[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4637 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4637
To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 13, 2023
Ms. Wasserman Schultz (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Bonamici, Ms.
Sanchez, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Moulton,
Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Davis of North
Carolina, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Evans, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Castor
of Florida, and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent the purchase of ammunition by prohibited purchasers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as ``Jaime's Law''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to enhance the background check process
in the United States to prevent the purchase of ammunition by
individuals who are prohibited from doing so under Federal and State
law.
SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION.
(a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating subsection
(t) as subsection (s); and
(2) in subsection (s) (as so redesignated)--
(A) by inserting ``or ammunition'' after
``firearm'' each place it appears;
(B) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by inserting ``in the
case of a firearm,'' before ``3'';
(C) in paragraph (1)(C), by inserting ``a firearm
and'' before ``a person less''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(7)(A)(i) It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a
licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to
transfer ammunition to any other person who is not so licensed, unless
a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has
first taken possession of the ammunition for the purpose of complying
with this subsection.
``(ii) Upon taking possession of ammunition under clause (i), a
licensee shall comply with all requirements of this chapter as if the
licensee were transferring ammunition from the inventory of the
licensee to the unlicensed transferee.
``(iii) If a transfer of ammunition described in clause (i) will
not be completed for any reason after a licensee takes possession of
the ammunition (including because the transfer of the ammunition to, or
receipt of the ammunition by, the transferee would violate this
chapter), the return of the ammunition to the transferor by the
licensee shall not constitute the transfer of ammunition for purposes
of this chapter.
``(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to--
``(i) a law enforcement agency or any law enforcement
officer, armed private security professional, or member of the
armed forces, to the extent the officer, professional, or
member is acting within the course and scope of employment and
official duties;
``(ii) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift between
spouses, between domestic partners, between parents and their
children, between siblings, between aunts or uncles and their
nieces or nephews, or between grandparents and their
grandchildren;
``(iii) a transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee,
or personal representative of an estate or a trust that occurs
by operation of law upon the death of another person;
``(iv) a transfer if the transfer is necessary to prevent
imminent death or great bodily harm, if the possession by the
transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to
prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm; or
``(v) a transfer, if the transferor has no reason to
believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the
ammunition in a crime or is prohibited from possessing
ammunition under State or Federal law, and the transfer takes
place and the transferee's possession of the ammunition is
exclusively--
``(I) at a shooting range or in a shooting gallery
or other area designated for the purpose of target
shooting;
``(II) while reasonably necessary for the purposes
of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the transferor--
``(aa) has no reason to believe that the
transferee intends to use the ammunition in a
place where it is illegal; and
``(bb) has reason to believe that the
transferee will comply with all licensing and
permit requirements for such hunting, trapping,
or fishing; or
``(III) while in the presence of the transferor.
``(C)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
Attorney General may implement this subsection with regulations.
``(ii) Regulations promulgated under this paragraph may not include
any provision--
``(I) requiring licensees to facilitate transfers in
accordance with subparagraph (A);
``(II) requiring persons not licensed under this chapter to
keep records of background checks of ammunition transfers; and
``(III) limiting the amount of any fee a licensee may
charge to facilitate transfers in accordance with subparagraph
(A).
``(D) It shall be unlawful for a licensed importer, licensed
manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer possession of ammunition
to another person who is not so licensed unless the importer,
manufacturer, or dealer has provided such other person with a notice of
the prohibition under subparagraph (A), and such other person has
certified that such other person has been provided with this notice on
a form prescribed by the Attorney General.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 922.--Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, United
States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)'' and
inserting ``and (g)(5)(B)''.
(2) Consolidated and further continuing appropriations act,
2012.--Section 511 of title V of division B of the Consolidated
and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 (34 U.S.C.
40901 note) is amended by striking ``subsection 922(t)'' each
place it appears and inserting ``subsection (s) or (t) of
section 922''.
SEC. 4. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this Act, shall be
construed to--
(1) authorize the establishment, directly or indirectly, of
a national firearms or ammunition registry; or
(2) interfere with the authority of a State, under section
927 of title 18, United States Code, to enact a law on the same
subject matter as this Act.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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