II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2324

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require ballistics

testing of all firearms manufactured and all firearms in custody of

Federal agencies, and to add ballistics testing to existing firearms enforcement strategies.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 29, 2000

Mr. KOHL (for himself and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to

require ballistics testing of all firearms manufactured

and all firearms in custody of Federal agencies, and

to add ballistics testing to existing firearms enforcement

strategies.

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 ‘‘Ballistics, Law Assist5 ance, and Safety Technology Act’’ (‘‘BLAST’’).

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

7 The purposes of this Act are—
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1 (1) to increase public safety by assisting law en2 forcement in solving more gun-related crimes and of3 fering prosecutors evidence to link felons to gun

4 crimes through ballistics technology;

5 (2) to provide for ballistics testing of all new

6 firearms for sale to assist in the identification of

7 firearms used in crimes;

8 (3) to require ballistics testing of all firearms in

9 custody of Federal agencies to assist in the identi10 fication of firearms used in crimes;

11 (4) to add ballistics testing to existing firearms

12 enforcement programs; and

13 (5) to provide for targeted enforcement of Fed14 eral firearms laws.

15 TITLE I—BLAST

16 SEC. 101. DEFINITION OF BALLISTICS.

17 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is

18 amended by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(35) BALLISTICS.—The term ‘ballistics’ means

20 a comparative analysis of fired bullets and cartridge

21 casings to identify the firearm from which bullets

22 were discharged, through identification of the unique

23 characteristics that each firearm imprints on bullets

24 and cartridge casings.’’.
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1 SEC. 102. TEST FIRING AND AUTOMATED STORAGE OF BAL2 LISTICS RECORDS.

3 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 923 of title 18, United

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing:

6 ‘‘(m)(1) In addition to the other licensing require7 ments under this section, a licensed manufacturer or li8 censed importer shall—

9 ‘‘(A) test fire firearms manufactured or im10 ported by such licensees as specified by the Sec11 retary by regulation;

12 ‘‘(B) prepare ballistics images of the fired bullet

13 and cartridge casings from the test fire;

14 ‘‘(C) make the records available to the Sec15 retary for entry in a computerized database; and

16 ‘‘(D) store the fired bullet and cartridge casings

17 in such a manner and for such a period as specified

18 by the Secretary by regulation.

19 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection creates a cause of ac20 tion against any Federal firearms licensee or any other

21 person for any civil liability except for imposition of a civil

22 penalty under this section.

23 ‘‘(3)(A) The Attorney General and the Secretary

24 shall assist firearm manufacturers and importers in com25 plying with paragraph (1) through—
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1 ‘‘(i) the acquisition, disposition, and upgrades

2 of ballistics equipment and bullet recovery equip3 ment to be placed at or near the sites of licensed

4 manufacturers and importers;

5 ‘‘(ii) the hiring or designation of personnel nec6 essary to develop and maintain a database of ballis7 tics images of fired bullets and cartridge casings, re8 search and evaluation;

9 ‘‘(iii) providing education about the role of bal10 listics as part of a comprehensive firearm crime re11 duction strategy;

12 ‘‘(iv) providing for the coordination among Fed13 eral, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory

14 agencies and the firearm industry to curb firearm15 related crime and illegal firearm trafficking; and

16 ‘‘(v) any other steps necessary to make ballis17 tics testing effective.

18 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General and the Secretary shall—

19 ‘‘(i) establish a computer system through which

20 State and local law enforcement agencies can

21 promptly access ballistics records stored under this

22 subsection, as soon as such a capability is available;

23 and

24 ‘‘(ii) encourage training for all ballistics exam25 iners.
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1 ‘‘(4) Not later than 1 year after the date of enact2 ment of this subsection and annually thereafter, the Attor3 ney General and the Secretary shall submit to the Com4 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee

5 on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report

6 regarding the impact of this section, including—

7 ‘‘(A) the number of Federal and State criminal

8 investigations, arrests, indictments, and prosecutions

9 of all cases in which access to ballistics records pro10 vided under this section served as a valuable inves11 tigative tool;

12 ‘‘(B) the extent to which ballistics records are

13 accessible across jurisdictions; and

14 ‘‘(C) a statistical evaluation of the test pro15 grams conducted pursuant to section 6 of the Ballis16 tics, Law Assistance, and State Technology Act.

17 ‘‘(5) There is authorized to be appropriated to the

18 Department of Justice and the Department of the Treas19 ury for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004,

20 $20,000,000 to carry out this subsection, including—

21 ‘‘(A) installation of ballistics equipment and

22 bullet recovery equipment;

23 ‘‘(B) establishment of sites for ballistics testing;

24 ‘‘(C) salaries and expenses of necessary per25 sonnel; and
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1 ‘‘(D) research and evaluation.

2 ‘‘(6) The Secretary and the Attorney General shall

3 conduct mandatory ballistics testing of all firearms ob4 tained or in the possession of their respective agencies.’’.

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), the amendment made by subsection (a)

8 take effect on the date on which the Attorney Gen9 eral and the Secretary of the Treasury, in consulta10 tion with the Board of the National Integrated Bal11 listics Information Network, certify that the ballis12 tics systems used by the Department of Justice and

13 the Department of the Treasury are sufficiently

14 interoperable to make mandatory ballistics testing of

15 new firearms possible.

16 (2) EFFECTIVE ON DATE OF ENACTMENT.—

17 Section 923(m)(6) of title 18, United States Code,

18 as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on the

19 date of enactment of this Act.

20 SEC. 103. PRIVACY RIGHTS OF LAW ABIDING CITIZENS.

21 Ballistics information of individual guns in any form

22 or database established by this Act may not be used for

23 prosecutorial purposes unless law enforcement officials

24 have a reasonable belief that a crime has been committed
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1 and that ballistics information would assist in the inves2 tigation of that crime.

3 SEC. 104. DEMONSTRATION FIREARM CRIME REDUCTION

4 STRATEGY.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treas7 ury and the Attorney General shall establish in the juris8 dictions selected under subsection (c), a comprehensive

9 firearm crime reduction strategy that meets the require10 ments of subsection (b).

11 (b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—Each program estab12 lished under subsection (a) shall, for the jurisdiction

13 concerned—

14 (1) provide for ballistics testing, in accordance

15 with criteria set forth by the National Integrated

16 Ballistics Information Network, of all firearms re17 covered during criminal investigations, in order to—

18 (A) identify the types and origins of the

19 firearms;

20 (B) identify suspects; and

21 (C) link multiple crimes involving the same

22 firearm;

23 (2) require that all identifying information re24 lating to firearms recovered during criminal inves25 tigations be promptly submitted to the Secretary of
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1 the Treasury, in order to identify the types and ori2 gins of the firearms and to identify illegal firearms

3 traffickers;

4 (3) provide for coordination among Federal,

5 State, and local law enforcement officials, firearm

6 examiners, technicians, laboratory personnel, inves7 tigators, and prosecutors in the tracing and ballistics

8 testing of firearms and the investigation and pros9 ecution of firearms-related crimes including illegal

10 firearms trafficking; and

11 (4) require analysis of firearm tracing and bal12 listics data in order to establish trends in firearm13 related crime and firearm trafficking.

14 (c) PARTICIPATING JURISDICTIONS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas16 ury and the Attorney General shall select not fewer

17 than 10 jurisdictions for participation in the pro18 gram under this section.

19 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting jurisdic20 tions under this subsection, the Secretary of the

21 Treasury and the Attorney General shall give pri22 ority to jurisdictions that—

23 (A) participate in comprehensive firearm

24 law enforcement strategies, including programs

25 such as the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Ini-
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1 tiative (known as ‘‘YCGII’’), Project Achilles,

2 Project Disarm, Project Triggerlock, Project

3 Exile, and Project Surefire, and Operation

4 Ceasefire;

5 (B) draft a plan to share ballistics records

6 with nearby jurisdictions that require ballistics

7 testing of firearms recovered during criminal in8 vestigations; and

9 (C) pledge to match Federal funds for the

10 expansion of ballistics testing on a one-on-one

11 basis.

12 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

13 authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2001

14 through 2004, $20,000,000 to carry out this section,

15 including—

16 (1) installation of ballistics equipment; and

17 (2) salaries and expenses for personnel (includ18 ing personnel from the Department of Justice and

19 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms).

20 TITLE II—EXILE

21 SEC. 201. TARGETED ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL FIRE22 ARMS LAWS.

23 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Attorney General and the

24 Secretary of the Treasury, after consultation with appro25 priate State and local officials, shall designate not less
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1 than 50 local jurisdictions in which to enforce aggressively

2 Federal laws designed to prevent the possession by crimi3 nals of firearms (as defined in section 921(a) of title 18,

4 United States Code).

5 (b) ASSISTANCE.—In order to provide assistance for

6 the enforcement of Federal laws designed to prevent the

7 possession by criminals of firearms, the Attorney General

8 and the Secretary of the Treasury may—

9 (1) direct the detailing of Federal personnel, in10 cluding Assistant United States Attorneys and

11 agents and investigators of the Bureau of Alcohol,

12 Tobacco, and Firearms, to designated jurisdictions,

13 subject to the approval of the head of that depart14 ment or agency that employs such personnel;

15 (2) coordinate activities with State and local of16 ficials, including facilitation of training of State and

17 local law enforcement officers and prosecutors in

18 designated jurisdictions to work with Federal pros19 ecutors, agents, and investigators to identify appro20 priate cases for enforcement of Federal laws de21 signed to prevent the possession by criminals of fire22 arms;

23 (3) help coordinate, in conjunction with local of24 ficials, local businesses, and community leaders, pub25 lic outreach in designated jurisdictions regarding
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1 penalties associated with violation of Federal laws

2 designed to prevent the possession by criminals of

3 firearms.

4 (c) CRITERIA FOR DESIGNATION.—In designating

5 local jurisdictions under this section, the Attorney General

6 and Secretary of the Treasury shall consider—

7 (1) the extent to which there is a high rate of

8 recidivism among armed felons in the jurisdiction;

9 (2) the extent to which there is a high rate of

10 violent crime in the jurisdiction;

11 (3) the extent to which State and local law en12 forcement agencies have committed resources to re13 spond to the illegal possession of firearms in the ju14 risdiction, as an indication of their determination to

15 respond aggressively to the problem;

16 (4) the extent to which a significant increase in

17 the allocation of Federal resources is necessary to

18 respond adequately to the illegal possession of fire19 arms in the jurisdiction; and

20 (5) any other criteria as the Attorney General

21 and Secretary of the Treasury consider to be appro22 priate.

23 (d) PRIORITY.—In addition to the criteria set forth

24 in subsection (c), in considering which local jurisdictions

25 to designate under this section, the Attorney General and
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1 the Secretary of the Treasury shall give priority to juris2 dictions that have—

3 (1) demonstrated a commitment to enforcement

4 of Federal firearms laws through participation in

5 initiatives like the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction

6 Initiative, Project Disarm, and Operation Ceasefire;

7 (2) identified a large number of convicted felons

8 involved in firearms trafficking to individuals under

9 age 25; and

10 (3) agreed to require that all identifying infor11 mation relating to firearms recovered during crimi12 nal investigations be promptly submitted to the Sec13 retary of the Treasury to identify the types and ori14 gins of such firearms and to identify illegal firearms

15 traffickers.

16 (e) REPORTS AND EVALUATION.—

17 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney General

18 and the Secretary of the Treasury shall annually

19 submit to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of

20 the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of

21 Representatives and the Senate a report, which shall

22 include information relating to—

23 (A) the number of arrests by Federal,

24 State, and local law enforcement officials involv-
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1 ing illegal possession of firearms by criminals in

2 each designated city;

3 (B) the number of individuals prosecuted

4 for illegal firearms possession by criminals in

5 Federal, State, and local court in each des6 ignated city, the number of convictions, and a

7 breakdown of sentences imposed; and

8 (C) a description of the public outreach

9 initiatives being implemented in designated ju10 risdictions.

11 (2) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen13 eral and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit

14 to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Com15 mittees on the Judiciary of the House of Represent16 atives and the Senate a report concerning the effec17 tiveness of the designation of jurisdictions under this

18 section, including an analysis of whether crime with19 in the jurisdiction has been reduced or displaced to

20 nearby jurisdictions, along with any recommenda21 tions for related legislation.

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

24 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2004.

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