I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1279 

To authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make 

grants to States, units of local government, and gun dealers to conduct 

gun buyback programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Ms. DEAN, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. DAVID

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. 

SOTO, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. WILD, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 

MENG, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. MOORE, Mr. SIRES, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 

HAALAND, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. HAYES, 

and Mr. HIGGINS of New York) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to States, units of local government, 

and gun dealers to conduct gun buyback programs, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act of 2019’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—GUN BUYBACK GRANT PROGRAM 

Sec. 101. Program authorized. 

Sec. 102. Applications. 

Sec. 103. Term of grant. 

Sec. 104. Smart prepaid cards. 

Sec. 105. Uses of funds. 

Sec. 106. Definitions. 

Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—CRIMINAL PROVISION 

Sec. 201. Use of smart prepaid card to buy or sell a firearm. 

6 TITLE I—GUN BUYBACK GRANT 

7 PROGRAM 

8 SEC. 101. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of 

10 Justice Assistance (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Direc11 tor’’) may make grants to eligible entities to conduct gun 

12 buyback programs. 

13 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this title, the 

14 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

15 (1) a State; 

16 (2) a unit of local government; or 

17 (3) a gun dealer if neither the unit of local gov18 ernment nor the State where such dealer is located 

19 receives a grant under this title. 


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1 SEC. 102. APPLICATIONS. 

2 (a) GRANTS.—The chief executive of an eligible entity 

3 seeking a grant under this title shall submit an application 

4 to the Director at such time and containing such informa5 tion as the Director may reasonably require. 

6 (b) SUBGRANTS.—A gun dealer located in a unit of 

7 local government or State that does receive a grant under 

8 this title seeking a subgrant shall submit an application 

9 to the chief executive of such unit of local government or 

10 State at such time and containing such information as the 

11 chief executive may reasonably require, including proof of 

12 such dealer’s license under section 923 of title 18, United 

13 States Code. 

14 SEC. 103. TERM OF GRANT. 

15 (a) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded under this 

16 title shall be two years. 

17 (b) AVAILABILITY OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

18 (1) STATES OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN19 MENT.—A State or unit of local government that re20 ceives a grant under this title shall return to the Di21 rector any remaining smart prepaid cards and any 

22 unused portion of such grant at the end of the two23 year and 270-day period beginning on the date that 

24 the grant was awarded. 

25 (2) GUN DEALERS.—A gun dealer that receives 

26 a grant or subgrant under this title shall return to 


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1 the Director any remaining smart prepaid cards and 

2 any unused portion of such grant or subgrant that 

3 was allocated to be used to buy back guns— 

4 (A) in the case of a gun dealer receiving a 

5 grant, at the end of the two-year period begin6 ning on the date that the grant was awarded; 

7 or 

8 (B) in the case of a gun dealer receiving 

9 a subgrant, at the end of the two-year period 

10 beginning on the date that the grant was 

11 awarded to the State or unit of local govern12 ment from which the gun dealer received a 

13 subgrant. 

14 (c) AMOUNTS RETURNED.—The Director shall re15 turn to the general fund of the Treasury any amounts re16 turned under subsection (b). 

17 SEC. 104. SMART PREPAID CARDS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the grant program 

19 authorized under section 101, the Director may reserve 

20 such funds as may be necessary to acquire and distribute 

21 smart prepaid cards to eligible entities that receive grants 

22 under this title. The Director shall distribute the smart 

23 prepaid cards without any funds loaded onto the cards. 

24 (b) MARKET VALUE OF GUNS.—The Director shall 

25 determine the market value of each gun that the Director 


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1 determines should be included in the gun buyback pro2 gram and make such information publicly available. 

3 (c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF CARDS TO BUY

4 GUNS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person may not use a 

6 smart prepaid card in the acquisition of a gun or 

7 ammunition, and a person may not accept a smart 

8 prepaid card in the transfer (including a loan) of a 

9 gun or ammunition. 

10 (2) PENALTY.—A person that violates para11 graph (1) shall pay to the Director an amount that 

12 is equal to the value of the prohibited sale. 

13 SEC. 105. USES OF FUNDS. 

14 (a) STATES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 

15 A State or unit of local government receiving a grant 

16 under this title shall use such funds to do the following: 

17 (1) GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM.—Use such funds 

18 to— 

19 (A) conduct a gun buyback program; or 

20 (B) make subgrants to gun dealers in such 

21 State or unit of local government to conduct 

22 gun buyback programs, and distribute the 

23 smart prepaid cards such State or unit of local 

24 government receives to gun dealers receiving 

25 subgrants. 


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1 (2) GUN AND AMMUNITION RECYCLING PRO2 GRAM.—Use not more than 10 percent of such funds 

3 to recycle the guns and ammunition that such State 

4 or unit of local government collects or receives from 

5 gun dealers. 

6 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Use not more 

7 than 15 percent of such funds for the administrative 

8 costs of carrying out the grant program under this 

9 title, including the criminal database checks under 

10 subsection (f). 

11 (b) GUN DEALERS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A gun dealer receiving a 

13 grant or subgrant under this title shall use such 

14 funds to conduct a gun buyback program. 

15 (2) SMART PREPAID CARD AMOUNTS.— 

16 (A) In order to purchase a gun through a 

17 gun buyback program, a gun dealer shall load 

18 onto a smart prepaid card 125 percent of the 

19 market value of the gun that the individual 

20 wishes to dispose of (as determined by the Di21 rector under section 104(b)). 

