II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2482

To assist States and units of local government in carrying out Safe HomesSafe Streets programs.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 27, 2000

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill;

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

A BILL

To assist States and units of local government in carrying

out Safe Homes-Safe Streets programs.

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 ‘‘Safe Homes-Safe

5 Streets Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to reduce firearm circula8 tion by assisting State and local law enforcement agencies

9 in carrying out Safe Homes-Safe Streets programs.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the

4 meaning given the term in section 921(a) of title 18,

5 United States Code.

6 (2) SAFE HOMES-SAFE STREETS PROGRAM.—

7 The term ‘‘Safe Homes-Safe Streets program’’

8 means a program carried out by a law enforcement

9 agency of a State or unit of local government under

10 which—

11 (A) the law enforcement agency shall—

12 (i) accept the voluntary surrender of

13 firearms from individuals seeking to dis14 pose of them;

15 (ii) provide gift certificates or other

16 goods in exchange for firearms;

17 (iii) provide cash in exchange for firearms (in a value not to exceed 1 18 ⁄2 of the

19 estimated cost of a new similar firearm);

20 or

21 (iv) use any other innovative approach

22 to cause a voluntary reduction in the num23 ber of firearms in the State or local com24 munities;

25 (B) the law enforcement agency may con26 duct a criminal background check regarding the
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1 ownership of each firearm surrendered or may

2 offer amnesty from such background checks, to

3 the extent that the policy regarding criminal

4 background checks is uniformly applied; and

5 (C) upon the surrender of a firearm, the

6 law enforcement agency shall—

7 (i) determine whether such firearm

8 may potentially serve as evidence in any

9 criminal investigation or prosecution; and

10 (ii) if the firearm is not needed as

11 evidence—

12 (I) destroy the firearm; or

13 (II) if the firearm is a curio or

14 relic or has historical significance, do15 nate the firearm to a State or local

16 museum for display.

17 SEC. 4. SAFE HOMES-SAFE STREETS PROGRAM GRANTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may award

19 grants to States or units of local government in accord20 ance with this section, which shall be used to establish and

21 implement Safe Homes-Safe Streets programs.

22 (b) APPLICATIONS.—In order to be eligible to receive

23 a grant under this section, the chief executive of a State

24 or unit of local government shall submit to the Attorney

25 General an application, in such form and containing such
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1 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re2 quire.

3 (c) DISTRIBUTION.—The Attorney General shall dis4 tribute grant amounts awarded under this section directly

5 to the recipient State or unit of local government.

6 (d) RENEWAL.—A State or unit of local government

7 shall be eligible to apply for and receive a grant under

8 this section annually.

9 (e) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

11 the Attorney General may not make a grant to a

12 State or unit of local government under this section

13 unless that State or unit of local government agrees

14 that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by the

15 State or unit of local government in carrying out the

16 Safe Homes–Safe Streets program for which the

17 grant was awarded, the State will make available

18 (directly or through donations from public or private

19 entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount

20 equal to not less than 50 percent of such costs.

21 (2) WAIVER.—The Attorney General may waive

22 the requirement of paragraph (1), in whole or in

23 part, upon a finding of fiscal hardship on the part

24 of a grant recipient.
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1 (f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

3 promulgate regulations to implement this section, which

4 shall specify—

5 (1) the information to be included in an appli6 cation for a grant under this section; and

7 (2) the requirements that a State or unit of

8 local government shall meet in submitting such an

9 application.

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

12 this Act $15,000,000 for each fiscal year.

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