G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML [∼115H5383] ..................................................................... (Original Signature of Member) H. R. ll 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on llllllllllllll A BILL To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 5 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jaime’s Law’’. SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 6 The purpose of this Act is to enhance the background 7 check process in the United States to prevent the purchase 8 of ammunition by individuals prohibited from doing so. g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 2 1 SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 3 States Code, is amended— 4 5 (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating subsection (t) as subsection (s); 6 (2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)— 7 (A) by inserting ‘‘or ammunition’’ after 8 ‘‘firearm’’ each place it appears except in para- 9 graph (3); 10 (B) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by inserting 11 ‘‘in the case of a firearm,’’ before ‘‘3’’; 12 (C) in paragraph (3)— 13 (i) by striking all that precedes sub- 14 paragraph (B) and inserting the following: 15 ‘‘(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a transfer be- 16 tween a licensee and another person if— 17 ‘‘(A)(i) in the case of a firearm transfer— 18 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 19 the licensee a permit that— 20 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos- 21 sess or acquire a firearm; and 22 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 23 years earlier by the State in which the 24 transfer is to take place; and 25 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 26 such a permit is to be issued only after an au- g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 3 1 thorized government official has verified that 2 the information available to such official does 3 not indicate that possession of a firearm by 4 such other person would be in violation of law; 5 or 6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an ammunition transfer— 7 ‘‘(I) such other person has presented to 8 the licensee a permit that— 9 ‘‘(aa) allows such other person to pos- 10 sess or acquire ammunition, or to possess 11 or acquire a firearm; and 12 ‘‘(bb) was issued not more than 5 13 years earlier by the State in which the 14 transfer is to take place; and 15 ‘‘(II) the law of the State provides that 16 such a permit is to be issued only after an au- 17 thorized government official has verified that 18 the information available to such official does 19 not indicate that possession of ammunition by 20 such other person would be in violation of 21 law;’’; and 22 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik- 23 ing ‘‘(as defined in subsection (s)(8))’’; and 24 (D) by adding at the end the following: g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 4 1 ‘‘(7) In this subsection, the term ‘chief law enforce- 2 ment officer’ means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an 3 equivalent officer or the designee of any such individual.’’; 4 and 5 (3) by inserting after subsection (s) (as so re- 6 designated) the following: 7 ‘‘(t)(1)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person who 8 is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or li9 censed dealer to transfer ammunition to any other person 10 who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed 11 manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession 12 of the ammunition for the purpose of complying with sub13 section (s). 14 ‘‘(B) Upon taking possession of ammunition under 15 subparagraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all require16 ments of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring 17 ammunition from the inventory of the licensee to the unli18 censed transferee. 19 ‘‘(C) If a transfer of ammunition described in sub- 20 paragraph (A) will not be completed for any reason after 21 a licensee takes possession of the ammunition (including 22 because the transfer of the ammunition to, or receipt of 23 the ammunition by, the transferee would violate this chap24 ter), the return of the ammunition to the transferor by g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 5 1 the licensee shall not constitute the transfer of ammuni2 tion for purposes of this chapter. 3 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 4 ‘‘(A) a law enforcement agency or any law en- 5 forcement officer, armed private security profes- 6 sional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent 7 the officer, professional, or member is acting within 8 the course and scope of employment and official du- 9 ties; 10 ‘‘(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift 11 between spouses, between domestic partners, be- 12 tween parents and their children, between siblings, 13 between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, 14 or between grandparents and their grandchildren; 15 ‘‘(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, 16 trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a 17 trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death 18 of another person; 19 ‘‘(D) a transfer if the transfer is necessary to 20 prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, if the 21 possession by the transferee lasts only as long as im- 22 mediately necessary to prevent the imminent death 23 or great bodily harm; 24 ‘‘(E) a transfer, if the transferor has no reason 25 to believe that the transferee will use or intends to g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 6 1 use the ammunition in a crime or is prohibited from 2 possessing ammunition under State or Federal law, 3 and the transfer takes place and the transferee’s 4 possession of the ammunition is exclusively— 5 ‘‘(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting 6 gallery or other area designated for the purpose 7 of target shooting; 8 ‘‘(ii) while reasonably necessary for the 9 purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 10 transferor— 11 ‘‘(I) has no reason to believe that the 12 transferee intends to use the ammunition 13 in a place where it is illegal; and 14 ‘‘(II) has reason to believe that the 15 transferee will comply with all licensing 16 and permit requirements for such hunting, 17 trapping, or fishing; or 18 ‘‘(iii) while in the presence of the trans- 19 20 feror. ‘‘(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 21 chapter, the Attorney General may implement this sub22 section with regulations. 23 ‘‘(B) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 24 may not include any provision requiring licensees to facili25 tate transfers in accordance with paragraph (1). g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 7 1 ‘‘(C) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 2 may not include any provision requiring persons not li3 censed under this chapter to keep records of background 4 checks of ammunition transfers. 5 ‘‘(D) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph 6 may not include any provision limiting the amount of any 7 fee a licensee may charge to facilitate transfers in accord8 ance with paragraph (1). 9 ‘‘(4) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, li- 10 censed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer posses11 sion of ammunition to another person who is not so li12 censed unless the importer, manufacturer, or dealer has 13 provided such other person with a notice of the prohibition 14 under paragraph (1), and such other person has certified 15 that such other person has been provided with this notice 16 on a form prescribed by the Attorney General.’’. 17 (b) TECHNICAL 18 (1) SECTION CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 922.—Section 922(y)(2) of title 19 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter 20 preceding 21 (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 22 (g)(5)(B)’’. 23 subparagraph (2) CONSOLIDATED (A), by striking ‘‘, AND FURTHER CONTINUING 24 APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012.—Section 25 of division B of the Consolidated and Further Con- g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 AND 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 511 of title V (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE G:\M\16\WASSER\WASSER_009.XML 8 1 tinuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C. 40901 2 note) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection 922(t)’’ 3 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (s) 4 or (t) of section 922’’. 5 SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 6 Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 7 Act, shall be construed to— 8 (1) authorize the establishment, directly or indi- 9 rectly, of a national firearms or ammunition reg- 10 istry; or 11 (2) interfere with the authority of a State, 12 under section 927 of title 18, United States Code, 13 to enact a law on the same subject matter as this 14 Act. 15 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 16 This title and the amendments made by this title 17 shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of 18 this Act. g:\VHLC\031219\031219.183.xml March 12, 2019 (3:33 p.m.) VerDate Mar 15 2010 15:33 Mar 12, 2019 Jkt 000000 (718953 4) PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\JDGROSSMAN\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\7.0\GEN\C\WASSE