22 (B) A gun dealer may increase the pur23 chase price of a gun and load an amount onto 

24 a smart prepaid card that is greater than 125 

25 percent of the market value of the gun if the 


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1 gun dealer determines that the gun has been al2 tered in a way that would increase the market 

3 value of the gun (such as an altered grip, or the 

4 addition of a scope). 

5 (3) GUNS RECEIVED.— 

6 (A) In the case of a gun dealer receiving 

7 a grant under this title, the gun dealer shall de8 liver a gun or ammunition the dealer receives 

9 under the gun buyback program to the closest 

10 office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire11 arms and Explosives not later than 60 days 

12 after receiving such gun. 

13 (B) In the case of a gun dealer receiving 

14 a subgrant under this title, the gun dealer shall 

15 deliver a gun or ammunition the dealer receives 

16 under the gun buyback program to the State or 

17 unit of local government from which it receives 

18 the subgrant not later than 60 days after re19 ceiving such gun. 

20 (c) AMMUNITION COLLECTION.—A State, unit of 

21 local government, or gun dealer conducting a gun buyback 

22 program under this title may accept ammunition from in23 dividuals wishing to dispose of it, which shall be recycled 

24 in accordance with paragraph (3), but may not use smart 


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1 prepaid cards to purchase ammunition under the gun 

2 buyback program. 

3 (d) INCENTIVES FOR GUN DEALER PARTICIPA4 TION.—To the extent that the Director determines nec5 essary to facilitate participation of gun dealers in the gun 

6 buyback program, grant funds may be used to provide 

7 monetary or other incentives to gun dealers to participate 

8 in such program. For purposes of subsection (a), any such 

9 incentives shall be treated as part of the subgrant to the 

10 gun dealer described in paragraph (1)(B) thereof. 

11 (e) RESALE OF GUNS PROHIBITED.—A State, unit 

12 of local government, or gun dealer conducting a gun 

13 buyback program under this title may not sell a gun or 

14 ammunition received under such program. 

15 (f) CRIMINAL DATABASE CHECK.—A State, unit of 

16 local government, or office of the Bureau of Alcohol, To17 bacco, Firearms and Explosives that receives a gun under 

18 a gun buyback program under this title shall, not later 

19 than 21 days after receiving the gun, use any database 

20 accessible to the State, unit of local government, or office 

21 of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo22 sives, as applicable, in order to determine whether the gun 

23 was used in the commission of a crime. If such a gun was 

24 used in the commission of a crime, the gun shall be deliv25 ered to the appropriate prosecuting authority. 


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1 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) AMMUNITION.—The term ‘‘ammunition’’ 

4 has the meaning given such term in section 

5 921(a)(17)(A) of title 18, United States Code. 

6 (2) GUN.—The term ‘‘gun’’ means ‘‘firearm’’ 

7 as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United 

8 States Code. 

9 (3) GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘gun 

10 buyback program’’ means a program under which a 

11 State, a unit of local government, or a gun dealer, 

12 using smart prepaid cards as described in section 

13 105(b)(2), purchases back from individuals wishing 

14 to dispose of them, a gun identified by the Director 

15 under section 104(b). 

16 (4) GUN DEALER.—The term ‘‘gun dealer’’ 

17 means a dealer of firearms licensed under section 

18 923 of title 18, United States Code. 

19 (5) SMART PREPAID CARD.—The term ‘‘smart 

20 prepaid card’’ means a card issued by the Director 

21 that— 

22 (A) is redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated 

23 merchants or service providers; 

24 (B) contains a mechanism, for the purpose 

25 of preventing the cardholder from using it to 

26 purchase a gun or ammunition, that recognizes 


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1 the merchant category code of a merchant and 

2 prohibits the use of such card at a place of 

3 business subject to a license to deal in firearms 

4 under section 923 of title 18, United States 

5 Code; 

6 (C) is honored, upon presentation, by mer7 chants solely for goods or services, except for 

8 merchants described in subparagraph (B); 

9 (D) is loaded on a prepaid basis by a 

10 State, unit of local government, or gun dealer 

11 for use in a gun buyback program; 

12 (E) clearly and conspicuously bears the 

13 words ‘‘THIS CARD MAY NOT BE USED 

14 TO PURCHASE A GUN OR AMMUNITION’’ 

15 in capital and raised letters on the card; and 

16 (F) may not redeemed for coins or cur17 rency. 

18 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

19 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or any com20 monwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

21 States. 

22 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 There is authorized to be appropriated $360,000,000 

24 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2020 to carry out 

25 this title. 


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1 TITLE II—CRIMINAL PROVISION 

2 SEC. 201. USE OF SMART PREPAID CARD IN THE ACQUISI3 TION OR TRANSFER OF A FIREARM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 

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

7 ‘‘§ 932. Use of smart prepaid card in the acquisition 

8 or transfer of a firearm 

9 ‘‘Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign com10 merce, uses a smart prepaid card (as such term is defined 

11 in section 106 of the Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback 

12 Act of 2017) in connection with the acquisition of, or ac13 cepts a smart prepaid card in connection with the transfer 

14 (including a loan) of a firearm or ammunition shall be 

15 fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 

16 years, or both.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 924(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amend20 ed by inserting after ‘‘section 929’’ the following: 

21 ‘‘or section 932’’. 

22 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 

23 at the beginning of chapter 44 of title 18, United 


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1 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 

2 relating to section 931 the following: 

‘‘932. Use of smart prepaid card in the acquisition or transfer of a firearm.’’. 

Æ 


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