II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3529 

To provide procedures for appealing certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

Firearms and Explosives rulings or determinations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. 

DAINES, Mr. HAWLEY, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. LANKFORD, Ms. LUMMIS, 

Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. RISCH, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. LEE, Mr. 

HOEVEN, and Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide procedures for appealing certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rulings or determinations, 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 ‘‘ATF Accountability 

5 Act of 2023’’. 

2 

•S 3529 IS

1 SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR APPEALING CERTAIN BUREAU 

2 OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EX3 PLOSIVES RULINGS OR DETERMINATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 923 of title 18, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(m)(1) Not later than 90 days after the Attorney 

8 General receives from a licensed manufacturer, licensed 

9 importer, or licensed dealer a product classification re10 quest or a written question regarding any regulatory mat11 ter, including the legal status or classification of a prod12 uct, or a recordkeeping practice under any law adminis13 tered, in whole or in part, by the Bureau of Alcohol, To14 bacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Attorney General 

15 shall make a ruling or determination in writing on the re16 quest or question, and transmit the ruling or determina17 tion to the licensee. 

18 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receipt of a copy 

19 of a ruling or determination under paragraph (1), a li20 censee may appeal the ruling or determination (or a cease 

21 and desist letter) by filing with any Director of Industry 

22 Operations having jurisdiction over a premises of the li23 censee subject to a license issued to the licensee under this 

24 chapter a request for review of the ruling or determina25 tion, which shall include a statement of the reasons for 

26 the appeal and the relief requested. 

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1 ‘‘(B) Not later than 30 days after receipt of an ap2 peal under subparagraph (A), a Director of Industry Op3 erations shall render a decision on the appeal in writing 

4 and transmit a copy of the decision to the licensee, at 

5 which point the licensee may request a hearing pursuant 

6 to paragraph (3). 

7 ‘‘(3)(A) Not later than14 days after receipt from a 

8 licensee of a request under paragraph (2)(B) for an appeal 

9 to be determined on the record after opportunity for a 

10 hearing, a Director of Industry Operations shall refer the 

11 request to an administrative law judge who shall— 

12 ‘‘(i) set a time and place for a hearing on the 

13 appeal at a location convenient to the licensee; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) not later than 10 days before the date set 

15 for the hearing, serve on the licensee and the Direc16 tor of Industry Operations a notice of the hearing. 

17 ‘‘(B) A hearing under subparagraph (A) shall be con18 ducted in accordance with the hearing procedures pre19 scribed in subsections (b) through (e) of section 556 and 

20 section 557(d) of title 5. 

21 ‘‘(C) Within a reasonable time, and as expeditiously 

22 as possible, after the conclusion of a hearing under sub23 paragraph (A), the administrative law judge shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) render a decision on the appeal, which shall 

25 consist of— 

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1 ‘‘(I) a brief statement of the issues of fact 

2 involved in the proceeding; 

3 ‘‘(II) the findings and conclusions of the 

4 administrative law judge, and the reasons or 

5 basis therefor with record references, on all ma6 terial issues of fact, law, or discretion presented 

7 on the record; and 

8 ‘‘(III) the decision of the administrative 

9 law judge to reverse or affirm the ruling or de10 termination involved; 

11 ‘‘(ii) certify the complete record of the pro12 ceeding; 

13 ‘‘(iii) forward the complete certified record and 

14 a copy of the decision to the Director of Industry 

15 Operations; 

16 ‘‘(iv) serve a copy of the decision on the licensee 

17 or counsel for the licensee; and 

18 ‘‘(v) transmit a copy of the decision to the at19 torney representing the United States in the pro20 ceeding. 

21 ‘‘(4) The decision of the administrative law judge or 

22 the Director of Industry Operations, or the ruling of an23 other officer or employee of the Bureau of Alcohol, To24 bacco, Firearms and Explosives, as the case may be, pur25 suant to this subsection shall— 

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1 ‘‘(A) constitute final agency action; 

2 ‘‘(B) be subject to judicial review under chapter 

3 7 of title 5; and 

4 ‘‘(C) be binding on the United States and the 

5 licensee.’’. 

6 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

8 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to rulings and 

9 determinations made before, on, or after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) DEADLINE FOR APPEAL OF PRIOR RULINGS

12 AND DETERMINATIONS.—For purposes of a ruling or 

13 determination made before the date of enactment of 

14 this Act, a licensee may appeal the ruling or deter15 mination (or a cease and desist letter) in the manner 

16 described in paragraph (2)(A) of section 923(m) of 

17 title 18, United States Code, as added by subsection 

18 (a), on or before the date that is 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