I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1262

To require explosive materials to contain taggants which enable law enforcement authorities to trace the source of the explosive material, whether

before or after detonation.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 9, 1993

Mr. MANTON (for himself and Mr. ACKERMAN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To require explosive materials to contain taggants which

enable law enforcement authorities to trace the source

of the explosive material, whether before or after detonation.

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 ‘‘Explosives

5 Fingerprinting Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. EXPLOSIVE TAGGANTS.

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 841 of title 18, United

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘(o) ‘Identification taggant’ means any substance

6 which—

7 ‘‘(1) is added to an explosive material during

8 the manufacture of the material; and

9 ‘‘(2) after detonation—

10 ‘‘(A) is retrievable;

11 ‘‘(B) permits the identification of the man12 ufacturer and the date of manufacture, of the

13 material; and

14 ‘‘(C) provides such other information as

15 the Secretary may require.

16 ‘‘(p) ‘Detective taggant’ means any substance

17 which—

18 ‘‘(1) is added to an explosive material during

19 the manufacture of the material; and

20 ‘‘(2) permits the detection of the material be21 fore its detonation.’’.

22 (b) PROHIBITIONS.—Section 842 of such title is

23 amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(l)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

25 to manufacture any explosive material which does not con-
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1 tain an identification taggant which satisfies the stand2 ards promulgated by the Secretary under section 847.

3 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

4 to manufacture any explosive material which does not con5 tain a detection taggant which satisfies the standards pro6 mulgated by the Secretary under section 847.

7 ‘‘(3) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

8 to transport, ship, distribute, or receive, or cause to be

9 transported, shipped, distributed, or received, in interstate

10 or foreign commerce any explosive material which does not

11 contain an identification taggant which satisfies the stand12 ards promulgated by the Secretary under section 847.

13 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

14 to transport, ship, distribute, or receive, or cause to be

15 transported, shipped, distributed, or received, in interstate

16 or foreign commerce any explosive material which does not

17 contain a detection taggant which satisfies the standards

18 promulgated by the Secretary under section 847.

19 ‘‘(5) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

20 to import any explosive material which does not contain

21 an identification taggant which satisfies the standards

22 promulgated by the Secretary under section 847.

23 ‘‘(6) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

24 to import any explosive material which does not contain
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1 a detection taggant which satisfies the standards promul2 gated by the Secretary under section 847.

3 ‘‘(7) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

4 to resell or otherwise dispose of any explosive material,

5 sold as surplus by a department, agency, or instrumental6 ity of the United States, which does not contain an identi7 fication taggant which satisfies the standards promulgated

8 by the Secretary under section 847. The shipment of sur9 plus explosive materials from the military establishment

10 where sold to the purchaser’s place of business shall be

11 in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Sec12 retary.

13 ‘‘(8) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly

14 to resell or otherwise dispose of any explosive material,

15 sold as surplus by a department, agency, or instrumental16 ity of the United States, which does not contain a detec17 tion taggant which satisfies the standards promulgated by

18 the Secretary under section 847. The shipment of surplus

19 explosive materials from the military establishment where

20 sold to the purchaser’s place of business shall be in accord21 ance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary.

22 ‘‘(9) Paragraphs (1) through (8) shall not apply to

23 any explosive material designated by the President or his

24 designee as an explosive material to be used by the De25 partment of Defense or another agency of Government for
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1 national defense or international security purposes. Any

2 explosive material so designated shall be reported prompt3 ly to the Secretary.’’.

4 (c) PENALTIES.—Section 844(a) of such title is

5 amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) Any’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)(1)

7 Any’’; and

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

9 ‘‘(2) Any person who violates section 842(l)(1) shall

10 be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more

11 than 10 years, or both.’’.

12 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—Section 845(a) of such title is

13 amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, section

15 844(l)(1) shall apply to the matters described in para16 graphs (4) and (5) of this subsection.’’.

17 (e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—(1) Except as otherwise

18 provided in this subsection, the amendments made by this

19 section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act.

21 (2) Paragraph (2) section 842(l) of title 18, United

22 States Code, shall take effect 2 years after the date of

23 the enactment of this Act.

24 (3) Paragraph (3) of such section shall take effect

25 2 years after such date of enactment.
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1 (4) Paragraph (4) of such section shall take effect

2 3 years after such date of enactment.

3 (5) Paragraph (5) of such section shall take effect

4 1 year after such date of enactment.

5 (6) Paragraph (6) of such section shall take effect

6 2 years after such date of enactment.

7 (7) Paragraph (7) of such section shall take effect

8 2 years after such date of enactment.

9 (8) Paragraph (8) of such section shall take effect

10 3 years after such date of enactment.

11 (f) DEFERRAL OF EFFECTIVE DATES.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas13 ury shall by regulation defer one or more of the ef14 fective dates provided for in this subsection by ex15 tensions of not more than one year at a time until

16 the Secretary is satisfied that identification and de17 tection taggants (as defined in section 841 of title

18 18, United States Code)—

19 (A) are available in sufficient quantity for

20 commercial purposes;

21 (B) will not impair the quality of explosive

22 materials for their intended use; and

23 (C) will not adversely affect the environ24 ment.
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1 (2) PRIOR NOTICE TO THE CONGRESS.—The

2 Secretary shall inform the Congress 60 days before

3 deferring the effective date of any provision pursu4 ant to paragraph (1), specifying the reasons for the

5 deferral, and estimating the time the Secretary ex6 pects the provision will become effective.

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