Gun Safety Board and Research Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4177 To establish a Gun Safety Board, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 9, 2019 Mr. DESAULNIER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To establish a Gun Safety Board, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gun Safety Board and 4 Research Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. GUN SAFETY BOARD. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 7 Human Services shall, not later than 1 year after the date 8 of enactment of this Act, establish a board to be known 9 as the Gun Safety Board. 10 (b) DUTIES.—The Gun Safety Board shall— 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Aug 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4177 IH (1) not later than 2 years after the date of en- 1 actment of this Act, establish a program that pro- 2 vides grants that recipients shall use to— 3 (A) conduct original research about fire- 4 arm violence reduction (including research 5 about topics identified for additional research 6 by the Gun Safety Board under paragraph 7 (2)(B)); and 8 (B) to educate members of the public 9 about— 10 (i) causes and effects of firearm vio- 11 lence; and 12 (ii) ways to reduce the risk of harm 13 from firearm violence; 14 (2) conduct original research about firearm vio- 15 lence reduction; and 16 (3) on an ongoing basis, publish in the Federal 17 Register and on a public website of the Department 18 of Health and Human Services the following: 19 (A) Policy recommendations for potential 20 Federal, State, and local action based on avail- 21 able scientific research about firearm violence 22 reduction. 23 (B) A list of subject areas related to fire- 24 arm violence reduction that the Gun Safety 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4177 IH Board finds would benefit from additional sci- 1 entific research. 2 (C) The Firearm Safety Board’s findings 3 about the efficacy of existing State and Federal 4 laws intended to reduce firearm violence, and 5 the expected efficacy of proposed State and 6 Federal legislation intended to reduce firearm 7 violence, in reducing any of the following: 8 (i) Gun assaults. 9 (ii) Gun robberies. 10 (iii) Threats with a gun. 11 (iv) Shootings. 12 (v) Mass shootings. 13 (vi) Deaths caused by firearms. 14 (vii) Injuries caused by firearms. 15 (viii) Health care-related expenditures 16 (including lost days of work and other indi- 17 rect expenditures) for victims of firearm- 18 caused injuries. 19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 20 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Gun 21 Safety Board shall be composed of 17 members ap- 22 pointed by the Secretary of Health and Human 23 Services. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4177 IH (2) COMPOSITION.—The members shall in- 1 clude— 2 (A) at least 1 member with expertise in 3 law enforcement; 4 (B) at least 1 member with expertise in 5 public health; 6 (C) at least 1 member with expertise in 7 firearm violence reduction research; 8 (D) at least 1 member with expertise in 9 medicine; 10 (E) at least 1 member with a background 11 in firearm manufacturing, firearm sales, profes- 12 sional firearm use, or recreational firearm use; 13 (F) at least 1 member representing victims 14 of firearm violence; 15 (G) at least 1 member representing non- 16 profit organizations that advocate for firearm 17 violence reduction; and 18 (H) at least 1 member from each of the 19 following: 20 (i) The National Institutes of Health. 21 (ii) The Centers for Disease Control 22 and Prevention. 23 (iii) The United States Consumer 24 Product Safety Commission. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4177 IH (iv) The Federal Bureau of Investiga- 1 tion. 2 (v) The Department of Health and 3 Human Services. 4 (vi) The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 5 Firearms and Explosives within the De- 6 partment of Justice. 7 (vii) The Office of Juvenile Justice 8 and Delinquency Prevention within the De- 9 partment of Justice. 10 (viii) The Bureau of Justice Assist- 11 ance within the Department of Justice. 12 (ix) The Office for Victims of Crime 13 within the Department of Justice. 14 (x) The Office on Violence Against 15 Women within the Department of Justice. 16 (xi) The National Institute of Justice 17 within the Department of Justice. 18 (d) TERMS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 20 graph (2), each member shall be appointed for a 21 term of 4 years. 22 (2) TERMS OF INITIAL APPOINTEES.—As des- 23 ignated by the Secretary of Health and Human 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4177 IH Services at the time of appointment, of the members 1 first appointed— 2 (A) three shall be appointed for a term of 3 4 years; 4 (B) two shall be appointed for a term of 3 5 years; 6 (C) two shall be appointed for a term of 2 7 years; and 8 (D) two shall be appointed for a term of 9 1 year. 10 (3) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 11 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 12 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap- 13 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 14 that term. A vacancy shall be filled in the manner 15 in which the original appointment was made. 16 (e) BASIC PAY.—Members shall be paid at a rate set 17 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services that is 18 consistent with title 5, United States Code. 19 (f) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall receive 20 travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, 21 in accordance with applicable provisions under subchapter 22 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4177 IH (g) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Health and Human 1 Services shall designate one member to serve as chair of 2 the Firearm Safety Board. 3 (h) VICE CHAIR.—The members of the Gun Safety 4 Board shall elect one member to serve as vice chair of the 5 Firearm Safety Board. 6 (i) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet at least once 7 each month at the call of the chair. 8 (j) STAFF.—The chair may appoint and, consistent 9 with title 5, United States Code, fix the pay of additional 10 personnel as the chair considers appropriate. 11 (k) FIREARM.—For the purposes of this Act, the 12 term ‘‘firearm’’ shall have the meaning given the term in 13 section 921 of title 18, United States Code. 14 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 16 $25,000,000 for each fiscal year beginning after the date 17 of the enactment of this Act. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:40 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4177.IH H4177 jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS