[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4044 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4044

 To encourage States to regulate the sale and use of certain handguns, 
           and to gather information on guns used in crimes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 10, 1996

Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Reed, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Ackerman, and Mr. 
Hastings of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To encourage States to regulate the sale and use of certain handguns, 
           and to gather information on guns used in crimes.

    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 ``Safe and Responsible Handgun Act of 
1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) certain handguns that are widely marketed across State 
        lines are traced disproportionately to violent crimes, and in 
        particular to crimes in States other than those in which they 
        were manufactured or purchased;
            (2) many of these handguns are of dangerously poor quality 
        and threaten the safety even of legitimate users for sport or 
        self-defense;
            (3) States should be encouraged to restrict the sale of 
        handguns that are unsafe, particularly suited for crime, and 
        not useful for sporting, hunting, law enforcement, or self-
        defense purposes; and
            (4) accurate and uniform data on the use of guns is 
        essential to formulating effective policy to reduce violent 
        crime involving guns and deaths and injuries from such crimes.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION OF BYRNE GRANTS FOR STATES NOT ELECTING TO ESTABLISH 
              HANDGUN ROSTER BOARDS.

    (a) Handgun Roster Boards.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
        establish guidelines for the establishment by each State of a 
        Handgun Roster Board (in this Act referred to as the ``Board'') 
        which, at a minimum, meets the following requirements:
                    (A) The Board shall consist of 9 members, each of 
                whom shall be eligible to vote in an election for 
                officials of the State, and--
                            (i) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
                        the police;
                            (ii) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
                        the State prosecutor's office;
                            (iii) 1 of whom shall be a representative 
                        of a State organization, or a local chapter of 
                        a national organization, which advocates the 
                        rights of fireams owners;
                            (iv) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
                        handgun dealers or manufacturers;
                            (v) 1 of whom shall be a representative of 
                        a State organization, or local chapter of a 
                        national organization, which advocates greater 
                        control of handguns; and
                            (vi) 3 of whom shall not meet any 
                        requirement of clauses (i) through (v).
                    (B) The Board shall designate 1 of its members as 
                the chairman of the Board.
            (2) Publication of roster.--Not less frequently than 
        annually, the Board shall publish a roster which specifies the 
        types of handguns which may be lawfully manufactured, sold, 
        owned, possessed, or used in the State, and any terms, 
conditions, or circumstances under which such types of handguns may be 
so manufactured, sold, owned, possessed, or used, and shall transmit a 
copy of the roster to each licensed dealer in the State who is not 
prohibited by State law from dealing in handguns.
            (3) Factors to be considered.--In deciding whether to 
        include a type of handgun on the roster, the Board shall 
        consider the following factors:
                    (A) Concealability.
                    (B) Ballistic accuracy.
                    (C) Portability.
                    (D) Quality of materials.
                    (E) Quality of manufacture.
                    (F) Safety features.
                    (G) Caliber.
                    (H) Detectability by the standard security 
                equipment commonly used at airports or courthouses and 
                approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for use 
                at airports in the United States.
                    (I) Utility for legitimate sporting activities, 
                hunting, self-protection, or law enforcement.
            (4) Procedural rule.--The Board may include a type of 
        handgun on the roster upon the Board's initiative, or upon the 
        petition of any person.
            (5) Laws relating to handguns.--
                    (A) In general.--The State shall have in effect 
                such laws as may be necessary to make unlawful in the 
                State the manufacture, sale, ownership, possession, and 
                use of--
                            (i) any handgun which is of a type not 
                        specified on the roster published by the Board 
                        pursuant to paragraph (2); and
                            (ii) any handgun which is of a type 
                        specified on the roster published by the Board 
                        pursuant to paragraph (2), except under such 
                        terms and conditions as the Board may specify.
                    (B) Penalties for certain violations.--
                            (i) Unlawful manufacture of handgun.--Such 
                        laws shall provide that any person who 
                        unlawfully manufactures a handgun for 
                        distribution or sale shall be fined not more 
                        than $10,000 and be subject to such other 
                        penalties as may be provided for by State law.
                            (ii) Unlawful sale or offer of handgun.--
                        Such laws shall provide that any person who 
                        unlawfully sells a handgun or offers a handgun 
                        for sale shall be fined not more than $2,500 
                        and be subject to such other penalties as may 
                        be provided for by State law.
                            (iii) Separate violations.--Such laws shall 
                        provide that a violation of such laws involving 
                        2 or more handguns shall constitute separate 
                        violations of such laws with respect to each 
                        handgun involved.
                    (C) Exemption for certain lawfully possessed 
                handguns.--Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to 
                require the State laws described in subparagraph (A) to 
                apply to any handgun lawfully possessed on the date of 
                the enactment of the law.
            (6) Definitions.--As used in this subsection:
                    (A) Handgun.--The term ``handgun'' shall have the 
                meaning given such term by section 921(a)(29) of title 
                18, United States Code.
                    (B) Licensed dealer.--The term ``licensed dealer'' 
                shall have the meaning given such term by section 
921(a)(11) of title 18, United States Code.
    (b) Compliance.--
            (1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than 3 
        years from the date of enactment of this Act in which to comply 
        with subsection (a), except that the Attorney General may grant 
        an additional 2 years to a State that is making good faith 
        efforts to implement subsection (a).
            (2) Ineligibility for funds.--
                    (A) In general.--A State that fails to comply with 
                subsection (a) of this section within the period 
                prescribed by or under paragraph (1) of this subsection 
                shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that would 
                otherwise be allocated to the State under section 506 
                of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
                1968.
                    (B) Reallocation of funds.--Any funds that are not 
                allocated to a State because of the failure of the 
                State to comply with subsection (a) shall be 
                reallocated to States that comply with subsection (a).

SEC. 4. INDEPENDENT STUDY GROUP.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of the Treasury, in cooperation 
with the Attorney General, shall establish Independent Study Group (in 
this section referred to as the ``ISG'') for the purpose of devising an 
effective national firearms injury reporting system.
    (b) Membership.--The ISG shall be composed of representatives from 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Centers for Disease 
Control, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, and the National Institute of Justice.
    (c) Duties.--The ISG shall study the feasibility of collecting data 
on the following, at a minimum:
            (1) Intentional and unintentional firearms injuries.
            (2) Fatal and nonfatal firearms injuries;
            (3) The date, time, type of location of firearms injuries, 
        and whether they occurred during and in relation to the 
        commission of another crime.
            (4) The type, make, model, caliber, serial number, and year 
        of manufacture of the firearms involved.
            (5) The demographic characteristics of persons suffering 
        firearm injuries and person causing the injuries.
            (6) The identity of the owner of the firearms involved, and 
        how the firearms were stored.
            (7) Whether the firearms involved were stolen.
            (8) Whether and how drugs or alcohol were involved.
    (d) Report.--Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall prepare and submit to the 
Congress a report recommending how an effective national firearms 
injury reporting system could be established, including how to avoid 
duplication of effort, and who would administer such a system.
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