I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3912
To prohibit the receipt of explosives without a Federal permit, and to provide
for a waiting period before the purchase of explosives.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 24, 1994
Mr. QUINN (for himself, Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER, Mr. BLUTE, Mr. KING, Mr.
LEVY, Mr. HOUGHTON, Mr. WALSH, Mr. LAZIO, Mr. CASTLE, and Ms.
MOLINARI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To prohibit the receipt of explosives without a Federal per-
mit, and to provide for a waiting period before the pur-
chase of explosives.
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 ‘‘Explosives Control Act
of 1994’’.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST THE RECEIPT OF EXPLO-
SIVE MATERIALS WITHOUT A FEDERAL PER-
MIT.
Section 842 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by amending subsection (a)(3)(A) to read as
follows:
‘‘(A) to transport, ship, or cause to be
transported in interstate or foreign commerce
any explosive materials, or to receive in inter-
state or foreign commerce any explosive mate-
rials (other than black powder or smokeless
powder, in amounts less than 50 pounds); or’’;
and
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (1);
(B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ in paragraph (2)
and inserting a period;
(C) by striking paragraph (3); and
(D) by adding at the end the following new
sentence:
‘‘The preceding sentence shall not apply to the distribution
of black powder or smokeless powder in amounts of less
than 50 pounds.’’.
SEC. 3. FEDERAL EXPLOSIVES LICENSEE REQUIRED TO
CONDUCT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
BEFORE TRANSFER OF EXPLOSIVE MATE-
RIALS TO NON-LICENSEE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 842 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘(l)(1) Beginning on the date that is 90 days after
the date of enactment of this subsection and ending on
the day before the date that is 60 months after November
30, 1993, it shall be unlawful for any licensee to sell, de-
liver, or transfer explosive materials to an individual who
is not a licensee, unless—
‘‘(A) after the most recent proposal of such
transfer by the transferee—
‘‘(i) the transferor has—
‘‘(I) received from the transferee a
statement of the transferee containing the
information described in paragraph (3);
‘‘(II) verified the identity of the trans-
feree by examining the identification docu-
ment presented;
‘‘(III) within 1 day after the trans-
feree furnishes the statement, provided no-
tice of the contents of the statement to the
chief law enforcement officer of the place
of residence of the transferee; and
‘‘(IV) within 1 day after the trans-
feree furnishes the statement, transmitted
a copy of the statement to the chief law
enforcement officer of the place of resi-
dence of the transferee; and
‘‘(ii)(I) 5 business days (meaning days on
which State offices are open) have elapsed from
the date the transferor furnished notice of the
contents of the statement to the chief law en-
forcement officer, during which period the
transferor has not received information from
the chief law enforcement officer that receipt or
possession of the explosive materials by the
transferee would be in violation of Federal,
State, or local law; or
‘‘(II) the transferor has received notice
from the chief law enforcement officer that the
officer has no information indicating that re-
ceipt or possession of the explosive materials by
the transferee would violate Federal, State, or
local law;
‘‘(B)(i) the transferee has presented to the
transferor a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows the transferee to possess or ac-
quire explosive materials; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years
earlier by the State in which the transfer is to
take place; and
‘‘(ii) the law of the State provides that such a
permit is to be issued only after an authorized gov-
ernment official has verified that the information
available to such official does not indicate that pos-
session of explosive materials by the transferee
would be in violation of the law;
‘‘(C) the law of the State requires that, before
any licensee completes the transfer of explosive ma-
terials to an individual who is not a licensee, an au-
thorized government official verify that the informa-
tion available to such official does not indicate that
possession of explosive materials by the transferee
would be in violation of law;
‘‘(D) the Secretary has approved the transfer
under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986; or
‘‘(E) on application of the transferor, the Sec-
retary has certified that compliance with subpara-
graph (A)(i)(III) is impracticable because—
‘‘(i) the ratio of the number of law enforce-
ment officers of the State in which the transfer
is to occur to the number of square miles of
land area of the State does not exceed 0.0025;
‘‘(ii) the business premises of the trans-
feror at which the transfer is to occur are ex-
tremely remote in relation to the chief law en-
forcement officer; and
‘‘(iii) there is an absence of telecommuni-
cations facilities in the geographical area in
which the business premises are located.
‘‘(2) A chief law enforcement officer to whom a trans-
feror has provided notice pursuant to paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(III) shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain
within 5 business days whether receipt or possession would
be in violation of the law, including research in whatever
State and local recordkeeping systems are available and
in a national system designated by the Attorney General.
‘‘(3) The statement referred to in paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(I) shall contain only—
‘‘(A) the name, address, and date of birth ap-
pearing on a valid identification document (as de-
fined in section 1028(d)(1)) of the transferee con-
taining a photograph of the transferee and a de-
scription of the identification used;
‘‘(B) a statement that transferee—
‘‘(i) is not under indictment for, and has
not been convicted in any court of, a crime pun-
ishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1
year;
‘‘(ii) is not a fugitive from justice;
‘‘(iii) is not an unlawful user of or addicted
to any controlled substance (as defined in sec-
tion 102 of the Controlled Substances Act);
‘‘(iv) has not been adjudicated as a mental
defective or been committed to a mental institu-
tion;
‘‘(v) is not an alien who is illegally or un-
lawfully in the United States;
‘‘(vi) has not been discharged from the
Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
and
‘‘(vii) is not a person who, having been a
citizen of the United States, has renounced
such citizenship;
‘‘(C) the date the statement is made; and
‘‘(D) notice that the transferee intends to ob-
tain explosive materials from the transferor.
‘‘(4) Any transferor of explosive materials who, after
such transfer, receives a report from a chief law enforce-
ment officer containing information that receipt or posses-
sion of the explosive materials by the transferee violates
Federal, State, or local law shall, within 1 business day
after receipt of such request, communicate all information
related to the transfer that the transferor has about the
transfer and the transferee to—
‘‘(A) the chief law enforcement officer of the
place of business of the transferor; and
‘‘(B) the chief law enforcement officer of the
place of residence of the transferee.
‘‘(5) Any transferor who receives information, not
otherwise available to the public, in a report under this
subsection shall not disclose such information except to
the transferee, to law enforcement authorities, or pursuant
to the direction of a court of law.
‘‘(6)(A) Any transferor who sells, delivers, or other-
wise transfers explosive materials to a transferee shall re-
tain the copy of the statement of the transferee with re-
spect to the explosive materials transaction, and shall re-
tain evidence that the transferor has complied with
subclauses (III) and (IV) of paragraph (1)(A)(i) with re-
spect to the statement.
‘‘(B) Unless the chief law enforcement officer to
whom a statement is transmitted under paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(IV) determines that a transaction would violate
Federal, State, or local law—
‘‘(i) the officer shall, within 20 business days
after the date the transferee made the statement on
the basis of which the notice was provided, destroy
the statement, any record containing information de-
rived from the statement, and any record created as
a result of the notice required by paragraph
(1)(A)(i)(III);
‘‘(ii) the information contained in the statement
shall not be conveyed to any person except a person
who has a need to know in order to carry out this
subsection; and
‘‘(iii) the information contained in the state-
ment shall not be used for any purpose other than
to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(C) If a chief law enforcement officer determines
that an individual is ineligible to receive explosive mate-
rials and the individual requests the officer to provide the
reason for such determination, the officer shall provide
such reasons to the individual in writing within 20 busi-
ness days after receipt of the request.
‘‘(7) A chief law enforcement officer or other person
responsible for providing criminal history background in-
formation pursuant to this subsection shall not be liable
in an action at law for damages—
‘‘(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer
of explosive materials to a person whose receipt or
possession of the explosive materials is unlawful
under this section; or
‘‘(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to
a person who may lawfully receive or possess explo-
sive materials.
‘‘(8) For purposes of this subsection:
‘‘(A) The term ‘chief law enforcement officer’
means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an equiva-
lent officer or the designee of any such individual.
‘‘(B) The term ‘explosive materials’ does not in-
clude black powder or smokeless powder in amounts
of less than 50 pounds.
‘‘(9) The Secretary shall take necessary actions to en-
sure that the provisions of this subsection are published
and disseminated to licensees and the public.
‘‘(m)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after
the Attorney General notifies licensees under section
103(d) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of
1994 that the national instant criminal background check
system is established, a licensee shall not transfer explo-
sive materials to any other person who is not a licensee,
unless—
‘‘(A) before the completion of the transfer, the
licensee contacts the national instant criminal back-
ground check system established under section 103
of that Act;
‘‘(B)(i) the system provides the licensee with a
unique identification number; or
‘‘(ii) 3 business days (meaning a day on which
State offices are open) have elapsed since the li-
censee contacted the system, and the system has not
notified the licensee that the receipt of explosive ma-
terials by such other person would violate this sec-
tion; and
‘‘(C) the transferor has verified the identity of
such other person by examining a valid identification
document (as defined in section 1028(d)(1) of this
title) of such other person containing a photograph
of such other person.
‘‘(2) If receipt of explosive materials would not violate
this section or State law, the system shall—
‘‘(A) assign a unique identification number to
the transfer;
‘‘(B) provide the licensee with the number; and
‘‘(C) destroy all records of the system with re-
spect to the call (other than the identifying number
and the date the number was assigned) and all
records of the system relating to the person or the
transfer.
‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to explosive mate-
rials transfer between a licensee and another person if—
‘‘(A)(i) such other person has presented to the
licensee a permit that—
‘‘(I) allows such other person to possess or
acquire explosive materials; and
‘‘(II) was issued not more than 5 years
earlier by the State in which the transfer is to
take place; and
‘‘(ii) the law of the State provides that such a
permit is to be issued only if not prohibited by other
law and only after an authorized government official
has verified that the information available to such
official does not indicate that possession of explosive
materials by such other person would be in violation
of law;
‘‘(B) the Secretary has approved the transfer
under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986; or
‘‘(C) on application of the transferor, the Sec-
retary has certified that compliance with paragraph
(1)(A) is impracticable because—
‘‘(i) the ratio of the number of law enforce-
ment officers of the State in which the transfer
is to occur to the number of square miles of
land area of the State does not exceed 0.0025;
‘‘(ii) the business premises of the licensee
at which the transfer is to occur are extremely
remote in relation to the chief law enforcement
officer (as defined in subsection (l)(8)); and
‘‘(iii) there is an absence of telecommuni-
cations facilities in the geographical area in
which the business premises are located.
‘‘(4) If the national instant criminal background
check system notifies the licensee that the information
available to the system does not demonstrate that the re-
ceipt of explosive materials by such other person would
violate this section or State law, and the licensee transfers
explosive materials to such other person, the licensee shall
include in the record of the transfer the unique identifica-
tion number provided by the system with respect to the
transfer.
‘‘(5) If the licensee knowingly transfers explosive ma-
terials to such other person and knowingly fails to comply
with paragraph (1) of this subsection with respect to the
transfer and, at the time such other person most recently
proposed the transfer, the national instant criminal back-
ground check system was operating and information was
available to the system demonstrating that receipt of ex-
plosive materials by such other person would violate this
section or State law, the Secretary may, after notice and
opportunity for a hearing, suspend for not more than 6
months or revoke any license issued to the licensee under
section 843, and may impose on the licensee a civil fine
of not more than $5,000.
‘‘(6) Neither a local government nor an employee of
the Federal Government or of any State or local govern-
ment, responsible for providing information to the national
instant criminal background check system shall be liable
in an action at law for damages—
‘‘(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer
of explosive materials to a person whose receipt or
possession of the firearm is unlawful under this sec-
tion; or
‘‘(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to
a person who may lawfully receive or possess explo-
sive materials.
‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘explo-
sive materials’ does not include black powder or smokeless
powder in amounts of less than 50 pounds.’’.
(b) PENALTIES.—Section 844 of such title is amend-
ed—
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘any other
provision of section 842 of this chapter’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘subsection (j) or (k) of section 842’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(k) Whoever knowingly violates subsection (l) or (m)
of section 842 shall be fined not more than $10,000, im-
prisoned not more than 10 years, or both. Section 3571
shall not apply in the imposition of any fine under this
subsection.’’.
SEC. 4. USE OF NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACK-
GROUND CHECK SYSTEM.
The requirements of section 103 of the Brady Hand-
gun Violence Prevention Act (other than subsection (i)
thereof) shall apply to explosive materials (other than
black powder or smokeless powder in amounts of less than
50 pounds) in the same manner in which such section ap-
plies to firearms, except that, in the case of such explosive
materials—
(1) the system shall provide information on
whether receipt of such explosive materials by a pro-
spective transferee would violate section 842 of title
18, United States Code, or State law; and
(2) as used in such section, the term ‘‘licensee’’
has the same meaning given such term by section
841(m) of title 18, United States Code.
SEC. 5. REMEDY FOR ERRONEOUS DENIAL OF EXPLOSIVE
MATERIALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 40 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by inserting after section 845 the
following new section:
‘‘§ 845A. Remedy for erroneous denial of explosive
materials
‘‘Any person denied explosive materials pursuant to
subsection (l) or (m) of section 842—
‘‘(1) due to the provision of erroneous informa-
tion relating to the person by any State or political
subdivision thereof, or by the national instant crimi-
nal background check system established under sec-
tion 3 of the Explosives Control Act of 1994; or
‘‘(2) who was not prohibited from receipt of ex-
plosive materials pursuant to section 842,
may bring an action against the State or political subdivi-
sion responsible for providing the erroneous information,
or responsible for denying the transfer, or against the
United States, as the case may be, for an order directing
that the erroneous information be corrected or that the
transfer be approved, as the case may be. In any action
under this section, the court, in its discretion, may allow
the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee as part
of the costs.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis
for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 845 the following new item:
‘‘845A. Remedy for erroneous denial of explosive materials.’’.
Æ
HR 3912 IH——2