I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2403 To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check procedures to be followed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. BALINT, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BERA, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CLARK of Massa- chusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCK- ETT, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mr. FROST, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. HIMES, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. HOYER, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JACOBS, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIM of New Jer- sey, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MANNING, Mrs. MCBATH, Mrs. MCCLELLAN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. MENG, Mr. MFUME, Ms. MOORE of Wis- consin, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PETTERSEN, Ms. PLASKETT, Mr. POCAN, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. STEVENS, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Ms. WILSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2403 IH A BILL To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to strengthen the background check procedures to be fol- lowed before a Federal firearms licensee may transfer a firearm to a person who is not such a licensee. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhanced Background 4 Checks Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING OF BACKGROUND CHECK PROCE- 6 DURES TO BE FOLLOWED BEFORE A FED- 7 ERAL FIREARMS LICENSEE MAY TRANSFER A 8 FIREARM TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT SUCH A 9 LICENSEE. 10 Section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code is 11 amended— 12 (1) in paragraph (1)— 13 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 14 clause (ii) and inserting the following: 15 ‘‘(ii) in the event the system has not notified 16 the licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 17 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of 18 this section or State, local, or Tribal law— 19 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 10 business days 20 (meaning a day on which State offices are 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2403 IH open) has elapsed since the licensee contacted 1 the system, and the system has not notified the 2 licensee that the receipt of a firearm by such 3 other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) 4 of this section or State, local, or Tribal law, and 5 the other person has submitted, electronically 6 through a website established by the Attorney 7 General or by first-class mail, a petition for re- 8 view which— 9 ‘‘(aa) certifies that such other person 10 has no reason to believe that such other 11 person is prohibited by Federal, State, 12 local, or Tribal law from purchasing or 13 possessing a firearm; and 14 ‘‘(bb) requests that the system re- 15 spond to the contact referred to in sub- 16 paragraph (A) within 10 business days 17 after the date the petition was submitted 18 (or, if the petition is submitted by first- 19 class mail, the date the letter containing 20 the petition is postmarked); and 21 ‘‘(II) 10 business days have elapsed since 22 the other person so submitted the petition, and 23 the system has not notified the licensee that the 24 receipt of a firearm by such other person would 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2403 IH violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section or 1 State, local, or Tribal law;’’; and 2 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 3 (i) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of 4 clause (i); and 5 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and all that 6 follows through the 2nd comma in clause 7 (iii) and inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(ii) the transfer could be completed 9 lawfully pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii) 10 if the person had attained 21 years of 11 age’’; and 12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 13 ‘‘(7) The Attorney General shall— 14 ‘‘(A) prescribe the form on which a petition 15 shall be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)(ii); 16 ‘‘(B) make the form available electronically, and 17 provide a copy of the form to all licensees referred 18 to in paragraph (1); 19 ‘‘(C) provide the petitioner and the licensee in- 20 volved written notice of receipt of the petition, either 21 electronically or by first-class mail; and 22 ‘‘(D) respond on an expedited basis to any such 23 petition received by the Attorney General. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2403 IH ‘‘(8)(A) If, after 3 business days have elapsed since 1 the licensee initially contacted the system about a firearm 2 transaction, the system notifies the licensee that the trans- 3 fer to, or receipt of, a firearm by such other person would 4 not violate subsection (d), (g), or (n) (as applicable), or 5 State, local, or Tribal law, the licensee may continue to 6 rely on that notification for the longer of— 7 ‘‘(i) an additional 25 calendar days after the li- 8 censee receives the notification; or 9 ‘‘(ii) 30 calendar days after the date of the ini- 10 tial contact. 11 ‘‘(B) If such other person has met the requirements 12 of paragraph (1)(B)(ii) or (1)(C) (as applicable) before the 13 system destroys the records related to the firearm trans- 14 action, the licensee may continue to rely on such other 15 person having met the requirements for an additional 25 16 calendar days after the date such other person first met 17 the requirements.’’