zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
COPS Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2015

 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to modify the public safety and community policing grant program (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program) to: (1) establish within the Department of Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to be headed by a Director; and (2) authorize the Attorney General to carry out more than one such program.

Repeals provisions authorizing: (1) the Attorney General to give preferential consideration to applications for hiring and rehiring additional career law enforcement officers that involve a non-federal contribution exceeding a 25% minimum; and (2) the use of such grants to develop and implement either innovative programs to permit members of the community to assist state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the prevention of crime in the community or new administrative and managerial systems to facilitate the adoption of community-oriented policing as an organization-wide philosophy.

Authorizes the use of such grants to: (1) hire school resource officers and establish local partnerships to enhance school safety and to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems in elementary and secondary schools; (2) establish and implement innovative programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug manufacturing, distribution, and use; (3) meet emerging law enforcement needs; (4) hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law enforcement officers for deployment in community-oriented policing; and (5) develop new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention and training.

Requires an application for a grant for officers performing homeland security duties to explain how the applicant intends to coordinate with federal law enforcement in support of the applicant's homeland security mission.

Increases the limit on grant funding provided for hiring or rehiring a career law enforcement officer, unless the Attorney General grants a waiver, from $75,000 to $125,000.

Extends the authorization of appropriations for the program for FY2015-FY2019.

Date: 2015-05-14
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Detectives Nemorin, Andrews and Moore Anti-Gun Trafficking Act of 2015

 Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 20 years for the sale, transfer, or barter of a stolen firearm or a firearm with an altered serial number or for the sale of such firearms to persons prohibited from possessing them; (2) impose an additional five-year prison term for possession of a stolen or altered firearm during the commission of a felony; (3) require licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, or dealers to contact the national instant stolen gun check system before receiving firearms from any unlicensed person; and (4) increase criminal penalties for the use of a stolen or altered firearm during the commission of a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime.

Amends the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act to: (1) include illegal gun trafficking in Department of Justice programs to combat violations of federal firearms laws, and (2) authorize appropriations for FY2015 to hire additional assistant U.S. attorneys.

Directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation to make the National Crime Information Center Gun File available to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to complete crime gun traces. Requires the ATF to: (1) notify law enforcement agencies of information relating to stolen firearms, and (2) return stolen firearms to persons who reported them as stolen.

Requires the Attorney General to establish a national instant stolen gun check system.

Date: 2015-05-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2015

 Amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful for any person to operate a gun show unless such person: (1) has attained 21 years of age; (2) is not prohibited from transporting, shipping, or receiving firearms and has not violated any federal firearms requirements; (3) has registered with the Attorney General as a gun show operator and has provided a photograph and fingerprints; (4) has not concealed material information nor made false statements in connection with a gun show operator registration; and (5) notifies the Attorney General of the date, time, and duration of a gun show not later than 30 days before the commencement of such show and verifies the identity of each vendor at the gun show.

Imposes recordkeeping requirements on gun show operators and criminal penalties for failure to register as a gun show operator and maintain required records.

Grants the Attorney General authority to enter the business premises of any gun show operator, without a showing of reasonable cause or a warrant, to examine records and inventory to determine compliance with this Act.

Increases criminal penalties for serious recordkeeping violations and violations of criminal background check requirements.

Authorizes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to hire additional investigators to carry out inspections of gun shows.

Date: 2015-05-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2015 or the SERVE Act of 2015 

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual taxpayer who is a bona fide volunteer of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization a $1,000 refundable tax credit.  Requires such individual to: (1) have served as a bona fide volunteer performing fire fighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, and ambulance services for more than six months in a taxable year; (2) have provided more than 40 hours of such services actively engaged in the prevention, control, or extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; or (3) have been stationed on the premises of an emergency response organization in anticipation of being actively engaged in providing such services.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Firearm Risk Protection Act of 2015

 Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to: (1) prohibit the purchase or sale of a firearm unless the purchaser presents proof to the seller and the seller verifies that the purchaser is covered by a qualified liability insurance policy, and (2) require any person who purchases a firearm on or after this Act's effective date to be covered by such a policy. Exempts the purchase or sale of a firearm for use by a federal, state, or local agency.

