Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021

II Calendar No. 391 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 1446 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 11, 2021 Received MAY 24, 2022 Read the first time MAY 25, 2022 Read the second time and placed on the calendar AN ACT To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check procedures to be fol- lowed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhanced Background 4 Checks Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1446 PCS SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING OF BACKGROUND CHECK PROCE- 1 DURES TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE A FED- 2 ERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE MAY TRANSFER A 3 FIREARM TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT SUCH A 4 LICENSEE. 5 Section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code is 6 amended— 7 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clause (ii) 8 and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(ii) in the event the system has not notified 10 the licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 11 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of 12 this section— 13 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 10 business days 14 (meaning a day on which State offices are 15 open) has elapsed since the licensee contacted 16 the system, and the system has not notified the 17 licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 18 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) 19 of this section, and the other person has sub- 20 mitted, electronically through a website estab- 21 lished by the Attorney General or by first-class 22 mail, a petition for review which— 23 ‘‘(aa) certifies that such other person 24 has no reason to believe that such other 25 person is prohibited by Federal, State, or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1446 PCS local law from purchasing or possessing a 1 firearm; and 2 ‘‘(bb) requests that the system re- 3 spond to the contact referred to in sub- 4 paragraph (A) within 10 business days 5 after the date the petition was submitted 6 (or, if the petition is submitted by first- 7 class mail, the date the letter containing 8 the petition is postmarked); and 9 ‘‘(II) 10 business days have elapsed since 10 the other person so submitted the petition, and 11 the system has not notified the licensee that the 12 receipt of a firearm by such other person would 13 violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section; 14 and’’; and 15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(7) The Attorney General shall— 17 ‘‘(A) prescribe the form on which a petition 18 shall be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)(ii); 19 ‘‘(B) make the form available electronically, and 20 provide a copy of the form to all licensees referred 21 to in paragraph (1); 22 ‘‘(C) provide the petitioner and the licensee in- 23 volved written notice of receipt of the petition, either 24 electronically or by first-class mail; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1446 PCS ‘‘(D) respond on an expedited basis to any such 1 petition received by the Attorney General. 2 ‘‘(8)(A) If, after 3 business days have elapsed since 3 the licensee initially contacted the system about a firearm 4 transaction, the system notifies the licensee that the re- 5 ceipt of a firearm by such other person would not violate 6 subsection (g) or (n), the licensee may continue to rely 7 on that notification for the longer of— 8 ‘‘(i) an additional 25 calendar days after the li- 9 censee receives the notification; or 10 ‘‘(ii) 30 calendar days after the date of the ini- 11 tial contact. 12 ‘‘(B) If such other person has met the requirements 13 of paragraph (1)(B)(ii) before the system destroys the 14 records related to the firearm transaction, the licensee 15 may continue to rely on such other person having met the 16 requirements for an additional 25 calendar days after the 17 date such other person first met the requirements.’’. 18 SEC. 3. GAO REPORTS. 19 Within 90 days after the end of each of the 1-year, 20 3-year, and 5-year periods that begin with the effective 21 date of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 22 States shall prepare and submit to the Committee on the 23 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Com- 24 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a written report ana- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1446 PCS lyzing the extent to which, during the respective period, 1 paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and (7) of section 922(t) of title 18, 2 United States Code, have prevented firearms from being 3 transferred to prohibited persons, which report shall in- 4 clude but not be limited to the following— 5 (1) an assessment of the overall implementation 6 of such subsections, including a description of the 7 challenges faced in implementing such paragraphs; 8 (2) an aggregate description of firearm pur- 9 chase delays and denials, with a description of deni- 10 als, disaggregated by State and by the basis for the 11 denial; and 12 (3) an aggregate analysis of the petitions sub- 13 mitted pursuant to such paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 14 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON PETITIONS SUPPORTING FIREARMS 15 TRANSFERS NOT IMMEDIATELY APPROVED 16 BY NICS SYSTEM, THAT WERE NOT RE- 17 SPONDED TO IN A TIMELY MANNER. 18 The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 19 shall make an annual report to the public on the number 20 of petitions received by the national instant criminal back- 21 ground check system established under section 103 of the 22 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that were sub- 23 mitted pursuant to subclause (I) of section 24 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of title 18, United States Code, with re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1446 PCS spect to which a determination was not made within the 1 10-day period referred to in subclause (II) of such section 2 922(t)(1)(B)(ii). The report shall include the following, 3 which shall be disaggregated by State: 4 (1) The number of petitions submitted under 5 such section that were received by the national in- 6 stant criminal background check system established 7 under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 8 Prevention Act. 9 (2) The number of petitioners who were discov- 10 ered to be ineligible under Federal or State law dur- 11 ing that 10-day period. 12 (3) The number of petitioners who were discov- 13 ered to be ineligible under Federal or State law after 14 that 10-day period. 15 (4) The basis of the ineligibility of the peti- 16 tioners discovered to be ineligible under Federal or 17 State law during that 10-day period, and the basis 18 of the ineligibility of the petitioners discovered to be 19 ineligible under Federal or State law after that 10- 20 day period. 21 (5) The number of the petitioners whose peti- 22 tions were denied and who, within 12 months after 23 the denial, were prosecuted under Federal, State, or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1446 PCS local law for receiving or attempting to receive a 1 firearm. 2 SEC. 5. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS. 3 Within 150 days after the date of the enactment of 4 this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 5 National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Fire- 6 arms, shall submit to the Congress a report analyzing the 7 effect, if any, of this Act on the safety of victims of domes- 8 tic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sex- 9 ual assault, and stalking, disaggregated by State, and 10 whether any further amendments to the background check 11 process, including amendments to the conditions that 12 must be met under this Act for a firearm to be transferred 13 when the system has not notified the licensee that such 14 transfer would not violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 15 922 of title 18, United States Code, would likely result 16 in a reduction in the risk of death or great bodily harm 17 to victims of domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating 18 partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 19 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 20 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 21 take effect 210 days after the date of the enactment of 22 this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1446 PCS SEC. 7. REPORT ON FIREARM TRANSFERS DENIED AS A RE- 1 SULT OF A NICS CHECK. 2 Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of 3 this Act, the Inspector General, Department of Justice, 4 shall prepare and submit to the Congress a written report 5 on the number of firearm transactions with respect to 6 which the national instant criminal background check sys- 7 tem established under the Brady Handgun Violence Pre- 8 vention Act has determined that receipt of a firearm by 9 the prospective firearm transferee would violate Federal 10 or State law, and which have been referred to the Bureau 11 of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for inves- 12 tigation. 13 Passed the House of Representatives March 11, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 391 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 1446 AN ACT To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check proce- dures to be followed before a Federal firearms li- censee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee. MAY 25, 2022 Read the second time and placed on the calendar VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 May 26, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1446.PCS H1446 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS