II 

Calendar No. 30 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1112 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 4, 2019 

Received; read the first time 

MARCH 5, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

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

strengthen the background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer 

a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee. 

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 ‘‘Enhanced Background 

5 Checks Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING OF BACKGROUND CHECK PROCE2 DURES TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE A FED3 ERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE MAY TRANSFER A 

4 FIREARM TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT SUCH A 

5 LICENSEE. 

6 Section 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of title 18, United States 

7 Code is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clause (ii) 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the event the system has not notified 

11 the licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 

12 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of 

13 this section— 

14 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 10 business days 

15 (meaning a day on which State offices are 

16 open) has elapsed since the licensee contacted 

17 the system, and the system has not notified the 

18 licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 

19 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) 

20 of this section, and the other person has sub21 mitted, electronically through a website estab22 lished by the Attorney General or by first-class 

23 mail, a petition for review which— 

24 ‘‘(aa) certifies that such other person 

25 has no reason to believe that such other 

26 person is prohibited by Federal, State, or 


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1 local law from purchasing or possessing a 

2 firearm; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) requests that the system re4 spond to the contact referred to in sub5 paragraph (A) within 10 business days 

6 after the date the petition was submitted 

7 (or, if the petition is submitted by first8 class mail, the date the letter containing 

9 the petition is postmarked); and 

10 ‘‘(II) 10 business days have elapsed since 

11 the other person so submitted the petition, and 

12 the system has not notified the licensee that the 

13 receipt of a firearm by such other person would 

14 violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section; 

15 and’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(7) The Attorney General shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) prescribe the form on which a peti19 tion shall be submitted pursuant to paragraph 

20 (1)(B)(ii); 

21 ‘‘(B) make the form available electroni22 cally, and provide a copy of the form to all li23 censees referred to in paragraph (1); 


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1 ‘‘(C) provide the petitioner and the licensee 

2 involved written notice of receipt of the petition, 

3 either electronically or by first-class mail; and 

4 ‘‘(D) respond on an expedited basis to any 

5 such petition received by the Attorney General. 

6 ‘‘(8)(A) If, after 3 business days have elapsed since 

7 the licensee initially contacted the system about a firearm 

8 transaction, the system notifies the licensee that the re9 ceipt of a firearm by such other person would not violate 

10 subsection (g) or (n), the licensee may continue to rely 

11 on that notification for the longer of— 

12 ‘‘(i) an additional 25 calendar days after the li13 censee receives the notification; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) 30 calendar days after the date of the ini15 tial contact. 

16 ‘‘(B) If such other person has met the requirements 

17 of paragraph (1)(B)(ii) before the system destroys the 

18 records related to the firearm transaction, the licensee 

19 may continue to rely on such other person having met the 

20 requirements for an additional 25 calendar days after the 

21 date such other person first met the requirements.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. GAO REPORTS. 

23 Within 90 days after the end of each of the 1-year, 

24 3-year, and 5-year periods that begin with the effective 

25 date of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 


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1 States shall prepare and submit to the Committee on the 

2 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a written report ana4 lyzing the extent to which, during the respective period, 

5 paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and (7) of section 922(t) of title 18, 

6 United States Code, have prevented firearms from being 

7 transferred to prohibited persons, which report shall in8 clude but not be limited to the following— 

9 (1) an assessment of the overall implementation 

10 of such subsections, including a description of the 

11 challenges faced in implementing such paragraphs; 

12 and 

13 (2) an aggregate description of firearm pur14 chase delays and denials, and an aggregate analysis 

15 of the petitions submitted pursuant to such para16 graph (1)(B)(ii). 

17 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON PETITIONS SUPPORTING FIREARM 

18 TRANSFERS NOT IMMEDIATELY APPROVED 

19 BY NICS SYSTEM, THAT WERE NOT RE20 SPONDED TO IN A TIMELY MANNER. 

21 The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 

22 shall make an annual report to the public on the number 

23 of petitions received by the national instant criminal back24 ground check system established under section 103 of the 

25 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that were subVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1112.PCS H1112

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1 mitted pursuant to subclause (I) of section 

2 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of title 18, United States Code, with re3 spect to which a determination was not made within the 

4 10-day period referred to in subclause (II) of such section. 

5 SEC. 5. NEW TERMINOLOGY FOR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILL6 NESS. 

7 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 

8 amended in each of subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) by strik9 ing ‘‘adjudicated as a mental defective’’ and inserting ‘‘ad10 judicated with mental illness, severe developmental dis11 ability, or severe emotional instability’’. 

12 SEC. 6. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS. 

13 Within 150 days after the date of the enactment of 

14 this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 

15 National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Fire16 arms, shall submit to the Congress a report analyzing the 

17 effect, if any, of this Act on the safety of victims of domes18 tic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sex19 ual assault, and stalking, and whether any further amend20 ments to the background check process, including amend21 ments to the conditions that must be met under this Act 

22 for a firearm to be transferred when the system has not 

23 notified the licensee that such transfer would not violate 

24 subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United 

25 States Code, would likely result in a reduction in the risk 


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1 of death or great bodily harm to victims of domestic vio2 lence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sexual as3 sault, and stalking. 

4 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

6 take effect 210 days after the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 28, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 30 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1112 

AN ACT 

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States 

is not such a licensee. censee may transfer a firearm to a person who dures to be followed before a Federal firearms liCode, to strengthen the background check proceMARCH 5, 2019 

Read the second time and placed on the calendar 


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