Defines "qualified liability insurance policy" to mean a policy that: (1) provides liability insurance covering the purchaser specifically for losses resulting from use of the firearm while it is owned by the purchaser, and (2) is issued by an insurer licensed or authorized to provide the coverage by the state in which the purchaser resides.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Collectible Firearms Protection Act

 Amends the Arms Export Control Act to allow the importation of certain firearms listed as curios or relics into the United States by a licensed importer without the requirement of an authorization from or payment to the Department of State or the Department of Defense upon certification to the Attorney General that such firearms are lawfully possessed under the laws of the exporting country.

Date: 2015-06-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: International affairs
This bill authorizes FY2016-FY2021 appropriations for the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention to conduct or support research on firearms safety or gun violence prevention.

Date: 2015-06-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Health
Handgun Trigger Safety Act of 2015

 Requires the Director of the National Institute of Justice to make one-year grants to qualified entities (states or local governments, organizations, or institutions of higher education) to develop technology for personalized handguns (a handgun that is manufactured to enable only the authorized user to fire it). Provides that a recipient shall use at least 70% of the grant amount to develop technology for personalized handguns and may use not more than 20% to develop technology for retrofitted personalized handguns and not more than 10% for administrative costs.

Prohibits any person: (1) beginning 5 years after enactment of this Act, from manufacturing in the United States a handgun that is not a personalized handgun; or (2) beginning 10 years after enactment of this Act, from distributing in commerce any handgun that is not a personalized handgun or a retrofitted personalized handgun. Exempts antique firearms and firearms distributed or sold to the Department of Defense. Provides for the enforcement of such prohibitions by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and by the states.

Requires a handgun manufacturer, upon request of the owner of a handgun manufactured in the United States that is not a personalized handgun or a retrofitted personalized handgun, to retrofit the handgun and return it to the owner within a reasonable period of time as established by the CPSC. Makes the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund available to the Attorney General for payments to reimburse handgun manufacturers for the costs of retrofitting handguns.

Amends the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act to exclude from the definition of "qualified product" any handgun manufactured after five years after enactment of this Act that is not a personalized handgun or retrofitted personalized handgun.

Date: 2015-06-02
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act of 2015

 Amends the Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 to revise what are prohibited firearms to include any firearm: (1) that, after removal of all parts other than major components (currently, of grips, stocks, and magazines), is not as detectable by walk-through metal detectors as the Security Exemplar; or (2) any major component of which, if subjected to inspection by the types of detection devices (currently, x-ray machines) commonly used at airports for security screening, would not generate an image that accurately depicts the shape of the component.

Modifies the definition of: (1) "major component" to include the barrel of a firearm only in the case of a rifle or shotgun, and (2) "Security Exemplar" to repeal the requirement that it be fabricated within 12 months after enactment of such Act.

Exempts from undetectable firearms provisions: (1) a prototype firearm for detectability testing; (2) any firearm received by, in the possession of, or under the control of the United States; or (3) the manufacture, importation, possession, transfer, receipt, shipment, or delivery of a firearm by a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer pursuant to an existing contract with the United States. (Replaces the exemption of any firearm that has been certified by the Department of Defense or the Central Intelligence Agency as necessary for military or intelligence applications or that is manufactured and sold exclusively to U.S. military or intelligence agencies.)

Date: 2015-06-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Lawful Purpose and Self Defense Act

Amends the federal criminal code to modify the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" for purposes of federal firearms provisions to: (1) include a projectile that is designed and intended by the manufacturer or importer for use in a handgun (currently, a projectile that may be used in a handgun); (2) repeal the exclusion of a projectile that the Attorney General finds is primarily intended for sporting purposes; and (3) exclude a projectile that is primarily intended by the manufacturer or importer to be used in a rifle or shotgun and a handgun projectile that is designed and intended by the manufacturer or importer to be used for hunting, recreational, or competitive shooting.

Repeals a prohibition on assembling from imported parts a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun that is identical to one prohibited from importation as not being suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.

Repeals the condition that in order for a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer to be permitted to ship to a member of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty outside the United States or to clubs whose entire membership is composed of such members, and for such members or clubs to be permitted to receive, a firearm or ammunition intended for the lawful personal use of such members or club, the firearm or ammunition must be determined by the Attorney General to be generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes.