. 18 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 19 Section 103(l)(3) of the Brady Handgun Violence 20 Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901) is amended by striking 21 ‘‘, but in no case more than 10 business days,’’. 22 SEC. 4. GAO REPORTS. 23 Within 90 days after the end of each of the 1-year, 24 3-year, and 5-year periods that begin with the effective 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2403 IH date of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 1 States shall prepare and submit to the Committee on the 2 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Com- 3 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a written report ana- 4 lyzing the extent to which, during the respective period, 5 paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and (7) of section 922(t) of title 18, 6 United States Code, have prevented firearms from being 7 transferred to prohibited persons, which report shall in- 8 clude but not be limited to the following— 9 (1) an assessment of the overall implementation 10 of such subsections, including a description of the 11 challenges faced in implementing such paragraphs; 12 (2) an aggregate description of firearm pur- 13 chase delays and denials, with a description of deni- 14 als, disaggregated by State and by the basis for the 15 denial; and 16 (3) an aggregate analysis of the petitions sub- 17 mitted pursuant to such paragraph (1)(B)(ii). 18 SEC. 5. REPORTS ON PETITIONS SUPPORTING FIREARMS 19 TRANSFERS NOT IMMEDIATELY APPROVED 20 BY NICS SYSTEM, THAT WERE NOT RE- 21 SPONDED TO IN A TIMELY MANNER. 22 The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 23 shall make an annual report to the public on the number 24 of petitions received by the national instant criminal back- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2403 IH ground check system established under section 103 of the 1 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act that were sub- 2 mitted pursuant to subclause (I) of section 3 922(t)(1)(B)(ii) of title 18, United States Code, with re- 4 spect to which a determination was not made within the 5 10-day period referred to in subclause (II) of such section 6 922(t)(1)(B)(ii). The report shall include the following, 7 which shall be disaggregated by State: 8 (1) The number of petitions submitted under 9 such section that were received by the national in- 10 stant criminal background check system established 11 under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 12 Prevention Act. 13 (2) The number of petitioners who were discov- 14 ered to be ineligible under Federal, State, local, or 15 Tribal law during that 10-day period. 16 (3) The number of petitioners who were discov- 17 ered to be ineligible under Federal, State, local, or 18 Tribal law after that 10-day period. 19 (4) The basis of the ineligibility of the peti- 20 tioners discovered to be ineligible under Federal, 21 State, local, or Tribal law during that 10-day period, 22 and the basis of the ineligibility of the petitioners 23 discovered to be ineligible under Federal, State, 24 local, or Tribal law after that 10-day period. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2403 IH (5) The number of the petitioners whose peti- 1 tions were denied and who, within 12 months after 2 the denial, were prosecuted under Federal, State, or 3 local law for receiving or attempting to receive a 4 firearm. 5 SEC. 6. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS. 6 Within 150 days after the date of the enactment of 7 this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 8 National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Fire- 9 arms, shall submit to the Congress a report analyzing the 10 effect, if any, of this Act on the safety of victims of domes- 11 tic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner violence, sex- 12 ual assault, and stalking, disaggregated by State, and 13 whether any further amendments to the background check 14 process, including amendments to the conditions that 15 must be met under this Act for a firearm to be transferred 16 when the system has not notified the licensee that such 17 transfer would not violate subsection (d), (g), or (n) of 18 section 922 of title 18, United States Code (as applicable), 19 or State, local, or Tribal law, would likely result in a re- 20 duction in the risk of death or great bodily harm to victims 21 of domestic violence, domestic abuse, dating partner vio- 22 lence, sexual assault, and stalking. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2403 IH SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 2 take effect 210 days after the date of the enactment of 3 this Act. 4 SEC. 8. REPORT ON FIREARM TRANSFERS DENIED AS A RE- 5 SULT OF A NICS CHECK. 6 Within 90 days after the date of the enactment of 7 this Act, the Inspector General, Department of Justice, 8 shall prepare and submit to the Congress a written report 9 on the number of firearm transactions with respect to 10 which the national instant criminal background check sys- 11 tem established under the Brady Handgun Violence Pre- 12 vention Act has determined that receipt of a firearm by 13 the prospective firearm transferee would violate Federal, 14 State, local, or Tribal law, and which have been referred 15 to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explo- 16 sives for investigation. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:07 Apr 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2403.IH H2403 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB