II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2546 

To provide grants to States to encourage the implementation and maintenance 

of firearms licensing requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2018 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and 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 2018’’ or the ‘‘MASS Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS. 

7 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

8 grants to States to encourage the implementation and 

9 maintenance of firearms licensing requirements. 

10 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) There is an epidemic of gun violence in the 

2 United States. In 2016, more than 38,000 lives were 

3 lost to gun violence in the United States. Gun homi4 cide rates in the United States are 25.2 times higher 

5 than those in other high-income countries. 

6 (2) Firearms account for over 50 percent of 

7 suicides and 66 percent of homicides. 

8 (3) Since 1994, Massachusetts has lowered its 

9 gun death rate by 40 percent by enacting strong gun 

10 safety measures, including firearms licensing re11 quirements. 

12 (4) Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital 

13 and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 

14 found that States with more gun laws have fewer 

15 gun-related deaths. Massachusetts has the lowest 

16 gun death rate in the country. 

17 SEC. 3. FIREARMS LICENSING. 

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

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

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

21 ‘‘PART NN—FIREARMS LICENSING 

22 ‘‘SEC. 3041. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this part— 


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

2 individual who is categorically ineligible to receive a 

3 firearms license or firearms dealer license; 

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

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

7 means conducting a Federal and State background 

8 check, which may include a fingerprint-based back9 ground check. 

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

11 this part, a State— 

12 ‘‘(1) shall establish standards for categorizing 

13 an individual as a prohibited individual for purposes 

14 of receiving a— 

15 ‘‘(A) firearms license; or 

16 ‘‘(B) firearms dealer license; 

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

18 firearms license under paragraph (1)(A), shall take 

19 into consideration— 

20 ‘‘(A) criminal history, including youthful 

21 offender adjudications; 

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

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

24 herself or other individuals by a court or 

25 authorized administrative body; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) committed to a hospital or insti2 tution as a danger to himself or herself or 

3 other individuals; 

4 ‘‘(C) current or chronic alcohol or sub5 stance abuse; 

6 ‘‘(D) mental capacity that necessitates a 

7 guardian or conservator; 

8 ‘‘(E) age; 

9 ‘‘(F) legal residency; 

10 ‘‘(G) military dishonorable discharges; 

11 ‘‘(H) permanent or temporary protection 

12 orders; 

13 ‘‘(I) outstanding arrest warrants; 

14 ‘‘(J) status as a fugitive; and 

15 ‘‘(K) renunciation of United States citizen16 ship; and 

17 ‘‘(3) in establishing standards with respect to a 

18 firearms dealer license under paragraph (1)(B), shall 

19 take into consideration— 

20 ‘‘(A) criminal history, including youthful 

21 offender adjudications; 

22 ‘‘(B) age; and 

23 ‘‘(C) legal residency. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3042. GRANTS AND CONDITIONS. 

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

3 General may make grants to States to implement or main4 tain firearms licensing requirements. 

5 ‘‘(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under 

7 subsection (a) shall be for a period of 3 fiscal years. 

8 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUMS.—The Assistant Attorney Gen9 eral may not award more than $20,000,000 in 

10 grants (determined based on the amount provided 

11 over the period of such grants) under subsection (a) 

12 during each fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS FOR FIREARMS LICENSING.— 

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

15 grant under subsection (a) shall be used for the de16 velopment or maintenance of firearms licensing re17 quirements, which shall incorporate and implement 

18 the elements described in paragraph (2). 

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

20 this paragraph are those requiring that— 

21 ‘‘(A) all firearms owners have a firearms 

22 license— 

23 ‘‘(i) at the time of the purchase, rent24 al, or lease of firearms or ammunitions; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) during the entire period of fire2 arm ownership; 

3 ‘‘(B) any person who sells ammunition or 

4 sells, rents, or leases a minimum number of 

5 firearms in a calendar year, as determined by 

6 the State, shall obtain a firearms dealer license; 

7 ‘‘(C) the chief of police or the board or of8 ficer having control of the police department of 

9 a local government, or a designee, functions as 

10 the licensing authority; 

11 ‘‘(D) for a firearms license, the licensing 

12 authority shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) conduct a thorough background 

14 check, which may include— 

15 ‘‘(I) conducting an interview with 

16 the applicant; and 

17 ‘‘(II) requiring the submission of 

18 letters of reference stating that the 

19 applicant is of sound mind and char20 acter; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) make a determination of suit22 ability; 

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

24 shall complete safety training; 


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1 ‘‘(F) the licensing authority, not later than 

2 40 days after the date on which the application 

3 is submitted, shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) deny the application and notify 

5 the applicant of the reason for such denial 

6 in writing; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) approve the application and issue 

8 the license if the possession of a firearm by 

9 the applicant would not be in violation of 

10 Federal, State, or local law; 

11 ‘‘(G) the licensing authority may revoke, 

12 suspend, or deny the issuance or renewal of a 

13 firearms license if— 

14 ‘‘(i) in a reasonable exercise of discre15 tion, the licensing authority determines 

16 that the applicant or licensee is unsuitable 

17 to be issued or to continue to hold a li18 cense; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the determination of suitability 

20 described in clause (i) is based on evidence 

21 that there exists— 

22 ‘‘(I) reliable and credible infor23 mation that the applicant has exhib24 ited or engaged in behavior to suggest 


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1 that the individual could potentially 

2 create a risk to public safety; or 

3 ‘‘(II) factors that suggest that, if 

4 issued a license, the individual could 

5 potentially create a risk to public safe6 ty; 

7 ‘‘(H) upon denial of an application or re8 newal of a firearms license, or upon revoking or 

9 suspending a firearms license, based on a deter10 mination of unsuitability described in subpara11 graph (G), the applicant or licensee shall be no12 tified in writing, setting forth the specific rea13 sons for the determination; 

14 ‘‘(I) any applicant or holder of a firearms 

15 license aggrieved by a denial, suspension, or 

16 revocation of a license may, within a reasonable 

17 time period, file a petition to obtain judicial re18 view in the relevant court having jurisdiction in 

19 the unit of local government in which— 

20 ‘‘(i) the applicant filed the application; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the license was issued; 

23 ‘‘(J) in the case of judicial review of a de24 nial, revocation, or suspension under subpara25 graph (I), the court may order a license to be 


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1 issued or reinstated to the petitioner if the 

2 court finds— 

3 ‘‘(i) no reasonable ground for denying, 

4 revoking, or suspending the license; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that the petitioner is not prohib6 ited by law from possessing a license; 

7 ‘‘(K) upon revocation, suspension, or de8 nial of a firearms license, the individual whose 

9 license was so revoked, suspended, or denied 

10 shall surrender all firearms and ammunition in 

11 the possession of the individual to the licensing 

12 authority, unless an appeal of the revocation or 

13 suspension is pending; 

14 ‘‘(L) for a firearms dealer license, the li15 censing authority shall conduct an investigation 

16 into the criminal history of the applicant, which 

17 may include— 

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

19 and 

20 ‘‘(ii) a fingerprint-based background 

21 check; 

22 ‘‘(M) a firearms dealers licensee shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) maintain a permanent place of 

24 business and ensure that the permanent 

25 place of business is— 


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1 ‘‘(I) not a residence or dwelling; 

2 ‘‘(II) the same location identified 

3 on the licensee’s license; 

4 ‘‘(III) the only location wherein 

5 all transactions are conducted; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) the location wherein all 

7 records required to be kept shall be so 

8 kept; 

9 ‘‘(ii) submit to 1 mandatory record 

10 and inventory inspection by a licensing au11 thority per year; 

12 ‘‘(iii) maintain a sales record book 

13 that shall remain open to inspection by the 

14 appropriate law enforcement agency at all 

15 times, and shall include, with respect to 

16 each transfer of a firearm— 

17 ‘‘(I) a complete description of the 

18 firearm, including the make, serial 

19 number, and type; 

20 ‘‘(II) the transferor’s license in21 formation; 

22 ‘‘(III) the transferees’s license in23 formation; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the date of transfer; 


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1 ‘‘(V) the sex, address of resi2 dence, and occupation of the trans3 feree; and 

4 ‘‘(VI) the signature of the trans5 feree; 

6 ‘‘(iv) conduct a pre-employment back7 ground check on each potential employee 

8 to determine the suitability of any poten9 tial employee who may have direct and 

10 unmonitored contact with firearms; and 

11 ‘‘(v) comply with all applicable Fed12 eral, State, and local laws; 

13 ‘‘(N) any individual denied a firearms deal14 er license may, within a reasonable time period, 

15 apply to State officials who may direct a licens16 ing authority to grant a license if, after a hear17 ing, State officials are satisfied that— 

18 ‘‘(i) there were no reasonable grounds 

19 for the refusal to grant such a license; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) the applicant was not barred by 

21 the provisions of law from holding such a 

22 license; 

23 ‘‘(O)(i) the licensing authority may sus24 pend or revoke a firearms dealer license if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) licensing authority officials pro2 vide due notice to the licensee and reason3 able opportunity for the licensee to be 

4 heard; and 

5 ‘‘(II) there exists satisfactory proof 

6 that the licensee has violated a condition of 

7 holding a firearms dealers license, per8 mitted a violation of holding a firearms li9 cense, or has been convicted of a felony; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the pendency of proceedings before a 

12 court shall not suspend or interfere with the au13 thority described in clause (i); 

14 ‘‘(P) a firearms dealer licensee that has a 

15 license revoked under subparagraph (O) may 

16 not receive a firearms dealer license during the 

17 1-year period beginning on the date on which 

18 the revoked license would have expired; 

19 ‘‘(Q) the State shall promulgate rules and 

20 regulations to ensure the prompt collection, ex21 change, dissemination, and distribution of infor22 mation pertaining to the issuance, renewal, ex23 piration, suspension, and revocation of licenses; 


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1 ‘‘(R) the State shall establish standards 

2 that are consistent with Federal and State 

3 law— 

4 ‘‘(i) governing firearm transfers; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) for identifying prohibited individ6 uals, in accordance with section 3041(b); 

7 ‘‘(S) firearms dealers and private sellers 

8 shall verify the validity of a license before the 

9 sale, rental, or lease of any firearm or ammuni10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(T) firearms dealers and private sellers 

12 shall report all firearm sales, rentals, and leases 

13 to State authorities; 

14 ‘‘(U) firearms dealers shall notify the li15 censing authority when presented with an in16 valid or expired license; 

17 ‘‘(V) any licensee from whom a firearm is 

18 lost or stolen shall report such loss or theft to 

19 the licensing authority and State authority; 

20 ‘‘(W) all firearms licensees and firearms 

21 dealer licensees shall renew their licenses on a 

22 timeframe established by the State; 

23 ‘‘(X) an individual may not use the fire24 arms license of the individual to purchase a 

25 firearm for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the unlawful use of the firearm 

2 by another; or 

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

4 the firearm to an unlicensed individual; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(Y)(i) it shall be unlawful to store or keep 

7 any firearm in any place unless such weapon is 

8 secured in a locked container or equipped with 

9 a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other 

10 safety device, properly engaged so as to render 

11 such weapon inoperable by any person other 

12 than the owner or other lawfully authorized 

13 user; and 

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

15 shall not be considered to be stored or kept if 

16 carried by or under the control of the owner or 

17 other lawfully authorized user. 

18 ‘‘(d) GRANT PREFERENCES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under 

20 this section, the Attorney General shall give priority 

21 to any State that has incorporated and implemented 

22 the elements described in paragraph (2). 

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

24 this paragraph are those requiring that— 

25 ‘‘(A) all firearms dealers licensees shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide training for employees 

2 upon hiring, and not less frequently than 

3 once a year thereafter, according to stand4 ards established by the State; 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop a security plan for the 

6 place of business that includes— 

7 ‘‘(I) adequate locking and storage 

8 of firearms and firearm purchase 

9 records; 

10 ‘‘(II) exterior lighting; 

11 ‘‘(III) surveillance cameras; 

12 ‘‘(IV) an alarm system; and 

13 ‘‘(V) other appropriate anti-theft 

14 measures and practices for during and 

15 after business hours; 

16 ‘‘(iii) submit to the licensing authority 

17 an annual report of the safety and compli18 ance record of the place of business, which 

19 shall include— 

20 ‘‘(I) the total number of guns 

21 traced to the place of business during 

22 the 12-month period preceding the re23 port, broken down by month; 

24 ‘‘(II) the number of known straw 

25 purchases either attempted or comVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:59 Mar 21, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2546.IS S2546

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1 pleted during the 12-month period 

2 preceding the report, broken down by 

3 month; and 

4 ‘‘(III) the number of violations 

5 cited by the Bureau of Alcohol, To6 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives dur7 ing the 12-month period preceding the 

8 report; 

9 ‘‘(iv) videotape (including audio) or 

10 electronically record (including audio) the 

11 point-of-sale of all firearms transactions 

12 and maintain the videos or electronic re13 cordings for not less than 5 years; 

14 ‘‘(v) annually review and update com15 pliance policies, procedures, and training 

16 materials; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) perform background checks for 

18 private sellers for a reasonable fee; 

19 ‘‘(B) the State established standards for 

20 how to properly respond to straw purchasers 

21 and firearms traffickers; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the State established standards for 

23 storing ammunition in a locked container sepa24 rate from any firearms. 


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

2 grant under this section shall submit to the Assistant At3 torney General, for each fiscal year during which the State 

4 expends amounts received under the grant, a report, at 

5 such time and in such manner as the Assistant Attorney 

6 General may reasonably require, that contains— 

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

8 using amounts made available under the grant; 

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

10 achieving the elements described in subsection 

11 (c)(2); and 

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

13 Attorney General may require. 

14 ‘‘(f) LIMITATIONS ON THE ALLOCATION OF

15 FUNDS.—Of the amount made available to carry out this 

16 section in any fiscal year— 

17 ‘‘(1) not more than 2 percent may be used by 

18 the Assistant Attorney General for salaries and ad19 ministrative expenses; and 

20 ‘‘(2) not more than 25 percent may be used for 

21 technical assistance, training, and evaluation. 

22 ‘‘(g) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this part, the Comptroller General 

24 of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 


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1 evaluating whether States have been able to effectively 

2 adopt firearm licensing requirements. 

3 ‘‘(h) REALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—A recipi4 ent of a grant under subsection (a) shall return to the 

5 Assistant Attorney General any amounts received under 

6 a grant under subsection (a) that are not expended for 

7 a purpose described in this section.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

9 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

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

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(28) There are authorized to be appropriated to 

13 carry out part NN $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2019 through 2023.’’. 

Æ 


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