[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4150 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4150

   To require ballistics testing of the firearms manufactured in or 
 imported into the United States that are most commonly used in crime, 
and to provide for the compilation, use, and availability of ballistics 
  information for the purpose of curbing the use of firearms in crime.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2000

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require ballistics testing of the firearms manufactured in or 
 imported into the United States that are most commonly used in crime, 
and to provide for the compilation, use, and availability of ballistics 
  information for the purpose of curbing the use of firearms in crime.

    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 ``Bullet Tracing Act To Reduce Gun 
Violence''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FIREARMS BY LICENSED 
              FIREARMS MANUFACTURER OR LICENSED FIREARMS IMPORTER 
              BEFORE TEST FIRING AND CREATION OF BALLISTICS RECORD.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 931. Test firing and automated storage of ballistics records
    ``(a) A licensed manufacturer or licensed importer shall not 
transfer to any person a firearm of a make and model that is on the 
list most recently issued under subsection (b), before--
            ``(1) test firing the firearm;
            ``(2) preparing ballistics records of the fired bullet and 
        cartridge casings from the test fire; and
            ``(3) making the records available to the Secretary for 
        entry in a computerized database.
    ``(b) The Secretary shall compile and cause to be published in the 
Federal Register, on an annual basis, a list of the 50 firearms, by 
manufacturer and model name, that have been most frequently used by 
criminals in the United States.
    ``(c)(1)(A) With respect to each violation of subsection (a) by a 
licensed manufacturer or licensed importer, the Secretary may, after 
notice and opportunity for hearing, suspend for not more than 5 years 
or revoke the license of the licensee, impose on the licensee a civil 
fine of not more than $20,000, or both.
    ``(B) An action of the Secretary under this paragraph may be 
reviewed only as provided in section 923(f).
    ``(2) The suspension or revocation of a license or the imposition 
of a civil fine under paragraph (1) shall not preclude any 
administrative remedy that is available to the Secretary under other 
law.''.
    (b) Definition of Ballistics.--Section 921(a) of such title is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(35) The term `ballistics' means a comparative analysis of fired 
bullets or cartridge casings to identify the firearm from which the 
bullets or cartridge casings were discharged, through the 
identification of the unique characteristics that each firearm imprints 
on bullets and cartridge casings.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``931. Test firing and automated storage of ballistics records.''.
    (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. COMPILATION, USE, AND AVAILABILITY OF BALLISTICS INFORMATION.

    (a) Federal Assistance to Firearm Manufacturers and Importers.--The 
Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall assist qualified firearms 
manufacturers and qualified firearms importers in--
            (1) obtaining use of new and upgraded computerized 
        ballistics equipment and bullet recovery equipment owned by the 
        Federal Government, to be placed at the sites of licensed 
        manufacturers and licensed importers;
            (2) training personnel necessary to develop and maintain a 
        database of ballistics records, research, and evaluation; and
            (3) taking any other steps necessary to implement effective 
        ballistics testing.
    (b) Qualified Firearms Manufacturers and Qualified Firearms 
Importers.--A manufacturer or importer of firearms shall be considered 
qualified for assistance under subsection (a) only if the Secretary 
determines that the manufacturer or importer--
            (1) provides the Secretary with 24-hour online access to 
        the ballistics records which the manufacturer or importer is 
        required to prepare and make available pursuant to section 931 
        of title 18, United States Code;
            (2) keeps such records in accordance with uniform 
        recordkeeping practices established by the Secretary; and
            (3) meets such other requirements as the Secretary 
        establishes relating to the creation and preservation of 
        ballistics records.
    (c) Annual Reports on Effects of This Act.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this section and annually 
thereafter, the Attorney General and the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a report regarding the effects of this Act, including the 
number of Federal and State criminal investigations, arrests, 
indictments, and prosecutions of all cases in which access to 
ballistics records provided under section 931 of title 18, United 
States Code, served as a valuable investigative tool.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``licensed 
manufacturer'', ``licensed importer'', ``firearm'', and ``ballistics'' 
shall have the meanings given in section 921(a) of title 18, United 
States Code.
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