I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4064 
To impose restrictions on the sale of binary explosives, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 12, 2017 
Mr. SOTO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To impose restrictions on the sale of binary explosives, 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. LICENSING OF RETAILERS OF BINARY EXPLO-
SIVES. 
(a) PROHIBITED ACTS.—Section 842(a) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘or’’; 
(2) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(5) to engage in the business of selling a bi-
nary explosive to an individual without a license 
issued under this chapter; 
‘‘(6) to knowingly sell a binary explosive to an 
individual without complying with subsection (q); or 
‘‘(7) to knowingly purchase a binary explosive 
in excess of the monthly amount described in sub-
section (q)(1).’’. 
(b) TREATMENT OF BINARY EXPLOSIVES.— 
(1) 
TREATMENT
WITH
RESPECT
TO
LI-
CENSES.—Section 843 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘deal in 
explosive materials’’ and inserting ‘‘deal in ex-
plosive materials, or to sell a binary explosive to 
an individual,’’; 
(B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘to pos-
sess explosive materials’’ and inserting ‘‘to pos-
sess explosive materials or a binary explosive’’; 
(C) in subsection (b)(4)(A), by striking 
‘‘storage for explosive materials’’ and inserting 
‘‘storage for explosive materials or a binary ex-
plosive’’; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
(D) in subsection (f), by adding at the end: 
‘‘A reference in this subsection to ‘explosive ma-
terials’ shall also include a binary explosive.’’. 
(2) TREATMENT
WITH
RESPECT
TO
PEN-
ALTIES.—Section 844 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(q) TREATMENT OF BINARY EXPLOSIVES.—A ref-
erence in this section to ‘explosive materials’ shall also in-
clude a binary explosive.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date that is 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 
2. 
ESTABLISHMENT 
OF 
MAXIMUM 
PURCHASE 
AMOUNTS FOR BINARY EXPLOSIVES. 
Section 842 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(q) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
MAXIMUM
PURCHASE 
AMOUNTS FOR BINARY EXPLOSIVES.— 
‘‘(1) 
MAXIMUM
MONTHLY
PURCHASE 
AMOUNTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General 
shall establish the maximum amount of a binary ex-
plosive (or a combination thereof) that may be pur-
chased by one individual in a calendar month, based 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(v) be capable of responding to a 
seller with an indication whether the 
amount of a binary explosive sought to be 
purchased by a prospective purchaser 
would exceed the amount described in 
paragraph (1); 
‘‘(vi) be able to respond to all inquir-
ies in a reasonable amount of time; and 
‘‘(vii) only be accessible to dealers of 
binary explosives that have a valid license 
issued under this chapter. 
‘‘(3) 
BEHIND-THE-COUNTER
ACCESS
AND 
SALES
FORM
REQUIREMENTS.—Beginning on the 
date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this subsection, a seller of binary explosives to an in-
dividual shall ensure that sales by such seller of a 
binary explosive are made in accordance with the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) The seller offers the product for sale 
only at a retail location. 
‘‘(B) In offering the product for sale, the 
seller places the product behind the counter. 
‘‘(C) The seller delivers the product di-
rectly into the custody of the purchaser. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(D) The seller does not sell such a prod-
uct unless the prospective purchaser— 
‘‘(i) presents a valid identification 
document (as defined in section 1028(d)) 
of such purchaser containing a photograph 
of such purchaser; and 
‘‘(ii) fills out the sales form with the 
name and address of such purchaser and 
the amount of binary explosive being pur-
chased. 
‘‘(E) The seller does not sell such a prod-
uct to a prospective purchaser unless the sell-
er— 
‘‘(i) determines that the name entered 
by such prospective purchaser on the sales 
form is the same as the name provided on 
the identification document; 
‘‘(ii) transmits to the national binary 
explosive check system the name of the 
product, the quantity to be sold, and the 
name and address of such prospective pur-
chaser; and 
‘‘(iii) receives from the system a state-
ment that the amount of a binary explosive 
sought to be purchased by a prospective 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
purchaser would not exceed the amount de-
scribed in paragraph (1). 
‘‘(F) The sales form includes a notice to 
purchasers that entering false statements or 
misrepresentations on the sales form may sub-
ject the purchasers to criminal penalties under 
section 1001, which notice specifies the max-
imum fine and term of imprisonment under 
such section. 
‘‘(G) The seller maintains the sales form 
for not fewer than two years after the date on 
which the sale is consummated. 
‘‘(4) SAFE HARBOR RULE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A seller who knows, 
should know, or has reason to believe that the 
purchase of an amount of a binary explosive by 
a prospective purchaser would result in a viola-
tion of paragraph (1) may sell such amount to 
such purchaser if such seller is notified by the 
national binary explosive check system that the 
purchase of such amount would not result in a 
violation of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) REQUIRED PROCEDURE.—If a seller 
sells a binary explosive to a prospective pur-
chaser pursuant to subparagraph (A), such sell-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
er, promptly after the sale, shall notify the At-
torney General of— 
‘‘(i) the name and address of the pur-
chaser; 
‘‘(ii) the amount sold; and 
‘‘(iii) the factual basis, if any, for the 
knowledge or belief that such a sale re-
sulted in a violation of paragraph (1). 
‘‘(5) DEFINITION.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) The term ‘behind the counter’ means, 
with respect to a binary explosive, that cus-
tomers do not have direct access to the product 
before the sale is made at a retail location. 
‘‘(B) The term ‘retail location’ means a lo-
cation at which a seller sells a binary explosive 
in limited, small quantities or amounts, and not 
in gross. 
‘‘(C) The term ‘sales form’ means the form 
the prospective purchase of a binary explosive 
fills out with the name and address of such pur-
chaser and the amount of binary explosive being 
purchased.’’. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 
Section 841 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(u) ‘Binary explosive’ means a substance that, when 
combined with another substance— 
‘‘(1) results in explosive material; and 
‘‘(2) has as its primary or common purpose to 
function by explosion through target practice using 
a firearm.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:48 Oct 14, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4064.IH
H4064
SSpencer on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS