I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 783

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 26, 2000

Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee

on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

To limit access to body armor by violent felons and to

facilitate the donation of Federal surplus body armor

to State and local law enforcement agencies.

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 ‘‘James Guelff Body

5 Armor Act of 2000’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) nationally, police officers and ordinary citi4 zens are facing increased danger as criminals use

5 more deadly weaponry, body armor, and other so6 phisticated assault gear;

7 (2) crime at the local level is exacerbated by the

8 interstate movement of body armor and other as9 sault gear;

10 (3) there is a traffic in body armor moving in

11 or otherwise affecting interstate commerce, and ex12 isting Federal controls over such traffic do not ade13 quately enable the States to control this traffic with14 in their own borders through the exercise of their

15 police power;

16 (4) recent incidents, such as the murder of San

17 Francisco Police Officer James Guelff by an assail18 ant wearing 2 layers of body armor and a 1997

19 bank shoot out in north Hollywood, California, be20 tween police and 2 heavily armed suspects outfitted

21 in body armor, demonstrate the serious threat to

22 community safety posed by criminals who wear body

23 armor during the commission of a violent crime;

24 (5) of the approximately 1,200 officers killed in

25 the line of duty since 1980, more than 30 percent

26 could have been saved by body armor, and the risk
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1 of dying from gunfire is 14 times higher for an offi2 cer without a bulletproof vest;

3 (6) the Department of Justice has estimated

4 that 25 percent of State and local police are not

5 issued body armor;

6 (7) the Federal Government is well-equipped to

7 grant local police departments access to body armor

8 that is no longer needed by Federal agencies; and

9 (8) Congress has the power, under the inter10 state commerce clause and other provisions of the

11 Constitution of the United States, to enact legisla12 tion to regulate interstate commerce that affects the

13 integrity and safety of our communities.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act:

16 (1) BODY ARMOR.—The term ‘‘body armor’’

17 means any product sold or offered for sale, in inter18 state or foreign commerce, as personal protective

19 body covering intended to protect against gunfire,

20 regardless of whether the product is to be worn

21 alone or is sold as a complement to another product

22 or garment.

23 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term

24 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means an agency of the

25 United States, a State, or a political subdivision of
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1 a State, authorized by law or by a government agen2 cy to engage in or supervise the prevention, detec3 tion, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of

4 criminal law.

5 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term

6 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means any officer, agent,

7 or employee of the United States, a State, or a polit8 ical subdivision of a State, authorized by law or by

9 a government agency to engage in or supervise the

10 prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of

11 any violation of criminal law.

12 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES WITH

13 RESPECT TO BODY ARMOR.

14 (a) SENTENCING ENHANCEMENT.—The United

15 States Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal

16 sentencing guidelines to provide an appropriate sentencing

17 enhancement, increasing the offense level not less than 2

18 levels, for any offense in which the defendant used body

19 armor.

20 (b) APPLICABILITY.—No amendment made to the

21 Federal Sentencing Guidelines pursuant to this section

22 shall apply if the Federal offense in which the body armor

23 is used constitutes a violation of, attempted violation of,

24 or conspiracy to violate the civil rights of any person by
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1 a law enforcement officer acting under color of the author2 ity of such law enforcement officer.

3 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION OF PURCHASE, USE, OR POSSESSION

4 OF BODY ARMOR BY VIOLENT FELONS.

5 (a) DEFINITION OF BODY ARMOR.—Section 921(a)

6 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at

7 the end the following:

8 ‘‘(35) The term ‘body armor’ means any product

9 sold or offered for sale, in interstate or foreign com10 merce, as personal protective body covering intended

11 to protect against gunfire, regardless of whether the

12 product is to be worn alone or is sold as a com13 plement to another product or garment.’’.

14 (b) PROHIBITION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18,

16 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

17 end the following:

18 ‘‘§ 931. Prohibition on purchase, ownership, or pos19 session of body armor by violent felons

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

21 (b), it shall be unlawful for a person to purchase, own,

22 or possess body armor, if that person has been convicted

23 of a felony that is—

24 ‘‘(1) a crime of violence (as defined in section

25 16); or
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1 ‘‘(2) an offense under State law that would con2 stitute a crime of violence under paragraph (1) if it

3 occurred within the special maritime and territorial

4 jurisdiction of the United States.

5 ‘‘(b) AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be an affirmative

7 defense under this section that—

8 ‘‘(A) the defendant obtained prior written

9 certification from his or her employer that the

10 defendant’s purchase, use, or possession of body

11 armor was necessary for the safe performance

12 of lawful business activity; and

13 ‘‘(B) the use and possession by the defend14 ant were limited to the course of such perform15 ance.

16 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYER.—In this subsection, the term

17 ‘employer’ means any other individual employed by

18 the defendant’s business that supervises defendant’s

19 activity. If that defendant has no supervisor, prior

20 written certification is acceptable from any other

21 employee of the business.’’.

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for

23 chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is

24 amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘931. Prohibition on purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons.’’.
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1 (c) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a) of title 18, United

2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(7) Whoever knowingly violates section 931 shall be

5 fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 3 years,

6 or both.’’.

7 SEC. 6. DONATION OF FEDERAL SURPLUS BODY ARMOR TO

8 STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

9 AGENCIES.

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘Fed11 eral agency’’ and ‘‘surplus property’’ have the meanings

12 given such terms under section 3 of the Federal Property

13 and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 472).

14 (b) DONATION OF BODY ARMOR.—Notwithstanding

15 section 203 of the Federal Property and Administrative

16 Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 484), the head of a Fed17 eral agency may donate body armor directly to any State

18 or local law enforcement agency, if such body armor is—

19 (1) in serviceable condition; and

20 (2) surplus property.

21 (c) NOTICE TO ADMINISTRATOR.—The head of a

22 Federal agency who donates body armor under this section

23 shall submit to the Administrator of General Services a

24 written notice identifying the amount of body armor do-
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1 nated and each State or local law enforcement agency that

2 received the body armor.

3 (d) DONATION BY CERTAIN OFFICERS.—

4 (1) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—In the admin5 istration of this section with respect to the Depart6 ment of Justice, in addition to any other officer of

7 the Department of Justice designated by the Attor8 ney General, the following officers may act as the

9 head of a Federal agency:

10 (A) The Administrator of the Drug En11 forcement Administration.

12 (B) The Director of the Federal Bureau of

13 Investigation.

14 (C) The Commissioner of the Immigration

15 and Naturalization Service.

16 (D) The Director of the United States

17 Marshals Service.

18 (2) DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.—In the

19 administration of this section with respect to the De20 partment of the Treasury, in addition to any other

21 officer of the Department of the Treasury des22 ignated by the Secretary of the Treasury, the fol23 lowing officers may act as the head of a Federal

24 agency:
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1 (A) The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol,

2 Tobacco, and Firearms.

3 (B) The Commissioner of Customs.

4 (C) The Director of the United States Se5 cret Service.

6 (e) NO LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other pro7 vision of law, the United States shall not be liable for any

8 harm occurring in connection with the use or misuse of

9 any body armor donated under this section.

Passed the Senate October 25 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.