I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2443
To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, relating to the
regulation of firearms dealers, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 1, 1999
Mrs. LOWEY (for herself, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. DELAURO, Ms.
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York,
Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. CARSON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms.
LOFGREN, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Ms. LEE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE
JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, and Mr. WEINER) 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, relat-
ing to the regulation of firearms dealers, and for other
purposes.
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 ‘‘Targeted Gun Dealer
Enforcement Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. REGULATION OF LICENSED DEALERS.
(a) PROHIBITION ON STRAW PURCHASES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 922(a)(6) of title
18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘,
or with respect to the identity of the person in fact
purchasing or attempting to purchase such firearm
or ammunition,’’ before ‘‘under the’’.
(2) PENALTIES.—Section 924(a)(3) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding
sentence, a violation in relation to section 922(a)(6)
or 922(d) by a licensed dealer, licensed importer, li-
censed manufacturer, or licensed collector shall be
subject to the penalties under paragraph (2) of this
subsection.’’.
(b) NOTIFICATION OF STATE LAW REGARDING CAR-
RYING CONCEALED FIREARMS.—Section 922 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after sub-
section (y) the following:
‘‘(z) NOTIFICATION OF STATE REQUIREMENTS.—It
shall be unlawful for a licensed dealer to transfer a firearm
to any person, unless the dealer notifies that person
whether applicable State law requires persons to be li-
censed to carry concealed firearms in the State, or pro-
hibits the carrying of concealed firearms in the State.’’.
(c) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF LICENSE; CIVIL
PENALTIES.—Section 923 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by striking subsections (e) and (f) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(e) REVOCATION
OR SUSPENSION
OF LICENSE;
CIVIL PENALTIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, after
notice and opportunity for hearing—
‘‘(A) suspend or revoke any license issued
under this section, if the holder of such
license—
‘‘(i) willfully violates any provision of
this chapter or any rule or regulation pre-
scribed by the Secretary under this chap-
ter; or
‘‘(ii) fails to have secure gun storage
or safety devices available at any place in
which firearms are sold under the license
to persons who are not licensees (except
that in any case in which a secure gun
storage or safety device is temporarily un-
available because of theft, casualty loss,
consumer sales, backorders from a manu-
facturer, or any other similar reason be-
yond the control of the licensee, the li-
censed dealer shall not be considered to be
in violation of the requirement to make
available such a device);
‘‘(B) suspend or revoke the license issued
under this section to a dealer who willfully
transfers armor piercing ammunition; and
‘‘(C) assess and collect a civil penalty of
not more than $10,000 per violation against
any holder of a license, if the Secretary is au-
thorized to suspend or revoke the license of that
holder under subparagraph (A) or (B).
‘‘(2) LIABILITY.—The Secretary may at any
time compromise, mitigate, or remit the liability with
respect to any willful violation of this subsection or
any rule or regulation prescribed by the Secretary
under this subsection.
‘‘(3) REVIEW.—An action of the Secretary
under this subsection may be reviewed only as pro-
vided in subsection (f).
‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—Not less
than once every 6 months, the Secretary shall notify
each licensed manufacturer and each licensed dealer
of the name, address, and license number of each
dealer whose license was suspended or revoked under
this section during the preceding 6-month period.
‘‘(f) RIGHTS OF APPLICANTS AND LICENSEES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary denies an
application for, or revokes or suspends a license, or
assesses a civil penalty under this section, the Sec-
retary shall provide written notice of such denial,
revocation, suspension, or assessment to the affected
party, stating specifically the grounds upon which
the application was denied, the license was sus-
pended or revoked, or the civil penalty was assessed.
Any notice of a revocation or suspension of a license
under this paragraph shall be given to the holder of
such license before the effective date of the revoca-
tion or suspension, as applicable.
‘‘(2) APPEAL PROCESS.—
‘‘(A) HEARING.—If the Secretary denies
an application for, or revokes or suspends a li-
cense, or assesses a civil penalty under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall, upon request of the
aggrieved party, promptly hold a hearing to re-
view the denial, revocation, suspension, or as-
sessment. A hearing under this subparagraph
shall be held at a location convenient to the ag-
grieved party.
‘‘(B) NOTICE OF DECISION; APPEAL.—If,
after a hearing held under subparagraph (A),
the Secretary decides not to reverse the decision
of the Secretary to deny the application, revoke
or suspend the license, or assess the civil pen-
alty, as applicable—
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall provide notice
of the decision of the Secretary to the ag-
grieved party;
‘‘(ii) during the 60-day period begin-
ning on the date on which the aggrieved
party receives a notice under clause (i), the
aggrieved party may file a petition with the
district court of the United States for the
judicial district in which the aggrieved
party resides or has a principal place of
business for a de novo judicial review of
such denial, revocation, suspension, or as-
sessment;
‘‘(iii) in any judicial proceeding pursu-
ant to a petition under clause (ii)—
‘‘(I) the court may consider any
evidence submitted by the parties to
the proceeding, regardless of whether
or not such evidence was considered
at the hearing held under subpara-
graph (A); and
‘‘(II) if the court decides that the
Secretary was not authorized to make
such denial, revocation, suspension, or
assessment, the court shall order the
Secretary to take such actions as may
be necessary to comply with the judg-
ment of the court.
‘‘(3) STAY PENDING APPEAL.—If the Secretary
suspends or revokes a license under this section,
upon the request of the holder of the license, the
Secretary shall stay the effective date of the revoca-
tion, suspension, or assessment.’’.
(d) EFFECT OF CONVICTION.—Section 925(b) of title
18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘until any
conviction pursuant to the indictment becomes final’’ and
inserting ‘‘until the date of any conviction pursuant to the
indictment’’.
(e) REGULATION
OF HIGH-VOLUME CRIME GUN
DEALERS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(8) HIGH-VOLUME CRIME GUN DEALERS.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the
term ‘high-volume crime gun dealer’ means any
licensed dealer with respect to which a designa-
tion under subparagraph (B)(i) is in effect, as
provided in subparagraph (B)(ii).
‘‘(B) 
DESIGNATION
OF
HIGH-VOLUME
CRIME GUN DEALERS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary
shall designate a licensed dealer as a high-
volume crime gun dealer—
‘‘(I) as soon as practicable, if the
Secretary determines that the licensed
dealer sold, delivered, or otherwise
transferred to 1 or more persons not
licensed under this chapter not less
than 25 firearms that, during the pre-
ceding calendar year, were used dur-
ing the commission or attempted com-
mission of a criminal offense under
Federal, State, or local law, or were
possessed in violation of Federal,
State, or local law; or
‘‘(II) immediately upon the expi-
ration date of a suspension of the li-
cense of that dealer for a willful viola-
tion of this chapter, if such violation
involved 1 or more firearms that were
subsequently used during the commis-
sion or attempted commission of a
criminal offense under Federal, State,
or local law.
‘‘(ii) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF DESIGNA-
TION.—A designation under clause (i) shall
remain in effect during the period begin-
ning on the date on which the designation
is made and ending on the later of—
‘‘(I) the expiration of the 18-
month period beginning on that date;
or
‘‘(II) the date on which the li-
cense issued to that dealer under this
section expires.
‘‘(C) 
NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—
Upon the designation of a licensed dealer as a
high-volume crime gun dealer under subpara-
graph (B), the Secretary shall notify the appro-
priate United States attorney’s office, the ap-
propriate State and local law enforcement agen-
cies (including the district attorney’s offices and
the police or sheriff’s departments), and each
State and local agency responsible for the
issuance of business licenses in the jurisdiction
in which the high-volume crime gun dealer is lo-
cated of such designation.
‘‘(D) REPORTING
AND
RECORDKEEPING
REQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding any other
provision of this paragraph—
‘‘(i) not later than 10 days after the
date on which a handgun is sold, delivered,
or otherwise transferred by a high-volume
crime gun dealer to a person not licensed
under this chapter, the high-volume crime
gun dealer shall submit to the Secretary
and to the department of State police or
State law enforcement agency of the State
or local jurisdiction in which the sale, de-
livery, or transfer took place, on a form
prescribed by the Secretary, a report of the
sale, delivery, or transfer, which report
shall include—
‘‘(I) the manufacturer or im-
porter of the handgun;
‘‘(II) the model, type, caliber,
gauge, and serial number of the hand-
gun; and
‘‘(III) the name, address, date of
birth, and height and weight of the
purchaser or transferee, as applicable;
‘‘(ii) each high-volume crime gun deal-
er shall submit to the Secretary, on a form
prescribed by the Secretary, a monthly re-
port of each firearm received and each fire-
arm disposed of by the dealer during that
month, which report shall include only the
name of the manufacturer or importer and
the model, type, caliber, gauge, serial num-
ber, date of receipt, and date of disposition
of each such firearm, except that the initial
report submitted by a dealer under this
clause shall include such information with
respect to the entire inventory of the high-
volume crime gun dealer; and
‘‘(iii) a high-volume crime gun dealer
may not destroy any record required to be
maintained under paragraph (1)(A).
