[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 610 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 610

  To provide grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase firearms 
               needed to perform law enforcement duties.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 26, 2001

Mr. Torricelli introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide grants to law enforcement agencies to purchase firearms 
               needed to perform law enforcement duties.

    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 ``Police Gun Buyback Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Buford Furrow, a white supremacist, used a Glock pistol 
        decommissioned and sold by a law enforcement agency in the 
        State of Washington, to shoot children at a Jewish community 
        center in Los Angeles and kill a postal worker.
            (2) Twelve firearms were recently stolen during shipment 
        from the Miami-Dade Police Department to Chicago, Illinois. 
        Four of these firearms have been traced to crimes in Chicago, 
        Illinois, including a shooting near a playground.
            (3) In the past 9 years, decommissioned firearms once used 
        by law enforcement agencies have been involved in more than 
        3,000 crimes, including 293 homicides, 301 assaults, and 279 
        drug-related crimes.
            (4) Many State and local law enforcement departments also 
        engage in the practice of reselling firearms that were involved 
        in the commission of a crime and confiscated. Often these 
        firearms are assault weapons that were in circulation prior to 
        the restrictions imposed by the Violent Crime Control and Law 
        Enforcement Act of 1994.
            (5) Law enforcement departments in the States of New York 
        and Georgia, the City of Chicago, and other localities have 
        adopted the practice of destroying decommissioned firearms.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the number of 
firearms on the streets by assisting State and local law enforcement 
agencies in eliminating the practice of transferring decommissioned 
firearms to any person.

 SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) Grants.--The Attorney General may make grants to States or 
units of local government--
            (1) to assist States and units of local government in 
        purchasing new firearms without transferring decommissioned 
        firearms to any person; and
            (2) to destroy decommissioned firearms.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), to be 
        eligible to receive a grant under this Act, a State or unit of 
        local government shall certify that it has in effect a law or 
        official policy that--
                    (A) eliminates the practice of transferring any 
                decommissioned firearm to any person; and
                    (B) provides for the destruction of a 
                decommissioned firearm.
            (2) Exception.--A State or unit of local government may 
        transfer a decommissioned firearm to a law enforcement agency.
    (c) Use of Funds.--A State or unit of local government that 
receives a grant under this Act shall only use that grant to purchase 
new firearms.

 SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) State Applications.--To request a grant under this Act, the 
chief executive of a State shall submit an application, signed by the 
Attorney General of the State requesting the grant, to the Attorney 
General in such form and containing such information as the Attorney 
General may reasonably require.
    (b) Local Applications.--To request a grant under this Act, the 
chief executive of a unit of local government shall submit an 
application, signed by the chief law enforcement officer in the unit of 
local government requesting the grant, to the Attorney General in such 
form and containing such information as the Attorney General may 
reasonably require.

SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall promulgate regulations to implement this Act, 
which shall specify the information that must be included and the 
requirements that the States and units of local government must meet in 
submitting applications for grants under this Act.

SEC. 6. REPORTING.

    (a) In General.--A State or unit of local government shall report 
to the Attorney General not later than 2 years after funds are received 
under this Act, regarding the implementation of this Act.
    (b) Budget Assurances.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall include budget assurances that any future purchase of a firearm 
by a law enforcement agency will be possible without transferring a 
decommissioned firearm.

SEC. 7. DEFINITION.

    In this Act:
            (1) Decommissioned firearm.--The term ``decommissioned 
        firearm'' means a firearm--
                    (A) that is no longer in service or use by a law 
                enforcement agency; or
                    (B) that was involved in the commission of a crime 
                and was confiscated and is no longer needed for 
                evidentiary purposes.
            (2) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' has the same meaning 
        given that term in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States 
        Code.
             (3) Person.--The term ``person'' has the same meaning 
        given that term in section 1 of title 1, United States Code.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
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