I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 920

To expand the powers of the Secretary of the Treasury to regulate the

manufacture, distribution, and sale of firearms and ammunition, and

to expand the jurisdiction of the Secretary to include firearm products

and nonpowder firearms.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 2, 1999

Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To expand the powers of the Secretary of the Treasury

to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and sale of

firearms and ammunition, and to expand the jurisdiction

of the Secretary to include firearm products and nonpowder firearms.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Firearms Safety and Consumer Protection Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Purposes.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—REGULATION OF FIREARM PRODUCTS

Sec. 101. Regulatory authority.

Sec. 102. Orders; inspections.

TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS

Sec. 201. Prohibitions.

Sec. 202. Inapplicability to governmental authorities.

TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT

SUBTITLE A—CIVIL ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 301. Civil penalties.

Sec. 302. Injunctive enforcement and seizure.

Sec. 303. Imminently hazardous firearms.

Sec. 304. Private cause of action.

Sec. 305. Private enforcement of this Act.

Sec. 306. Effect on private remedies.

SUBTITLE B—CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 351. Criminal penalties.

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Firearm injury information and research.

Sec. 402. Annual report to Congress.

TITLE V—RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW

Sec. 501. Subordination to the Arms Export Control Act.

Sec. 502. Effect on State law.

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

2 The purposes of this Act are—

3 (1) to protect the public against unreasonable

4 risk of injury and death associated with firearms

5 and related products;

6 (2) to develop safety standards for firearms and

7 related products;

8 (3) to assist consumers in evaluating the com9 parative safety of firearms and related products;
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1 (4) to promote research and investigation into

2 the causes and prevention of firearm-related deaths

3 and injuries; and

4 (5) to restrict the availability of weapons that

5 pose an unreasonable risk of death or injury.

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) SPECIFIC TERMS.—In this Act:

8 (1) FIREARMS DEALER.—The term ‘‘firearms

9 dealer’’ means—

10 (A) any person engaged in the business (as

11 defined in section 921(a)(21)(C) of title 18,

12 United States Code) of dealing in firearms at

13 wholesale or retail;

14 (B) any person engaged in the business (as

15 defined in section 921(a)(21)(D) of title 18,

16 United States Code) of repairing firearms or of

17 making or fitting special barrels, stocks, or trig18 ger mechanisms to firearms; and

19 (C) any person who is a pawnbroker.

20 (2) FIREARM PART.—The term ‘‘firearm part’’

21 means—

22 (A) any part or component of a firearm as

23 originally manufactured;

24 (B) any good manufactured or sold—
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1 (i) for replacement or improvement of

2 a firearm; or

3 (ii) as any accessory or addition to the

4 firearm; and

5 (C) any good that is not a part or compo6 nent of a firearm and is manufactured, sold, de7 livered, offered, or intended for use exclusively

8 to safeguard individuals from injury by a fire9 arm.

10 (3) FIREARM PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘firearm

11 product’’ means a firearm, firearm part, nonpowder

12 firearm, and ammunition.

13 (4) FIREARM SAFETY REGULATION.—The term

14 ‘‘firearm safety regulation’’ means a regulation pre15 scribed under this Act.

16 (5) FIREARM SAFETY STANDARD.—The term

17 ‘‘firearm safety standard’’ means a standard pro18 mulgated under this Act.

19 (6) NONPOWDER FIREARM.—The term ‘‘non20 powder firearm’’ means a device specifically designed

21 to discharge BBs, pellets, darts, or similar projec22 tiles by the release of stored energy.

23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

24 the Secretary of the Treasury or the designee of the

25 Secretary.
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1 (b) OTHER TERMS.—Each term used in this Act that

2 is not defined in subsection (a) shall have the meaning

3 (if any) given that term in section 921(a) of title 18,

4 United States Code.

5 TITLE I—REGULATION OF

6 FIREARM PRODUCTS

7 SEC. 101. REGULATORY AUTHORITY.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prescribe

9 such regulations governing the design, manufacture, and

10 performance of, and commerce in, firearm products, con11 sistent with this Act, as are reasonably necessary to reduce

12 or prevent unreasonable risk of injury resulting from the

13 use of those products.

14 (b) MAXIMUM INTERVAL BETWEEN ISSUANCE OF

15 PROPOSED AND FINAL REGULATION.—Not later than 120

16 days after the date on which the Secretary issues a pro17 posed regulation under subsection (a) with respect to a

18 matter, the Secretary shall issue a regulation in final form

19 with respect to the matter.

20 (c) PETITIONS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person may petition the

22 Secretary to—

23 (A) issue, amend, or repeal a regulation

24 prescribed under subsection (a) of this section;

25 or
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1 (B) require the recall, repair, or replace2 ment of a firearm product, or the issuance of

3 refunds with respect to a firearm product.

4 (2) DEADLINE FOR ACTION ON PETITION.—Not

5 later than 120 days after the date on which the Sec6 retary receives a petition referred to in paragraph

7 (1), the Secretary shall—

8 (A) grant, in whole or in part, or deny the

9 petition; and

10 (B) provide the petitioner with the reasons

11 for granting or denying the petition.

12 SEC. 102. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS.

13 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT MANUFACTURE, SALE,

14 OR TRANSFER OF FIREARM PRODUCTS MADE, IMPORTED,

15 TRANSFERRED, OR DISTRIBUTED IN VIOLATION OF REG16 ULATION.—The Secretary may issue an order prohibiting

17 the manufacture, sale, or transfer of a firearm product

18 which the Secretary finds has been manufactured, or has

19 been or is intended to be imported, transferred, or distrib20 uted in violation of a regulation prescribed under this Act.

21 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE THE RECALL, REPAIR,

22 OR REPLACEMENT OF, OR THE PROVISION OF REFUNDS

23 WITH RESPECT TO FIREARM PRODUCTS.—The Secretary

24 may issue an order requiring the manufacturer of, and

25 any dealer in, a firearm product which the Secretary de-
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1 termines poses an unreasonable risk of injury to the pub2 lic, is not in compliance with a regulation prescribed under

3 this Act, or is defective, to—

4 (1) provide notice of the risks associated with

5 the product, and of how to avoid or reduce the risks,

6 to—

7 (A) the public;

8 (B) in the case of the manufacturer of the

9 product, each dealer in the product; and

10 (C) in the case of a dealer in the product,

11 the manufacturer of the product and the other

12 persons known to the dealer as dealers in the

13 product;

14 (2) bring the product into conformity with the

15 regulations prescribed under this Act;

16 (3) repair the product;

17 (4) replace the product with a like or equivalent

18 product which is in compliance with those regula19 tions;

20 (5) refund the purchase price of the product,

21 or, if the product is more than 1 year old, a lesser

22 amount based on the value of the product after rea23 sonable use;

24 (6) recall the product from the stream of com25 merce; or
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1 (7) submit to the Secretary a satisfactory plan

2 for implementation of any action required under this

3 subsection.

4 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROHIBIT MANUFACTURE, IM5 PORTATION, TRANSFER, DISTRIBUTION, OR EXPORT OF

6 UNREASONABLY RISKY FIREARM PRODUCTS.—The Sec7 retary may issue an order prohibiting the manufacture,

8 importation, transfer, distribution, or export of a firearm

9 product if the Secretary determines that the exercise of

10 other authority under this Act would not be sufficient to

11 prevent the product from posing an unreasonable risk of

12 injury to the public.

13 (d) INSPECTIONS.—In order to ascertain compliance

14 with this Act and the regulations and orders issued under

15 this Act, the Secretary may, at reasonable times—

16 (1) enter any place in which firearm products

17 are manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in

18 commerce, and inspect those areas where the prod19 ucts are manufactured, stored, or held; and

20 (2) enter and inspect any conveyance being

21 used to transport a firearm product.

22 TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS

23 SEC. 201. PROHIBITIONS.

24 (a) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER TO TEST AND

25 CERTIFY FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful for
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1 the manufacturer of a firearm product to transfer, distrib2 ute, or export a firearm product unless—

3 (1) the manufacturer has tested the product in

4 order to ascertain whether the product is in con5 formity with the regulations prescribed under section

6 101;

7 (2) the product is in conformity with those reg8 ulations; and

9 (3) the manufacturer has included in the pack10 aging of the product, and furnished to each person

11 to whom the product is distributed, a certificate

12 stating that the product is in conformity with those

13 regulations.

14 (b) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER TO PROVIDE NO15 TICE OF NEW TYPES OF FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall

16 be unlawful for the manufacturer of a new type of firearm

17 product to manufacture the product, unless the manufac18 turer has provided the Secretary with—

19 (1) notice of the intent of the manufacturer to

20 manufacture the product; and

21 (2) a description of the product.

22 (c) FAILURE OF MANUFACTURER OR DEALER TO

23 LABEL FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful for a

24 manufacturer of or dealer in firearms to transfer, distrib-
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1 ute, or export a firearm product unless the product is ac2 companied by a label that contains—

3 (1) the name and address of the manufacturer

4 of the product;

5 (2) the name and address of any importer of

6 the product;

7 (3) a specification of the regulations prescribed

8 under this Act that apply to the product; and

9 (4) the certificate required by subsection (a)(3)

10 with respect to the product.

11 (d) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN OR PERMIT INSPECTION

12 OF RECORDS.—It shall be unlawful for an importer of,

13 manufacturer of, or dealer in a firearm product to fail

14 to—

15 (1) maintain such records, and supply such in16 formation, as the Secretary may require in order to

17 ascertain compliance with this Act and the regula18 tions and orders issued under this Act; and

19 (2) permit the Secretary to inspect and copy

20 those records at reasonable times.

