[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 233 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 233

                   To improve the safety of firearms.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2001

    Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
                   To improve the safety of firearms.

    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 ``Child Safety Lock Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) according to statistics from the Centers for Disease 
        Control, more than 5,000 innocent children have lost their 
        lives due to unintentional deaths related to firearms;
            (2) between 1983 and 1994, 5,523 males ranging in ages from 
        1 to 19, were killed by the unintentional discharge of a 
        firearm;
            (3) a Federal study found that ignorance and carelessness 
        are the major causes of firearms accidents;
            (4) 84 percent of firearms accidents involved people who 
        did not follow basic safety rules; and
            (5) to help reduce the number of firearms accidents, it is 
        critical to practice and enforce firearms safety rules.

                      TITLE I--CRIMINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 101. HANDGUN SAFETY.

    (a) Definition of Locking Device.--Section 921(a) of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(35) The term `locking device' means--
            ``(A) a device which, if installed on a firearm and secured 
        by means of a key or a mechanically, electronically, or 
        electromechanically operated combination lock, prevents the 
        firearm from being discharged without first deactivating or 
        removing the device by means of a key or mechanically, 
        electronically, or electromechanically operated combination 
        lock; or
            ``(B) a locking mechanism incorporated into the design of a 
        firearm which prevents discharge of the firearm by any person 
        who does not have access to the key or other device designed to 
        unlock the mechanism and thereby allow discharge of the 
        firearm.''.
    (b) Unlawful Acts.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after subsection (y) the following:
    ``(z) Locking Devices and Warnings.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        beginning 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
        subsection, it shall be unlawful for any licensed manufacturer, 
        licensed importer, or licensed dealer to sell, deliver, or 
        transfer a handgun to any person, unless--
                    ``(A) the transferee is provided with a locking 
                device for that handgun; and
                    ``(B) the handgun is accompanied by the following 
                warning, which shall appear in conspicuous and legible 
                type in capital letters, and which shall be printed on 
                a label affixed to the handgun and on a separate sheet 
                of paper included in the packaging enclosing the 
                handgun:
                ```THE USE OF A LOCKING DEVICE OR SAFETY LOCK IS ONLY 
                ONE ASPECT OF RESPONSIBLE FIREARM STORAGE. HANDGUNS 
                SHOULD BE STORED UNLOADED AND LOCKED IN A LOCATION THAT 
                IS BOTH SEPARATE FROM THEIR AMMUNITION AND INACCESSIBLE 
                TO CHILDREN.
                `FAILURE TO PROPERLY LOCK AND STORE YOUR HANDGUN MAY 
                RESULT IN CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY UNDER STATE LAW. 
                FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS THE POSSESSION OF A HANDGUN BY A 
                MINOR IN MOST CIRCUMSTANCES.'.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
        sale, delivery, or transfer of a handgun to--
                    ``(A) the United States or a department or agency 
                of the United States, or a State or a department, 
                agency, or political subdivision of a State;
                    ``(B) a law enforcement officer (whether on or off-
                duty) who is employed by an entity referred to in 
                subparagraph (A), for law enforcement purposes; or
                    ``(C) a rail police officer (whether on or off-
                duty) who is employed by a rail carrier and is 
                certified or commissioned as a police officer under the 
                laws of a State, for law enforcement purposes.''.
    (c) Civil Penalties.--Section 924 of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``this subsection, 
        subsection (b) or (c) of this section,'' and inserting ``this 
        section''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(p) Penalties Relating to Locking Devices and Warnings.--
            ``(1) In general.--
                    ``(A) Suspension or revocation of license; civil 
                penalties.--With respect to each violation of section 
                922(z)(1) by a licensee, the Secretary may, after 
                notice and opportunity for hearing--
                            ``(i) suspend or revoke any license issued 
                        to the licensee under this chapter; or
                            ``(ii) impose a civil penalty on the 
                        licensee in an amount that is not more than 
                        $10,000.
                    ``(B) Review.--An action of the Secretary under 
                this paragraph may be reviewed only as provided in 
                section 923(f).
            ``(2) Administrative remedies.--The taking of an action 
        under paragraph (1) with respect to conduct of a licensee shall 
        not affect the availability of any other administrative 
        authority with respect to the conduct.''.

                    TITLE II--REGULATORY PROVISIONS

SEC. 201. REGULATION OF TRIGGER LOCK DEVICES.

    (a) General Authority.--The Secretary of the Treasury (in this 
title referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall prescribe such 
regulations governing the design, manufacture, and performance of 
trigger lock devices, as are necessary to reduce or prevent the 
unintentional discharge of handguns.
    (b) Minimum Safety Standard.--The regulations required by 
subsection (a) shall, at a minimum, set forth a minimum safety standard 
that trigger lock devices must meet in order to be manufactured, sold, 
transferred, or delivered consistent with this title. In developing the 
standard, the Secretary shall give appropriate consideration to trigger 
lock devices that are not detachable, but are permanently installed and 
incorporated into the design of a handgun. The standard shall include 
provisions to ensure that any trigger lock device that meets the 
standard is of adequate quality and construction to prevent children 
who have not attained 18 years of age from operating a handgun, and to 
ensure that such a product cannot be removed from a handgun except 
through the use of a key, combination, or other method of access 
provided in the design specifications of the manufacturer of the 
device.
    (c) Deadline for Issuance of Standard.--Within 12 months after the 
date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary shall issue in final 
form the standard required by subsection (b).
    (d) Effective Date of Standard.--The standard issued under 
subsection (b) shall take effect 6 months after the date of issuance.

