[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3529 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3529

To provide procedures for appealing certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
   Firearms and Explosives rulings or determinations, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 14, 2023

   Mr. Braun (for himself, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
  Daines, Mr. Hawley, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Lankford, Ms. Lummis, Mr. 
Marshall, Mr. Risch, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Lee, Mr. Hoeven, and Mr. 
    Mullin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide procedures for appealing certain Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
   Firearms and Explosives rulings or determinations, and for other 
                               purposes.

    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 ``ATF Accountability Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. PROCEDURES FOR APPEALING CERTAIN BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, 
              FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES RULINGS OR DETERMINATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m)(1) Not later than 90 days after the Attorney General receives 
from a licensed manufacturer, licensed importer, or licensed dealer a 
product classification request or a written question regarding any 
regulatory matter, including the legal status or classification of a 
product, or a recordkeeping practice under any law administered, in 
whole or in part, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives, the Attorney General shall make a ruling or determination 
in writing on the request or question, and transmit the ruling or 
determination to the licensee.
    ``(2)(A) Not later than 30 days after receipt of a copy of a ruling 
or determination under paragraph (1), a licensee may appeal the ruling 
or determination (or a cease and desist letter) by filing with any 
Director of Industry Operations having jurisdiction over a premises of 
the licensee subject to a license issued to the licensee under this 
chapter a request for review of the ruling or determination, which 
shall include a statement of the reasons for the appeal and the relief 
requested.
    ``(B) Not later than 30 days after receipt of an appeal under 
subparagraph (A), a Director of Industry Operations shall render a 
decision on the appeal in writing and transmit a copy of the decision 
to the licensee, at which point the licensee may request a hearing 
pursuant to paragraph (3).
    ``(3)(A) Not later than14 days after receipt from a licensee of a 
request under paragraph (2)(B) for an appeal to be determined on the 
record after opportunity for a hearing, a Director of Industry 
Operations shall refer the request to an administrative law judge who 
shall--
            ``(i) set a time and place for a hearing on the appeal at a 
        location convenient to the licensee; and
            ``(ii) not later than 10 days before the date set for the 
        hearing, serve on the licensee and the Director of Industry 
        Operations a notice of the hearing.
    ``(B) A hearing under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted in 
accordance with the hearing procedures prescribed in subsections (b) 
through (e) of section 556 and section 557(d) of title 5.
    ``(C) Within a reasonable time, and as expeditiously as possible, 
after the conclusion of a hearing under subparagraph (A), the 
administrative law judge shall--
            ``(i) render a decision on the appeal, which shall consist 
        of--
                    ``(I) a brief statement of the issues of fact 
                involved in the proceeding;
                    ``(II) the findings and conclusions of the 
                administrative law judge, and the reasons or basis 
                therefor with record references, on all material issues 
                of fact, law, or discretion presented on the record; 
                and
                    ``(III) the decision of the administrative law 
                judge to reverse or affirm the ruling or determination 
                involved;
            ``(ii) certify the complete record of the proceeding;
            ``(iii) forward the complete certified record and a copy of 
        the decision to the Director of Industry Operations;
            ``(iv) serve a copy of the decision on the licensee or 
        counsel for the licensee; and
            ``(v) transmit a copy of the decision to the attorney 
        representing the United States in the proceeding.
    ``(4) The decision of the administrative law judge or the Director 
of Industry Operations, or the ruling of another officer or employee of 
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as the case 
may be, pursuant to this subsection shall--
            ``(A) constitute final agency action;
            ``(B) be subject to judicial review under chapter 7 of 
        title 5; and
            ``(C) be binding on the United States and the licensee.''.
    (b) Applicability.--
            (1) In general.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
        apply with respect to rulings and determinations made before, 
        on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Deadline for appeal of prior rulings and 
        determinations.--For purposes of a ruling or determination made 
        before the date of enactment of this Act, a licensee may appeal 
        the ruling or determination (or a cease and desist letter) in 
        the manner described in paragraph (2)(A) of section 923(m) of 
        title 18, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), on or 
        before the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
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