at least two of the three prior calendar years.)
It further directs the ATF director, not later than 120 days after enactment and annually thereafter, to (1) notify state or local law enforcement agencies if a firearm they transferred was used or suspected of being used in a criminal offense, per National Tracing Center traces; and (2) publish on the ATF website a list of covered licensed dealers.
It repeals perpetual prohibitions in specified provisos of prior appropriations acts (Public Laws 108-7, 108-447, 109-108, 110-161, 111-8, 111-117, and 112-55)—previously codified as notes to 18 U.S.C. 923—on ATF use of funds to maintain firearms trace databases or publicly disclose trace data beyond specific fiscal years (FY2003 through FY2012). (Thus, permitting the notifications and list publication required above.)