SEC. 202. ORDERS; INSPECTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may issue an order prohibiting the 
manufacture, sale, transfer, or delivery of a trigger lock device which 
the Secretary finds has been designed, or has been or is intended to be 
manufactured, transferred, or distributed in violation of this title or 
a regulation prescribed under this title.
    (b) Authority To Require the Recall, Repair, or Replacement of, or 
the Provision of Refunds.--The Secretary may issue an order requiring 
the manufacturer of, and any dealer in, a trigger lock device which the 
Secretary finds has been designed, manufactured, transferred, or 
delivered in violation of this title or a regulation prescribed under 
this title, to--
            (1) provide notice of the risks associated with the device, 
        and of how to avoid or reduce the risks, to--
                    (A) the public;
                    (B) in the case of the manufacturer of the device, 
                each dealer in the device; and
                    (C) in the case of a dealer in the device, the 
                manufacturer of the device and the other persons known 
                to the dealer as dealers in the device;
            (2) bring the device into conformity with the regulations 
        prescribed under this title;
            (3) repair the device;
            (4) replace the device with a like or equivalent device 
        which is in compliance with such regulations;
            (5) refund the purchase price of the device, or, if the 
        device is more than 1 year old, a lesser amount based on the 
        value of the device after reasonable use;
            (6) recall the device from the stream of commerce; or
            (7) submit to the Secretary a satisfactory plan for 
        implementation of any action required under this subsection.
    (c) Inspections.--In order to ascertain compliance with this title 
and the regulations and orders issued under this title, the Secretary 
may, at reasonable times--
            (1) enter any place in which trigger lock devices are 
        manufactured, stored, or held, for distribution in commerce, 
        and inspect those areas where the devices are manufactured, 
        stored, or held; and
            (2) enter and inspect any conveyance being used to 
        transport for commercial purposes a trigger lock device.

SEC. 203. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Civil Penalties.--The Secretary may assess a civil money 
penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation of this title.
    (b) Revocation of Federal Firearms License.--Section 923(e) of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the 2nd 
sentence the following: ``The Secretary may, after notice and 
opportunity for hearing, revoke any license issued under this section 
if the holder of the license violates any provision of title II of the 
Child Safety Lock and Community Protection Act of 1999 or any rule or 
regulation prescribed under such title.''.
    (c) Criminal Penalties.--Any person who has received from the 
Secretary a notice that the person has violated a provision of this 
title or of a regulation prescribed under this title with respect to a 
trigger lock device, and who subsequently knowingly violates such 
provision with respect to the device shall be fined under title 18, 
United States Code, imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

SEC. 204. NO EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

    This title does not annul, alter, impair, or affect, or exempt any 
person subject to the provisions of this title from complying with, any 
provision of the law of any State or any political subdivision thereof, 
except to the extent that such provisions of State law are inconsistent 
with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the 
inconsistency. A provision of State law is not inconsistent with this 
title if such provision affords greater protection in respect of 
trigger lock devices than is afforded by this title.

SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) The term ``trigger lock device'' means any device that 
        is designed, manufactured, or represented in commerce, as a 
        means of preventing the unintentional discharge of a handgun.
            (2) The terms ``licensed importer'', ``licensed 
        manufacturer'', ``licensed dealer'', ``Secretary'', and 
        ``handgun'' have the meanings given in paragraphs (9), (10), 
        (11), (18), and (29), respectively, of section 921(a) of title 
        18, United States Code.

                    TITLE III--EDUCATION PROVISIONS

SEC. 301. PORTION OF FIREARMS TAX REVENUE TO BE USED FOR PUBLIC 
              EDUCATION ON SAFE STORAGE OF FIREARMS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
amount equal to 2 percent of the net revenues received in the Treasury 
from the tax imposed by section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (relating to firearms) for each of the first 5 fiscal years 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be 
available, as provided in appropriation Acts, to the Secretary of the 
Treasury to carry out public education programs on the safe storage and 
use of firearms. Amounts otherwise transferred or made available for 
any other purpose by reason of such tax shall be reduced by the amounts 
made available to such Secretary under the preceding sentence.
    (b) Net Revenues.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term ``net 
revenues'' means, with respect to the tax imposed by such section 4181, 
the amount estimated by the Secretary of the Treasury based on the 
excess of--
            (1) the taxes received in the Treasury under such section, 
        over
            (2) the decrease in the tax imposed by chapter 1 of such 
        Code resulting from such tax.
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