[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2436 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2436

To conduct a study on the effectiveness of ballistic imaging technology 
       and evaluate its effectiveness as a law enforcement tool.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2003

 Mr. Smith of Texas (for himself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, and Mr. Scott 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To conduct a study on the effectiveness of ballistic imaging technology 
       and evaluate its effectiveness as a law enforcement tool.

    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 ``Ballistic Imaging Evaluation and 
Study Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To conduct a comprehensive study of ballistic imaging 
        technology and evaluate design parameters for packing and 
        shipping of fired cartridge cases and projectiles.
            (2) To determine the effectiveness of the National 
        Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) as a tool in 
        investigating crimes committed with handguns or rifles.
            (3) To establish the cost and overall effectiveness of 
        State-mandated ballistic imaging systems and the sharing and 
        retention of the data collected by the systems.

SEC. 3. STUDY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall enter into an 
arrangement with the National Research Council of the National Academy 
of Sciences, which shall have sole responsibility for conducting under 
the arrangement a study to determine the following:
            (1) The design parameters for an effective and uniform 
        system for packing fired cartridge cases and projectiles, and 
        for collecting information that will accompany a fired 
        cartridge case and projectile and be entered into a ballistic 
        imaging system.
            (2) The most effective method for projectile recovery that 
        can be used to collect fired projectiles for entry into a 
        ballistic imaging system and the cost of such recovery 
        equipment.
            (3) Which countries are employing ballistic imaging systems 
        and the results of the systems as a tool in investigating 
        crimes committed with handguns or rifles.
            (4) The total cost, including startup costs, operating 
        costs, and outlays for personnel and administration, to 
        Federal, State, and local jurisdictions for the implementation 
        of a ballistic imaging system.
            (5) The estimated yearly cost for administering a ballistic 
        imaging system, the storage of cartridge cases and projectiles 
        on a nationwide basis, and the costs to industry and consumers 
        of doing so.
            (6) How many revolvers, manually operated handguns, 
        semiautomatic handguns, manually operated rifles, and 
        semiautomatic rifles are sold in the United States each year, 
        the percentage of crimes committed with revolvers, other 
        manually operated handguns, or manually operated rifles as 
        compared with semiautomatic handguns or semiautomatic rifles, 
        and the percentage of each category of such crimes on record in 
        the NIBIN system.
            (7) Whether in countries where ballistic identification has 
        been implemented, a shift has occurred in the number of 
        semiautomatic handguns and semiautomatic rifles, compared with 
        revolvers, other manually operated handguns, and manually 
        operated rifles that are used to commit a crime.
            (8) A comprehensive list of environmental and 
        nonenvironmental factors, including modifications to a firearm, 
        that can substantially alter or change the identifying marks on 
        a cartridge case and projectile so as to preclude a 
        scientifically reliable comparison between specimens and the 
        stored image from the same firearm from being admissible as 
        evidence in a court of law.
            (9) The technical improvements in database management that 
        will be necessary to keep pace with database growth and the 
        estimated cost of the improvements.
            (10) What redundant or duplicate database systems exist, or 
        have existed, the ability of the various systems to share 
        information, and the cost and time it will take to integrate 
        such systems.
            (11) Legal issues that need to be addressed at the Federal 
        and State levels to codify the type of information that would 
        be captured and stored as part of a national ballistic 
        identification program and the sharing of the information 
        between State systems and NIBIN.
            (12) What storage and retrieval procedures guarantee the 
        integrity of cartridge cases and projectiles for indefinite 
        periods of time and insure proper chain of custody and 
        admissibility of ballistic evidence or images in a court of 
        law.
            (13) The time, cost, and resources necessary to enter 
        images of fired cartridge cases and fired projectiles into a 
        ballistic imaging identification system of all new handguns and 
        rifles sold in the United States and those possessed lawfully 
        by firearms owners.
            (14) Whether an effective procedure is available to collect 
        fired cartridge cases and projectiles from privately owned 
        handguns and rifles.
            (15) Whether the cost of ballistic imaging technology is 
        worth the investigative benefit to law enforcement officers.
            (16) Whether State-based ballistic imaging systems, or a 
        combination of State and Federal ballistic imaging systems that 
        record and store cartridge cases and projectiles can be used to 
        create a centralized list of firearms owners.
            (17) The cost-effectiveness of using a Federal, NIBIN-based 
        approach to using ballistic imaging technology as opposed to 
        State-based initiatives.

SEC. 4. CONSULTATION.

    In carrying out this Act, the National Research Council of the 
National Academy of Sciences shall consult with--
            (1) Federal, State, and local officials with expertise in 
        budgeting, administering, and using a ballistic imaging system, 
        including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 
        Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Bureau 
        of Forensic Services at the California Department of Justice, 
        and the National Institute for Forensic Sciences in Brussels, 
        Belgium;
            (2) law enforcement officials who use ballistic imaging 
        systems;
            (3) entities affected by the actual and proposed uses of 
        ballistic imaging technology, including manufacturers, 
        distributors, importers, and retailers of firearms and 
        ammunition, firearms purchasers and owners and their organized 
        representatives;
            (4) experts in ballistics imaging and related fields, such 
        as the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners, 
        projectile recovery system manufacturers, and ballistic imaging 
        device manufacturers;
            (5) foreign officials administering ballistic imaging 
        systems; and
            (6) individuals or organizations with significant expertise 
        in the field of ballistic imaging technology, as the Attorney 
        General deems necessary.

SEC. 5. REPORT.

    Not later than 30 days after the National Research Council of the 
National Academy of Sciences completes the study conducted under 
section 3, the National Research Council shall submit to the Attorney 
General a report on the results of the study, and the Attorney General 
shall submit to the Congress a report, which shall be made public, that 
contains--
            (1) the results of the study; and
            (2) recommendations for legislation, if applicable.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``ballistic imaging technology'' means 
        software and hardware that records electronically, stores, 
        retrieves, and compares the marks or impressions on the 
        cartridge case and projectile of a round of ammunition fired 
        from a handgun or rifle.
            (2) The term ``handgun'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 921(a)(29) of title 18, United States Code.
            (3) The term ``rifle'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 921(a)(7) of title 18, United States Code.
            (4) The term ``cartridge case'' means the part of a fully 
        assembled ammunition cartridge that contains the propellant and 
        primer for firing.
            (5) The terms ``manually operated handgun'' and ``manually 
        operated rifle'' mean any handgun or rifle, as the case may be, 
        in which all loading, unloading, and reloading of the firing 
        chamber is accomplished through manipulation by the user.
            (6) The term ``semiautomatic handgun'' means any repeating 
        handgun which utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing 
        cartridge to extract the fired cartridge case and chamber the 
        next round, and which requires a pull of the trigger to fire 
        each cartridge.
            (7) The term ``semiautomatic rifle'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 921(a)(28) of title 18, United States Code.
            (8) The term ``projectile'' means that part of ammunition 
        that is, by means of an explosive, expelled through the barrel 
        of a handgun or rifle.
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