[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 422 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 422
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
February 6, 2001
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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