[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2753 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2753

    To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2023

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Murphy) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and 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);
            (2) by redesignating subsection (t) as subsection (s);
            (3) in subsection (s), as so redesignated--
                    (A) by inserting ``or ammunition'' after 
                ``firearm'' each place it appears except in 
                subparagraphs (B)(ii) and (C) of paragraph (1);
                    (B) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by inserting 
                        ``in the case of a firearm,'' before ``3''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), in the matter 
                        preceding clause (i), by inserting ``the 
                        transfer of a firearm to'' before ``a person 
                        less''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii), by striking ``the 
                chief law enforcement officer (as defined in subsection 
                (s)(8))'' and inserting ``the relevant chief of police, 
                sheriff, or other equivalent official, or the designee 
                of any such individual''; and
            (4) by inserting after subsection (s), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
    ``(t)(1)(A) 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 subsection (s).
    ``(B) Upon taking possession of ammunition under subparagraph (A), 
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.
    ``(C) If a transfer of ammunition described in subparagraph (A) 
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.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
            ``(A) 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;
            ``(B) 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;
            ``(C) 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;
            ``(D) 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
            ``(E) 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--
                            ``(I) has no reason to believe that the 
                        transferee intends to use the ammunition in a 
                        place where it is illegal; and
                            ``(II) 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.
    ``(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 
Attorney General may implement this subsection with regulations.
    ``(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include 
any provision--
            ``(i) requiring licensees to facilitate transfers in 
        accordance with paragraph (1);
            ``(ii) requiring persons not licensed under this chapter to 
        keep records of background checks of ammunition transfers; or
            ``(iii) limiting the amount of any fee a licensee may 
        charge to facilitate transfers in accordance with paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(4) 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 paragraph (1), 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) United states code.--Chapter 44 of title 18, United 
        States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in section 922(y)(2), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by striking ``, (g)(5)(B), and 
                (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)'' and inserting ``and (g)(5)(B)'';
                    (B) in section 925A, in the matter preceding 
                paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection (s) or (t) of 
                section 922'' and inserting ``section 922(s)''; and
                    (C) in section 925B--
                            (i) in subsection (a), by striking 
                        ``922(t)'' and inserting ``922(s)''; and
                            (ii) in subsection (b), by striking 
                        ``922(t) of title 18, United States Code'' and 
                        inserting ``922(s)''.
            (2) Brady handgun violence prevention act.--Section 103(l) 
        of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 
        40901(l)) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
        striking ``(t)'' and inserting ``(s)''.
            (3) NICS improvement amendments act of 2007.--Section 
        103(f) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (34 
        U.S.C. 40913(f)) is amended by striking ``922(t)'' and 
        inserting ``922(s)''.
            (4) 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 on 
the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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