Heller Public Firearms Range Act of 2014

Bill: 113-hr-5756
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Stockman, Steve [R-TX-36]
Introduced: 2014-11-20
Policy area: Sports and Recreation
Subjects: Birds

District of Columbia

Firearms and explosives

Hunting and fishing

Sports and recreation facilities

State and local finance

User charges and fees

Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Latest action: action_date: 2014-12-02
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2014-11-20
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>Heller Public Firearms Range Act of 2014 - Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to include the District of Columbia in the apportionment to states and U.S. territories and possessions of revenues from taxes imposed on pistols, revolvers, bows, and arrows.</p> <p>Revises specified payments authority to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the Mayor of the District in conducting wildlife restoration projects and hunter safety programs; (2) authorize payments to the District out of funds made available under the Act for such purposes; and (3) limit the amount of such payments to one-half of 1% of the total amount apportioned to states, territories, and possessions for any year.</p> <p>Requires the Secretary to use amounts in the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund (FAWRF) to make a limited grant in FY2015 to the Mayor for construction and operation of an indoor public target range for firearm users in the District.</p> <p>Requires the Secretary to construct and operate the target range on suitable federal land within the District using FAWRF funds and such grant amount or from other sources, if the Mayor fails to apply for the grant within 90 days after enactment of this Act or fails to construct a target range with it within one year after the enactment.</p>

tv_txt: I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5756 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES November 20, 2014 Mr. Stockman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To restore a public firearms range to the District of Columbia.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Heller Public Firearms Range Act of 2014 . 2. Congressional findings The Congress finds the following: (1) The right to keep and bear arms in the District of Columbia has been severely restricted for many years, resulting in citizens with firearms skills insufficient for proper safety. (2) The ability of the public to safely use firearms for hunting and self defense is dependent on sufficient opportunities for safety education and training. (3) The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669 et seq. ) facilitates hunter and firearm safety education and training for all States. (4) Richard A. Heller of Washington, DC, has shown untiring energy and courage in pursuing Second Amendment rights for the citizens of the District of Columbia, resulting in the landmark Supreme Court decision in the case District of Columbia v. Heller (554 U.S. 570, 2008). 3. Amendments to the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (a) Apportionment to District of Columbia Section 4(c) of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669c(c) ) is amended by inserting the District of Columbia, after Puerto Rico, . (b) Cooperation and payment of funds Section 8A of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669g–1 ) is amended to read as follows: 8A. Cooperation and payment of funds (a) Cooperation and payment (1) In general The Secretary of the Interior— (A) may cooperate with the Secretary of Agriculture of Puerto Rico, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Governor of Guam, the Governor of American Samoa, the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Governor of the Virgin Islands, in the conduct of wildlife restoration projects and hunter safety programs as provided by section 8(b), upon such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems fair, just, and equitable; and (B) subject to paragraph (2), may apportion to Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands, out of the money available for apportionment under this Act, such sums as the Secretary shall determine, which shall not exceed, for any year— (i) for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, one-half of 1 percent of the total amount apportioned for the year; (ii) for Guam, one-sixth of 1 percent of such total amount apportioned; (iii) for American Samoa, one-sixth of 1 percent of such total amount apportioned; (iv) for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, one-sixth of 1 percent of such total amount apportioned; and (v) for the Virgin Islands, one-sixth of 1 percent of such total amount apportioned. (2) Limitation The Secretary shall not require any of such cooperating agencies to pay an amount that exceeds 25 percent of the cost of any project. (b) Unexpended and unobligated apportionments Any unexpended or unobligated balance of any apportionment made under this section— (1) shall be available for expenditure in Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Virgin Islands, as applicable, in the succeeding year, on any approved project; and (2) if unexpended or unobligated at the end of such year may be made available for expenditure by the Secretary in carrying out the Migratory Bird Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 715 et seq.). . (c) Additional apportionment to District of Columbia If before the date of the enactment of this Act the Secretary of the Interior makes an apportionment of funds under any of subsection (b) or (c) of section 4 or section 10(a) of such Act ( 16 U.S.C. 669c , 669h–1(a)) for the fiscal year in which this Act takes effect, the Secretary shall make an additional apportionment under that subsection or section, respectively, to the District of Columbia for the fiscal year in an amount equal to the amount that would have been apportioned to the District under that subsection or section, as applicable, if this Act were effective at the time of the preceding apportionment under that subsection or section. (d) Grant for construction and operation of indoor public target range for firearm users (1) In general The Secretary of the Interior shall use amounts in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund to make a grant in fiscal year 2015 to the Mayor of the District of Columbia for the construction and operation of an indoor public target range for firearms users in the District of Columbia. (2) Amount A grant under this subsection shall not exceed $750,000. (3) Range requirements The Secretary shall require that any target range constructed with a grant under this subsection shall include— (A) at least 10 firing lanes of at least 25 yards in length each; (B) classroom facilities for hunter and firearm safety education and training; (C) offices suitable for retail sales of firearms and ammunition by holders of Federal firearms licenses; (D) secure storage for firearms stocked by federally licensed firearm dealers and for purposes related to the operation of the range; and (E) such other amenities as are appropriate for a public firearms range. (4) Construction and operation by secretary If the Mayor of the District of Columbia fails to apply for such grant by not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act or fails to construct a target range with such a grant in accordance with this subsection by not later than one year after such date of enactment, the Secretary shall construct and operate an indoor public firearms target range on suitable Federal land within the District of Columbia using funds in the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund, and the amount available for a grant under this subsection or from other sources. (5) Operating costs The ongoing costs of operation of such range constructed and operated by the District under this Act, or one constructed and operated by the Secretary under this Act, shall be paid— (A) through funds annually apportioned to the District of Columbia from the Federal aid to wildlife restoration fund, (B) through amounts apportioned to the District, pursuant to a grant, (C) by fees paid by users of the range, that shall be comparable to fees charged for use of public target ranges in the commercial market, and (D) by funds raised from the public.