II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1824 To provide grants to States to encourage the implementation and maintenance of firearms licensing requirements, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 6, 2023 Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide grants to States to encourage the implementation and maintenance of firearms licensing requirements, 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 ‘‘Making America Safe 4 and Secure Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘MASS Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FIREARMS LICENSING. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 7 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 8 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1824 IS ‘‘PART PP—FIREARMS LICENSING 1 ‘‘SEC. 3061. DEFINITIONS. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this part— 3 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered license’ means a— 4 ‘‘(A) firearms license; or 5 ‘‘(B) firearms dealer license; 6 ‘‘(2) the term ‘domestic violence protection 7 order’ means a protection order, as defined in sec- 8 tion 2266 of title 18, United States Code; 9 ‘‘(3) the term ‘extreme risk protection order’— 10 ‘‘(A) means a written order, issued by a 11 State court or signed by a magistrate that, for 12 a period not to exceed a time frame established 13 by the State— 14 ‘‘(i) prohibits the individual named in 15 the order from having under the custody or 16 control of the individual, purchasing, pos- 17 sessing, or receiving a firearm or ammuni- 18 tion; and 19 ‘‘(ii) requires that any firearm or am- 20 munition under the custody or control of 21 the individual be removed; and 22 ‘‘(B) does not include a domestic violence 23 protection order; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(4) the term ‘prohibited individual’ means an 1 individual who is categorically ineligible to receive a 2 covered license; 3 ‘‘(5) the term ‘suitable’ means that an indi- 4 vidual does not create a risk to public safety; and 5 ‘‘(6) the term ‘thorough background check’ 6 means a Federal and State background check, which 7 may include a fingerprint-based background check. 8 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITED INDIVIDUALS.—For purposes of 9 this part, a State— 10 ‘‘(1) shall establish standards for categorizing 11 an individual as a prohibited individual for purposes 12 of receiving a covered license; and 13 ‘‘(2) in establishing standards with respect to a 14 covered license under paragraph (1), shall take into 15 consideration whether limitations may be warranted 16 based on— 17 ‘‘(A) criminal history; 18 ‘‘(B) whether an individual has been— 19 ‘‘(i) deemed a danger to himself or 20 herself or other individuals by a court or 21 authorized administrative body; or 22 ‘‘(ii) committed to a hospital or insti- 23 tution as a danger to himself or herself or 24 other individuals; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(C) age; 1 ‘‘(D) legal residency; 2 ‘‘(E) military dishonorable discharges; 3 ‘‘(F) whether an individual— 4 ‘‘(i) is subject to a permanent or tem- 5 porary protection order; or 6 ‘‘(ii) has been convicted of a mis- 7 demeanor crime of domestic violence (as 8 defined in section 921 of title 18, United 9 States Code); 10 ‘‘(G) outstanding arrest warrants; 11 ‘‘(H) status as a fugitive; 12 ‘‘(I) renunciation of United States citizen- 13 ship; and 14 ‘‘(J) other factors relevant to the suit- 15 ability of a license holder. 16 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANTS AND CONDITIONS. 17 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Assistant Attorney 18 General may make grants to States to implement or main- 19 tain firearms and firearms dealer licensing requirements. 20 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.—A grant under sub- 21 section (a) shall be for a period of 3 fiscal years. 22 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS FOR FIREARMS AND FIREARMS 23 DEALER LICENSING.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—Amounts received under a 1 grant under subsection (a) shall be used for the im- 2 plementation or maintenance of firearms and fire- 3 arms dealer licensing requirements, which shall in- 4 corporate and implement the elements described in 5 paragraph (2) of this subsection. 6 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS.—The elements described in 7 this paragraph are those providing that— 8 ‘‘(A) an individual shall have a firearms li- 9 cense— 10 ‘‘(i) at the time of the purchase, rent- 11 al, or lease of a firearm or purchase of am- 12 munition; and 13 ‘‘(ii) during the entire period of own- 14 ership or possession of a firearm or ammu- 15 nition; 16 ‘‘(B)(i) an individual who (including the 17 owner or operator of a business that) sells, 18 rents, or leases a minimum number of firearms, 19 or sells ammunition, during a calendar year 20 shall obtain a firearms dealer license; and 21 ‘‘(ii) the State shall establish the minimum 22 number of firearms for purposes of clause (i), 23 which may not be higher than 10 per calendar 24 year; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(C) the chief of police or the board or of- 1 ficer having control of the police department of 2 a local government, or a designee within the 3 same department, shall function as the licensing 4 authority; 5 ‘‘(D) for an application for issuance or re- 6 newal of a firearms license, the licensing au- 7 thority shall— 8 ‘‘(i) conduct a thorough background 9 check, which may include— 10 ‘‘(I) conducting an interview with 11 the applicant; 12 ‘‘(II) requiring the submission of 13 letters of reference stating that the 14 applicant is of sound mind and char- 15 acter; and 16 ‘‘(III) any other requirements the 17 State determines relevant; and 18 ‘‘(ii) make a determination of suit- 19 ability; 20 ‘‘(E) a first-time firearms license applicant 21 shall complete safety training; 22 ‘‘(F) for an application for issuance or re- 23 newal of a firearms dealer license, the licensing 24 authority shall conduct an investigation into the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1824 IS criminal history of the applicant, which may in- 1 clude— 2 ‘‘(i) an interview with the applicant; 3 ‘‘(ii) a thorough background check; 4 and 5 ‘‘(iii) any other requirements the 6 State determines relevant; 7 ‘‘(G) the State shall establish appropriate 8 application processes for covered licenses con- 9 sistent with Federal, State, and local law; 10 ‘‘(H) the State shall establish standards 11 and processes by which licensing authorities can 12 revoke, suspend, or deny the issuance or re- 13 newal of a covered license; 14 ‘‘(I) the State shall ensure that a revoca- 15 tion, suspension, or denial cannot be based on 16 race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual ori- 17 entation, or gender identity; 18 ‘‘(J) the State shall establish judicial re- 19 view processes by which any applicant for or 20 holder of a covered license may, within a rea- 21 sonable time period, petition to obtain judicial 22 review of a revocation, suspension, or denial of 23 the issuance or renewal of a covered license; 24 ‘‘(K) the State shall establish— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(i) standards and a process under 1 which a family member of an individual 2 who the family member fears is a danger 3 to himself, herself, or others may petition 4 for an extreme risk protection order; and 5 ‘‘(ii) standards for the termination or 6 extension of an order described in clause 7 (i); 8 ‘‘(L) the State shall establish processes 9 under which— 10 ‘‘(i) an individual whose covered li- 11 cense is revoked or suspended, or whose 12 application for issuance or renewal of a 13 covered license is denied, shall surrender or 14 transfer all firearms and ammunition that 15 are or would have been covered by the li- 16 cense; and 17 ‘‘(ii) an individual who is subject to 18 an extreme risk protection order or domes- 19 tic violence protection order shall surrender 20 or transfer all firearms and ammunition in 21 the possession of the individual; 22 ‘‘(M) the State shall establish requirements 23 with which a firearms dealer licensee must com- 24 ply, which— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(i) shall include requirements relat- 1 ing to— 2 ‘‘(I) the location at which the li- 3 censee conducts firearm or ammuni- 4 tion transactions; 5 ‘‘(II) the manner in which the li- 6 censee records firearm or ammunition 7 transactions; 8 ‘‘(III) background checks for em- 9 ployees of the licensee; and 10 ‘‘(IV) any other matter that the 11 State determines appropriate; and 12 ‘‘(ii) may include requirements that a 13 licensee— 14 ‘‘(I) maintain a permanent place 15 of business— 16 ‘‘(aa) that is not a resi- 17 dence; and 18 ‘‘(bb) at which the licensee 19 conducts all firearms or ammuni- 20 tion transactions; 21 ‘‘(II) submit to mandatory record 22 and inventory inspections by a licens- 23 ing authority; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(III) maintain a sales record 1 book at the permanent place of busi- 2 ness described in subclause (I) in ac- 3 cordance with standards established 4 by the State; 5 ‘‘(IV) conduct a pre-employment 6 background check on each potential 7 employee to determine the suitability 8 of any potential employee who may 9 have direct and unmonitored contact 10 with a firearm or ammunition; and 11 ‘‘(V) take any other action that 12 the State determines appropriate; 13 ‘‘(N) the State shall promulgate rules and 14 regulations to ensure the prompt collection, ex- 15 change, dissemination, and distribution of infor- 16 mation pertaining to the issuance, renewal, ex- 17 piration, suspension, or revocation of a covered 18 license; 19 ‘‘(O) the State shall establish standards 20 that are consistent with Federal and State 21 law— 22 ‘‘(i) governing the transfer of a fire- 23 arm or ammunition; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1824 IS ‘‘(ii) for identifying a prohibited indi- 1 vidual, in accordance with section 3061(b); 2 ‘‘(P) the State shall promulgate rules and 3 regulations that require a dealer or private sell- 4 er of firearms or ammunition to verify the va- 5 lidity of a firearms license before the sale, rent- 6 al, or lease of any firearm or the sale of any 7 ammunition; 8 ‘‘(Q) a dealer or private seller of firearms 9 or ammunition shall report all sales, rentals, 10 and leases of firearms, and sales of ammuni- 11 tion, to State authorities; 12 ‘‘(R) a dealer of firearms or ammunition 13 shall notify the licensing authority when pre- 14 sented with an invalid or expired firearms li- 15 cense; 16 ‘‘(S) any firearms licensee whose firearm 17 or ammunition is lost or stolen shall report the 18 loss or theft to the licensing authority and 19 State authorities within a reasonable time 20 frame and in a manner established by the 21 State; 22 ‘‘(T) an individual holding a firearms li- 23 cense or firearms dealer license shall renew the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1824 IS license on a time frame established by the 1 State; 2 ‘‘(U) an individual may not use the fire- 3 arms license of the individual to purchase a 4 firearm or ammunition for— 5 ‘‘(i) the unlawful use of the firearm or 6 ammunition by another individual; or 7 ‘‘(ii) the resale or other transfer of 8 the firearm or ammunition to an unli- 9 censed individual; and 10 ‘‘(V)(i) it shall be unlawful to store or keep 11 a firearm in any place unless the firearm is se- 12 cured in a locked container or equipped with a 13 tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety 14 device, properly engaged so as to render the 15 firearm inoperable by any individual other than 16 the owner or other lawfully authorized user; and 17 ‘‘(ii) for purposes of clause (i), a firearm 18 shall not be considered to be stored or kept if 19 carried by or under the control of the owner or 20 other lawfully authorized user. 21 ‘‘(3) SEPARATE AMMUNITION DEALER LICENSE 22 PERMITTED.—A State that requires a license for dealing 23 ammunition that is separate from a license for dealing 24 firearms shall be deemed to have satisfied the require- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1824.IS S1824 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1824 IS ments under paragraph (2) relating to a firearms dealer 1 license, as that license relates to the dealing of ammuni- 2 tion, if the State imposes the same requirements for an 3 ammunition dealer license as are mandated under para- 4 graph (2) for a firearms dealer license, as that license re- 5 lates to the dealing of ammunition. 6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 7 under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Assistant 8 Attorney General an application at such time, in such 9 manner, and containing such information as the Assistant 10 Attorney General may require, including a description of 11 how the State will use the grant to implement or maintain 12 firearms and firearms dealer licensing requirements that 13 include the elements described in subsection (c)(2). 14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Each State receiving a 15 grant under subsection (a) shall submit to the Assistant 16 Attorney General, for each fiscal year during which the 17 State expends amounts received under the grant, a report, 18 at such time and in such manner as the Assistant Attor- 19 ney General may reasonably requi [Text truncated for display. 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