[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54344-54346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14253]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

28 CFR Part 20

[Docket No. FBI-157; AG Order No. 5949-2024]
RIN 1110-AA34


Bipartisan Safer Communities Act--Access to Records of Stolen 
Firearms in the National Crime Information Center

AGENCY: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Justice (``Department'') is 
publishing an interim final rule that amends the regulations pertaining 
to criminal justice information systems of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation (``FBI''), specifically the National Crime Information 
Center (``NCIC''). This rule implements parts of the Bipartisan Safer 
Communities Act (``BSCA'' or ``Act'') and will allow a person who is 
licensed as an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms 
(``licensee'') to access records of stolen firearms in the NCIC, 
subject to appropriate controls, for the purpose of voluntarily 
verifying whether firearms offered for sale to such a licensee have 
been reported as stolen.

DATES: 
    Effective Date: This rule is effective on July 1, 2024.
    Comment Date: Electronic comments must be submitted and written 
comments must be postmarked or otherwise indicate a shipping date on or 
before July 31, 2024. Written comments postmarked on or before that 
date will be considered timely. The Federal eRulemaking portal at 
https://www.regulations.gov will accept electronic comments until 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Time on that date.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments, identified by RIN 1110-AA34 
or Docket No. FBI-157, by one of the following methods:
    (1) Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(recommended). Follow the instructions for submitting comments; or
    (2) Mail: Theodore K. Yoneda, Attorney-Advisor, Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, Office of the General Counsel, Module C-3, 1000 Custer 
Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306-0110.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott E. Schubert, Chief, Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Engagement and Data Sharing 
Section. Telephone: (304) 625-2000 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Posting of Public Comments

    The Department welcomes public comments from any interested person 
on any aspect of the changes made by this interim final rule. Please 
refer to the ADDRESSES section above. The Department will consider all 
public comments in the drafting of the final rule.
    Please note that all comments received are considered part of the 
public record and made available for public inspection online at 
https://www.regulations.gov. Information made available for public 
inspection includes personal identifying information (such as your 
name, address, etc.) that you voluntarily submit as part of your 
comment.
    If you wish to submit personal identifying information (such as 
your name, address, etc.) as part of your comment, but do not wish it 
to be posted online, you must include the phrase ``PERSONAL IDENTIFYING 
INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph of your comment. You must also 
locate all the personal identifying information that you do not want 
posted online in the first paragraph of your comment and identify what 
information you want the agency to redact. Personal identifying 
information identified and located as set forth above will be placed in 
the agency's public docket file but not posted online.
    If you wish to submit confidential business information as part of 
your comment but do not wish it to be posted online, you must include 
the phrase ``CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION'' in the first paragraph 
of your comment. You must also prominently identify confidential 
business information to be redacted within the comment. If a comment 
has so much confidential business information that it cannot be 
effectively redacted, the agency may choose not to post that comment 
(or to post that comment only partially) on https://www.regulations.gov. Confidential business information identified and 
located as set forth above will not be placed in the public docket 
file, nor will it be posted online.

II. Background

    Stolen firearms create risks to public safety. These weapons are 
often placed into illegal markets, where they can be purchased, sold, 
and traded without any restrictions. As a result, individuals who are 
legally prohibited from possessing firearms can obtain and use these 
weapons to commit violent crimes. Stolen firearms may also be offered 
for sale or pawn to a licensee. A licensee could then unknowingly 
promote illicit weapons trafficking by accepting a stolen firearm into 
their inventory and selling it to a purchaser.
    The FBI manages many systems for the exchange of criminal justice 
information. This interim final rule implements changes to the 
regulations related to records maintained in the NCIC Gun File, which 
is one of 22 files in the NCIC. Seven of these files (including the Gun 
File) contain information related to property, and the remaining 15 
files (including the Wanted Persons File) contain information related 
to persons. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 534, the Attorney General shall 
exchange identification, criminal identification, crime, and other 
records for the official use of ``authorized officials of the Federal 
Government, . . . the States, . . . Indian tribes, cities, and penal 
and other institutions.'' This statute also provides that such 
exchanges are subject to cancellation if dissemination is made outside 
the receiving departments or related agencies, except for dissemination 
authorized under 28 U.S.C. 534(a)(5). See 28 U.S.C. 534(b).
    The BSCA, Public Law 117-159, 136 Stat. 1313, 1331 (2022), requires 
the Attorney General to provide licensees with information necessary to 
verify whether firearms offered for sale to such licensees have been 
stolen. Public Law 117-159, sec. 12004(h)(2) (codified at 28 U.S.C. 
534(a)(5)). The Act further requires that the Attorney General 
``promulgate regulations allowing a person licensed as an importer, 
manufacturer, or dealer of firearms under chapter 44 of title 18, 
United States Code, to receive access to records of stolen firearms 
maintained by the [NCIC] operated by the [FBI], solely for the purpose 
of voluntarily verifying whether firearms offered for sale to such 
licensees have been stolen.'' Public Law 117-159, sec. 12004(h)(3). The 
law provides that such regulations shall be promulgated ``without 
regard to chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code.'' Id.
    Accordingly, the FBI is amending title 28 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations to authorize access to FBI-maintained criminal justice 
information systems to implement parts of the BSCA related to stolen 
firearms. This interim final rule will help reduce the number of stolen 
firearms that licensees inadvertently place into their inventories by 
allowing licensees to obtain information from the NCIC Gun File to 
determine if a firearm offered for sale to the licensee has been 
reported as stolen. In addition, when a

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licensee learns from the NCIC Gun File information indicating a weapon 
has been stolen, the licensee might report that information to a 
criminal justice agency. For these reasons, this interim final rule 
will assist criminal justice agencies in investigating reports of 
stolen firearms by providing potential investigative leads and will 
help to deter or halt the sale of stolen firearms through seemingly 
legitimate business transactions.
    To help advance the purpose of section 12004(h) of the BSCA, the 
FBI is establishing three methods for licensees to access NCIC Gun File 
information. The first method involves partnering with a criminal 
justice agency. Among other things, NCIC policy authorizes criminal 
justice agencies to query the NCIC Gun File and provide a determination 
to the licensee regarding a firearm's status (e.g., reported stolen). 
Prior to the BSCA's enactment in June 2022, dissemination of actual 
NCIC information was not authorized; an inquiring licensee could 
receive information that confirmed only the existence of an NCIC Gun 
File record (a ``hit'' or ``no hit''). This ``hit'' or ``no hit'' 
information did not definitively indicate whether a gun was stolen. 
Under the Act and this rule, criminal justice agencies may now provide 
more information from the NCIC Gun File directly to licensees. In 
particular, they may provide the information that is ``necessary to 
verify whether firearms offered for sale to such licensees have been 
stolen.'' Public Law 117-159, sec. 12004(h)(2); 28 U.S.C. 534(a)(5). 
Such information may include, among other information, the type and 
numeric identifiers of the firearm offered for sale. This partnering 
between the licensee and the criminal justice agency will allow the 
licensee to obtain the information needed to determine whether a 
firearm has been stolen.
    Next, in connection with this rulemaking, the FBI is establishing a 
second method for accessing Gun File information. Specifically, the FBI 
is creating an extract of the NCIC Gun File and will make this data 
available to Criminal Justice Information Services (``CJIS'') Systems 
Agencies for download into State systems that licensees can access. To 
ensure licensees receive only the information necessary to implement 28 
U.S.C. 534(a), the extract's contents will be limited to NCIC Gun File 
information that, as previously indicated, relates only to whether the 
firearm may have been stolen. However, the specific method that a 
licensee uses to access the extract will depend upon the manner in 
which the State provides the information. When this rule becomes 
effective, the FBI will furnish a notice to all CJIS Systems Officers 
to ensure licensees are notified of the new information that is 
available.
    In developing this rule, the FBI sought advice and endorsement from 
its CJIS Advisory Policy Board (``APB''), which operates under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act; doing so led to the identification of a 
third method for disseminating information from the NCIC Gun File 
concerning stolen gun records to licensees. In particular, in March 
2023, the FBI submitted to the CJIS Working Groups,\1\ which provide 
proposals to the CJIS APB and its Subcommittees, a proposal to 
authorize licensees to use the E-Check Portal of the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System (``NICS'') to access the NCIC Gun 
File.
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    \1\ There are four Regional Working Groups, each of which 
includes State, Tribal, and local law enforcement representatives 
who review operational, policy, and technical issues related to CJIS 
programs and policies. See FBI, The CJIS Advisory Process, https://le.fbi.gov/cjis-division/the-cjis-advisory-process (last visited May 
29, 2024). A Federal Working Group composed of representatives of 
Federal agencies and one Tribal representative chosen by the 
Department of the Interior also provides advice on CJIS programs and 
policies. Id.
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    All five Working Groups recommended pursuing all three methods 
described above: partnering with a criminal justice agency, the 
creation of the NCIC Gun File extract, and the NICS E-Check Portal 
method. In April 2023, the FBI submitted this same proposal to the 
NICS, Security and Access, and NCIC Subcommittees.\2\ All three 
Subcommittees similarly recommended pursuing all three methods. In June 
2023, this proposal was presented to the CJIS APB, which recommended to 
the FBI Director that all three methods be pursued. On December 5, 
2023, the FBI Director approved the APB recommendations. FBI Director 
approval authorizes the FBI CJIS Division to create the necessary 
policies for implementing the APB recommendations.
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    \2\ Subcommittees review proposed policy changes that may 
require specialized review or for some reason be controversial and 
consider possible alternatives to those policy changes. See FBI, The 
Advisory Process, https://le.fbi.gov/cjis-division/the-cjis-advisory-process (last visited May 29, 2024).
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    In addition to information specific to a stolen firearm itself 
(such as type and numeric identifiers), licensees using any of the 
three methods will be provided information relating to the criminal 
justice agency that entered the record into the NCIC for purposes of 
law enforcement follow-up. Provision of this information is intended to 
ensure that all licensees can perform a direct search of stolen gun 
information using technologies existing between the NICS and NCIC. 
Doing so will enable a licensee, for example, to ensure the gun offered 
for sale to the licensee is the exact same gun for which information 
exists in the Gun File and to confirm with the relevant criminal 
justice agency that the Gun File information is still accurate. Through 
these methods, licensees will be able to receive a previously 
unavailable subset of NCIC Gun File information to ascertain the 
firearm's status while ensuring the appropriate privacy and information 
dissemination restrictions are observed.

III. Regulatory Certifications

A. Administrative Procedure Act

    Pursuant to section 12004(h)(3) of the BSCA, the Department is not 
required to comply with chapter 5 of title 5 of the United States Code. 
However, the Department is, in its discretion, seeking post-
promulgation public comment on this rulemaking.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This interim final rule amends the Department's regulations, under 
28 U.S.C. 534, to incorporate certain changes made by the BSCA. The FBI 
will be developing electronic solutions to disseminate NCIC records to 
the licensees. The FBI will provide these solutions to licensees at no 
cost, and the FBI will not charge a fee for this service. Because the 
Department is not required to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking 
for this interim final rule, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not 
required. See 5 U.S.C. 603(a).

C. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094--Regulatory Review

    This interim final rule has been drafted and reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review,'' section 
1(b), Executive Order 13563, ``Improving Regulation and Regulatory 
Review,'' section 1(b), and Executive Order 14094, ``Modernizing 
Regulatory Review,'' section 2(a).
    The Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') has determined that 
this interim final rule is a ``significant regulatory action'' under 
Executive Order 12866, section 3(f), as amended by Executive Order 
14094. Accordingly, this interim final rule has been reviewed by OMB. 
Both Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 direct agencies to assess all 
costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if 
regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize 
net benefits (including potential economic,

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environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, 
and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of 
quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing 
rules, and of promoting flexibility.
    As explained above, the five Working Groups, as well as the NICS, 
Security and Access, and NCIC Subcommittees, considered these 
regulations and the manner in which they will be implemented and 
concluded they represent an effective way for licensees to obtain the 
information encompassed by 28 U.S.C. 534(a)(5). In addition, the 
Department anticipates that providing this information will result in 
safety benefits that cannot be quantified but that are nonetheless 
significant. In light of these considerations, and after further 
assessment of the costs and benefits of this regulation, the Department 
believes that the regulatory approach it has selected maximizes net 
benefits.

D. Executive Order 13132--Federalism

    This interim final rule will not have a substantial, direct effect 
on the States, on the relationship between the national government and 
the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among 
the various levels of government. Therefore, in accordance with 
Executive Order 13132, ``Federalism,'' the Department has determined 
that this interim final rule does not have sufficient federalism 
implications to warrant the preparation of a federalism summary impact 
statement.

E. Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice Reform

    This interim final rule meets the applicable standards set forth in 
sections 3(a) and 3(b) (2) of Executive Order 12988, ``Civil Justice 
Reform.''

