I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7042 

To reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2024 

Mr. MANN (for himself, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. EZELL, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. 

GROTHMAN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. WALBERG, 

Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. MCCORMICK, Mr. ALFORD, Mr. DUNCAN, 

Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. CLYDE, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and Mr. BURCHETT) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 

Explosives. 

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 ‘‘Reining in Federal 

5 Licensing Enforcement Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘RIFLE Act 

6 of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRADUATED PENALTIES FOR CIVIL VIOLATIONS BY 

2 FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES. 

3 Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking subsections (e) and (f) and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(e)(1)(A) If the Attorney General determines that 

7 a licensee under this section has violated this chapter— 

8 ‘‘(i) in the case of a violation that is not 

9 willful, the Attorney General shall notify the li10 censee of the violation and work with the li11 censee to rectify the violation within a commer12 cially reasonable time frame; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a willful violation, if the 

14 Attorney General, after working with the li15 censee to rectify the violation within a commer16 cially reasonable time frame, finds that a lesser 

17 action (such as a warning, warning letter, or 

18 warning conference) is not likely to lead to fu19 ture compliance, and the Attorney General 

20 seeks revocation of the license in an administra21 tive action, the Attorney General may— 

22 ‘‘(I) if the licensee has no history of 

23 noncompliance with this chapter, suspend 

24 the license for not more than 30 days or 

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1 pliance with such conditions as are speci2 fied by the Attorney General; or 

3 ‘‘(II) in any other case, revoke the li4 cense. 

5 ‘‘(B) In applying subparagraph (A), the Attorney 

6 General shall presume that the violation is not willful, ab7 sent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. 

8 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A): 

9 ‘‘(i) A violation of this chapter with respect to 

10 2 or more firearms during a single transaction shall 

11 be considered a single violation. 

12 ‘‘(ii) A violation of this chapter with respect to 

13 any category of record keeping requirements, even if 

14 involving multiple instances, shall be considered a 

15 single violation. 

16 ‘‘(D) The Attorney General may not commence an 

17 enforcement action under subparagraph (A) with respect 

18 to a violation, after the 3-year period that begins with— 

19 ‘‘(i) the date the violation occurred; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) if the licensee intentionally obstructed dis21 covery of the violation, the date the violation is dis22 covered. 

23 ‘‘(E) The Attorney General may not commence an en24 forcement action under subparagraph (A) with respect to 

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1 sons for the contemplated action and affording the licensee 

2 an opportunity to demonstrate or achieve compliance with 

3 this chapter and to submit facts, arguments, or proposals 

4 of adjustment. 

5 ‘‘(2)(A)(i) Not less than 60 days before the effective 

6 date of any penalty imposed on a licensee by reason of 

7 a determination made under paragraph (1), the Attorney 

8 General shall send the licensee a written notice by certified 

9 return receipt mail— 

10 ‘‘(I) of the determination, and the grounds 

11 on which the determination was made; 

12 ‘‘(II) that sets forth the facts on which the 

13 Attorney General relied as a basis for the deter14 mination, including the facts pertaining to any 

15 determination of willfulness; 

16 ‘‘(III) of the nature of the penalty; and 

17 ‘‘(IV) that the licensee may, within 60 

18 days after receipt of the notice, request in writ19 ing a hearing to review the determination. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Within 5 calendar days after serving the written 

21 notice on the licensee, the Attorney General, shall give 

22 written notice to the licensee of the date the written notice 

23 was so served and provide the licensee with proof of the 

24 service. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A hearing to review a determination made under 

2 paragraph (1) with respect to a licensee shall not be held 

3 unless the licensee or an agent of the licensee requests 

4 such a hearing within 60 days after receiving the written 

5 notice required by subparagraph (A), and if held, shall be 

6 open to the public 

7 ‘‘(C) On timely receipt from the licensee of a request 

8 for such a review, the Attorney General shall stay the im9 position of any penalty under paragraph (1), pending reso10 lution of the hearing, unless, in the case of a license rev11 ocation, the Attorney General establishes, at a hearing be12 fore an administrative law judge, by clear and convincing 

13 evidence, that the licensee committed the violation willfully 

14 and that the continued operation by the licensee of the 

15 business involved poses an immediate and grave threat to 

16 public safety. 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) Within not fewer than 60 days after timely 

18 receipt from a licensee or an agent of the licensee of a 

19 written request for a hearing to review a determination 

20 made under paragraph (1) (or at such later time as is 

21 agreed to by the Attorney General and the licensee), an 

22 administrative law judge shall hold an evidentiary hearing, 

23 at a location convenient to the licensee, to review the de24 termination, except that, if the licensee moves for leave 

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1 torney General or any officer or employee of the Depart2 ment of Justice who was involved in the inspection or ex3 amination, or any prior inspection or examination on 

4 which the Attorney General relies, the administrative law 

5 judge shall grant the motion and adjust the hearing date 

6 accordingly. 

