[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 613 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 613
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to establish an
administrative relief process for individuals whose applications for
transfer and registration of a firearm were denied, and for other
purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 22, 2025
Mr. Fulcher introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to require the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to establish an
administrative relief process for individuals whose applications for
transfer and registration of a firearm were denied, and for other
purposes.
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 the ``ATF Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF FOR DENIAL OF FIREARM TRANSFER
APPLICATION.
(a) In General.--Section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(c) Administrative Relief.--
``(1) In general.--With respect to any application
described in subsection (a) for the transfer and registration
of a firearm which is denied by the Secretary based on a
determination that transferring the firearm to the transferee
would violate subsection (d) of section 922 of title 18, United
States Code, or receipt of the firearm by the transferee would
violate subsection (g) or (n) of that section or State, local,
or tribal law, the Secretary shall--
``(A) provide the transferee with the relevant NICS
transaction number with respect to such application,
``(B) permit such transferee to appeal such denial
to the Secretary in a manner similar to the process for
appeals provided under section 25.10 of title 28, Code
of Federal Regulations, and
``(C) permit such transferee to provide information
to the Secretary to prevent any subsequent erroneous
denial or extended delay by NICS pursuant to a program
(as established by the Secretary) similar to the
Voluntary Appeal File program described in section
25.10(g) of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations.
``(2) Attorney fees.--In the case of any successful appeal
by the transferee pursuant to the process described in
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary shall reimburse the transferee
for any reasonable and necessary attorney fees incurred with
respect to such appeal.
``(3) NICS.--For purposes of this subsection, the term
`NICS' means the national instant criminal background check
system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to applications for the transfer and registration of a firearm which
are filed or pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. TIMELY PROCESSING OF APPLICATIONS.
(a) Transfer of Firearms.--Section 5812 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended by section 2, is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
``(d) Processing of Applications.--Notwithstanding subsection (a),
if an application described in such subsection with respect to the
transfer and registration of a firearm has been filed with the
Secretary and the Secretary fails to make a determination regarding
whether to approve or deny such application prior to the date which is
90 calendar days after the date on which such application was
originally filed by the transferor, the transfer and registration of
such firearm to the transferee shall be deemed to have been approved by
the Secretary for purposes of this section and such transfer may be
made. The Secretary shall only deny an application described in
subsection (a) on the grounds that the applicable requirements under
such subsection have not been satisfied, and may not deny an
application solely on the grounds that a determination regarding
whether to approve or deny such application could not be completed by
the Secretary during the period described in the preceding sentence.''.
(b) Making of Firearms.--Section 5822 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Notwithstanding the preceding sentences, if a person files an
application to make and register a firearm with the Secretary and the
Secretary fails to make a determination regarding whether to approve or
deny such application prior to the date which is 90 calendar days after
the date on which such application was originally filed by such person,
such application shall be deemed to have been approved by the Secretary
for purposes of this section and such firearm may be made by such
person. The Secretary shall only deny an application to make and
register a firearm on the grounds that the applicable requirements
under this section have not been satisfied, and may not deny an
application solely on the grounds that a determination regarding
whether to approve or deny such application could not be completed by
the Secretary during the period described in the preceding sentence.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to applications which are filed or pending on or after the date
of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REPORTS AND AGREEMENTS.
(a) Unresolved NICS Checks.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States,
in conjunction with the Inspector General of the Department of Justice,
shall submit a report to Congress--
(1) detailing the number of NICS inquiries received during
the period of calendar years 2010 through 2021 with respect to
the transfer of a firearm which remained unresolved following
the expiration of the 90-day period described in section
25.9(b)(1) of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations; and
(2) providing recommendations for administrative actions to
be adopted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives to minimize the number of unresolved NICS inquiries
described in paragraph (1).
(b) Administration of NICS Checks.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the
Department of Justice shall submit a report to Congress regarding the
percentage of NICS inquiries during the period of calendar years 2014
through 2021 with respect to the transfer of a firearm which were
administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on behalf of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
(c) Memorandum of Understanding.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation shall enter into a memorandum of understanding
regarding the administration and processing of NICS inquiries with
respect to the transfer of firearms.
(d) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' has the same meaning
given such term under section 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986.
(2) NICS.--The term ``NICS'' means the national instant
criminal background check system established under section 103
of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901).
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