Includes among the categories of firearms or ammunition that may be authorized for importation into the United States by the Attorney General, within 30 days after receiving an application therefor: (1) ammunition that is not armor piercing ammunition; (2) a firearm or ammunition that is being brought in for the use of a federal, state, or local government agency; and (3) a firearm or ammunition that is being imported for the purpose of exportation.

Amends the National Firearms Act to modify the definition of "destructive device" to exclude: (1) a shotgun or shotgun shell which the Department of the Treasury finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for lawful (currently, sporting) purposes; and (2) an antique or a rifle which the owner intends to use for (currently, solely for) sporting purposes.

Authorizes the temporary interstate transfer of a firearm for lawful (currently, sporting) purposes.

Date: 2015-06-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Handgun Purchaser Licensing Act

Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes for the development, implementation, and evaluation of handgun purchaser licensing requirements and the implementation and improvement of handgun purchaser licensing programs.

 Requires grant applications to include a description of: (1) the law that the applicant has enacted to require a license for any purchase of a handgun, including any exemptions; and (2) how the applicant will use the grant to carry out or improve its program.

Requires an applicant, to be eligible for a grant, to have in effect handgun purchaser licensing laws that include requirements that:

 an applicant for a handgun license or permit must be at least 21 years old and must be a national or lawful permanent resident of the United States; such an individual must apply for the license or permit at a law enforcement agency in the state in which he or she resides, must reapply within five years, and must submit to a background investigation and a criminal history check; such an individual must submit fingerprints and photographs and must provide proof that the individual is legally present and lawfully resides in the United States; and any individual who is prohibited from possessing a firearm under the federal criminal code may not receive a license or permit.

Date: 2015-06-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act of 2015 

Amends Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exclusion for benefits paid to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical providers by states and local governments, to: (1) increase the amount of benefits excludible; and (2) make such tax exclusion available for taxable years beginning in 2016, 2017, or 2018.

Date: 2015-06-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Fairness in Firearm Testing Act

Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to make a video recording of the entire process of its examination and testing of an item for the purpose of determining whether the item is a firearm (and if so, the type of firearm) or ammunition. Bars the ATF from editing or erasing any such recording.

Directs the ATF to make available a digital video disc that contains a copy of the recording: (1) at the request of a person who claims an ownership interest in such item, and (2) to a defendant in a criminal proceeding involving such item. Provides that an item which the ATF has determined is a firearm or ammunition shall not be admissible as evidence unless: (1) the ATF has complied with the requirements of this Act to make its digital video disc available, or (2) such compliance has been waived in writing by the person against whom the item is offered as evidence.

Date: 2015-06-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Airport Security Act of 2015

 Directs the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to establish a program to prohibit all but specified authorized individuals from possessing a firearm at a covered airport, including any individual who enters the airport, or exits public transportation at it, for air travel, meeting another individual, picking up cargo, or employment.

Directs TSA to require airport operators to:

 display conspicuous notices summarizing the program at each airport entrance, and require law enforcement personnel to monitor the airport to prevent violations and escort air travelers who are authorized to carry a firearm. Prescribes criminal penalties for nonauthorized individuals who knowingly possess a firearm at a covered airport.

Date: 2015-06-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Protecting Taxpayers and Communities from Local Detention Quotas Act

This bill prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from negotiating a contract with a private detention company that contains any provision relating to a guaranteed minimum number of immigration detention beds at any specific facility.

This prohibition also applies to a contract extension or contract renegotiation.

Date: 2015-06-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Immigration
Keeping Guns From Criminals Act

This bill amends the federal criminal code to modify the criminal liability standard for certain firearm sales or transfers.

Current law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly sell or transfer a firearm to a prohibited person (i.e., a person who is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm). This legislation eliminates the "knowingly" standard to impose criminal liability on any person who sells or transfers a firearm to a prohibited person, regardless of whether such seller or transferor knows that the buyer is a prohibited person. 

A defendant seller or transferor may assert as an affirmative defense against prosecution evidence to prove that the buyer or recipient passed a background check or possessed a valid concealed carry permit in the state of transfer.

The affirmative defense does not apply if defendant knew or had reasonable cause to believe the buyer or recipient was a prohibited person.

Date: 2015-06-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act

 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful for: (1) anyone whose federal license to import, manufacture, or deal in firearms has been revoked, or whose license renewal application has been denied, to transfer business inventory firearms into a personal collection or to an employee of such person or to receive a firearm that was a business inventory firearm as of the date of a revocation or renewal denial notice; and (2) anyone who has received a license revocation or renewal denial notice to transfer to any other person a firearm that was a business inventory firearm.

The bill imposes a fine and/or prison term of not more than one year for violations of this Act (five years for willful violations).

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
End Purchase of Firearms by Dangerous Individuals Act of 2015 

This bill requires each state to establish a reporting system through which mental health professionals may report information about an individual committed to a mental institution who poses a danger to himself/herself or others or an individual who communicates a serious threat of physical violence against another individual.

 The legislation requires states to provide mental health records to the National Instant Criminal History Background Check System (NICS) for use in determining whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm. It sets forth provisions to ensure maintenance and removal of records, inclusion of an appeals process, and re-evaluation of disqualifications for individuals under age 18.

The bill also requires states to establish a process related to temporary involuntary commitment of individuals at mental health facilities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) must report annually to Congress on states' progress implementing the reporting systems. The bill authorizes DOJ to reduce a state's formula grant allocation under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program for failing to comply.

It directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish guidelines for state reporting systems and state processes regarding temporary involuntary commitment. HHS must also establish a process to certify state compliance.

The bill amends the federal criminal code to expand the prohibition against selling firearms or ammunition to persons committed to any mental institution to include persons who communicate to a mental health professional a serious threat to commit an act of violence.

Miscellaneous provisions clarify the treatment of individuals temporarily involuntarily committed by a state process, limit civil liability for mental health professionals who fail to report, establish criteria for determining dangerousness, and require a comprehensive study of state statutes that require mental health professionals to directly report certain individuals into state firearm prohibition databases. 

The bill replaces various statutory references to persons adjudicated as a "mental defective" with persons adjudicated as "ineligible due to disqualifying mental status."

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Enforce Existing Gun Laws Act 

This bill amends several appropriations laws to remove limitations on the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to conduct activities related to the administration of federal firearms laws.

The amended appropriations laws include:

 the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012; the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010; the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008; the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006; the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005; and the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003. The bill removes provisions from these laws that:

 prohibit the consolidation or centralization within the Department of Justice of firearms acquisition and disposition records maintained by federal firearms licensees; prohibit the imposition of a requirement that firearms dealers conduct a physical inventory; require instant background check records to be destroyed within 24 hours; limit the use of firearms tracing data; limit the processing of Freedom of Information Act requests in connection with arson or explosive incidents or firearm traces; limit denials of applications to import "curios or relics" firearms, parts, or ammunition; and prohibit denials of federal firearms licenses due to lack of business activity.

Date: 2015-06-25
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Safer Communities Act of 2015

This bill provides grants to expand mental health crisis assistance programs, to support comprehensive school mental health programs, and to enhance mental health and substance abuse needs of prison inmates.

The bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to expand research on violence associated with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

It requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand the National Violent Death Reporting System to all 50 states and to research the causes, mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries from gun violence.

The bill states that no provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act prohibits physicians from asking patients about guns in their homes, speaking to a patient about gun safety, or reporting a patient's threat of violence.

It amends the Gun Control Act of 1968 to specify that the term "committed to a mental institution" applies to involuntary inpatient or outpatient treatment.

The bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to permit the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to states to remove firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others.

DOJ must promptly notify law enforcement agencies when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a firearm.

The bill replaces statutory references to persons "adjudicated as a mental defective" with persons "adjudicated as ineligible due to disqualifying mental status."

It amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to:

 establish procedures to restore firearm ownership rights after a mental health adjudication or commitment, require an annual report on record submissions due to domestic violence misdemeanor convictions, authorize state grants to improve the automation and transmittal of mental health and criminal history records, and require quarterly updates to federal agency record submissions. The bill reauthorizes the National Criminal History Records Improvement Program for FY2016-FY2019.

Date: 2015-07-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Background Check Completion Act

This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person prior to completion of a background check. (Current law permits a licensed gun dealer to transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person if a submitted background check remains incomplete after three business days.)

Date: 2015-07-14
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Enhancing Safety at Military Installations Act

This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to issue a new directive authorizing trained military personnel to carry military-issued firearms on military bases and Armed Forces recruitment facilities.

Army Regulation 190-14, entitled "Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties," and DOD Directive Number 5210.56, entitled "Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DOD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties" are repealed.

Any provision in any other law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits trained military personnel from carrying officially issued firearms on military bases and Armed Forces recruitment facilities shall have no force or effect.

Trained military personnel shall not be prohibited from carrying officially issued firearms on military bases or Armed Forces recruitment facilities.

Date: 2015-07-20
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Accidental Firearms Transfers Reporting Act of 2015

This bill requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to submit a biannual report to Congress on the number of proposed firearm transfers where: (1) a licensed gun dealer submitted a background check through the National Instant Criminal History Background Check System (NICS), (2) NICS failed to respond to the licensed gun dealer within three business days, and (3) the licensed gun dealer completed the transfer.

The FBI must also report on the procedures followed once the transferee is discovered to be ineligible.

Date: 2015-07-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Zero Tolerance for Domestic Abusers Act

This bill amends the federal criminal code to:

 state that the term "intimate partner" includes a dating partner and any other person subject to a protection order under state domestic or family violence law; and expand the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by a current or former intimate partner. The bill makes it a crime to knowingly sell or dispose of a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of stalking. It also makes it a crime for such convicted stalker to receive or possess a firearm.

Date: 2015-07-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Military Base Self-Defense Act

Repeals: (1) Army Regulation 190-14, entitled "Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties"; and (2) Department of Defense Directive Number 5210.56, entitled "Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DOD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties."

Nullifies any provision in any other law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits military personnel trained in firearms from carrying officially issued or personally owned firearms on military bases.

Prohibits: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Secretaries of the military departments from reinstating the firearm bans repealed in this Act or enacting similar restrictions; and (2) the President from taking any executive action, promulgating any rule, or issuing any executive order or regulation to prohibit military personnel from carrying firearms.

Date: 2015-07-21
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Gun Look-Alike Case Act

Transfers the Department of Commerce's authority to regulate the markings on toy, look-alike, or imitation firearms under the Federal Energy Management Improvement Act of 1988 to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).

Amends the CPSIA to prohibit a toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm from being manufactured, entered into commerce, shipped, transported, or received unless it contains, or has affixed to it, a marking approved by the CPSC.

Maintains existing standards that require such firearms, subject to regulatory exceptions, to have a blaze orange plug inserted in their barrels. Sets forth exceptions that: (1) authorize the CPSC to provide for alternative markings or devices, or (2) require former Commerce regulations concerning approved markings to be considered approved by the CPSC in the absence of any CPSC regulations.

Expands the categories of look-alike firearms subject to such marking requirements and regulations to include product cases or covers that have the appearance, shape, or configuration of a firearm.

Repeals Commerce's authorities for approving alternative markings and penalizing violations. Requires violations to instead be treated under the CPSIA.

Date: 2015-07-27
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Commerce
Protecting America's Warriors Act

This bill states that any provision in any law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits trained military personnel or trained civilian personnel from carrying officially-issued or personally-owned firearms (defined as handguns only) on a military installation in the United States shall have no force or effect with regard to such military personnel.

The Department of Defense and the Secretaries of the military departments shall not reinstate the firearm bans or enact similar restrictions prohibiting or restricting trained military personnel or trained civilian personnel from carrying officially-issued or personally-owned firearms on a military installation in the United States.

The President shall not take any executive action or promulgate any rule or issue any executive order or regulation to prohibit or restrict trained military personnel or trained civilian personnel from carrying officially-issued or personally-owned firearms on a military installation in the United States.

Date: 2015-07-27
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Kline DeWire Public Safety Officers' Retroactive Benefits Act

 This bill amends the Dale Long Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2012 to provide that such Act shall apply to injuries sustained by rescue squad or ambulance crew members on or after December 1, 2007 (currently, June 1, 2009).

Date: 2015-07-28
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Law Enforcement Torture Prevention Act of 2015

 This bill amends the federal criminal code to impose a prison term of up to 10 years on any person who, acting under color of law, commits, or attempts or conspires to commit, torture. If death results from such torture, the offender shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.

"Torture" is defined to mean intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, on a person for such purposes as obtaining from that person or another person information or a confession, punishing that person, or intimidating or coercing that person or another person, or for any reason based on discrimination, but does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
This bill amends the federal criminal code to lengthen from 3 to 14 business days the submitted background check completion period that must elapse before a licensed gun dealer is permitted to transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person whose background check remains incomplete.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act

 Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations that require each firearm manufactured in the United States to be marked with a serial number that is located inside the firearm's receiver or that is visible only in infrared light, in addition to the serial number mark otherwise required.

Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit national instant criminal background check system records about a prospective firearm transferee from being destroyed until after 180 days after the system assigns and provides a firearms licensee with a unique identification number for the transfer, and (2) repeal provisions prohibiting appropriated funds from being used for any system that does not require the destruction of any identifying information submitted for a transferee within 24 hours after the system advises a licensee that the transferee's receipt of a firearm is not prohibited.

Requires each licensed firearms dealer to conduct a physical check of its firearms business inventory. Amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, to repeal prohibitions against using appropriated funds to: (1) promulgate or implement any rule requiring a physical inventory of any firearms business; or (2) disclose contents of the Firearms Trace System database maintained by the National Trace Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or any information required to be kept by firearms licensees except as specified in that Act.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Federal Information Security Management Reform Act of 2015

Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in administering federal agencies' implementation of information system security policies, to: (1) operate consolidated intrusion detection, prevention, or protective capabilities and use of associated countermeasures to protect agency information and systems from security threats; (2) provide incident detection, analysis, mitigation, and response information and remote or onsite technical assistance; (3) develop and conduct impact assessments in consultation with other agencies and private entities; (4) foster development of technologies for use across multiple agencies in conjunction with other agencies and the private sector; and (5) coordinate such information security policies with standards for national security systems and policies issued by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Director of National Intelligence.

 Authorizes the DHS Secretary to acquire, intercept, retain, use, and disclose communications and system traffic transiting to or from or stored on agency information systems and deploy countermeasures if the Secretary certifies that: (1) the measures are reasonably necessary to protect agency information systems from security threats; (2) content of communications will not be retained, and traffic will not be subject to countermeasures, unless associated with a known or reasonably suspected information security threat; (3) the information will be used for law enforcement purposes only with the Attorney General's approval when the information is evidence of a crime; (4) system users have been notified of the potential for such an acquisition or disclosure; and (5) the procedures have been approved by the Attorney General.

Allows agency heads to disclose such information to the Secretary notwithstanding any other law that would otherwise restrict or prevent such disclosures. Provides liability protections to private entities authorized to assist the Secretary for such purposes.

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue a directive to an agency to take any lawful action with respect to the operation of a system that maintains agency information in response to a known or reasonably suspected information security threat, vulnerability, or incident that represents a substantial threat to an agency's information security; or (2) authorize, without prior consultation with the affected agency, the use of protective capabilities under the Secretary's control if there is an imminent threat and a directive is unlikely to be timely.

Exempts DOD and the intelligence community from such procedures.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015

This bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to revise an eligibility condition for a state to receive a grant under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program and a waiver of the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program.

Specifically, it directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a four-year state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Back Check System (NICS). DOJ must reduce the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (JAG) Program funding for a state that fails to comply with benchmarks.

The bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to certify whether it has provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm.

It amends the federal criminal code and the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to define the terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution."

The bill extends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act background check requirements to a transfer of a firearm between private parties by prohibiting such a transfer unless a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer has first taken possession of the firearm for the purpose of submitting a background check.

A gun owner must report a lost or stolen firearm to DOJ and local law enforcement authorities within 48 hours of discovery.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Firearm Rights Equally Enforced Act or the FREE Act

Amends the federal criminal code to permit an individual who is not prohibited from receiving a firearm under federal law, and to whom a state has issued a license or permit either to carry a concealed firearm or to carry a firearm that is partially or fully visible to the public, to carry a firearm in any other state, subject to the limitations imposed by the state that issued the license or permit.

Authorizes a state to: (1) impose a less restrictive limitation than the state that issued the license or permit; and (2) condition the exercise of such right upon the payment of a fee, as long as such fee is not set at a level that unduly burdens the exercise of the right.

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2015

This bill amends the federal criminal code to make trafficking in firearms a crime. Specifically, it prohibits:

 purchasing or transferring a firearm with the intent to deliver it to a prohibited person; providing false or misleading material information in connection with a firearm purchase or transfer; and directing, promoting, or facilitating such prohibited conduct. The prohibition does not apply to a firearm lawfully acquired to give as a gift or lawfully received as a gift.

A person who commits a gun trafficking offense is subject to a prison term of up to 20 years (or 25 years if such person also acted as an organizer). A person who conspires to commit a gun trafficking offense is subject to a prison term of up to 10 years. 

The U.S. Sentencing Commission must review and, if appropriate, amend the sentencing guidelines and policy statements that apply to persons convicted of trafficking in firearms.

Date: 2015-09-09
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Police Reporting Information, Data, and Evidence Act of 2015 or the PRIDE Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to award grants to state and tribal governments to report information about, promote public awareness of, and train law enforcement personnel on shooting incidents and use-of-force incidents involving a law enforcement officer and a civilian.

A grant-eligible state or tribal government must demonstrate that its law enforcement use-of-force policy is publicly available.

DOJ must audit incident reports, determine grantees' compliance with information requirements, and publish a report that contains reported data.

Date: 2015-09-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Protect Law Enforcement Armor Act or the PLEA Act

This bill amends the federal criminal code to: (1) prohibit the manufacture or importation of projectiles that may be used in a handgun and that are determined by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be capable of penetrating body armor; and (2) require DOJ to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against the Body Armor Exemplar (concerning the protection of law enforcement officers), taking into account variations in performance related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the projectile's design.

 It prohibits the manufacture, sale, possession, or transfer of any handgun that uses armor piercing ammunition, except: (1) where manufactured and sold exclusively to U.S. military, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies; and (2) by a licensed manufacturer or contractor for the purpose of examining and testing to determine whether such prohibition applies.

Date: 2015-09-11
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Honoring Our Fallen TSA Officers Act

This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend public safety officers' death benefits to Transportation Security Administration employees who are responsible for protecting the nation's transportation systems.

Date: 2015-09-16
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act of 2015

 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance to award matching grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes to purchase body-worn cameras.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance must give preference to grant applications from jurisdictions that: (1) have comprehensive policies and procedures related to implementation of a body-worn camera program, (2) have high percentages of officers without access to body-worn cameras, (3) have violent crime rates above the national average, and (4) agree to submit metrics on the use of body-worn cameras.

To offset the cost, it requires the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations to limit administrative leave for federal employees to 20 days per year, unless approved individually by the agency head. The Office of Management and Budget must ensure each agency adjusts the number of authorized full-time equivalent employees to reflect lower personnel requirements due to increased available work hours per employee.

Date: 2015-09-17
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Good Neighbor Gun Dealer Act

This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to create and publish a voluntary code of conduct (i.e., Good Neighbor Code of Conduct) that urges licensed gun dealers to take steps to prevent the sale of firearms to individuals prohibited from purchasing firearms, implement a safety plan to detect and deter firearm theft, cooperate with law enforcement investigations, and ensure that a completed background check precedes a firearm sale.

DOJ must certify and publish a list of Good Neighbor gun dealers who comply with the code of conduct.

The bill permits DOJ to publicly disclose firearms trace data unless such disclosure undermines an investigation or compromises law enforcement efforts or public safety.

DOJ must submit to Congress a strategic plan to improve firearms trace data, identify licensed dealers who transfer firearms used in crimes, and increase enforcement efforts against licensed gun dealers who violate firearm laws.

Date: 2015-09-18
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) 100% expensing in a current taxable year of the cost of automated fire sprinkler system retrofit property, as defined by this Act; and (2) accelerated depreciation (i.e., a 15-year recovery period) of automated fire sprinkler system retrofit property that is installed in a building or structure where the floor of any occupiable story is greater than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access and that has a certain classification by the National Fire Protection Association.

Date: 2015-09-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Promoting Good Cyber Hygiene Act of 2015

This bill requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish for the federal government, the private sector, and any individual or organization a list of voluntary best practices for effective and usable cyber hygiene to help protect information systems or devices against cybersecurity threats that include unauthorized access, alteration of information or code running on such systems or devices, and unauthorized denials of service.

The Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with NIST and the Federal Trade Commission, must: (1) assess cybersecurity threats relating to mobile devices and the effect of such threats on the cybersecurity of the federal government's information systems and networks, and (2) submit recommendations for addressing such threats.

Date: 2015-10-01
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Hearing Protection Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a tax on a silencer after October 22, 2015 may receive a refund of such tax.

The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.

Date: 2015-10-22
Topic: Law and Crime (Other)
Subject: Taxation