7 ‘‘(B) Not less than 30 days before the hearing, the 

8 Attorney General shall deliver to the licensee— 

9 ‘‘(i) a document identifying each person whom 

10 the Attorney General intends to call as a witness 

11 during the hearing and a summary of the proposed 

12 sworn testimony of the witness; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a copy of each document, in unredacted 

14 form, that will be introduced by the Attorney Gen15 eral as evidence at the hearing; 

16 ‘‘(iii) copies of all documents on which the de17 termination is based; 

18 ‘‘(iv) a complete copy of the file of the licensee 

19 maintained by the Attorney General; and 

20 ‘‘(v) a sworn statement from the Attorney Gen21 eral as to whether or not there is a pending criminal 

22 investigation by the Attorney General of the licensee, 

23 which statement shall be supplemented or amended 

24 by the Attorney General if a criminal investigation 

25 is initiated before the conclusion of the hearing. 


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1 ‘‘(C)(i) Within 120 days after the hearing, the admin2 istrative law judge shall issue a written decision setting 

3 forth findings of fact and conclusions of law, and a deci4 sion as to whether to affirm, modify, or reverse the deter5 mination. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The findings of fact and conclusions of law and 

7 decision of the administrative law judge shall be— 

8 ‘‘(I) de novo and not predicated on a presump9 tion that the determination of the Attorney General 

10 was correct; and 

11 ‘‘(II) based on a clear and convincing standard 

12 of proof, which shall be borne by the Attorney Gen13 eral. 

14 ‘‘(iii) The administrative law judge shall not make a 

15 determination to revoke a license unless the administrative 

16 law judge finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that— 

17 ‘‘(I) the Attorney General notified the licensee 

18 in writing of all reasons for the contemplated action 

19 of the Attorney General; 

20 ‘‘(II) the Attorney General afforded the licensee 

21 a commercially reasonable opportunity to dem22 onstrate or achieve compliance with this chapter; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(III) the licensee has not complied, and is un2 likely to be able to achieve compliance, with this 

3 chapter. 

4 ‘‘(iv) The Attorney General shall provide to the li5 censee a complete copy of the hearing transcript, including 

6 exhibits, within 60 days after the date of the hearing. 

7 ‘‘(D) On request of the licensee, the Attorney General 

8 shall stay the effective date of any penalty, suspension, 

9 or revocation until there is a final, unreviewable judgment 

10 with respect to the determination of the administrative law 

11 judge, unless, in the case of a license revocation, the Attor12 ney General establishes, at a hearing before an adminis13 trative law judge, by clear and convincing evidence, that 

14 the licensee committed the violation willfully and that the 

15 continued operation by the licensee of the business in16 volved poses an immediate and grave threat to public safe17 ty. 

18 ‘‘(E) An action of an administrative law judge under 

19 this subsection shall be considered final agency action for 

20 all purposes, and may be reviewed only as provided in sub21 section (f). 

22 ‘‘(4) This subsection shall not be interpreted to affect 

23 the authority of the Attorney General under section 

24 922(t)(5), except that the provisions of section 922(t)(5) 

25 regarding notice and opportunity for a hearing shall be 


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1 subject to the procedural and evidentiary requirements 

2 provided in this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(f)(1) Within 60 days after a party receives a notice 

4 issued under subsection (d) of a decision to deny a license, 

5 or a notice issued under subsection (e)(3)(C) of a deter6 mination to suspend or revoke a license, the party may 

7 file a petition with the United States district court for the 

8 district in which the party resides or has a principal place 

9 of business for a de novo trial of the determination. 

10 ‘‘(2) In a proceeding conducted under this subsection, 

11 the court shall, on application of a party, consider any evi12 dence submitted by the parties to the proceeding whether 

13 or not the evidence was considered at the hearing held 

14 under subsection (d) or (e)(3). 

15 ‘‘(3)(A) If the court decides that the determination 

16 was not authorized by law, the court shall order the Attor17 ney General to take such action as may be necessary to 

18 comply with the judgment of the court. 

19 ‘‘(B) The court shall not make a determination to 

20 revoke a license unless the court finds, by clear and con21 vincing evidence, that— 

22 ‘‘(i) the Attorney General notified the licensee 

23 in writing of all reasons for the contemplated action 

24 of the Attorney General; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Attorney General afforded the licensee 

2 a commercially reasonable opportunity to dem3 onstrate or achieve compliance with this chapter; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the licensee has not complied, and is un6 likely to be able to comply, with this chapter. 

7 ‘‘(4) If criminal proceedings are instituted against an 

8 applicant for a license under this chapter or a licensee al9 leging a violation of this chapter, and the applicant or li10 censee, as the case may be, is acquitted of the charges, 

11 or the proceedings are terminated, other than on motion 

12 of the Government before trial on the charges, the Attor13 ney General shall be absolutely barred from denying a li14 cense under this chapter, or suspending or revoking a li15 cense granted under this chapter, if the action would be 

16 based in whole or in part on the facts which form the basis 

17 of the criminal charges. 

18 ‘‘(5) The Attorney General may not institute a pro19 ceeding to suspend or revoke a license granted under this 

20 chapter, more than 1 year after the filing of the indict21 ment or information. 

22 ‘‘(6) The Attorney General may not institute a pro23 ceeding to suspend or revoke a license granted under this 

24 chapter, based on a violation that is finally determined to 

25 have occurred with respect to a different license.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION OF FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE 

2 APPLICATIONS. 

3 Section 923(d) of title 18, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General shall make a preliminary 

7 determination as to whether to approve or deny an appli8 cation submitted under subsection (a) or (b). If the pre9 liminary determination is to deny the application, the At10 torney General shall notify the applicant in writing of the 

11 preliminary determination and the reasons for the prelimi12 nary determination, and shall afford the applicant an op13 portunity to supplement the application with additional in14 formation and to request a hearing on the application. If 

15 the applicant, in a timely manner, requests such a hearing, 

16 the Attorney General shall hold the hearing at a location 

17 convenient to the applicant, and shall notify the applicant 

18 in writing of the time and place of the hearing. 

19 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General may not deny an applica20 tion for a license based on— 

21 ‘‘(A) any prior violation of this chapter by the 

22 applicant, if more than 5 years have elapsed since 

23 the date a license previously issued to the applicant 

24 under this chapter was terminated, unless the Attor25 ney General finds that the applicant is a person de26 scribed in section 922(g); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the applicant having been employed by, or 

2 a responsible party for, a licensee whose license 

3 under this chapter was revoked, unless there is clear 

4 and convincing evidence that the applicant willfully 

5 violated this chapter in that capacity; or 

6 ‘‘(C) the applicant being a spouse, former 

7 spouse, or child of a licensee whose license under 

8 this chapter was revoked, unless there is clear and 

9 convincing evidence that the applicant willfully vio10 lated this chapter as a responsible party under the 

11 license. 

12 ‘‘(4) The procedures provided for in subsection (e) 

13 shall apply with respect to any applicant for a license 

14 under this chapter and any application for such a li15 cense.’’. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF ‘‘WILLFULLY’’; CERTAIN EVIDENCE 

17 INADMISSIBLE TO PROVE WILLFULNESS. 

18 Section 923(e) of title 18, United States Code, as 

19 amended by section 2(a) of this Act, is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(5) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘will22 fully’ means, with respect to conduct of an individual who 

23 holds a license or is designated in the records of the Attor24 ney General as a responsible party under a specific license, 

25 that the person— 


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1 ‘‘(A) had actual knowledge of a clearly estab2 lished legal duty; 

3 ‘‘(B) understood the obligation imposed by the 

4 legal duty; and 

5 ‘‘(C) engaged in the conduct knowingly and in 

6 deliberate disregard of the legal duty. 

7 ‘‘(6) Evidence that a person has received a document 

8 or other communication containing information about a 

9 requirement imposed by or under this chapter and evi10 dence that the person has signed an acknowledgment that 

11 the person understands the legal obligations of the person 

12 under this chapter shall not be admissible as part of the 

13 determination of the Attorney General, in an administra14 tive law hearing or in a court of law, to prove actual 

15 knowledge and shall not be admissible as evidence to es16 tablish a willful violation of this chapter. 

17 ‘‘(7) Evidence that a person has substantial experi18 ence as a licensee, or has in other instances successfully 

19 complied with this chapter, shall not be admissible as part 

20 of the determination of the Attorney General, in an admin21 istrative law hearing or in a court of law, to prove actual 

22 knowledge and shall not be admissible as evidence to es23 tablished a willful violation of this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(8) In determining under this subsection whether 

2 conduct of a licensee was willful, the entire historical ad3 ministrative record of the licensee shall be considered.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. RECONSIDERATION OF APPLICATIONS FROM 

5 FORMER LICENSEES WHOSE LICENSES WERE 

6 REVOKED, IN LIGHT OF NEW RULES PER7 TAINING TO WILLFULLNESS. 

8 The Attorney General shall reconsider each applica9 tion for a license under chapter 44 of title 18, United 

10 States Code, that is submitted by an individual whose li11 cense under such chapter was revoked or whose applica12 tion for a license was denied before the date of the enact13 ment of this Act, and that was disposed of on or before 

14 such date of enactment, and, in doing so, the Attorney 

15 General shall apply the amendments made by section 4 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF FORMAL INSPECTION, EXAM18 INATION, AND INVESTIGATIVE STANDARDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab20 lish written standards for how the Bureau of Alcohol, To21 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives is to— 

22 (1) conduct inspections, examinations, or inves23 tigations of a possible violation of chapter 40 or 44 

24 of title 18, United States Code; and 


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1 (2) make license application denial, license sus2 pension, license revocation or other adverse deter3 minations regarding an applicant or licensee. 

4 (b) INCLUSION OF MITIGATING FACTORS.—The 

5 standards shall include mitigation factors that must be 

6 considered before the Attorney General initiates any ad7 verse action against an applicant or licensee. 

8 (c) AVAILABILITY.—The written standards shall be 

9 made available to the public, and shall be provided by the 

10 Attorney General to applicants and licensees at the time 

11 of any license application and on demand. 

12 SEC. 7. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FIREARMS PURCHASER 

13 INFORMATION. 

14 Section 923(g)(1)(D) of title 18, United States Code, 

15 is amended in the last sentence by inserting ‘‘, except that 

16 information identifying a person who has purchased or re17 ceived firearms or ammunition and who is not prohibited 

18 from doing so may not be so made available or so provided 

19 unless the agency involved has certified that the agency 

20 will not disclose the information to any entity other than 

21 a court, federal, State or local law enforcement agency, 

22 or prosecutor’’ before the period. 


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1 SEC. 8. LIQUIDATION OF INVENTORY IN FEDERAL FIRE2 ARMS LICENSE EXPIRATION, SURRENDER, OR 

3 REVOCATION CASES. 

4 Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(m)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), an en7 tity whose license issued under this chapter is expired, sur8 rendered, or revoked shall be afforded 90 days from the 

9 effective date of the expiration, surrender, or revocation 

10 (not counting any period in which an appeal of such a 

11 revocation is pending) to liquidate the firearms business 

12 inventory of the entity, which time may be extended on 

13 a showing of reasonable cause. During the 90-day period 

14 (including any extension of the period), the license in15 volved shall continue to be considered valid, notwith16 standing the expiration, surrender, or revocation, and the 

17 Attorney General shall issue letters of authorization to the 

18 entity on which licensees under this chapter and commer19 cial third parties may rely. At any time before the expira20 tion of the disposition period, the entity may transfer any 

21 remaining firearms from the firearms business inventory 

22 of the entity to the entity or, if more than 1 person holds 

23 an interest in the entity, to the interest holders, at which 

24 point the firearms are deemed to be a personal collection 

25 of the entity or interest holders, as the case may be. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to 

2 a person if a United States district court for the judicial 

3 district in which the person resides or in which the prin4 cipal place of business of the person subject to the license 

5 is located finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the 

6 continued operation by the person of the firearms business 

7 involved poses an immediate and grave threat to public 

8 safety, in which case the person may transfer all firearms 

9 from the firearms business inventory of the person to the 

10 personal collection of the person or to another licensee for 

11 consignment or other liquidation at the direction of the 

12 person.’’. 

13 SEC. 9. OPPORTUNITY TO CURE VIOLATIONS AFTER ACQUI14 SITION OF FIREARMS BUSINESS. 

15 Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is further 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(n) If the Attorney General is made aware that a 

18 business licensed under this chapter has been transferred 

19 to a surviving spouse or child of the licensee, to an execu20 tor, administrator, or other legal representative of a de21 ceased or incompetent licensee, to a receiver or trustee in 

22 bankruptcy, to an assignee for benefit of creditors, or to 

23 an entity holding a security interest in an item as collat24 eral pursuant to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial 

25 Code (U.C.C. § 9–102(a)(73)), and, before the transfer, 


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1 or on the first inspection or examination by the Attorney 

2 General of the records of the licensee after the transfer, 

3 the licensee is found to be operating the business in viola4 tion of this chapter, the Attorney General— 

5 ‘‘(1) shall notify the transferee of the violation 

6 by the transferor; and 

7 ‘‘(2) shall not presume that the transferee is 

8 committing the violation.’’. 

9 SEC. 10. STANDARDS FOR CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS OF REC10 ORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS. 

11 Section 922(m) of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘any false entry’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘a materially false entry’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘appropriate entry’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘a materially significant entry’’; and 

17 (3) by striking ‘‘properly maintain’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘retain custody of’’. 

Æ 


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