Title: Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 2018
This bill establishes new requirements and penalties for individuals who engage in the business of dealing, importing, or manufacturing firearms.
Among other things, the bill increases the allowable number of annual compliance inspections, strengthens criminal penalties for recordkeeping violations, and authorizes civil penalties for certain other violations.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6075 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6075

     To ensure greater accountability by licensed firearms dealers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 12, 2018

 Mr. Langevin (for himself, Ms. Moore, and Mr. Deutch) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To ensure greater accountability by licensed firearms dealers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 2. INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ALLOWED COMPLIANCE INSPECTIONS OF 
              FIREARMS DEALERS.

    Section 923(g)(1)(B)(ii)(I) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by striking ``once'' and inserting ``3 times''.

SEC. 3. INCREASING PENALTIES ON FIREARMS LICENSEES.

    Section 924(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``one year'' and inserting ``5 years''.

SEC. 4. SERIOUS RECORDKEEPING OFFENSES THAT AID GUN TRAFFICKING.

    Section 924(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking the period and inserting ``; but if the violation is in 
relation to an offense under subsection (a)(6) or (d) of section 922, 
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or 
both.''.

SEC. 5. SUSPENSION OF FIREARMS DEALER'S LICENSE AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR 
              VIOLATIONS OF THE GUN CONTROL ACT.

    Subsections (e) and (f) of section 923 of title 18, United States 
Code, are amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) The Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for 
hearing, suspend or revoke any license issued under this section, or 
may subject the licensee to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 
per violation, if the holder of the license has violated any provision 
of this chapter or any rule or regulation prescribed by the Attorney 
General under this chapter or 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 
unavailable because of theft, casualty loss, consumer sales, backorders 
from a manufacturer, or any other similar reason beyond the control of 
the licensee, the dealer shall not be considered to be in violation of 
the requirement to make available such a device). The Attorney General 
may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, suspend or revoke the 
license of, or assess a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 on, a 
dealer who transfers armor piercing ammunition. The Attorney General 
may at any time compromise, mitigate, or remit the liability with 
respect to any violation of this chapter or any rule or regulation 
prescribed by the Attorney General under this chapter. The Attorney 
General's actions under this subsection may be reviewed only as 
provided in subsection (f).
    ``(f)(1) Any person whose application for a license is denied and 
any holder of a license which is suspended or revoked or who is 
assessed a civil penalty shall receive a written notice from the 
Attorney General stating specifically the grounds upon which the 
application was denied or upon which the license was suspended or 
revoked or the civil penalty assessed. Any notice of a suspension or 
revocation of a license shall be given to the holder of the license 
before the effective date of the suspension or revocation.
    ``(2) If the Attorney General denies an application for a license, 
or suspends or revokes a license, or assesses a civil penalty, the 
Attorney General shall, upon request by the aggrieved party, promptly 
hold a hearing to review the denial, suspension, revocation, or 
assessment. In the case of a suspension or revocation of a license, the 
Attorney General shall, on the request of the holder of the license, 
stay the effective date of the suspension or revocation. A hearing 
under this paragraph shall be held at a location convenient to the 
aggrieved party.
    ``(3) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the Attorney 
General decides not to reverse the decision to deny an application or 
suspend or revoke a license or assess a civil penalty, the Attorney 
General shall give notice of the decision to the aggrieved party. The 
aggrieved party may at any time within 60 days after the date notice is 
given under this paragraph file a petition with the United States 
district court for the district in which the party resides or in which 
the party's principal place of business is located for a de novo 
judicial review of the denial, suspension, revocation, or assessment. 
In a proceeding conducted under this subsection, the court may consider 
any evidence submitted by the parties to the proceeding whether or not 
such evidence was considered at the hearing held under paragraph (2). 
If the court decides that the Attorney General was not authorized to 
deny the application or to suspend or revoke the license or to assess 
the civil penalty, the court shall order the Attorney General to take 
such action as may be necessary to comply with the judgment of the 
court.''.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION OF FIREARMS DEALER'S LICENSE UPON FELONY 
              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''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORITY TO HIRE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.

    The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives may hire at least 80 additional personnel for the purpose of 
carrying out additional inspections as provided for in the amendments 
made by this Act.

SEC. 8. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE LICENSED DEALER TO CONDUCT A PHYSICAL 
              INVENTORY AND PROVIDE INVENTORY RECORD IF DEALER HAS 
              UNLAWFULLY TRANSFERRED A FIREARM OR 10 OR MORE CRIME GUNS 
              ARE TRACED TO THE DEALER.

    (a) In General.--Section 923(g)(1) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(E) The Attorney General may require a licensed importer, 
licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to conduct a physical 
inventory of the firearms in the business inventory of the licensee, 
and provide the Attorney General with a detailed record of the physical 
inventory if--
            ``(i) the licensee has been convicted of transferring a 
        firearm unlawfully; or
            ``(ii) the Attorney General finds that 10 or more firearms 
        used in a crime under Federal, State, or local law have been 
        traced back to the licensee.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 923(j) of such title is amended in the 6th 
        sentence by inserting ``, except as required under subsection 
        (g)(1)(E)'' before the period.
            (2) The 5th proviso of the item relating to ``Bureau of 
        Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives'' in title II of 
        division B of the Consolidated and Further Continuing 
        Appropriations Act, 2013 (127 Stat. 248; Public Law 113-6) is 
        amended by inserting ``, except as required under subsection 
        (g)(1)(E) of such section 923'' before the colon.

SEC. 9. ISSUANCE OF LICENSES.

    Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by striking ``shall issue'' and 
        inserting ``may issue''; and
            (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``shall be'' and 
        inserting ``may be''.

SEC. 10. LIABILITY STANDARDS.

    Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is amended in each of 
subsections (c) and (d), by striking ``willfully'' each place it 
appears.

SEC. 11. REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY.

    Section 926(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``only''.

SEC. 12. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

    The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives shall submit biennial reports to the Congress on the 
implementation of this Act, which shall include a statement by the 
Director as to what additional resources, if any, are necessary in 
order to implement this Act, and any recommendations of the Director 
for how better to ensure that firearms dealers are complying with all 
laws and regulations that apply with respect to dealing in firearms, 
and that noncompliant firearms dealers are subject to appropriate 
action in a timely manner.
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