Law Enforcement Official Protection and Officer John C. Knight Memorial Act of 1999

Summary: Directs the Secretary to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against the Executive Protection Exemplar which shall take into account the effective range of firearms from which the projectile may be fired and the nature of the propellants available for use.
(Sec. 4) Amends the Internal Revenue Code to define "firearm," for purposes of provisions regarding excise taxes, to include: (1) any laser sight suitable for use as a sight for any firearm; and (2) any firearm on which a laser sight is permanently mounted.
(Sec. 5) Amends the Brady Act to include within the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" a projectile that may be used in a handgun that the Secretary determines to be capable of penetrating body armor.
Directs the Secretary to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against the Body Armor Exemplar (defined as body armor that the Secretary determines meets minimum standards for protection of law enforcement officers), based on standards developed in cooperation with the Attorney General, taking into account variations in performance that are related to the length of the barrel of the handgun from which the projectile is fired and the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Law Enforcement Official Protection 
and Officer John C. Knight Memorial Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) Chicago Police Officer John C. Knight, a man who 
        emulated his father by dedicating his life to preserving public 
        safety, left behind his wife and three children when he was 
        killed in the line of duty on January 9, 1999 by a felon armed 
        with handgun equipped with a laser sight device.
            (2) More than any other weapon, firearms pose the greatest 
        threat to our Nation's law enforcement officers. Between 1988 
        and 1997, firearms claimed the lives of 92 percent of the 688 
        officers killed in the line of duty and another 30,705 were 
        assaulted with guns.
            (3) The risk to our Nation's law enforcement officers 
        increases when violent offenders possess lethality-enhancing 
        devices, such as laser sights, that are easily accessible and 
        highly unregulated.
            (4) Ammunition known as ``armor piercing'' or ``armor 
        piercing incendiary'', which can puncture police body armor, 
        light armored vehicles, ballistic or armored glass and armored 
        limousines, also poses a threat to the lives and the mission of 
        our Nation's law enforcement officers.
            (5) Armor piercing and armor piercing incendiary 
        ammunition, designed for use in military rifles, is readily 
        available for virtually unrestricted sale on the civilian 
        market. The potential uses for such ammunition by violent 
        offenders, terrorists or others against law enforcement 
        personnel or critical components of the national infrastructure 
        presents a serious threat to public safety and national 
        security.
            (6) While handguns are the most commonly used weapons in 
        the murders of both law enforcement officers and civilians, 
        current law doesn't restrict the development of future 
        generations of armor piercing ammunition for use in handguns.

SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN MILITARY AMMUNITION AS ARMOR PIERCING 
              AMMUNITION; USE OF PERFORMANCE STANDARD.

    Section 921(a)(17) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (i);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of clause 
                (ii) and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(iii) a projectile which the Secretary has determined is 
        substantially similar in design and manufacture to any 
        ammunition which is or has been designated for use as armor 
        piercing, armor piercing incendiary, or armor piercing tracing 
        by any military or law enforcement authority of the United 
        States; or
            ``(iv) a projectile which the Secretary finds is capable of 
        penetrating the Executive Protection Exemplar.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(D)(i) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this subparagraph, the Secretary shall promulgate standards for the 
uniform testing of projectiles against the Executive Protection 
Exemplar. The standards shall take into account, among other factors, 
the effective range of firearms from which the projectile may be fired 
and the nature of the propellants available for use.
    ``(ii) In this paragraph, the term `Executive Protection Exemplar' 
means the minimum level of armor or other protective material, 
including ballistic glass but not including body armor, that the 
Secretary determines is essential to the effective protection of law 
enforcement personnel and their public safety mission.''.

SEC. 4. COVERAGE OF LASER SIGHTS AND LASER-SIGHT EQUIPPED FIREARMS.

    (a) In General.--The first sentence of section 5845(a) of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining firearm) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and (8)'' and inserting ``(8)'', and
            (2) by inserting before the period ``; (9) any laser sight 
        suitable for use as a sight for any firearm (as defined in 
        section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code); and (10) 
        any firearm (as defined in such section 921(a)(3)) on which any 
        laser sight is permanently mounted.''
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. REGULATION OF THE MANUFACTURE, IMPORTATION, AND SALE OF 
              PROJECTILES THAT MAY BE USED IN A HANDGUN AND ARE CAPABLE 
              OF PENETRATING POLICE BODY ARMOR.

    (a) Expansion of Definition of Armor Piercing Ammunition.--Section 
921(a)(17)(B) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of clause (iii);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of clause (iv) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(v) a projectile that may be used in a handgun and that 
        the Secretary determines, pursuant to section 926(d), to be 
        capable of penetrating body armor.''.
    (b) Determination of the Capability of Projectiles To Penetrate 
Body Armor.--Section 926 of such title is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(d)(1) Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, the Secretary shall promulgate standards for the 
uniform testing of projectiles against the Body Armor Exemplar, based 
on standards developed in cooperation with the Attorney General of the 
United States. Such standards shall take into account, among other 
factors, variations in performance that are related to the length of 
the barrel of the handgun from which the projectile is fired and the 
amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile.
    ``(2) As used in paragraph (1), the term Body Armor Exemplar' means 
body armor that the Secretary, in cooperation with the Attorney General 
of the United States, determines meets minimum standards for protection 
of law enforcement officers.''.