HR 137 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Fix Gun Checks Act of 2013

Fact sheet

Latest action · Jan 25, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, And Investigations.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJan 3, 2013
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Fix Gun Checks Act of 2013 - Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NICS Act) to modify the periods during which penalties are applicable to states that do not make certain records pertaining to firearms eligibility electronically available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICBCS). Repeals provisions authorizing the Attorney General to waive certain penalties if a state provides substantial evidence that it is making a reasonable effort to provide such records. Directs the Attorney General to publish, and make available on a publicly accessible website, an annual report that ranks states by the ratio of number of records submitted by each state to the estimated total number of available records of the state.

Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to: (1) require the head of each federal agency to submit to the Attorney General, biannually, a written certification indicating whether the agency has provided pertinent information contained in any agency record demonstrating that a person falls within a category of persons prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law; and (2) include a federal court as a federal department or agency, and require the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to perform the functions of a department or agency head, for purposes of such Act.

Amends the federal criminal code to define the terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution" for purposes of federal firearms provisions. Prohibits an individual so adjudicated before the effective date of this Act from applying for relief from disability under the NICS Act on the basis that the individual does not meet the requirements under such definition.

Prohibits a person who is not a licensed firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer from transferring a firearm to, or receiving a firearm from, another unlicensed person, except: (1) through a licensed dealer, which shall conduct a background check through the NICBCS; and (2) after inspecting a permit that confirms that such background check has been conducted. Specifies exceptions, including for: (1) the transfer of a bona fide gift between immediate family members; (2) a transfer that occurs by operation of law or by an executor or trustee because of the death of another person; (3) a temporary transfer that occurs in the home of the unlicensed transferee who believes that possession of the firearm is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to the transferee; and (4) certain temporary transfers without the transfer of title at a shooting range, at a shooting competition, or while hunting, fishing, or trapping.

Prohibits an unlicensed transferee from receiving a firearm from an unlicensed transferor if the licensed dealer through which the transfer is made receives a notification from the NICBCS that the transfer is prohibited.

Sets forth requirements for a licensed dealer that assists in such transfer, including requirements to: (1) notify the transferor and transferee of compliance with background check requirements and of the receipt of any notification from the NICBCS that a transfer is prohibited, and (2) report to the Attorney General on such a transfer and on transfers of two or more pistols and/or revolvers to the same unlicensed transferee during any five consecutive business days. Permits such dealer to assess a processing fee.

Cosponsors 91

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 14, 2013 to Feb 25, 2014.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAnna G. EshooJan 14, 2013
D-NYCarolyn B. MaloneyJan 14, 2013
D-MDChris Van HollenJan 14, 2013
D-RIDavid N. CicillineJan 14, 2013
D-CADoris O. MatsuiJan 14, 2013
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonJan 14, 2013
D-MDElijah E. CummingsJan 14, 2013
D-CTJoe CourtneyJan 14, 2013
D-MIJohn Conyers, Jr.Jan 14, 2013
D-ILMike QuigleyJan 14, 2013
D-MANiki TsongasJan 14, 2013
D-CAAdam B. SchiffJan 15, 2013
D-MNBetty McCollumJan 15, 2013
D-NCDavid E. PriceJan 15, 2013
D-MAEdward J. MarkeyJan 15, 2013

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Jan 25, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, And Investigations.
  2. Jan 3, 2013Introduced in House
  3. Jan 3, 2013Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 21NRA Members' Gun Safety Act of 2013Related billJan 25, 2013

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jan 3, 2013Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.