Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act of 2023

Federal

Source: Congress.gov · 2,631 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill allows the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to give grants to states, local governments and gun dealers to run gun buyback programs. People can trade in guns to receive prepaid cards worth money instead of cash. The bill also makes it a crime to use these special cards to buy guns or ammunition.

Who It Affects

States and local governments, gun dealers with federal licenses, individuals who want to get rid of guns, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecutors.

Key Provisions

• The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance can award grants to eligible entities (states, local governments, and licensed gun dealers) to operate gun buyback programs (Sec. 101) • Eligible entities must submit applications to the Director with information the Director requires (Sec. 102) • Grant programs last two years, and any unused funds or smart prepaid cards must be returned to the Director after two years and 270 days (or two years for gun dealers) (Sec. 103) • Gun dealers must load onto a smart prepaid card an amount equal to 125 percent of the market value determined by the Director, and can increase this amount if the gun has been altered in ways that raise its value (Sec. 105) • Anyone who uses a smart prepaid card to buy a gun or ammunition, or accepts such a card for transferring a gun or ammunition, must pay the Director a penalty equal to the sale value and faces up to 2 years in prison (Sec. 104, Sec. 201) • States and local governments can use up to 10 percent of grant funds to recycle collected guns and ammunition, and up to 15 percent for administrative costs (Sec. 105) • Guns received by gun dealers must be delivered to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives within 60 days, or to the state or local government that gave the subgrant within 60 days (Sec. 105) • Within 21 days of receiving a gun, entities must check criminal databases to see if the gun was used in a crime, and if so, deliver it to prosecutors (Sec. 105)

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, a new federal grant program will be created to fund gun buybacks using special prepaid cards instead of cash. These cards cannot be used to purchase guns or ammunition and must display a warning. Gun dealers can receive grants if their state or local government does not. Using these cards to buy guns or ammunition becomes a federal crime punishable by fines and up to 2 years in prison.

Important Definitions

• "Firearm" means the definition in federal law (title 18, section 921(a)(3) of the U.S. Code) • "Gun dealer" means someone licensed to sell firearms under federal law (title 18, section 923 of the U.S. Code) • "Smart prepaid card" means a card the Director issues that can be used at multiple stores but cannot be used at gun dealers, contains technology to block gun purchases, displays a warning about not being usable for guns or ammunition, is loaded with money in advance, and cannot be exchanged for cash • "Gun buyback program" means a program where states, local governments or gun dealers use smart prepaid cards to buy guns back from people who want to get rid of them • "Ammunition" has the meaning given in federal law (title 18, section 921(a)(17)(A) of the U.S. Code)

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1361 To authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to States, units of local government, and gun dealers to conduct gun buyback programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 3, 2023 Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Mr. MFUME, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. CARSON, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. HIMES, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. CLYBURN, and Ms. CLARKE of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assist- ance to make grants to States, units of local government, and gun dealers to conduct gun buyback programs, and for other purposes. 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 1361 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—GUN BUYBACK GRANT PROGRAM Sec. 101. Program authorized. Sec. 102. Applications. Sec. 103. Term of grant. Sec. 104. Smart prepaid cards. Sec. 105. Uses of funds. Sec. 106. Definitions. Sec. 107. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—CRIMINAL PROVISION Sec. 201. Use of smart prepaid card in the acquisition or transfer of a firearm. TITLE I—GUN BUYBACK GRANT 3 PROGRAM 4 SEC. 101. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of 6 Justice Assistance (referred to in this title as the ‘‘Direc- 7 tor’’) may make grants to eligible entities to conduct gun 8 buyback programs. 9 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this title, the 10 term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 11 (1) a State; 12 (2) a unit of local government; or 13 (3) a gun dealer if neither the unit of local gov- 14 ernment nor the State where such dealer is located 15 receives a grant under this title. 16 SEC. 102. APPLICATIONS. 17 (a) GRANTS.—The chief executive of an eligible entity 18 seeking a grant under this title shall submit an application 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 1361 IH to the Director at such time and containing such informa- 1 tion as the Director may reasonably require. 2 (b) SUBGRANTS.—A gun dealer located in a unit of 3 local government or State that does receive a grant under 4 this title seeking a subgrant shall submit an application 5 to the chief executive of such unit of local government or 6 State at such time and containing such information as the 7 chief executive may reasonably require, including proof of 8 such dealer’s license under section 923 of title 18, United 9 States Code. 10 SEC. 103. TERM OF GRANT. 11 (a) TERM.—The term of a grant awarded under this 12 title shall be two years. 13 (b) AVAILABILITY OF GRANT FUNDS.— 14 (1) STATES OR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN- 15 MENT.—A State or unit of local government that re- 16 ceives a grant under this title shall return to the Di- 17 rector any remaining smart prepaid cards and any 18 unused portion of such grant at the end of the two- 19 year and 270-day period beginning on the date that 20 the grant was awarded. 21 (2) GUN DEALERS.—A gun dealer that receives 22 a grant or subgrant under this title shall return to 23 the Director any remaining smart prepaid cards and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 1361 IH any unused portion of such grant or subgrant that 1 was allocated to be used to buy back guns— 2 (A) in the case of a gun dealer receiving a 3 grant, at the end of the two-year period begin- 4 ning on the date that the grant was awarded; 5 or 6 (B) in the case of a gun dealer receiving 7 a subgrant, at the end of the two-year period 8 beginning on the date that the grant was 9 awarded to the State or unit of local govern- 10 ment from which the gun dealer received a 11 subgrant. 12 (c) AMOUNTS RETURNED.—The Director shall re- 13 turn to the general fund of the Treasury any amounts re- 14 turned under subsection (b). 15 SEC. 104. SMART PREPAID CARDS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In conducting the grant program 17 authorized under section 101, the Director may reserve 18 such funds as may be necessary to acquire and distribute 19 smart prepaid cards to eligible entities that receive grants 20 under this title. The Director shall distribute the smart 21 prepaid cards without any funds loaded onto the cards. 22 (b) MARKET VALUE OF GUNS.—The Director shall 23 determine the market value of each gun that the Director 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 1361 IH determines should be included in the gun buyback pro- 1 gram and make such information publicly available. 2 (c) PROHIBITION ON USE OF CARDS TO BUY 3 GUNS.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person may not use a 5 smart prepaid card in the acquisition of a gun or 6 ammunition, and a person may not accept a smart 7 prepaid card in the transfer (including a loan) of a 8 gun or ammunition. 9 (2) PENALTY.—A person that violates para- 10 graph (1) shall pay to the Director an amount that 11 is equal to the value of the prohibited sale. 12 SEC. 105. USES OF FUNDS. 13 (a) STATES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 14 A State or unit of local government receiving a grant 15 under this title shall use such funds to do the following: 16 (1) GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM.—Use such funds 17 to— 18 (A) conduct a gun buyback program; or 19 (B) make subgrants to gun dealers in such 20 State or unit of local government to conduct 21 gun buyback programs, and distribute the 22 smart prepaid cards such State or unit of local 23 government receives to gun dealers receiving 24 subgrants. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 1361 IH (2) GUN AND AMMUNITION RECYCLING PRO- 1 GRAM.—Use not more than 10 percent of such funds 2 to recycle the guns and ammunition that such State 3 or unit of local government collects or receives from 4 gun dealers. 5 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Use not more 6 than 15 percent of such funds for the administrative 7 costs of carrying out the grant program under this 8 title, including the criminal database checks under 9 subsection (f). 10 (b) GUN DEALERS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A gun dealer receiving a 12 grant or subgrant under this title shall use such 13 funds to conduct a gun buyback program. 14 (2) SMART PREPAID CARD AMOUNTS.— 15 (A) In order to purchase a gun through a 16 gun buyback program, a gun dealer shall load 17 onto a smart prepaid card 125 percent of the 18 market value of the gun that the individual 19 wishes to dispose of (as determined by the Di- 20 rector under section 104(b)). 