[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4637 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4637

    To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 13, 2023

   Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. 
 Sanchez, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Moulton, 
  Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Davis of North 
 Carolina, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Evans, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Castor 
of Florida, and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers.

    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 ``Jaime's Law''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to enhance the background check process 
in the United States to prevent the purchase of ammunition by 
individuals who are prohibited from doing so under Federal and State 
law.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating subsection 
        (t) as subsection (s); and
            (2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) by inserting ``or ammunition'' after 
                ``firearm'' each place it appears;
                    (B) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by inserting ``in the 
                case of a firearm,'' before ``3'';
                    (C) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting ``a firearm 
                and'' before ``a person less''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(7)(A)(i) It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a 
licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to 
transfer ammunition to any other person who is not so licensed, unless 
a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has 
first taken possession of the ammunition for the purpose of complying 
with this subsection.
    ``(ii) Upon taking possession of ammunition under clause (i), a 
licensee shall comply with all requirements of this chapter as if the 
licensee were transferring ammunition from the inventory of the 
licensee to the unlicensed transferee.
    ``(iii) If a transfer of ammunition described in clause (i) will 
not be completed for any reason after a licensee takes possession of 
the ammunition (including because the transfer of the ammunition to, or 
receipt of the ammunition by, the transferee would violate this 
chapter), the return of the ammunition to the transferor by the 
licensee shall not constitute the transfer of ammunition for purposes 
of this chapter.
    ``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to--
            ``(i) a law enforcement agency or any law enforcement 
        officer, armed private security professional, or member of the 
        armed forces, to the extent the officer, professional, or 
        member is acting within the course and scope of employment and 
        official duties;
            ``(ii) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift between 
        spouses, between domestic partners, between parents and their 
        children, between siblings, between aunts or uncles and their 
        nieces or nephews, or between grandparents and their 
        grandchildren;
            ``(iii) a transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee, 
        or personal representative of an estate or a trust that occurs 
        by operation of law upon the death of another person;
            ``(iv) a transfer if the transfer is necessary to prevent 
        imminent death or great bodily harm, if the possession by the 
        transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to 
        prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm; or
            ``(v) a transfer, if the transferor has no reason to 
        believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the 
        ammunition in a crime or is prohibited from possessing 
        ammunition under State or Federal law, and the transfer takes 
        place and the transferee's possession of the ammunition is 
        exclusively--
                    ``(I) at a shooting range or in a shooting gallery 
                or other area designated for the purpose of target 
                shooting;
                    ``(II) while reasonably necessary for the purposes 
                of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the transferor--
                            ``(aa) has no reason to believe that the 
                        transferee intends to use the ammunition in a 
                        place where it is illegal; and
                            ``(bb) has reason to believe that the 
                        transferee will comply with all licensing and 
                        permit requirements for such hunting, trapping, 
                        or fishing; or
                    ``(III) while in the presence of the transferor.
    ``(C)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 
Attorney General may implement this subsection with regulations.
    ``(ii) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include 
any provision--
            ``(I) requiring licensees to facilitate transfers in 
        accordance with subparagraph (A);
            ``(II) requiring persons not licensed under this chapter to 
        keep records of background checks of ammunition transfers; and
            ``(III) limiting the amount of any fee a licensee may 
        charge to facilitate transfers in accordance with subparagraph 
        (A).
    ``(D) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, licensed 
manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer possession of ammunition 
to another person who is not so licensed unless the importer, 
manufacturer, or dealer has provided such other person with a notice of 
the prohibition under subparagraph (A), and such other person has 
certified that such other person has been provided with this notice on 
a form prescribed by the Attorney General.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 922.--Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)'' and 
        inserting ``and (g)(5)(B)''.
            (2) Consolidated and further continuing appropriations act, 
        2012.--Section 511 of title V of division B of the Consolidated 
        and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 
        40901 note) is amended by striking ``subsection 922(t)'' each 
        place it appears and inserting ``subsection (s) or (t) of 
        section 922''.

SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be 
construed to--
            (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indirectly, of 
        a national firearms or ammunition registry; or
            (2) interfere with the authority of a State, under section 
        927 of title 18, United States Code, to enact a law on the same 
        subject matter as this Act.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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