Title: Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021
This bill revises background check requirements applicable to proposed firearm transfers from a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a licensed gun dealer) to an unlicensed person.
Specifically, it increases the amount of time, from 3 business days to a minimum of 10 business days, that a federal firearms licensee must wait to receive a completed background check prior to transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person. (This type of transaction is often referred to as a default proceed transaction.)
If a submitted background check remains incomplete after 10 business days, then the prospective purchaser may submit a petition for a final firearms eligibility determination. If an additional 10 days elapse without a final determination, then the federal firearms licensee may transfer the firearm to the prospective purchaser.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1446 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1446

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the 
 background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms 
licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2021

 Mr. Clyburn (for himself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Auchincloss, Ms. Bass, Mrs. 
Beatty, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Brown, 
     Ms. Bush, Mr. Carson, Mr. Casten, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Clark of 
  Massachusetts, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Connolly, Mr. 
  Cooper, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Dean, Mrs. Demings, Mr. 
 DeSaulnier, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Hastings, Mr. 
   Higgins of New York, Ms. Houlahan, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Jacobs of 
    California, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Langevin, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms. Lee of 
California, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Malinowski, Mrs. 
Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. McEachin, Ms. Meng, Mr. Mfume, Ms. 
Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Neguse, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
   Perlmutter, Mr. Peters, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Rush, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. 
 Schiff, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Soto, Ms. Speier, 
Ms. Stevens, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Swalwell, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Trone, Ms. 
 Wasserman Schultz, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) 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, to strengthen the 
 background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms 
licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee.

    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 ``Enhanced Background Checks Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING OF BACKGROUND CHECK PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED 
              BEFORE A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE MAY TRANSFER A FIREARM 
              TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT SUCH A LICENSEE.

    Section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clause (ii) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(ii) in the event the system has not notified the 
        licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such other person 
        would violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section--
                    ``(I) not fewer than 10 business days (meaning a 
                day on which State offices are open) has elapsed since 
                the licensee contacted the system, and the system has 
                not notified the licensee that the receipt of a firearm 
                by such other person would violate subsection (g) or 
                (n) of this section, and the other person has 
                submitted, electronically through a website established 
                by the Attorney General or by first-class mail, a 
                petition for review which--
                            ``(aa) certifies that such other person has 
                        no reason to believe that such other person is 
                        prohibited by Federal, State, or local law from 
                        purchasing or possessing a firearm; and
                            ``(bb) requests that the system respond to 
                        the contact referred to in subparagraph (A) 
                        within 10 business days after the date the 
                        petition was submitted (or, if the petition is 
                        submitted by first-class mail, the date the 
                        letter containing the petition is postmarked); 
                        and
                    ``(II) 10 business days have elapsed since the 
                other person so submitted the petition, and the system 
                has not notified the licensee that the receipt of a 
                firearm by such other person would violate subsection 
                (g) or (n) of this section; and''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(7) The Attorney General shall--
            ``(A) prescribe the form on which a petition shall be 
        submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)(ii);
            ``(B) make the form available electronically, and provide a 
        copy of the form to all licensees referred to in paragraph (1);
            ``(C) provide the petitioner and the licensee involved 
        written notice of receipt of the petition, either 
        electronically or by first-class mail; and
            ``(D) respond on an expedited basis to any such petition 
        received by the Attorney General.
    ``(8)(A) If, after 3 business days have elapsed since the licensee 
initially contacted the system about a firearm transaction, the system 
notifies the licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such other 
person would not violate subsection (g) or (n), the licensee may 
continue to rely on that notification for the longer of--
            ``(i) an additional 25 calendar days after the licensee 
        receives the notification; or
            ``(ii) 30 calendar days after the date of the initial 
        contact.
    ``(B) If such other person has met the requirements of paragraph 
(1)(B)(ii) before the system destroys the records related to the 
firearm transaction, the licensee may continue to rely on such other 
person having met the requirements for an additional 25 calendar days 
after the date such other person first met the requirements.''.

SEC. 3. GAO REPORTS.

    Within 90 days after the end of each of the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-
year periods that begin with the effective date of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall prepare and submit to 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a written report analyzing the 
extent to which, during the respective period, paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) 
and (7) of section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code, have 
prevented firearms from being transferred to prohibited persons, which 
report shall include but not be limited to the following--
            (1) an assessment of the overall implementation of such 
        subsections, including a description of the challenges faced in 
        implementing such paragraphs; and
            (2) an aggregate description of firearm purchase delays and 
        denials, and an aggregate analysis of the petitions submitted 
        pursuant to such paragraph (1)(B)(ii).

SEC. 4. REPORTS ON PETITIONS SUPPORTING FIREARM TRANSFERS NOT 
              IMMEDIATELY APPROVED BY NICS SYSTEM, THAT WERE NOT 
              RESPONDED TO IN A TIMELY MANNER.

    The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall make an 
annual report to the public on the number of petitions received by the 
national instant criminal background check system established under 
section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that were 
submitted pursuant to subclause (I) of section 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of 
title 18, United States Code, with respect to which a determination was 
not made within the 10-day period referred to in subclause (II) of such 
section.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.

    Within 150 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General, in consultation with the National Resource Center on 
Domestic Violence and Firearms, shall submit to the Congress a report 
analyzing the effect, if any, of this Act on the safety of victims of 
domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sexual 
assault, and stalking, and whether any further amendments to the 
background check process, including amendments to the conditions that 
must be met under this Act for a firearm to be transferred when the 
system has not notified the licensee that such transfer would not 
violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States 
Code, would likely result in a reduction in the risk of death or great 
bodily harm to victims of domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating 
partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 210 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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