I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8763 

To provide grants to States to encourage the implementation and maintenance 

of firearms licensing requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2024 

Ms. PRESSLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide grants to States to encourage the implementation 

and maintenance of firearms licensing requirements, 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 ‘‘Making America Safe 

5 and Secure Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘MASS Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FIREARMS LICENSING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

8 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

9 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART PP—FIREARMS LICENSING 

2 ‘‘SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this part— 

4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered license’ means a— 

5 ‘‘(A) firearms license; or 

6 ‘‘(B) firearms dealer license; 

7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘domestic violence protection 

8 order’ means a protection order, as defined in sec9 tion 2266 of title 18, United States Code; 

10 ‘‘(3) the term ‘extreme risk protection order’— 

11 ‘‘(A) means a written order, issued by a 

12 State court or signed by a magistrate that, for 

13 a period not to exceed a time frame established 

14 by the State— 

15 ‘‘(i) prohibits the individual named in 

16 the order from having under the custody or 

17 control of the individual, purchasing, pos18 sessing, or receiving a firearm or ammuni19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) requires that any firearm or am21 munition under the custody or control of 

22 the individual be removed; and 

23 ‘‘(B) does not include a domestic violence 

24 protection order; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘prohibited individual’ means an 

2 individual who is categorically ineligible to receive a 

3 covered license; 

4 ‘‘(5) the term ‘suitable’ means that an indi5 vidual does not create a risk to public safety; and 

6 ‘‘(6) the term ‘thorough background check’ 

7 means a Federal and State background check, which 

8 may include a fingerprint-based background check. 

9 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED INDIVIDUALS.—For purposes of 

10 this part, a State— 

11 ‘‘(1) shall establish standards for categorizing 

12 an individual as a prohibited individual for purposes 

13 of receiving a covered license; and 

14 ‘‘(2) in establishing standards with respect to a 

15 covered license under paragraph (1), shall take into 

16 consideration whether limitations may be warranted 

17 based on— 

18 ‘‘(A) criminal history; 

19 ‘‘(B) whether an individual has been— 

20 ‘‘(i) deemed a danger to himself or 

21 herself or other individuals by a court or 

22 authorized administrative body; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) committed to a hospital or insti24 tution as a danger to himself or herself or 

25 other individuals; 


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1 ‘‘(C) age; 

2 ‘‘(D) legal residency; 

3 ‘‘(E) military dishonorable discharges; 

4 ‘‘(F) whether an individual— 

5 ‘‘(i) is subject to a permanent or tem6 porary protection order; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) has been convicted of a mis8 demeanor crime of domestic violence (as 

9 defined in section 921 of title 18, United 

10 States Code); 

11 ‘‘(G) outstanding arrest warrants; 

12 ‘‘(H) status as a fugitive; 

13 ‘‘(I) renunciation of United States citizen14 ship; and 

15 ‘‘(J) other factors relevant to the suit16 ability of a license holder. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANTS AND CONDITIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant Attorney 

19 General may make grants to States to implement or main20 tain firearms and firearms dealer licensing requirements. 

21 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under sub22 section (a) shall be for a period of 3 fiscal years. 

23 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS FOR FIREARMS AND FIREARMS

24 DEALER LICENSING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—Amounts received under a 

2 grant under subsection (a) shall be used for the im3 plementation or maintenance of firearms and fire4 arms dealer licensing requirements, which shall in5 corporate and implement the elements described in 

6 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The elements described in 

8 this paragraph are those providing that— 

9 ‘‘(A) an individual shall have a firearms li10 cense— 

11 ‘‘(i) at the time of the purchase, rent12 al, or lease of a firearm or purchase of am13 munition; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) during the entire period of own15 ership or possession of a firearm or ammu16 nition; 

17 ‘‘(B)(i) an individual who (including the 

18 owner or operator of a business that) sells, 

19 rents, or leases a minimum number of firearms, 

20 or sells ammunition, during a calendar year 

21 shall obtain a firearms dealer license; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the State shall establish the minimum 

23 number of firearms for purposes of clause (i), 

24 which may not be higher than 10 per calendar 

25 year; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the chief of police or the board or of2 ficer having control of the police department of 

3 a local government, or a designee within the 

4 same department, shall function as the licensing 

5 authority; 

6 ‘‘(D) for an application for issuance or re7 newal of a firearms license, the licensing au8 thority shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) conduct a thorough background 

10 check, which may include— 

11 ‘‘(I) conducting an interview with 

12 the applicant; 

13 ‘‘(II) requiring the submission of 

14 letters of reference stating that the 

15 applicant is of sound mind and char16 acter; and 

17 ‘‘(III) any other requirements the 

18 State determines relevant; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) make a determination of suit20 ability; 

21 ‘‘(E) a first-time firearms license applicant 

22 shall complete safety training; 

23 ‘‘(F) for an application for issuance or re24 newal of a firearms dealer license, the licensing 

25 authority shall conduct an investigation into the 


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1 criminal history of the applicant, which may in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(i) an interview with the applicant; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a thorough background check; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) any other requirements the 

7 State determines relevant; 

8 ‘‘(G) the State shall establish appropriate 

9 application processes for covered licenses con10 sistent with Federal, State, and local law; 

11 ‘‘(H) the State shall establish standards 

12 and processes by which licensing authorities can 

13 revoke, suspend, or deny the issuance or re14 newal of a covered license; 

15 ‘‘(I) the State shall ensure that a revoca16 tion, suspension, or denial cannot be based on 

17 race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual ori18 entation, or gender identity; 

19 ‘‘(J) the State shall establish judicial re20 view processes by which any applicant for or 

21 holder of a covered license may, within a rea22 sonable time period, petition to obtain judicial 

23 review of a revocation, suspension, or denial of 

24 the issuance or renewal of a covered license; 

25 ‘‘(K) the State shall establish— 


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1 ‘‘(i) standards and a process under 

2 which a family member of an individual 

3 who the family member fears is a danger 

4 to himself, herself, or others may petition 

5 for an extreme risk protection order; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) standards for the termination or 

7 extension of an order described in clause 

8 (i); 

9 ‘‘(L) the State shall establish processes 

10 under which— 

11 ‘‘(i) an individual whose covered li12 cense is revoked or suspended, or whose 

13 application for issuance or renewal of a 

14 covered license is denied, shall surrender or 

15 transfer all firearms and ammunition that 

16 are or would have been covered by the li17 cense; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is subject to 

19 an extreme risk protection order or domes20 tic violence protection order shall surrender 

21 or transfer all firearms and ammunition in 

22 the possession of the individual; 

23 ‘‘(M) the State shall establish requirements 

24 with which a firearms dealer licensee must com25 ply, which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall include requirements relat2 ing to— 

3 ‘‘(I) the location at which the li4 censee conducts firearm or ammuni5 tion transactions; 

6 ‘‘(II) the manner in which the li7 censee records firearm or ammunition 

8 transactions; 

9 ‘‘(III) background checks for em10 ployees of the licensee; and 

11 ‘‘(IV) any other matter that the 

12 State determines appropriate; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) may include requirements that a 

14 licensee— 

15 ‘‘(I) maintain a permanent place 

16 of business— 

17 ‘‘(aa) that is not a resi18 dence; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) at which the licensee 

20 conducts all firearms or ammuni21 tion transactions; 

22 ‘‘(II) submit to mandatory record 

23 and inventory inspections by a licens24 ing authority; 


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1 ‘‘(III) maintain a sales record 

2 book at the permanent place of busi3 ness described in subclause (I) in ac4 cordance with standards established 

5 by the State; 

6 ‘‘(IV) conduct a pre-employment 

7 background check on each potential 

8 employee to determine the suitability 

9 of any potential employee who may 

10 have direct and unmonitored contact 

11 with a firearm or ammunition; and 

12 ‘‘(V) take any other action that 

13 the State determines appropriate; 

14 ‘‘(N) the State shall promulgate rules and 

15 regulations to ensure the prompt collection, ex16 change, dissemination, and distribution of infor17 mation pertaining to the issuance, renewal, ex18 piration, suspension, or revocation of a covered 

19 license; 

20 ‘‘(O) the State shall establish standards 

21 that are consistent with Federal and State 

22 law— 

23 ‘‘(i) governing the transfer of a fire24 arm or ammunition; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for identifying a prohibited indi2 vidual, in accordance with section 3061(b); 

3 ‘‘(P) the State shall promulgate rules and 

4 regulations that require a dealer or private sell5 er of firearms or ammunition to verify the va6 lidity of a firearms license before the sale, rent7 al, or lease of any firearm or the sale of any 

8 ammunition; 

9 ‘‘(Q) a dealer or private seller of firearms 

10 or ammunition shall report all sales, rentals, 

11 and leases of firearms, and sales of ammuni12 tion, to State authorities; 

13 ‘‘(R) a dealer of firearms or ammunition 

14 shall notify the licensing authority when pre15 sented with an invalid or expired firearms li16 cense; 

17 ‘‘(S) any firearms licensee whose firearm 

18 or ammunition is lost or stolen shall report the 

19 loss or theft to the licensing authority and 

20 State authorities within a reasonable time 

21 frame and in a manner established by the 

22 State; 

23 ‘‘(T) an individual holding a firearms li24 cense or firearms dealer license shall renew the 


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1 license on a time frame established by the 

2 State; 

3 ‘‘(U) an individual may not use the fire4 arms license of the individual to purchase a 

5 firearm or ammunition for— 

6 ‘‘(i) the unlawful use of the firearm or 

7 ammunition by another individual; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the resale or other transfer of 

9 the firearm or ammunition to an unli10 censed individual; and 

11 ‘‘(V)(i) it shall be unlawful to store or keep 

12 a firearm in any place unless the firearm is se13 cured in a locked container or equipped with a 

14 tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety 

15 device, properly engaged so as to render the 

16 firearm inoperable by any individual other than 

17 the owner or other lawfully authorized user; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of clause (i), a firearm 

19 shall not be considered to be stored or kept if 

20 carried by or under the control of the owner or 

21 other lawfully authorized user. 

22 ‘‘(3) SEPARATE AMMUNITION DEALER LICENSE

23 PERMITTED.—A State that requires a license for dealing 

24 ammunition that is separate from a license for dealing 

25 firearms shall be deemed to have satisfied the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 Aug 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8763.IH H8763

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1 ments under paragraph (2) relating to a firearms dealer 

2 license, as that license relates to the dealing of ammuni3 tion, if the State imposes the same requirements for an 

4 ammunition dealer license as are mandated under para5 graph (2) for a firearms dealer license, as that license re6 lates to the dealing of ammunition. 

7 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

8 under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Assistant 

9 Attorney General an application at such time, in such 

10 manner, and containing such information as the Assistant 

11 Attorney General may require, including a description of 

12 how the State will use the grant to implement or maintain 

13 firearms and firearms dealer licensing requirements that 

14 include the elements described in subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each State receiving a 

16 grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Assistant 

17 Attorney General, for each fiscal year during which the 

18 State expends amounts received under the grant, a report, 

19 at such time and in such manner as the Assistant Attor20 ney General may reasonably require, that contains— 

21 ‘‘(1) a summary of the activities carried out 

22 using amounts made available under the grant; 

23 ‘‘(2) an assessment of whether the activities are 

24 achieving the elements described in subsection 

25 (c)(2); and 


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1 ‘‘(3) such other information as the Assistant 

2 Attorney General may require. 

3 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON THE ALLOCATION OF

4 FUNDS.—Not more than 2 percent of the amount made 

5 available to carry out this section in any fiscal year may 

6 be used by the Assistant Attorney General for salaries and 

7 administrative expenses. 

8 ‘‘(g) REALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—A recipi9 ent of a grant under subsection (a) shall return to the 

10 Assistant Attorney General any amounts received under 

11 the grant that are not expended for a purpose described 

12 in this section.’’. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

14 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

15 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)) is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(29) There are authorized to be appropriated such 

18 sums as may be necessary to carry out part PP.’’. 

Æ 


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