II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1306

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, relating to the

regulation of firearms dealers, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 30, 1999

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KENNEDY,

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. LEVIN, and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

A BILL

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, relating to the regulation of firearms dealers, and for other

purposes.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeted Gun Dealer

5 Enforcement Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. REGULATION OF LICENSED DEALERS.

7 (a) PROHIBITION ON STRAW PURCHASES.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 922(a)(6) of title

9 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘,
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1 or with respect to the identity of the person in fact

2 purchasing or attempting to purchase such firearm

3 or ammunition,’’ before ‘‘under the’’.

4 (2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a)(3) of title 18,

5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

6 end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding

7 sentence, a violation in relation to section 922(a)(6)

8 or 922(d) by a licensed dealer, licensed importer, li9 censed manufacturer, or licensed collector shall be

10 subject to the penalties under paragraph (2) of this

11 subsection.’’.

12 (b) NOTIFICATION OF STATE LAW REGARDING CAR13 RYING CONCEALED FIREARMS.—Section 922 of title 18,

14 United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub15 section (y) the following:

16 ‘‘(z) NOTIFICATION OF STATE REQUIREMENTS.—It

17 shall be unlawful for a licensed dealer to transfer a firearm

18 to any person, unless the dealer notifies that person

19 whether applicable State law requires persons to be li20 censed to carry concealed firearms in the State, or pro21 hibits the carrying of concealed firearms in the State.’’.

22 (c) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE; CIVIL

23 PENALTIES.—Section 923 of title 18, United States Code,

24 is amended by striking subsections (e) and (f) and insert25 ing the following:
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1 ‘‘(e) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE;

2 CIVIL PENALTIES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, after

4 notice and opportunity for hearing—

5 ‘‘(A) suspend or revoke any license issued

6 under this section, if the holder of such

7 license—

8 ‘‘(i) willfully violates any provision of

9 this chapter or any rule or regulation pre10 scribed by the Secretary under this chap11 ter; or

12 ‘‘(ii) fails to have secure gun storage

13 or safety devices available at any place in

14 which firearms are sold under the license

15 to persons who are not licensees (except

16 that in any case in which a secure gun

17 storage or safety device is temporarily un18 available because of theft, casualty loss,

19 consumer sales, backorders from a manu20 facturer, or any other similar reason be21 yond the control of the licensee, the li22 censed dealer shall not be considered to be

23 in violation of the requirement to make

24 available such a device);
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1 ‘‘(B) suspend or revoke the license issued

2 under this section to a dealer who willfully

3 transfers armor piercing ammunition; and

4 ‘‘(C) assess and collect a civil penalty of

5 not more than $10,000 per violation against

6 any holder of a license, if the Secretary is au7 thorized to suspend or revoke the license of that

8 holder under subparagraph (A) or (B).

9 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY.—The Secretary may at any

10 time compromise, mitigate, or remit the liability with

11 respect to any willful violation of this subsection or

12 any rule or regulation prescribed by the Secretary

13 under this subsection.

14 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—An action of the Secretary

15 under this subsection may be reviewed only as pro16 vided in subsection (f).

17 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Not less

18 than once every 6 months, the Secretary shall notify

19 each licensed manufacturer and each licensed dealer

20 of the name, address, and license number of each

21 dealer whose license was suspended or revoked under

22 this section during the preceding 6-month period.

23 ‘‘(f) RIGHTS OF APPLICANTS AND LICENSEES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary denies an

25 application for, or revokes or suspends a license, or
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1 assesses a civil penalty under this section, the Sec2 retary shall provide written notice of such denial,

3 revocation, suspension, or assessment to the affected

4 party, stating specifically the grounds upon which

5 the application was denied, the license was sus6 pended or revoked, or the civil penalty was assessed.

7 Any notice of a revocation or suspension of a license

8 under this paragraph shall be given to the holder

9 of such license before the effective date of the rev10 ocation or suspension, as applicable.

11 ‘‘(2) APPEAL PROCESS.—

12 ‘‘(A) HEARING.—If the Secretary denies

13 an application for, or revokes or suspends a li14 cense, or assesses a civil penalty under this sec15 tion, the Secretary shall, upon request of the

16 aggrieved party, promptly hold a hearing to re17 view the denial, revocation, suspension, or as18 sessment. A hearing under this subparagraph

19 shall be held at a location convenient to the ag20 grieved party.

21 ‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DECISION; APPEAL.—If,

22 after a hearing held under subparagraph (A),

23 the Secretary decides not to reverse the decision

24 of the Secretary to deny the application, revoke
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1 or suspend the license, or assess the civil pen2 alty, as applicable—

3 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide notice

4 of the decision of the Secretary to the ag5 grieved party;

6 ‘‘(ii) during the 60-day period begin7 ning on the date on which the aggrieved

8 party receives a notice under clause (i), the

9 aggrieved party may file a petition with the

10 district court of the United States for the

11 judicial district in which the aggrieved

12 party resides or has a principal place of

13 business for a de novo judicial review of

14 such denial, revocation, suspension, or as15 sessment;

16 ‘‘(iii) in any judicial proceeding pursu17 ant to a petition under clause (ii)—

18 ‘‘(I) the court may consider any

19 evidence submitted by the parties to

20 the proceeding, regardless of whether

21 or not such evidence was considered

22 at the hearing held under subpara23 graph (A); and

24 ‘‘(II) if the court decides that the

25 Secretary was not authorized to make
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1 such denial, revocation, suspension, or

2 assessment, the court shall order the

3 Secretary to take such actions as may

4 be necessary to comply with the judg5 ment of the court.

6 ‘‘(3) STAY PENDING APPEAL.—If the Secretary

7 suspends or revokes a license under this section,

8 upon the request of the holder of the license, the

9 Secretary shall stay the effective date of the revoca10 tion, suspension, or assessment.’’.

11 (d) EFFECT OF CONVICTION.—Section 925(b) of title

12 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘until any

13 conviction pursuant to the indictment becomes final’’ and

14 inserting ‘‘until the date of any conviction pursuant to the

15 indictment’’.

16 (e) REGULATION OF HIGH-VOLUME CRIME GUN

17 DEALERS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States

18 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(8) HIGH-VOLUME CRIME GUN DEALERS.—

20 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the term

21 ‘high-volume crime gun dealer’ means any licensed

22 dealer with respect to which a designation under

23 subparagraph (B)(i) is in effect, as provided in sub24 paragraph (B)(ii).
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1 ‘‘(B) DESIGNATION OF HIGH-VOLUME CRIME

2 GUN DEALERS.—

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

4 designate a licensed dealer as a high-volume

5 crime gun dealer—

6 ‘‘(I) as soon as practicable, if the Sec7 retary determines that the licensed dealer

8 sold, delivered, or otherwise transferred to

9 1 or more persons not licensed under this

10 chapter not less than 25 firearms that,

11 during the preceding calendar year, were

12 used during the commission or attempted

13 commission of a criminal offense under

14 Federal, State, or local law, or were pos15 sessed in violation of Federal, State, or

16 local law; or

17 ‘‘(II) immediately upon the expiration

18 date of a suspension of the license of that

19 dealer for a willful violation of this chap20 ter, if such violation involved 1 or more

21 firearms that were subsequently used dur22 ing the commission or attempted commis23 sion of a criminal offense under Federal,

24 State, or local law.
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1 ‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF DESIGNA2 TION.—A designation under clause (i) shall re3 main in effect during the period beginning on

4 the date on which the designation is made and

5 ending on the later of—

6 ‘‘(I) the expiration of the 18-month

7 period beginning on that date; or

8 ‘‘(II) the date on which the license

9 issued to that dealer under this section ex10 pires.

11 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Upon the

12 designation of a licensed dealer as a high-volume

13 crime gun dealer under subparagraph (B), the Sec14 retary shall notify the appropriate United States at15 torney’s office, the appropriate State and local law

16 enforcement agencies (including the district attor17 ney’s offices and the police or sheriff’s departments),

18 and each State and local agency responsible for the

19 issuance of business licenses in the jurisdiction in

20 which the high-volume crime gun dealer is located of

21 such designation.

22 ‘‘(D) REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING RE23 QUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision

24 of this paragraph—
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1 ‘‘(i) not later than 10 days after the date

2 on which a handgun is sold, delivered, or other3 wise transferred by a high-volume crime gun

4 dealer to a person not licensed under this chap5 ter, the high-volume crime gun dealer shall sub6 mit to the Secretary and to the department of

7 State police or State law enforcement agency of

8 the State or local jurisdiction in which the sale,

9 delivery, or transfer took place, on a form pre10 scribed by the Secretary, a report of the sale,

11 delivery, or transfer, which report shall

12 include—

13 ‘‘(I) the manufacturer or importer of

14 the handgun;

15 ‘‘(II) the model, type, caliber, gauge,

16 and serial number of the handgun; and

17 ‘‘(III) the name, address, date of

18 birth, and height and weight of the pur19 chaser or transferee, as applicable;

20 ‘‘(ii) each high-volume crime gun dealer

21 shall submit to the Secretary, on a form pre22 scribed by the Secretary, a monthly report of

23 each firearm received and each firearm disposed

24 of by the dealer during that month, which re25 port shall include only the name of the manu-
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1 facturer or importer and the model, type, cal2 iber, gauge, serial number, date of receipt, and

3 date of disposition of each such firearm, except

4 that the initial report submitted by a dealer

5 under this clause shall include such information

6 with respect to the entire inventory of the high7 volume crime gun dealer; and

8 ‘‘(iii) a high-volume crime gun dealer may

9 not destroy any record required to be main10 tained under paragraph (1)(A).

11 ‘‘(E) INSPECTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

12 (1), the Secretary may inspect or examine the inven13 tory and records of a high-volume crime gun dealer

14 at any time without a showing of reasonable cause

15 or a warrant for purposes of determining compliance

16 with the requirements of this chapter.

17 ‘‘(F) RECORDKEEPING BY LOCAL POLICE DE18 PARTMENTS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(B), a

19 State or local law enforcement agency that receives

20 a report under subparagraph (D)(i) may retain a

21 copy of that record for not more than 5 years.

22 ‘‘(G) LICENSE RENEWAL.—Notwithstanding

23 subsection (d)(2), the Secretary shall approve or

24 deny an application for a license submitted by a

25 high-volume crime gun dealer before the expiration
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1 of the 120-day period beginning on the date on

2 which the application is received.

3 ‘‘(H) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLY.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sub5 section (e), the Secretary shall, after notice and

6 an opportunity for a hearing—

7 ‘‘(I) suspend for not less than 90 days

8 any license issued under this section to a

9 high-volume crime gun dealer who willfully

10 violates any provision of this section (in11 cluding any requirement of this para12 graph);

13 ‘‘(II) revoke any license issued under

14 this section to a high-volume crime gun

15 dealer who willfully violates any provision

16 of this section (including any requirement

17 of this paragraph) and who has committed

18 a prior willful violation of any provision of

19 this section (including any requirement of

20 this paragraph); and

21 ‘‘(III) revoke any license issued under

22 this section to a high-volume crime gun

23 dealer who willfully violates any provision

24 of section 922 or 924.
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1 ‘‘(ii) STAY PENDING APPEAL.—Notwith2 standing subsection (f)(3), the Secretary may

3 not stay the effective date of a suspension or

4 revocation under this subparagraph pending an

5 appeal.’’.

6 SEC. 3. ENHANCED ABILITY TO TRACE FIREARMS.

7 (a) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF DEALER’S

8 RECORDS.—Section 923(g)(4) of title 18, United States

9 Code, is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF DEALER’S

11 RECORDS.—

12 ‘‘(A) BUSINESS DISCONTINUED.—

13 ‘‘(i) SUCCESSOR.—When a firearms or

14 ammunition business is discontinued and

15 succeeded by a new licensee, the records

16 required to be kept by this chapter shall

17 appropriately reflect that fact and shall be

18 delivered to the successor. Upon receipt of

19 those records, the successor licensee may

20 retain the records of the discontinued busi21 ness or submit the discontinued business

22 records to the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(ii) NO SUCCESSOR.—When a fire24 arms or ammunition business is discon25 tinued without a successor, records re-
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1 quired to be kept by this chapter shall be

2 delivered to the Secretary within 30 days

3 after the business is discontinued.

4 ‘‘(B) OLD RECORDS.—A licensee maintaining a

5 firearms business may voluntarily submit the records

6 required to be kept by this chapter to the Secretary

7 if such records are at least 20 years old.

8 ‘‘(C) STATE OR LOCAL REQUIREMENTS.—If

9 State law or local ordinance requires the delivery of

10 records regulated by this paragraph to another re11 sponsible authority, the Secretary may arrange for

12 the delivery of records to such other responsible au13 thority.’’

14 (b) CENTRALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF

15 RECORDS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States

16 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(9) CENTRALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF

18 RECORDS BY SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any

19 other provision of law, the Secretary—

20 ‘‘(A) may receive and centralize any infor21 mation or records submitted to the Secretary

22 under this chapter and maintain such informa23 tion or records in whatever manner will enable

24 their most efficient use in law enforcement in25 vestigations; and
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1 ‘‘(B) shall retain a record of each firearms

2 trace conducted by the Secretary, unless the

3 Secretary determines that there is a valid law

4 enforcement reason not to retain the record.’’.

5 (c) LICENSEE REPORTS OF SECONDHAND FIRE6 ARMS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States Code,

7 is amended by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(10) LICENSEE REPORTS OF SECONDHAND

9 FIREARMS.—A licensed importer, licensed manufac10 turer, and licensed dealer shall submit to the Sec11 retary, on a form prescribed by the Secretary, a

12 monthly report of each firearm received from a per13 son not licensed under this chapter during that

14 month, which report shall not include any identifying

15 information relating to the transferor or any subse16 quent purchaser.’’.

17 SEC. 4. GENERAL REGULATION OF FIREARMS TRANSFERS.

18 (a) TRANSFERS OF CRIME GUNS.—Section 924(h) of

19 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or

20 having reasonable cause to believe’’ after ‘‘knowing’’.

21 (b) INCREASED PENALTIES FOR TRAFFICKING IN

22 FIREARMS WITH OBLITERATED SERIAL NUMBERS.—Sec23 tion 924(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

24 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘(k),’’; and
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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘(k),’’ after

2 ‘‘(j),’’.

3 SEC. 5. AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDE4 LINES.

5 The United States Sentencing Commission shall

6 amend the Federal sentencing guidelines to reflect the

7 amendments made by this Act.

Æ