Explosives Control Act of 1994

Summary: Explosives Control Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the receipt in interstate or foreign commerce of explosive materials (other than black powder or smokeless powder in amounts less than 50 pounds) without a Federal permit. 
Makes provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act applicable with respect to the transfer of explosive materials (i.e., requiring a Federal explosives licensee to conduct a criminal background check before the transfer of explosive materials to a non-licensee). 
Authorizes a person denied explosive materials pursuant to this Act due to the provision of erroneous information relating to the person by any State or political subdivision thereof or by the national instant criminal background check system, or who was not prohibited from receipt of explosive materials under this Act, to bring an action against the State or political subdivision responsible for providing the information or denying the transfer, or against the United States (as the case may be) for an order directing that the erroneous information be corrected or that the transfer be approved.  Grants the court discretion to allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Explosives Control Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST THE RECEIPT OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS WITHOUT 
              A FEDERAL PERMIT.

    Section 842 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by amending subsection (a)(3)(A) to read as follows:
                    ``(A) to transport, ship, or cause to be 
                transported in interstate or foreign commerce any 
                explosive materials, or to receive in interstate or 
                foreign commerce any explosive materials (other than 
                black powder or smokeless powder, in amounts less than 
                50 pounds); or''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by adding ``or'' at the end of paragraph (1);
                    (B) by striking ``; or'' in paragraph (2) and 
                inserting a period;
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3); and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following new 
                sentence:
``The preceding sentence shall not apply to the distribution of black 
powder or smokeless powder in amounts of less than 50 pounds.''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL EXPLOSIVES LICENSEE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT CRIMINAL 
              BACKGROUND CHECK BEFORE TRANSFER OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS 
              TO NON-LICENSEE.

    (a) In General.--Section 842 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l)(1) Beginning on the date that is 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this subsection and ending on the day before the date that 
is 60 months after November 30, 1993, it shall be unlawful for any 
licensee to sell, deliver, or transfer explosive materials to an 
individual who is not a licensee, unless--
            ``(A) after the most recent proposal of such transfer by 
        the transferee--
                    ``(i) the transferor has--
                            ``(I) received from the transferee a 
                        statement of the transferee containing the 
                        information described in paragraph (3);
                            ``(II) verified the identity of the 
                        transferee by examining the identification 
                        document presented;
                            ``(III) within 1 day after the transferee 
                        furnishes the statement, provided notice of the 
                        contents of the statement to the chief law 
                        enforcement officer of the place of residence 
                        of the transferee; and
                            ``(IV) within 1 day after the transferee 
                        furnishes the statement, transmitted a copy of 
                        the statement to the chief law enforcement 
                        officer of the place of residence of the 
                        transferee; and
                    ``(ii)(I) 5 business days (meaning days on which 
                State offices are open) have elapsed from the date the 
                transferor furnished notice of the contents of the 
                statement to the chief law enforcement officer, during 
                which period the transferor has not received 
                information from the chief law enforcement officer that 
                receipt or possession of the explosive materials by the 
                transferee would be in violation of Federal, State, or 
                local law; or
                    ``(II) the transferor has received notice from the 
                chief law enforcement officer that the officer has no 
                information indicating that receipt or possession of 
                the explosive materials by the transferee would violate 
                Federal, State, or local law;
            ``(B)(i) the transferee has presented to the transferor a 
        permit that--
                    ``(I) allows the transferee to possess or acquire 
                explosive materials; and
                    ``(II) was issued not more than 5 years earlier by 
                the State in which the transfer is to take place; and
            ``(ii) the law of the State provides that such a permit is 
        to be issued only after an authorized government official has 
        verified that the information available to such official does 
        not indicate that possession of explosive materials by the 
        transferee would be in violation of the law;
            ``(C) the law of the State requires that, before any 
        licensee completes the transfer of explosive materials to an 
        individual who is not a licensee, an authorized government 
        official verify that the information available to such official 
        does not indicate that possession of explosive materials by the 
        transferee would be in violation of law;
            ``(D) the Secretary has approved the transfer under section 
        5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
            ``(E) on application of the transferor, the Secretary has 
        certified that compliance with subparagraph (A)(i)(III) is 
        impracticable because--
                    ``(i) the ratio of the number of law enforcement 
                officers of the State in which the transfer is to occur 
                to the number of square miles of land area of the State 
                does not exceed 0.0025;
                    ``(ii) the business premises of the transferor at 
                which the transfer is to occur are extremely remote in 
                relation to the chief law enforcement officer; and
                    ``(iii) there is an absence of telecommunications 
                facilities in the geographical area in which the 
                business premises are located.
    ``(2) A chief law enforcement officer to whom a transferor has 
provided notice pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i)(III) shall make a 
reasonable effort to ascertain within 5 business days whether receipt 
or possession would be in violation of the law, including research in 
whatever State and local recordkeeping systems are available and in a 
national system designated by the Attorney General.
    ``(3) The statement referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(i)(I) shall 
contain only--
            ``(A) the name, address, and date of birth appearing on a 
        valid identification document (as defined in section 
        1028(d)(1)) of the transferee containing a photograph of the 
        transferee and a description of the identification used;
            ``(B) a statement that transferee--
                    ``(i) is not under indictment for, and has not been 
                convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by 
                imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year;
                    ``(ii) is not a fugitive from justice;
                    ``(iii) is not an unlawful user of or addicted to 
                any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of 
                the Controlled Substances Act);
                    ``(iv) has not been adjudicated as a mental 
                defective or been committed to a mental institution;
                    ``(v) is not an alien who is illegally or 
                unlawfully in the United States;
                    ``(vi) has not been discharged from the Armed 
                Forces under dishonorable conditions; and
                    ``(vii) is not a person who, having been a citizen 
                of the United States, has renounced such citizenship;
            ``(C) the date the statement is made; and
            ``(D) notice that the transferee intends to obtain 
        explosive materials from the transferor.
    ``(4) Any transferor of explosive materials who, after such 
transfer, receives a report from a chief law enforcement officer 
containing information that receipt or possession of the explosive 
materials by the transferee violates Federal, State, or local law 
shall, within 1 business day after receipt of such request, communicate 
all information related to the transfer that the transferor has about 
the transfer and the transferee to--
            ``(A) the chief law enforcement officer of the place of 
        business of the transferor; and
            ``(B) the chief law enforcement officer of the place of 
        residence of the transferee.
    ``(5) Any transferor who receives information, not otherwise 
available to the public, in a report under this subsection shall not 
disclose such information except to the transferee, to law enforcement 
authorities, or pursuant to the direction of a court of law.
    ``(6)(A) Any transferor who sells, delivers, or otherwise transfers 
explosive materials to a transferee shall retain the copy of the 
statement of the transferee with respect to the explosive materials 
transaction, and shall retain evidence that the transferor has complied 
with subclauses (III) and (IV) of paragraph (1)(A)(i) with respect to 
the statement.
    ``(B) Unless the chief law enforcement officer to whom a statement 
is transmitted under paragraph (1)(A)(i)(IV) determines that a 
transaction would violate Federal, State, or local law--
            ``(i) the officer shall, within 20 business days after the 
        date the transferee made the statement on the basis of which 
        the notice was provided, destroy the statement, any record 
        containing information derived from the statement, and any 
        record created as a result of the notice required by paragraph 
        (1)(A)(i)(III);
            ``(ii) the information contained in the statement shall not 
        be conveyed to any person except a person who has a need to 
        know in order to carry out this subsection; and
            ``(iii) the information contained in the statement shall 
        not be used for any purpose other than to carry out this 
        subsection.
    ``(C) If a chief law enforcement officer determines that an 
individual is ineligible to receive explosive materials and the 
individual requests the officer to provide the reason for such 
determination, the officer shall provide such reasons to the individual 
in writing within 20 business days after receipt of the request.
    ``(7) A chief law enforcement officer or other person responsible 
for providing criminal history background information pursuant to this 
subsection shall not be liable in an action at law for damages--
            ``(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer of 
        explosive materials to a person whose receipt or possession of 
        the explosive materials is unlawful under this section; or
            ``(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to a person 
        who may lawfully receive or possess explosive materials.
    ``(8) For purposes of this subsection:
            ``(A) The term `chief law enforcement officer' means the 
        chief of police, the sheriff, or an equivalent officer or the 
        designee of any such individual.
            ``(B) The term `explosive materials' does not include black 
        powder or smokeless powder in amounts of less than 50 pounds.
    ``(9) The Secretary shall take necessary actions to ensure that the 
provisions of this subsection are published and disseminated to 
licensees and the public.
    ``(m)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after the Attorney 
General notifies licensees under section 103(d) of the Brady Handgun 
Violence Prevention Act of 1994 that the national instant criminal 
background check system is established, a licensee shall not transfer 
explosive materials to any other person who is not a licensee, unless--
            ``(A) before the completion of the transfer, the licensee 
        contacts the national instant criminal background check system 
        established under section 103 of that Act;
            ``(B)(i) the system provides the licensee with a unique 
        identification number; or
            ``(ii) 3 business days (meaning a day on which State 
        offices are open) have elapsed since the licensee contacted the 
        system, and the system has not notified the licensee that the 
        receipt of explosive materials by such other person would 
        violate this section; and
            ``(C) the transferor has verified the identity of such 
        other person by examining a valid identification document (as 
        defined in section 1028(d)(1) of this title) of such other 
        person containing a photograph of such other person.
    ``(2) If receipt of explosive materials would not violate this 
section or State law, the system shall--
            ``(A) assign a unique identification number to the 
        transfer;
            ``(B) provide the licensee with the number; and
            ``(C) destroy all records of the system with respect to the 
        call (other than the identifying number and the date the number 
        was assigned) and all records of the system relating to the 
        person or the transfer.
    ``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to explosive materials transfer 
between a licensee and another person if--
            ``(A)(i) such other person has presented to the licensee a 
        permit that--
                    ``(I) allows such other person to possess or 
                acquire explosive materials; and
                    ``(II) was issued not more than 5 years earlier by 
                the State in which the transfer is to take place; and
            ``(ii) the law of the State provides that such a permit is 
        to be issued only if not prohibited by other law and only after 
        an authorized government official has verified that the 
        information available to such official does not indicate that 
        possession of explosive materials by such other person would be 
        in violation of law;
            ``(B) the Secretary has approved the transfer under section 
        5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
            ``(C) on application of the transferor, the Secretary has 
        certified that compliance with paragraph (1)(A) is 
        impracticable because--
                    ``(i) the ratio of the number of law enforcement 
                officers of the State in which the transfer is to occur 
                to the number of square miles of land area of the State 
                does not exceed 0.0025;
                    ``(ii) the business premises of the licensee at 
                which the transfer is to occur are extremely remote in 
                relation to the chief law enforcement officer (as 
                defined in subsection (l)(8)); and
                    ``(iii) there is an absence of telecommunications 
                facilities in the geographical area in which the 
                business premises are located.
    ``(4) If the national instant criminal background check system 
notifies the licensee that the information available to the system does 
not demonstrate that the receipt of explosive materials by such other 
person would violate this section or State law, and the licensee 
transfers explosive materials to such other person, the licensee shall 
include in the record of the transfer the unique identification number 
provided by the system with respect to the transfer.
    ``(5) If the licensee knowingly transfers explosive materials to 
such other person and knowingly fails to comply with paragraph (1) of 
this subsection with respect to the transfer and, at the time such 
other person most recently proposed the transfer, the national instant 
criminal background check system was operating and information was 
available to the system demonstrating that receipt of explosive 
materials by such other person would violate this section or State law, 
the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, suspend 
for not more than 6 months or revoke any license issued to the licensee 
under section 843, and may impose on the licensee a civil fine of not 
more than $5,000.
    ``(6) Neither a local government nor an employee of the Federal 
Government or of any State or local government, responsible for 
providing information to the national instant criminal background check 
system shall be liable in an action at law for damages--
            ``(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer of 
        explosive materials to a person whose receipt or possession of 
        the firearm is unlawful under this section; or
            ``(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to a person 
        who may lawfully receive or possess explosive materials.
    ``(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term `explosive 
materials' does not include black powder or smokeless powder in amounts 
of less than 50 pounds.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 844 of such title is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``any other provision of 
        section 842 of this chapter'' and inserting ``subsection (j) or 
        (k) of section 842''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(k) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (l) or (m) of section 
842 shall be fined not more than $10,000, imprisoned not more than 10 
years, or both. Section 3571 shall not apply in the imposition of any 
fine under this subsection.''.

