S. 1652 — Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2025

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2025” and sets forth the table of contents.

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) "agency," as defined in 5 U.S.C. §551; (2) "covered firearms provision," meaning 18 U.S.C. §§922, 924, 932, or 933 or IRC §5861 (i.e., statutes prohibiting certain firearms possession, transfer, or dealing and requiring firearms registration); (3) "NICS," meaning the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and (4) "relevant Federal records," meaning records demonstrating prohibition from possessing or receiving a firearm under 18 U.S.C. §922(g) or (n) (i.e., due to felony convictions, domestic violence misdemeanors, certain mental health adjudications, or other specified disqualifiers).

This section amends provisions of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 governing National Criminal History Improvement Grants (i.e., grants to states to enhance the availability to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System of records on persons prohibited from possessing firearms, such as felons under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)) as follows: (1) authorizes appropriations of $20 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030; (2) requires the Department of Justice Inspector General to conduct audits of grantees beginning in the first fiscal year after enactment and directs the Attorney General to prioritize grant awards to applicants lacking unresolved audit findings from the prior three fiscal years; and (3) eliminates state ineligibility for such grants due to failure to submit, within 180 days after January 8, 2008, an initial estimate of applicable prohibiting records, along with related conditions and cross-references. (Thus, additional states may qualify for grants and waivers of the 10% matching requirement.)

This section directs the Attorney General to issue guidance within 45 days of enactment to federal agencies on identifying, sharing, and submitting relevant federal records (i.e., records indicating firearm prohibitions) to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It further requires agencies possessing such records to prioritize their ongoing submission to NICS pursuant to the guidance; directs agency heads to submit reports to the Attorney General within 60 days of the guidance advising on possession of relevant records and describing implementation plans consistent with applicable law; and authorizes the Attorney General to resolve disputes over whether agency records qualify as relevant federal records or should be submitted to NICS.

This section adds definitions to 18 U.S.C. §921(a) for purposes of federal firearm prohibitors under §922(g)(4)—which disqualifies individuals adjudicated as mentally incompetent or committed to a psychiatric hospital from possessing firearms—including (39) "has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or has been committed to a psychiatric hospital," limited to judicial orders or findings after a hearing with actual notice and opportunity to participate with counsel (or knowing waiver thereof) based on specified determinations (e.g., danger to self or others, guilty but mentally ill, incompetent to stand trial, involuntary treatment), excluding voluntary admissions, observation stays, expired or expunged orders, and those with relief from disabilities; and (40) "psychiatric hospital," encompassing mental health facilities, psychiatric wards, and similar institutions. It replaces "adjudicated as a mental defective" with "mentally incompetent" and "mental institution" with "psychiatric hospital" in 18 U.S.C. §922(d)(4), (g)(4), and (s)(3)(B)(iv), and makes conforming terminology changes throughout the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. ch. 407).

This section establishes that, for purposes of VA administration of benefits under title 38, U.S. Code, a person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness is not considered adjudicated as mentally incompetent under 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(4) or (g)(4)—which prohibit firearm receipt or possession by persons adjudicated as mental defectives—absent an order or finding from a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to self or others. (Thus, certain VA competency determinations for benefits no longer automatically trigger federal firearms prohibitions.)

This section requires the head of each federal agency possessing relevant records to submit annual reports to Congress beginning October 1, 2026, on records shared with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) (i.e., the FBI system conducting background checks for firearm purchases under 18 U.S.C. §922(t)), including descriptions and numbers of records submitted, efforts and obstacles to increasing submissions, mental health disability relief measures under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. §40902 et seq.), record correction processes, and planned improvements. Agencies may satisfy this requirement through annual certifications attesting to full record submission consistent with law, plans for any remaining records and quarterly electronic updates or removals, with non-certifying agencies submitting simplified annual certifications on ongoing compliance. This section further requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Judiciary and Appropriations Committees beginning February 1, 2026, through 2035, on "covered firearms cases" (i.e., Department of Justice cases with probable cause of violating specified firearms laws) for the prior fiscal year ending September 30, including declinations to charge and reasons, charging and plea details, trial outcomes, denied firearm purchases via NICS, and related prosecutions; it also directs DOJ components, including U.S. Attorneys' Offices, to furnish such data within 90 days of enactment.

