“To improve the licensing requirements for the retail sale of firearms, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section increases Federal Firearms License fees as follows: (1) manufacturer fees to $2,000 per year (from $1,000) for destructive devices, ammunition for destructive devices, or armor-piercing ammunition; to $2,000 per year (from $50) for other firearms; and to $1,000 per year (from $10) for other firearm ammunition; (2) importer fees to $2,000 per year (from $1,000 or $50) for all categories; (3) dealer fees to $2,000 per year (from $1,000) for destructive devices or ammunition for destructive devices, and to $400 for three years (from $200) with renewals at $180 for three years (from $90) for other dealers; and (4) collector fees to $20 per year (from $10). (These licenses, issued by ATF, are required to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, dealing in firearms, or importing or manufacturing ammunition.)
This section establishes anti-trafficking procedures for licensed firearms dealers by— (1) revising dealer license application requirements under 18 U.S.C. §923(d)(1)(G) to require certification that secure gun storage or safety devices will be available for sale to non-licensees (with exceptions for temporary unavailability due to theft, loss, sales, backorders, or similar reasons beyond the dealer's control), submission of the applicant's firearms business practices, policies, and procedures, and Attorney General determination that those practices comply with regulations prescribed under new 18 U.S.C. §926(d); (2) directing the Attorney General to prescribe such regulations under new 18 U.S.C. §926(d) requiring dealers to implement practices sufficient to prevent diversion of business inventory firearms, ammunition, and accessories from lawful commerce and transfers of business inventory firearms to straw purchasers, in consultation with government entities with expertise similar to that of the White House Office of Gun Prevention; and (3) authorizing the Attorney General under new 18 U.S.C. §924(q) to impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 and suspend licenses on dealers failing to comply with practices specified in their approved applications.
This section amends the recordkeeping, reporting, and tracing duties of federal firearms licensees (FFLs) under 18 U.S.C. 923(g) and imposes related duties on the Attorney General as follows: (1) Adds a duty for FFLs to ensure compliance with regulations prescribed under 18 U.S.C. 926(d) (i.e., regulations on secure gun storage and serialization); (2) Expands the requirement to respond to ATF trace requests to include firearms involved in crimes; requires retention of related forms and records for 180 days (from destruction no more than 20 days after receipt); and eliminates a prior destruction mandate; (3) Replaces existing paragraph (7) to require FFLs to (A) respond to Attorney General requests for firearm disposition information in criminal investigations within 24 hours (orally or in writing, with agency verification); (B) maintain records of crime gun trace requests and related transaction records for firearms disposed of within the prior 3 years; (C) review such records before any firearm transfer and report (on Attorney General form) any sale or disposition to an unlicensed person previously traced to a crime gun, with copies to specified state or local law enforcement on the day of transfer; and (D) update business practices, policies, and procedures (including surveillance, electronic records, and security) if the FFL reports 5 or more lost or stolen firearms in any 12-month period or if 5 or more crime firearms (sold within prior 3 years) are traced to it in any 12-month period, with cost records available for inspection; (4) Directs the Attorney General to develop and distribute best practices materials to prevent firearm diversion from lawful commerce (with periodic revisions); and (5) Requires the Attorney General, for the 3 fiscal years following enactment, to prioritize compliance inspections of FFLs not inspected in the prior fiscal year that have a high number of crime gun traces relative to peers.
This section revises the firearms trafficking prohibitions in 18 U.S.C. 933 by (1) increasing the threshold for prohibited transfers or receipts of firearms to persons known or reasonably believed to possess them as felons (as defined in 18 U.S.C. 932(a)) from any number of firearms to 2 or more; (2) prohibiting licensees from transferring any firearm to another licensee known or reasonably believed to meet specified risk factors in the preceding year—namely, 5 or more crime-used firearms traced to the recipient within 3 years of retail sale, failure to implement or update anti-trafficking practices, inadequate security against theft, or 3 or more recordkeeping violations found in the most recent inspection; (3) establishing affirmative defenses for licensees that took reasonable steps to prevent violations; and (4) retaining the criminal penalty for general violations at a fine, imprisonment for not more than 15 years, or both, while adding licensee-specific penalties of disgorgement of profits from the transfer, a civil money penalty equal to the greater of $10,000 per firearm ($50,000 if subsequently crime-used) or a formula based on the Attorney General's prior 3 fiscal years' firearm tracing expenditures multiplied by the percentage traced to the licensee, and license suspension or revocation (discretionary for first violation, mandatory thereafter). This section further directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend, if appropriate, federal sentencing guidelines for 18 U.S.C. 933 offenses to account for factors such as the number of firearms, defendant knowledge and compensation, culpability (including licensee status), and specified mitigating circumstances (e.g., familial ties, domestic violence survivor status, or exploitation). Finally, this section directs the ATF Director to investigate sources of firearms trafficked in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 923 or 933—particularly unlicensed dealers—and refer cases to the Attorney General, and to assess whether regulations, guidance, resources, or transferee conduct indicate potential violations of §§ 932 or 933.
This section establishes enhanced regulatory requirements for high risk firearms dealers (i.e., licensed dealers identified by the Attorney General due to a report of violation or warning letter issued, a warning conference within the preceding 36 months, or serving as the source of 2 or more firearms used in a crime within 36 months after the last known retail sale in the preceding 12 months). Upon such a determination, the Attorney General must (1) require the dealer to adopt electronic acquisition and disposition record keeping, provide the National Tracing Center with electronic access to all required records, make and retain video and audio recordings of all firearms transactions for 360 days (or longer if subject to a trace request), and make any other permanent business practice alterations or physical improvements needed to reduce firearm diversion; and (2) conduct biennial inspections of the dealer's inventory, records, and premises without reasonable cause or warrant. Inspections cease upon the dealer's application and Attorney General approval certifying full compliance with required changes (to be maintained until notified otherwise) and two violation-free inspections at least 6 months apart; high risk dealers must receive written notice of their obligations.