HEAR Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2985 To regulate firearm silencers and firearm mufflers. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 27, 2023 Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. NOR- TON, Mr. NICKEL, Mr. IVEY, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To regulate firearm silencers and firearm mufflers. 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 ‘‘Help Empower Ameri- 4 cans to Respond Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘HEAR Act of 5 2023’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 7 Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 8 amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2985 IH (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘(C) any fire- 1 arm muffler or firearm silencer; or (D)’’ and insert- 2 ing ‘‘or (C)’’; and 3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(38) The term ‘qualified law enforcement officer’ 5 has the meaning given the term in section 926B.’’. 6 SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON FIREARM SILENCERS AND FIRE- 7 ARM MUFFLERS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 922 of title 18, United 9 States Code, is amended by inserting after subsection (u) 10 the following: 11 ‘‘(v)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall 12 be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, 13 transfer, or possess, in or affecting interstate or foreign 14 commerce, a firearm silencer or firearm muffler. 15 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— 16 ‘‘(A) the importation for, manufacture for, sale 17 to, transfer to, or possession by the United States 18 or a department or agency of the United States or 19 a State or a department, agency, or political subdivi- 20 sion of a State, or a sale or transfer to or possession 21 by a qualified law enforcement officer employed by 22 the United States or a department or agency of the 23 United States or a State or a department, agency, 24 or political subdivision of a State for purposes of law 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2985 IH enforcement (whether on or off-duty), or a sale or 1 transfer to or possession by a campus law enforce- 2 ment officer for purposes of law enforcement (wheth- 3 er on or off-duty); 4 ‘‘(B) the importation for, or sale or transfer to 5 a licensee under title I of the Atomic Energy Act of 6 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) for purposes of estab- 7 lishing and maintaining an on-site physical protec- 8 tion system and security organization required by 9 Federal law, or possession by an employee or con- 10 tractor of such licensee on-site for such purposes or 11 off-site for purposes of licensee-authorized training 12 or transportation of nuclear materials; or 13 ‘‘(C) the importation for, manufacture for, sale 14 to, transfer to, or possession by a licensed manufac- 15 turer or licensed importer for the purposes of testing 16 or experimentation authorized by the Attorney Gen- 17 eral. 18 ‘‘(3) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the term 19 ‘campus law enforcement officer’ means an individual who 20 is— 21 ‘‘(A) employed by a private institution of higher 22 education that is eligible for funding under title IV 23 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 24 1070 et seq.); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2985 IH ‘‘(B) responsible for the prevention or investiga- 1 tion of crime involving injury to persons or property, 2 including apprehension or detention of persons for 3 such crimes; 4 ‘‘(C) authorized by Federal, State, or local law 5 to carry a firearm, execute search warrants, and 6 make arrests; and 7 ‘‘(D) recognized, commissioned, or certified by 8 a government entity as a law enforcement officer.’’. 9 (b) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE OF FIREARM SILENC- 10 ERS AND FIREARM MUFFLERS.—Section 924(d) of title 11 18, United States Code, is amended— 12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or (k)’’ and 13 inserting ‘‘(k), or (v)’’; and 14 (2) in paragraph (3)(E), by inserting ‘‘922(v),’’ 15 after ‘‘922(n),’’. 16 SEC. 4. PENALTIES. 17 Section 924(a)(1)(B) of title 18, United States Code, 18 is amended by striking ‘‘or (q)’’ and inserting ‘‘(q), or 19 (v)’’. 20 SEC. 5. USE OF BYRNE GRANTS FOR BUY-BACK PROGRAMS 21 FOR FIREARM SILENCERS AND FIREARM 22 MUFFLERS. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 501(a)(1) of title I of the 24 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2985 IH U.S.C. 10152(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(J) Compensation for surrendered fire- 3 arm silencers and firearm mufflers, as those 4 terms are defined in section 921 of title 18, 5 United States Code, under the buy-back pro- 6 gram for firearm silencers and firearm mufflers 7 required under section 5(b) of the Help Em- 8 power Americans to Respond Act of 2023.’’. 9 (b) REQUIREMENT.—During the 90-day period de- 10 scribed in section 6, the Attorney General shall establish 11 and implement a buy-back program, to be carried out 12 across the United States, to purchase firearm silencers 13 and firearm mufflers (as defined in section 921(a) of title 14 18, United States Code) from individuals seeking to com- 15 ply with the requirements of this Act and the amendments 16 made by this Act. 17 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 18 The amendments made by sections 2, 3, and 4 shall 19 take effect on the date that is 90 days after the date of 20 enactment of this Act. 21 SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY. 22 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 23 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend- 24 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2985 IH tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made 1 by this Act, and the application of such provision or 2 amendment to any person or circumstance shall not be af- 3 fected thereby. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:47 May 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2985.IH H2985 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB