I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2296 
To reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, mod-
ernize firearms laws and regulations, protect the community from crimi-
nals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2009 
Mr. KING of Iowa (for himself and Mr. SPACE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition 
to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
Explosives, modernize firearms laws and regulations, pro-
tect the community from criminals, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform and Firearms 
Modernization Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
TITLE I—BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND 
EXPLOSIVES MODERNIZATION AND REFORM 
Sec. 101. Graduated penalties for civil violations by Federal firearms licensees. 
Sec. 102. Consideration of Federal firearms license applications. 
Sec. 103. Definition of willfully. 
Sec. 104. Establishment of formal inspection, examination, and investigative 
guidelines. 
Sec. 105. Liquidation of inventory in Federal firearms license expiration, sur-
render, or revocation cases. 
Sec. 106. Opportunity to cure violations after acquisition of firearms business. 
Sec. 107. Standards for criminal violations of recordkeeping requirements. 
Sec. 108. Effective date. 
TITLE II—FIREARMS CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS 
Sec. 201. Correction of nonsubstantive error in age limit provision. 
Sec. 202. Possession and transfer of machineguns for industry testing and se-
curity contracting. 
Sec. 203. Elimination of obsolete language added by the Brady Handgun Vio-
lence Prevention Act. 
Sec. 204. Elimination of written permission requirement for supervised hand-
gun use. 
Sec. 205. Modification of procedures for sharing of multiple handgun sales re-
ports. 
Sec. 206. Ban on electronic retrieval of inactive licensee information. 
Sec. 207. Barrel and receiver importation. 
Sec. 208. Clarifications relating to manufacturing of firearms. 
TITLE I—BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, 
TOBACCO, 
FIREARMS, 
AND 
EXPLOSIVES 
MODERNIZA-
TION AND REFORM 
SEC. 101. GRADUATED PENALTIES FOR CIVIL VIOLATIONS 
BY FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 923 of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by striking subsections (e) and 
(f) and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(e)(1)(A) If the Attorney General determines that 
a licensee under this section has willfully violated any pro-
vision of this chapter or any regulation prescribed under 
this chapter, the Attorney General may— 
‘‘(i) if the violation is of a minor nature— 
‘‘(I) for a first such violation, issue a writ-
ten warning to the licensee; and 
‘‘(II) for a second or subsequent such vio-
lation— 
‘‘(aa) impose on the licensee a civil 
money penalty of not more than $500 for 
each such violation, with no interest to ac-
crue on the amount of such a penalty, ex-
cept that the total amount of penalties im-
posed on a licensee under this subclause— 
‘‘(AA) for violations arising from 
a single inspection or examination 
shall not exceed $2,500; and 
‘‘(BB) for a single calendar year 
shall not exceed $5,000; or 
‘‘(bb) suspend the license for not more 
than 30 days, and specify the cir-
cumstances under which the suspension is 
to be terminated, if, in the period for 
which the license is in effect, there have 
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been at least 2 prior occasions on which 
the licensee has been determined to have 
violated this chapter; or 
‘‘(ii) if the violation is of a serious nature— 
‘‘(I) impose on the licensee a civil money 
penalty of not more than $1,500 for each such 
violation, with no interest to accrue on the 
amount of such a penalty, except that the total 
amount of penalties imposed on a licensee 
under this subclause— 
‘‘(aa) for a violation arising from a 
single inspection or examination shall not 
exceed $7,500; and 
‘‘(bb) for a single calendar year shall 
not to exceed $15,000; 
‘‘(II) suspend the license for not more than 
90 days, and specify the circumstances under 
which the suspension is to be terminated; 
‘‘(III) revoke the license; or 
‘‘(IV) take the actions described in sub-
clauses (I) and (II), or subclauses (I) and (III). 
‘‘(B)(i)(I) In determining the amount of a civil money 
penalty to impose under subparagraph (A) on a licensee, 
the nature and severity of the violation involved, the size 
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of the firearms business operated by the licensee, and the 
prior record of the licensee shall be considered. 
‘‘(II) On request of the licensee, the Attorney General 
may consider the ability of the licensee to pay a civil 
money penalty, and may allow the licensee to submit docu-
ments and information to establish the ability of the li-
censee to pay. The Attorney General shall not make part 
of any public record any document or information so sub-
mitted, and shall return to the licensee any such document 
or information. 
‘‘(III) The total amount of penalties imposed on a 
licensee under subparagraph (A) with respect to violations 
of a minor nature and of a serious nature arising from 
a single inspection or examination shall not exceed $7,500, 
and the total of all such penalties for a single calendar 
year shall not exceed $15,000. 
‘‘(ii) For purposes of subparagraph (A), violation of 
a provision of this chapter with respect to 2 or more fire-
arms during a single transaction shall be considered a sin-
gle violation of the provision. 
‘‘(iii) The Attorney General may defer, or suspend, 
in whole or in part, the imposition of a civil money penalty 
on a licensee whose license is suspended under this para-
graph. 
‘‘(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A): 
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‘‘(i) A violation of this chapter shall be consid-
ered to be of a serious nature if the violation— 
‘‘(I) results in or could have resulted in the 
transfer of a firearm or ammunition to a person 
prohibited from possessing or receiving the fire-
arm or ammunition under this chapter or under 
State or local law; 
‘‘(II) obstructs or could have obstructed
a
bona fide criminal investigation or prosecu-
tion, or an inspection or examination under this 
chapter; or 
‘‘(III) prevents or could have prevented a 
licensee from complying with subsection (a)(7), 
(a)(8), (b)(1), (b)(3), (b)(4), (j), (k), (o), or (p) 
of section 922, subsection (g)(7) of this section, 
or subsection (b) or (h) of section 924. 
‘‘(ii) A violation of this chapter shall be consid-
ered to be of a minor nature if the violation is not 
of a serious nature. 
‘‘(D) The Attorney General may not commence an 
enforcement action under subparagraph (A) with respect 
to a violation, after the 5-year period that begins with— 
‘‘(i) the date the violation occurred; or 
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