I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4150
To require ballistics testing of the firearms manufactured in or imported
into the United States that are most commonly used in crime, and
to provide for the compilation, use, and availability of ballistics informa-
tion for the purpose of curbing the use of firearms in crime.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 3, 2000
Mr. BECERRA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To require ballistics testing of the firearms manufactured
in or imported into the United States that are most
commonly used in crime, and to provide for the compila-
tion, use, and availability of ballistics information for
the purpose of curbing the use of firearms in crime.
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 ‘‘Bullet Tracing Act
To Reduce Gun Violence’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FIRE-
ARMS BY LICENSED FIREARMS MANUFAC-
TURER OR LICENSED FIREARMS IMPORTER
BEFORE TEST FIRING AND CREATION OF
BALLISTICS RECORD.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘§ 931. Test firing and automated storage of ballistics
records
‘‘(a) A licensed manufacturer or licensed importer
shall not transfer to any person a firearm of a make and
model that is on the list most recently issued under sub-
section (b), before—
‘‘(1) test firing the firearm;
‘‘(2) preparing ballistics records of the fired
bullet and cartridge casings from the test fire; and
‘‘(3) making the records available to the Sec-
retary for entry in a computerized database.
‘‘(b) The Secretary shall compile and cause to be pub-
lished in the Federal Register, on an annual basis, a list
of the 50 firearms, by manufacturer and model name, that
have been most frequently used by criminals in the United
States.
‘‘(c)(1)(A) With respect to each violation of sub-
section (a) by a licensed manufacturer or licensed im-
porter, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity
for hearing, suspend for not more than 5 years or revoke
the license of the licensee, impose on the licensee a civil
fine of not more than $20,000, or both.
‘‘(B) An action of the Secretary under this paragraph
may be reviewed only as provided in section 923(f).
‘‘(2) The suspension or revocation of a license or the
imposition of a civil fine under paragraph (1) shall not
preclude any administrative remedy that is available to the
Secretary under other law.’’.
(b) DEFINITION OF BALLISTICS.—Section 921(a) of
such title is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(35) The term ‘ballistics’ means a comparative anal-
ysis of fired bullets or cartridge casings to identify the
firearm from which the bullets or cartridge casings were
discharged, through the identification of the unique char-
acteristics that each firearm imprints on bullets and car-
tridge casings.’’.
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘931. Test firing and automated storage of ballistics records.’’.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. COMPILATION, USE, AND AVAILABILITY OF BALLIS-
TICS INFORMATION.
(a) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE TO FIREARM MANUFAC-
TURERS AND IMPORTERS.—The Attorney General and the
Secretary of the Treasury (in this section referred to as
the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall assist qualified firearms manufac-
turers and qualified firearms importers in—
(1) obtaining use of new and upgraded comput-
erized ballistics equipment and bullet recovery equip-
ment owned by the Federal Government, to be
placed at the sites of licensed manufacturers and li-
censed importers;
(2) training personnel necessary to develop and
maintain a database of ballistics records, research,
and evaluation; and
(3) taking any other steps necessary to imple-
ment effective ballistics testing.
(b) QUALIFIED FIREARMS MANUFACTURERS
AND
QUALIFIED FIREARMS IMPORTERS.—A manufacturer or
importer of firearms shall be considered qualified for as-
sistance under subsection (a) only if the Secretary deter-
mines that the manufacturer or importer—
(1) provides the Secretary with 24-hour online
access to the ballistics records which the manufac-
turer or importer is required to prepare and make
available pursuant to section 931 of title 18, United
States Code;
(2) keeps such records in accordance with uni-
form recordkeeping practices established by the Sec-
retary; and
(3) meets such other requirements as the Sec-
retary establishes relating to the creation and pres-
ervation of ballistics records.
(c) ANNUAL REPORTS ON EFFECTS OF THIS ACT.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this section and annually thereafter, the Attorney General
and the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report
regarding the effects of this Act, including the number of
Federal and State criminal investigations, arrests, indict-
ments, and prosecutions of all cases in which access to
ballistics records provided under section 931 of title 18,
United States Code, served as a valuable investigative tool.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘li-
censed manufacturer’’, ‘‘licensed importer’’, ‘‘firearm’’,
and ‘‘ballistics’’ shall have the meanings given in section
921(a) of title 18, United States Code.
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