This section directs the Attorney General to establish, within 90 days of enactment, the Nationwide Project Exile Expansion program in 18 jurisdictions: (1) the 10 jurisdictions with populations of 100,000 or more and the highest total homicides per the FBI's most recent Uniform Crime Report; (2) 5 other such jurisdictions with the highest per capita homicide rates; and (3) the 3 Tribal jurisdictions with the highest homicide rates, as determined by the Attorney General (with the first 15 limited to the 50 states). The program requires, in each jurisdiction, coordination with state and local law enforcement to identify violations of covered firearms provisions (i.e., specified federal firearms offenses); referral agreements for federal investigation or prosecution by ATF and U.S. Attorneys; multijurisdictional task forces, coordinated by the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, to target illegal straw purchasing rings; designation of at least one Assistant U.S. Attorney to prosecute such violations; and charging of each referral with the most serious applicable covered firearms provision. Requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees detailing program outcomes, including numbers of indictments and pretrial detentions, year-over-year changes in indictments, average sentences for convictions, and task force activities. Authorizes $15 million for each of FY2026 through FY2028 for salaries and expenses of Assistant U.S. Attorneys (to prosecute covered firearms violations per referral agreements) and ATF agents (to prioritize such investigations, emphasizing straw purchasers under 18 U.S.C. §§ 932 and 933).

This section establishes the Felon and Fugitive Firearm Task Force within the Department of Justice, chaired by the Deputy Attorney General with membership including the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other designees of the Attorney General. The task force directs investigations and prosecutions of convicted felons and fugitives from justice who attempt to illegally purchase firearms; recommends to the Attorney General resource allocations, enhanced federal interagency and federal-state-local cooperation, and policy changes; meets at least twice annually; and terminates five years after enactment. This section further amends the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund statute to authorize up to $10 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030 for such investigations and prosecutions (with no more than 5% for task force administrative costs).

This section prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ), and its law enforcement coordinate agencies, from directing, instructing, enticing, or encouraging a federal firearms licensee to sell a firearm to an individual if DOJ knows or has reasonable cause to believe the individual is straw purchasing for an illegal purpose. The prohibition does not apply if the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, or Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division personally reviews and approves the operation in writing, determining that an operational plan includes sufficient safeguards to prevent firearms from being transferred to third parties without law enforcement interdicting them.

This section increases the maximum term of imprisonment for violations under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(1)(A)—knowingly making a false statement or representation with respect to information required to be kept in the records of a federal firearms licensee (i.e., lying on ATF Form 4473)—to 10 years (from 5 years), while maintaining the 5-year maximum for other violations under 924(a)(1).

This section requires the Attorney General, not later than 90 days after enactment, to direct the Director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to conduct a peer-reviewed study on the sources and causes of mass shootings—including psychological factors and the impact of violent video games—with the NIJ Director contracting with the National Academy of Sciences and an independent panel of five experts appointed by the Academy to conduct the study jointly. The study must examine (1) mental illness; (2) availability of mental health and other resources and strategies for families to detect and counter tendencies toward violence; (3) availability of such resources at schools; (4) the extent to which mass shooting perpetrators played violent or adult-themed video games and whether they discussed, played, or used such games in preparation for or to assist in their actions; (5) familial relationships, including parental involvement and awareness; (6) exposure to bullying; and (7) "copycat" behavior based on previous violent events. NIJ must submit a report on the study's findings to Congress not later than one year after the study begins.

This section requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit to the Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, and chairs and ranking members of specified appropriations, judiciary, homeland security, and oversight committees in both chambers, not later than one year after enactment, a report on federal agencies' ammunition activities in the preceding year that includes (1) details of all purchases by each agency; (2) a summary of all purchases, solicitations, and expenditures by each agency; (3) a summary of rounds expended by each agency and a current listing of each agency's stockpiled ammunition; and (4) an estimate of each agency's ammunition needs and purchases for the next fiscal year.

This section revises penalties under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 for states failing to report mental health prohibitor records (i.e., adjudications or involuntary commitments) to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), by striking prior withholding provisions and establishing new reductions in a state's Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) allocation under 34 U.S.C. 10156 (formula grants to states and localities for criminal justice purposes, allocated 50% by population and 50% by violent crime rates, with a 0.25% state minimum). From 18 months to five years after enactment of the Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2025, the Attorney General must withhold 5% of a state's Byrne JAG allocation if the state provides less than 90% of required records under NICS Improvement Amendments Act sections 102 and 103 and lacks a statute requiring record provision and implementing a relief-from-disabilities program under section 105. Beginning five years after enactment, the Attorney General must withhold 10% for states lacking such a statute.

This section modifies interstate firearm transfer rules under the Gun Control Act of 1968 for federal firearms licensees (FFLs, i.e., licensed importers, manufacturers, and dealers) and redefines state residency for certain U.S. personnel as follows: (a) Revises 18 U.S.C. §922(b)(3) to authorize FFLs to transfer any firearm (not just rifles or shotguns) to a non-resident of the transferor's state at a location or temporary location if the transfer complies with the laws of both the state where conducted and the transferee's state of residence (previously limited to contiguous-state residents for rifles/shotguns). (b) Amends 18 U.S.C. §923(j) to remove the requirement that an FFL's temporary location for sales or transfers be in the state specified on the license; and adds §923(m) to expressly allow (1) FFL-to-FFL sales, transfers, deliveries, or dispositions of firearms or ammunition at any location in any state, and (2) FFL sales or transfers to non-licensees at any qualifying temporary location in any state. (c) Replaces 18 U.S.C. §921(b) to define a state resident, for this chapter, as including for active-duty Armed Forces members (and spouses): (1) the state of legal residence, (2) the state of the member's permanent duty station, or (3) the state where the member maintains a daily-commute abode; and for certain other U.S. officers/employees (and spouses) stationed outside the U.S. for over one year: the state of legal residence.

This section revises section 926A of title 18, United States Code—which authorizes persons not prohibited under federal law from transporting an unloaded firearm interstate between locations of lawful possession if it is not readily accessible from the vehicle's passenger compartment—to expand and clarify interstate transportation protections for both firearms and ammunition. It defines "transport" to include temporary overnight lodging, stops for food, fuel, maintenance, emergencies, or medical treatment, and other incidental activities; requires firearms to be unloaded and inaccessible from the passenger compartment (or, for vehicles lacking a separate compartment, in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console, or secured by a secure gun storage or safety device) and ammunition to be unloaded and similarly inaccessible; and adds new limits on state and local arrest, detention, and prosecution authority—including requiring probable cause or reasonable suspicion of noncompliance for arrests or detentions, placing the burden on the government to disprove compliance beyond a reasonable doubt, and awarding prevailing defendants reasonable attorney's fees. (Thus, the revision broadens allowable transport conditions, explicitly covers ammunition, and strengthens legal defenses against state interference.) It also makes a conforming change to the table of sections for chapter 44 of title 18.

This section establishes requirements to prevent duplicative grants under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program by directing the Attorney General, prior to any award under this part, to compare it against grants awarded under part A (Byrne Justice Assistance Grants) or part T (capital litigation improvement grants) to identify duplicate awards for the same purpose to the same applicant. If duplicate grants are awarded, the Attorney General must report to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees a list of all such grants awarded, including total dollar amounts, and the reasons for awarding them.

This section directs the Attorney General to establish or continue to maintain firearms trafficking task forces in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Houston, Phoenix, Dallas, and Los Angeles Field Divisions. Each task force must consist of no fewer than 12 ATF special agents and investigate firearms trafficking, with emphasis on violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 932 (straw purchasing of firearms) and 933 (trafficking of firearms).