I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 776

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2003

Mr. ANDREWS (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill; 

which was 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.

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 ‘‘Technological Resource 

5 to Assist Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are—

8 (1) to increase public safety by assisting law en9 forcement in solving more gun-related crimes and of-
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1 fering prosecutors evidence to link felons to gun 

2 crimes through ballistics technology; 

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

4 firearms for sale to assist in the identification of 

5 firearms used in crimes; 

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

7 custody of Federal agencies to assist in the identi8 fication of firearms used in crimes; and 

9 (4) to add ballistics testing to existing firearms 

10 enforcement programs. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF BALLISTICS. 

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

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(36) The term ‘ballistics’ means a comparative anal15 ysis of fired bullets and cartridge casings to identify the 

16 firearm from which bullets and cartridge casings were dis17 charged, through identification of the unique markings 

18 that each firearm imprints on bullets and cartridge cas19 ings.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. TEST FIRING AND AUTOMATED STORAGE OF BAL21 LISTICS RECORDS. 

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

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘(m)(1) In addition to the other licensing require2 ments under this section, a licensed manufacturer or li3 censed importer shall—

4 ‘‘(A) test fire firearms manufactured or im5 ported by such licensees as specified by the Attorney 

6 General by regulation; 

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

8 and cartridge casings from the test fire; 

9 ‘‘(C) make the records available to the Attorney 

10 General for entry in a computerized database; and 

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

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

13 by the Attorney General by regulation. 

14 ‘‘(2) Nothing in this subsection creates a cause of ac15 tion against any Federal firearms licensee or any other 

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

17 penalty under this section. 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) The Attorney General shall assist firearm 

19 manufacturers and importers in complying with paragraph 

20 (1) by—

21 ‘‘(i) acquiring, installing, and upgrading ballis22 tics equipment and bullet and cartridge casing recov23 ery equipment to be placed at or near the sites of 

24 licensed manufacturers and importers; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) hiring or designating sufficient personnel 

2 to develop and maintain a database of ballistics im3 ages of fired bullets and cartridge casings, research, 

4 and evaluation; 

5 ‘‘(iii) providing education about the role of bal6 listics as part of a comprehensive firearm crime re7 duction strategy; 

8 ‘‘(iv) providing for the coordination among Fed9 eral, State, and local law enforcement and regulatory 

10 agencies and the firearm industry to curb firearm11 related crime and illegal firearm trafficking; and 

12 ‘‘(v) taking other necessary steps to make bal13 listics testing effective. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Attorney General shall—

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

16 State and local law enforcement agencies can 

17 promptly access the ballistics records stored under 

18 this subsection, as soon as such a capability is avail19 able; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) require training for all ballistics exam21 iners. 

22 ‘‘(4) The Attorney General shall conduct mandatory 

23 ballistics testing of all firearms obtained or in the posses24 sion of their respective agencies. 
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1 ‘‘(5) Not later than 3 years after the date of enact2 ment of this subsection, and annually thereafter, the At3 torney General shall submit to the Committees on the Ju4 diciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives 

5 a report regarding the implementation of this section, in6 cluding—

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 the system established under this sec11 tion and under similar systems operated by any 

12 State, served as a valuable investigative tool in the 

13 prosecution of gun crimes; 

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

15 accessible across jurisdictions; and 

16 ‘‘(C) a statistical evaluation of the test pro17 grams conducted pursuant to paragraph (4). 

18 ‘‘(6) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

19 Department of Justice $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

20 years 2004 through 2007, to carry out this subsection, 

21 to be used to—

22 ‘‘(A) install ballistics equipment and bullet and 

23 cartridge casing recovery equipment; 

24 ‘‘(B) establish sites for ballistics testing; 
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1 ‘‘(C) pay salaries and expenses of necessary 

2 personnel; and 

3 ‘‘(D) conduct related research and evaluation.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graphs (2) and (3), the amendment made by sub7 section (a) shall take effect on the date on which the 

8 Attorney General, in consultation with the Board of 

9 the National Integrated Ballistics Information Net10 work, certifies that the ballistics system used by the 

11 Department of Justice is sufficiently developed to 

12 support mandatory ballistics testing of new firearms. 

13 (2) BALLISTICS TESTING.—Section 923(m)(1) 

14 of title 18, United States Code, as added by sub15 section (a), shall take effect 2 years after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act. 

17 (3) EFFECTIVE ON DATE OF ENACTMENT.—

18 Section 923(m)(4) of title 18, United States Code, 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 5. PRIVACY RIGHTS OF LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS. 

22 Ballistics information of individual guns in any form 

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

24 prosecutorial purposes unless law enforcement officials 

25 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.

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