21 (e) IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION OF

22 UNCERTIFIED FIREARM PRODUCTS.—It shall be unlawful

23 for any person to import into the United States or export

24 a firearm product that is not accompanied by the certifi25 cate required by subsection (a)(3).
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1 (f) COMMERCE IN FIREARM PRODUCTS IN VIOLA2 TION OF ORDER ISSUED OR REGULATION PRESCRIBED

3 UNDER THIS ACT.—It shall be unlawful for any person

4 to manufacture, offer for sale, distribute in commerce, im5 port into the United States, or export a firearm product—

6 (1) that is not in conformity with the regula7 tions prescribed under this Act; or

8 (2) in violation of an order issued under this

9 Act.

10 (g) STOCKPILING.—It shall be unlawful for any per11 son to manufacture, purchase, or import a firearm prod12 uct, after the date a regulation is prescribed under this

13 Act with respect to the product and before the date the

14 regulation takes effect, at a rate that is significantly great15 er than the rate at which the person manufactured, pur16 chased, or imported the product during a base period (pre17 scribed by the Secretary in regulations) ending before the

18 date the regulation is so prescribed.

19 SEC. 202. INAPPLICABILITY TO GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORI20 TIES.

21 Section 201 does not apply to any department or

22 agency of the United States, of a State, or of a political

23 subdivision of a State, or to any official conduct of any

24 officer or employee of such a department or agency.
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1 TITLE III—ENFORCEMENT

2 Subtitle A—Civil Enforcement

3 SEC. 301. CIVIL PENALTIES.

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE FINES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall impose

6 upon any person who violates section 201 a civil fine

7 in an amount that does not exceed the applicable

8 amount described in subsection (b).

9 (2) SCOPE OF OFFENSE.—Each violation of sec10 tion 201 (other than of subsection (a)(3) or (d) of

11 that section) shall constitute a separate offense with

12 respect to each firearm product involved.

13 (b) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—

14 (1) FIRST 5-YEAR PERIOD.—The applicable

15 amount for the 5-year period immediately following

16 the date of enactment of this Act is $5,000.

17 (2) THEREAFTER.—The applicable amount dur18 ing any time after the 5-year period described in

19 paragraph (1) is $10,000.

20 SEC. 302. INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT AND SEIZURE.

21 (a) INJUNCTIVE ENFORCEMENT.—Upon request of

22 the Secretary, the Attorney General of the United States

23 may bring an action to restrain any violation of section

24 201 in the United States district court for any district
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1 in which the violation has occurred, or in which the de2 fendant is found or transacts business.

3 (b) CONDEMNATION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request of the Sec5 retary, the Attorney General of the United States

6 may bring an action in rem for condemnation of a

7 qualified firearm product in the United States dis8 trict court for any district in which the Secretary

9 has found and seized for confiscation the product.

10 (2) QUALIFIED FIREARM PRODUCT DEFINED.—

11 In paragraph (1), the term ‘‘qualified firearm prod12 uct’’ means a firearm product—

13 (A) that is being transported or having

14 been transported remains unsold, is sold or of15 fered for sale, is imported, or is to be exported;

16 and

17 (B)(i) that is not in compliance with a reg18 ulation prescribed or an order issued under this

19 Act; or

20 (ii) with respect to which relief has been

21 granted under section 303.

22 SEC. 303. IMMINENTLY HAZARDOUS FIREARMS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the pendency of

24 any other proceeding in a court of the United States, the

25 Secretary may bring an action in a United States district
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1 court to restrain any person who is a manufacturer of,

2 or dealer in, an imminently hazardous firearm product

3 from manufacturing, distributing, transferring, importing,

4 or exporting the product.

5 (b) IMMINENTLY HAZARDOUS FIREARM PRODUCT.—

6 In subsection (a), the term ‘‘imminently hazardous fire7 arm product’’ means any firearm product with respect to

8 which the Secretary determines that—

9 (1) the product poses an unreasonable risk of

10 injury to the public; and

11 (2) time is of the essence in protecting the pub12 lic from the risks posed by the product.

13 (c) RELIEF.—In an action brought under subsection

14 (a), the court may grant such temporary or permanent

15 relief as may be necessary to protect the public from the

16 risks posed by the firearm product, including—

17 (1) seizure of the product; and

18 (2) an order requiring—

19 (A) the purchasers of the product to be no20 tified of the risks posed by the product;

21 (B) the public to be notified of the risks

22 posed by the product; or

23 (C) the defendant to recall, repair, or re24 place the product, or refund the purchase price

25 of the product (or, if the product is more than
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1 1 year old, a lesser amount based on the value

2 of the product after reasonable use).