SEC. 4. USE OF NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM.

    The requirements of section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 
Prevention Act (other than subsection (i) thereof) shall apply to 
explosive materials (other than black powder or smokeless powder in 
amounts of less than 50 pounds) in the same manner in which such 
section applies to firearms, except that, in the case of such explosive 
materials--
            (1) the system shall provide information on whether receipt 
        of such explosive materials by a prospective transferee would 
        violate section 842 of title 18, United States Code, or State 
        law; and
            (2) as used in such section, the term ``licensee'' has the 
        same meaning given such term by section 841(m) of title 18, 
        United States Code.

SEC. 5. REMEDY FOR ERRONEOUS DENIAL OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 40 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 845 the following new section:
``Sec. 845A. Remedy for erroneous denial of explosive materials
    ``Any person denied explosive materials pursuant to subsection (l) 
or (m) of section 842--
            ``(1) due to the provision of erroneous information 
        relating to the person by any State or political subdivision 
        thereof, or by the national instant criminal background check 
        system established under section 3 of the Explosives Control 
        Act of 1994; or
            ``(2) who was not prohibited from receipt of explosive 
        materials pursuant to section 842,
may bring an action against the State or political subdivision 
responsible for providing the erroneous information, or responsible for 
denying the transfer, or against the United States, as the case may be, 
for an order directing that the erroneous information be corrected or 
that the transfer be approved, as the case may be. In any action under 
this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing 
party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The chapter analysis for such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 845 the 
following new item:

``845A. Remedy for erroneous denial of explosive materials.''.

                                 

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