21 (B) A gun dealer may increase the pur- 22 chase price of a gun and load an amount onto 23 a smart prepaid card that is greater than 125 24 percent of the market value of the gun if the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 1361 IH gun dealer determines that the gun has been al- 1 tered in a way that would increase the market 2 value of the gun (such as an altered grip, or the 3 addition of a scope). 4 (3) GUNS RECEIVED.— 5 (A) In the case of a gun dealer receiving 6 a grant under this title, the gun dealer shall de- 7 liver a gun or ammunition the dealer receives 8 under the gun buyback program to the closest 9 office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire- 10 arms and Explosives not later than 60 days 11 after receiving such gun. 12 (B) In the case of a gun dealer receiving 13 a subgrant under this title, the gun dealer shall 14 deliver a gun or ammunition the dealer receives 15 under the gun buyback program to the State or 16 unit of local government from which it receives 17 the subgrant not later than 60 days after re- 18 ceiving such gun. 19 (c) AMMUNITION COLLECTION.—A State, unit of 20 local government, or gun dealer conducting a gun buyback 21 program under this title may accept ammunition from in- 22 dividuals wishing to dispose of it, which shall be recycled 23 in accordance with paragraph (3), but may not use smart 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 1361 IH prepaid cards to purchase ammunition under the gun 1 buyback program. 2 (d) INCENTIVES FOR GUN DEALER PARTICIPA- 3 TION.—To the extent that the Director determines nec- 4 essary to facilitate participation of gun dealers in the gun 5 buyback program, grant funds may be used to provide 6 monetary or other incentives to gun dealers to participate 7 in such program. For purposes of subsection (a), any such 8 incentives shall be treated as part of the subgrant to the 9 gun dealer described in paragraph (1)(B) thereof. 10 (e) RESALE OF GUNS PROHIBITED.—A State, unit 11 of local government, or gun dealer conducting a gun 12 buyback program under this title may not sell a gun or 13 ammunition received under such program. 14 (f) CRIMINAL DATABASE CHECK.—A State, unit of 15 local government, or office of the Bureau of Alcohol, To- 16 bacco, Firearms and Explosives that receives a gun under 17 a gun buyback program under this title shall, not later 18 than 21 days after receiving the gun, use any database 19 accessible to the State, unit of local government, or office 20 of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo- 21 sives, as applicable, in order to determine whether the gun 22 was used in the commission of a crime. If such a gun was 23 used in the commission of a crime, the gun shall be deliv- 24 ered to the appropriate prosecuting authority. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 1361 IH SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this title: 2 (1) AMMUNITION.—The term ‘‘ammunition’’ 3 has the meaning given such term in section 4 921(a)(17)(A) of title 18, United States Code. 5 (2) GUN.—The term ‘‘gun’’ means ‘‘firearm’’ 6 as defined in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United 7 States Code. 8 (3) GUN BUYBACK PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘gun 9 buyback program’’ means a program under which a 10 State, a unit of local government, or a gun dealer, 11 using smart prepaid cards as described in section 12 105(b)(2), purchases back from individuals wishing 13 to dispose of them, a gun identified by the Director 14 under section 104(b). 15 (4) GUN DEALER.—The term ‘‘gun dealer’’ 16 means a dealer of firearms licensed under section 17 923 of title 18, United States Code. 18 (5) SMART PREPAID CARD.—The term ‘‘smart 19 prepaid card’’ means a card issued by the Director 20 that— 21 (A) is redeemable at multiple, unaffiliated 22 merchants or service providers; 23 (B) contains a mechanism, for the purpose 24 of preventing the cardholder from using it to 25 purchase a gun or ammunition, that recognizes 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 1361 IH the merchant category code of a merchant and 1 prohibits the use of such card at a place of 2 business subject to a license to deal in firearms 3 under section 923 of title 18, United States 4 Code; 5 (C) is honored, upon presentation, by mer- 6 chants solely for goods or services, except for 7 merchants described in subparagraph (B); 8 (D) is loaded on a prepaid basis by a 9 State, unit of local government, or gun dealer 10 for use in a gun buyback program; 11 (E) clearly and conspicuously bears the 12 words ‘‘THIS CARD MAY NOT BE USED 13 TO PURCHASE A GUN OR AMMUNITION’’ 14 in capital and raised letters on the card; and 15 (F) may not redeemed for coins or cur- 16 rency. 17 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 18 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or any com- 19 monwealth, territory, or possession of the United 20 States. 21 SEC. 107. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22 There is authorized to be appropriated $360,000,000 23 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2024 to carry out 24 this title. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 1361 IH TITLE II—CRIMINAL PROVISION 1 SEC. 201. USE OF SMART PREPAID CARD IN THE ACQUISI- 2 TION OR TRANSFER OF A FIREARM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘§ 932. Use of smart prepaid card in the acquisition 7 or transfer of a firearm 8 ‘‘Whoever, in or affecting interstate or foreign com- 9 merce, uses a smart prepaid card (as such term is defined 10 in section 106 of the Safer Neighborhoods Gun Buyback 11 Act of 2017) in connection with the acquisition of, or ac- 12 cepts a smart prepaid card in connection with the transfer 13 (including a loan) of a firearm or ammunition shall be 14 fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 15 years, or both.’’. 16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 17 (1) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 18 924(a)(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amend- 19 ed by inserting after ‘‘section 929’’ the following: 20 ‘‘or section 932’’. 21 (2) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 22 at the beginning of chapter 44 of title 18, United 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 1361 IH States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 1 relating to section 931 the following: 2 ‘‘932. Use of smart prepaid card in the acquisition or transfer of a firearm.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1361.IH H1361 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB

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