[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5232 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5232

To ensure that only persons eligible to receive a firearm may purchase 
  and possess firearms, and to prevent felons and persons adjudicated 
 mentally incompetent from obtaining firearms from firearms dealers by 
    providing for a system for identifying persons prohibited from 
   possessing firearms through a magnetic strip affixed to driver's 
              licenses and other identification documents.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 1994

 Mr. McMillan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure that only persons eligible to receive a firearm may purchase 
  and possess firearms, and to prevent felons and persons adjudicated 
 mentally incompetent from obtaining firearms from firearms dealers by 
    providing for a system for identifying persons prohibited from 
   possessing firearms through a magnetic strip affixed to driver's 
              licenses and other identification documents.

    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 ``Firearms Licensing Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. INDUCEMENT FOR STATES TO ESTABLISH A SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING 
              PERSONS PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING FIREARMS THROUGH A 
              MAGNETIC STRIP AFFIXED TO DRIVER'S LICENSES AND OTHER 
              IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance 
shall reduce by 25 percent the annual allocation to a State for a 
fiscal year under title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 unless the State has in effect laws and procedures which, 
in substance, provide the following:
            (1) Records check required before issuance of driver's 
        license and identification documents; use of magnetic strips to 
        identify prohibited persons.--Before the State transportation 
        agency issues, reissues, or reinstates a license, the agency 
        shall--
                    (A) conduct a record check to determine whether the 
                applicant therefor is a prohibited person by examining 
                the State list referred to in paragraph (4) of this 
                subsection and the national list referred to in 
                subsection (c)(1); and
                    (B) affix to the license of the person a magnetic 
                strip on which is encoded information that--
                            (i) identifies the licensee as a prohibited 
                        person or as a nonprohibited person; and
                            (ii) may be discerned only through the use 
                        of an electronic device that--
                                    (I) is read only;
                                    (II) does not have storage or 
                                communication capabilities; and
                                    (III) signals the user of the 
                                device with--
                                            (aa) a green light if the 
                                        device reads a magnetic strip 
                                        that does not identify the 
                                        person as a prohibited person; 
                                        and
                                            (bb) a red light if the 
                                        device reads a magnetic strip 
                                        that identifies the person as a 
                                        prohibited person.
            (2) Effects of felony conviction or adjudication of mental 
        incompetency.--
                    (A) Seizure and voiding of driver's license.--If a 
                State court convicts a person of a crime punishable by 
                imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year or adjudicates 
                a person as mentally incompetent, the court shall seize 
                any license issued to the person by the State 
                transportation agency, and any such license shall be 
                void.
                    (B) Magnetic strip identifying licensee as a 
                prohibited person to be attached to future licenses.--
                The State transportation agency shall affix to any 
                license issued to a prohibited person a magnetic strip 
                of the type described in paragraph (1)(B) that 
                identifies the licensee as a prohibited person.
            (3) Funding of records checks by increasing fines imposed 
        upon convicted felons.--Any person convicted in the State of a 
        crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year 
        shall, in addition to any sentence imposed under any other 
        provision of State law, be fined an amount sufficient to cover 
        the expenses of criminal records checks conducted pursuant to 
        paragraph (1)(A), taking all such convictions into account on 
        an annual basis.
            (4) Requirement to maintain and update computerized list of 
        prohibited persons.--The State shall create and maintain a 
        computerized list of all persons who are prohibited persons by 
        reason of a conviction or adjudication in the State, and, 
        within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
        shall achieve and maintain at least 80 percent currency of case 
        dispositions in the computerized list for all cases in which 
        there has been an entry of activity within the then immediately 
        preceding 5 years.
    (b) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            (1) License.--The term ``license'' means a license or 
        permit to operate a motor vehicle on the roads and highways of 
        the State, and any identification document issued by a State 
        transportation agency solely for purposes of identification.
            (2) Prohibited person.--The term ``prohibited person'' 
        means a person who--
                    (A) has been convicted of a crime punishable under 
                Federal or State law by imprisonment for a term 
                exceeding 1 year;
                    (B)(i) has been adjudicated mentally incompetent; 
                and
                    (ii)(I) has not been restored to capacity by court 
                order; or
                    (II) has been so restored to capacity for less than 
                5 years; or
                    (C) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any 
                controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the 
                Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
            (3) State transportation agency.--The term ``State 
        transportation agency'' means the State agency responsible for 
        issuing a license, permit, or identification document described 
        in paragraph (1).
    (c) Duties of the Attorney General.--The Attorney General of the 
United States shall--
            (1) create a national, computerized list of prohibited 
        persons;
            (2) incorporate State criminal history records into the 
        Federal criminal records system maintained by the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation;
            (3) develop hardware and software systems to link State 
        lists referred to in subsection (a)(4) with the national list 
        referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection; and
            (4) provide any responsible State agency with access to the 
        national list, upon request.
    (d) Procedures for Correcting Erroneous Records.--
            (1) Request for information.--Any person identified as a 
        prohibited person in records maintained under this section may 
        request the Attorney General of the United States to notify the 
        person of the reasons therefor.
            (2) Compliance with request.--Within 5 days after receipt 
        of a request under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall 
        comply with the request.
            (3) Submission of additional information.--Any person 
        described in paragraph (1) may submit to the Attorney General 
        information to correct, clarify, or supplement records 
        maintained under this section with respect to the person.
            (4) Consideration and use of additional information.--
        Within 5 days after receipt of such information, the Attorney 
        General shall consider the information, investigate the matter 
        further, correct any and all erroneous Federal records relating 
        to such person, and notify any Federal department or agency or 
        any State that was the source of the erroneous records of the 
        errors.
    (e) Judicial Review.--Any person erroneously identified as a 
prohibited person in records maintained pursuant to this section may 
bring an action in any United States district court against the United 
States, or any State or political subdivision thereof which is the 
source of the erroneous information, for damages (including 
consequential damages), injunctive relief, and such other relief as the 
court deems appropriate. If the person prevails in the action, the 
court shall allow the person a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the 
costs.

SEC. 3. LICENSED FIREARMS DEALERS REQUIRED TO CHECK MAGNETIC STRIP ON 
              DRIVER'S LICENSE OF ANY PERSON ATTEMPTING TO PURCHASE A 
              FIREARM.

    (a) Prohibition.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(y)(1) It shall be unlawful for a person to possess a firearm 
unless the person is carrying an identification document, issued to the 
person by the transportation agency of the State in which the person 
resides, affixed to which is a magnetic strip of the type described in 
section 2(a)(1)(B) of the Firearms Licensing Act of 1994 on which is 
encoded information that identifies the licensee as a person who is not 
a prohibited person.
    ``(2) It shall be unlawful for any licensed dealer knowingly to--
            ``(A) transfer a firearm to any person not licensed under 
        section 923, unless the licensed dealer has used an electronic 
        device described in section 2(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the Firearms 
        Licensing Act of 1994 to read the magnetic strip affixed to an 
        identification document issued to the person by the 
        transportation agency of the State in which the premises of the 
        licensed dealer is located; or
            ``(B) fail to notify local law enforcement authorities, 
        within 72 hours, of any person attempting to purchase a firearm 
        who is identified as a prohibited person through the use of 
        such a device.
    ``(3) As used in this subsection:
                    ``(A) The term `identification document' means a 
                license or permit to operate a motor vehicle, and any 
                identification document issued solely for purposes of 
                identification.
                    ``(B) The term ``prohibited person'' means a person 
                who--
                            ``(i) has been convicted of a crime 
                        punishable under Federal or State law by 
                        imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year;
                            ``(ii)(I) has been adjudicated mentally 
                        incompetent; and
                            ``(II)(aa) has not been restored to 
                        capacity by court order; or
                            ``(bb) has been so restored to capacity for 
                        less than 5 years; or
                            ``(iii) is an unlawful user of or addicted 
                        to any controlled substance (as defined in 
                        section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act 
                        (21 U.S.C. 802).
                    ``(C) The term `transportation agency' means the 
                agency responsible for issuing commercial or 
                noncommercial identification documents.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 924(a) of such title is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(6)(A)(i) Subject to this subparagraph, a person who knowingly 
violates section 922(y)(1) shall be imprisoned not less than 6 months 
and not more than 1 year.
    ``(ii) Upon conviction of a violation of section 922(y)(1), the 
court shall offer the defendant the opportunity to seek enlistment or 
appointment in the Armed Forces.
    ``(iii) If the defendant immediately accepts the offer described in 
clause (ii), the court shall, in lieu of imposing any other sentence on 
the defendant, impose a probationary sentence on the defendant, with at 
least the following conditions:
            ``(I) The defendant shall immediately seek enlistment or 
        appointment in the Armed Forces.
            ``(II) The defendant shall become enlisted or appointed in 
        the Armed Forces within 60 days after imposition of such 
        sentence.
            ``(III) The defendant shall complete the minimum period of 
        obligated active service required under the enlistment or 
        appointment.
    ``(iv) The court may not modify or reduce any of the conditions set 
forth in clause (iii) of a sentence of probation imposed under this 
subparagraph.
    ``(v) Subsections (c) and (d) of section 3564, and section 3565(b), 
shall not apply to a sentence of probation imposed under this 
subparagraph.
    ``(B) A licensed dealer who knowingly violates section 922(y)(2) 
shall be fined under this title in an amount that is not less than 
$15,000, imprisoned not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years, or 
both.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect at 
the end of the 2-year period that begins with the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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