‘‘(E) INSPECTION.—Notwithstanding para-
graph (1), the Secretary may inspect or exam-
ine the inventory and records of a high-volume
crime gun dealer at any time without a showing
of reasonable cause or a warrant for purposes
of determining compliance with the require-
ments of this chapter.
‘‘(F) RECORDKEEPING BY LOCAL POLICE
DEPARTMENTS.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph
(3)(B), a State or local law enforcement agency
that receives a report under subparagraph
(D)(i) may retain a copy of that record for not
more than 5 years.
‘‘(G) 
LICENSE
RENEWAL.—Notwith-
standing subsection (d)(2), the Secretary shall
approve or deny an application for a license
submitted by a high-volume crime gun dealer
before the expiration of the 120-day period be-
ginning on the date on which the application is
received.
‘‘(H) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO COMPLY.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding
subsection (e), the Secretary shall, after
notice and an opportunity for a hearing—
‘‘(I) suspend for not less than 90
days any license issued under this sec-
tion to a high-volume crime gun deal-
er who willfully violates any provision
of this section (including any require-
ment of this paragraph);
‘‘(II) revoke any license issued
under this section to a high-volume
crime gun dealer who willfully violates
any provision of this section (includ-
ing any requirement of this para-
graph) and who has committed a
prior willful violation of any provision
of this section (including any require-
ment of this paragraph); and
‘‘(III) revoke any license issued
under this section to a high-volume
crime gun dealer who willfully violates
any provision of section 922 or 924.
‘‘(ii) STAY
PENDING
APPEAL.—Not-
withstanding subsection (f)(3), the Sec-
retary may not stay the effective date of a
suspension or revocation under this sub-
paragraph pending an appeal.’’.
SEC. 3. ENHANCED ABILITY TO TRACE FIREARMS.
(a) 
VOLUNTARY
SUBMISSION
OF
DEALER’S
RECORDS.—Section 923(g)(4) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(4) VOLUNTARY
SUBMISSION
OF
DEALER’S
RECORDS.—
‘‘(A) BUSINESS DISCONTINUED.—
‘‘(i) SUCCESSOR.—When a firearms or
ammunition business is discontinued and
succeeded by a new licensee, the records
required to be kept by this chapter shall
appropriately reflect that fact and shall be
delivered to the successor. Upon receipt of
those records, the successor licensee may
retain the records of the discontinued busi-
ness or submit the discontinued business
records to the Secretary.
‘‘(ii) NO SUCCESSOR.—When a fire-
arms or ammunition business is discon-
tinued without a successor, records re-
quired to be kept by this chapter shall be
delivered to the Secretary within 30 days
after the business is discontinued.
‘‘(B) OLD RECORDS.—A licensee maintain-
ing a firearms business may voluntarily submit
the records required to be kept by this chapter
to the Secretary if such records are at least 20
years old.
‘‘(C) STATE OR LOCAL REQUIREMENTS.—
If State law or local ordinance requires the de-
livery of records regulated by this paragraph to
another responsible authority, the Secretary
may arrange for the delivery of records to such
other responsible authority.’’
(b) 
CENTRALIZATION
AND
MAINTENANCE
OF
RECORDS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) CENTRALIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
RECORDS
BY
SECRETARY.—Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the Secretary—
‘‘(A) may receive and centralize any infor-
mation or records submitted to the Secretary
under this chapter and maintain such informa-
tion or records in whatever manner will enable
their most efficient use in law enforcement in-
vestigations; and
‘‘(B) shall retain a record of each firearms
trace conducted by the Secretary, unless the
Secretary determines that there is a valid law
enforcement reason not to retain the record.’’.
(c) LICENSEE REPORTS
OF SECONDHAND FIRE-
ARMS.—Section 923(g) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(10) LICENSEE
REPORTS
OF
SECONDHAND
FIREARMS.—A licensed importer, licensed manufac-
turer, and licensed dealer shall submit to the Sec-
retary, on a form prescribed by the Secretary, a