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This interim final rule will not result in the expenditure by 
State, local, and tribal governments in the aggregate, or by the 
private sector, of $100 million or more (adjusted for inflation) in any 
one year, and it will not significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments. Therefore, no actions are necessary under the provisions 
of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, Public Law 104-4, 109 
Stat. 48; see also 2 U.S.C. 1532(a), 1533.

G. Congressional Review Act

    This interim final rule is not a major rule as defined by section 
804 of the legislation commonly known as the Congressional Review Act, 
Public Law 104-121, sec. 251, 110 Stat. 847, 868 (1996) (codified in 
relevant part at 5 U.S.C. 804). This action pertains to agency 
management or personnel, and agency organization, procedure, or 
practice, in that it specifies the circumstances in which the 
Department's own personnel, in managing the NCIC, will make available 
certain information from the NCIC Gun File. Further, because licensees 
have discretion to choose whether to request such information, this 
rule does not substantially affect the rights or obligations of non-
agency parties. Accordingly, it is not a ``rule'' as that term is used 
by the Congressional Review Act, see 5 U.S.C. 804(3)(B), (C), and the 
reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 does not apply.

H. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This interim final rule does not impose any new reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
Public Law 104-13, 109 Stat. 163, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, and its 
implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 1320.

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 20

    Crime, Intergovernmental relations, Law enforcement, Privacy.

    Accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 20 of 
title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as follows:

PART 20--CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS

0
1. The authority citation for part 20 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority:  28 U.S.C. 534; Pub. L. 92-544, 86 Stat. 1115; 42 
U.S.C. 3711 et seq.; Pub. L. 99-169, 99 Stat. 1002, 1008-1011, as 
amended by Pub. L. 99-569, 100 Stat. 3190, 3196; Pub. L. 101-515, as 
amended by Pub. L. 104-99, set out in the notes to 28 U.S.C. 534.; 
Pub. L. 117-159, 136 Stat. 1313, 1331.


0
2. Revise Sec.  20.2 to read as follows:


Sec.  20.2  Authority.

    These regulations are issued pursuant to sections 501 and 524(b) of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended by 
the Crime Control Act of 1973, Public Law 93-83, 87 Stat. 197, 42 
U.S.C. 3701, et seq. (Act), 28 U.S.C. 534, Public Law 92-544, 86 Stat. 
1115, and Public Law 117-159, 136 Stat. 1331

0
3. In Sec.  20.3:
    a. Redesignate paragraphs (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), 
(p), (q), (r), and (s), respectively, as paragraphs (i), (j), (k), (l), 
(m), (p), (r), (s), (t), (u), (w), and (x); and
0
b. Add paragraphs (h), (n), (o), (q), and (v).
    The additions read as follows:


Sec.  20.3  Definitions.

* * * * *
    (h) Dealer has the meaning set forth for that term in section 
921(a)(11) of title 18, United States Code.
* * * * *
    (n) Firearm has the meaning set forth for that term in section 
921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code.
    (o) Importer has the meaning set forth for that term in section 
921(a)(9) of title 18, United States Code.
* * * * *
    (q) Manufacturer has the meaning set forth for that term in section 
921(a)(10) of title 18, United States Code.
* * * * *
    (v) For purposes of 28 CFR 20.33(e), person has the meaning set 
forth for that term in section 921(a)(1) of title 18, United States 
Code.
* * * * *

0
4. Amend Sec.  20.33 by adding paragraph (e), to read as follows:


Sec.  20.33  Dissemination of criminal history record information.

* * * * *
    (e) NCIC Gun File records that are necessary to verify whether a 
firearm offered for sale to a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, 
or dealer has been stolen may be made available to a person licensed as 
an importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms. Information 
disseminated to such licensees shall be limited solely to the purpose 
of verifying whether firearms offered for sale to licensees have been 
stolen.

0
5. In the Appendix to part 20, subpart C, add an entry for Sec.  
20.33(e) to read as follows:

APPENDIX TO PART 20--COMMENTARY ON SELECTED SECTIONS OF THE REGULATIONS 
ON CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMATION SYSTEMS

* * * * *
    Sec.  20.33(e). The dissemination of NCIC records, pursuant to 
this paragraph, is limited solely to the purpose of verifying 
whether firearms offered for sale to licensees have been stolen. The 
dissemination of such NCIC records for other purposes is not 
authorized.
* * * * *

    Dated: June 24, 2024.
Merrick B. Garland,
Attorney General.
[FR Doc. 2024-14253 Filed 6-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-02-P