3 (d) VENUE.—An action under subsection (a)(2) may

4 be brought in the United States district court for the Dis5 trict of Columbia or for any district in which any defend6 ant is found or transacts business.

7 SEC. 304. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by any vio9 lation of this Act or of any regulation prescribed or order

10 issued under this Act by another person may bring an ac11 tion against such other person in any United States dis12 trict court for damages, including consequential damages.

13 In any action under this section, the court, in its discre14 tion, may award to a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable at15 torney’s fee as part of the costs.

16 (b) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—The remedy pro17 vided for in subsection (a) shall be in addition to any other

18 remedy provided by common law or under Federal or State

19 law.

20 SEC. 305. PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT OF THIS ACT.

21 Any interested person may bring an action in any

22 United States district court to enforce this Act, or restrain

23 any violation of this Act or of any regulation prescribed

24 or order issued under this Act. In any action under this

25 section, the court, in its discretion, may award to a pre-
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1 vailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney’s fee as part of the

2 costs.

3 SEC. 306. EFFECT ON PRIVATE REMEDIES.

4 (a) IRRELEVANCY OF COMPLIANCE WITH THIS

5 ACT.—Compliance with this Act or any order issued or

6 regulation prescribed under this Act shall not relieve any

7 person from liability to any person under common law or

8 State statutory law.

9 (b) IRRELEVANCY OF FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION

10 UNDER THIS ACT.—The failure of the Secretary to take

11 any action authorized under this Act shall not be admissi12 ble in litigation relating to the product under common law

13 or State statutory law.

14 Subtitle B—Criminal Enforcement

15 SEC. 351. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

16 Any person who has received from the Secretary a

17 notice that the person has violated a provision of this Act

18 or of a regulation prescribed under this Act with respect

19 to a firearm product and knowingly violates that provision

20 with respect to the product shall be fined under title 18,

21 United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years,

22 or both.
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1 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 401. FIREARM INJURY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

5 (1) maintain a Firearm Injury Information

6 Clearinghouse to collect, investigate, analyze, and

7 disseminate data and information relating to the

8 causes and prevention of death and injury associated

9 with firearms;

10 (2) conduct continuing studies and investiga11 tions of firearm-related deaths and injuries and the

12 resulting economic costs and losses;

13 (3) collect and maintain current production and

14 sales figures for each firearms manufacturer licensed

15 under section 923 of title 18, United States Code;

16 (4) conduct research on, studies of, and inves17 tigation into the safety of firearm products and im18 proving the safety of firearm products; and

19 (5) develop firearm safety testing methods and

20 testing devices.

21 (b) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—On a regular

22 basis, but not less frequently than annually, the Secretary

23 shall make available to the public the results of the activi24 ties of the Secretary under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)

25 of subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 402. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall prepare and

3 submit to the President and Congress at the beginning

4 of each regular session of Congress, a comprehensive re5 port on the administration of this Act for the most re6 cently completed fiscal year.

7 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub8 section (a) shall include—

9 (1) a thorough appraisal, including statistical

10 analyses and projections, of the incidence of injury

11 and death and effects on the population resulting

12 from firearm products, with a breakdown, as prac13 ticable, among the various types of such products as14 sociated with the injuries and deaths;

15 (2) a list of firearm safety regulations pre16 scribed that year;

17 (3) an evaluation of the degree of compliance

18 with firearm safety regulations, including a list of

19 enforcement actions, court decisions, and settlements

20 of alleged violations, by name and location of the vi21 olator or alleged violator, as the case may be;

22 (4) a summary of the outstanding problems

23 hindering enforcement of this Act, in the order of

24 priority; and

25 (5) a log and summary of meetings between the

26 Secretary or employees of the Secretary and rep-
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1 resentatives of industry, interested groups, or other

2 interested parties.

3 TITLE V—RELATIONSHIP TO

4 OTHER LAW

5 SEC. 501. SUBORDINATION TO ARMS EXPORT CONTROL

6 ACT.

7 In the event of any conflict between any provision of

8 this Act and any provision of the Arms Export Control

9 Act, the provision of the Arms Export Control Act shall

10 control.

11 SEC. 502. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall not be construed

13 to preempt any provision of the law of any State or politi14 cal subdivision thereof, or prevent a State or political sub15 division thereof from enacting any provision of law regu16 lating or prohibiting conduct with respect to a firearm

17 product, except to the extent that such provision of law

18 is inconsistent with any provision of this Act, and then

19 only to the extent of the inconsistency.

20 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—A provision of State

21 law is not inconsistent with this Act if the provision im22 poses a regulation or prohibition of greater scope or a pen23 alty of greater severity than any prohibition or penalty im24 posed by this Act.

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