Technological Resource to Assist Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act

Technological Resource to Assist Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act - Amends the federal criminal code to require the Attorney General to: (1) revoke the license of an importer who imports or a manufacturer who manufactures a firearm that is not microstamped (i.e., the make, model, and serial number etched onto an internal surface of the firearm); (2) conduct ballistics testing of any firearm in federal custody believed to be involved in a federal or state crime and establish an electronic database with the results of such testing; (3) report to the Judiciary Committees of Congress on the use of ballistics records in federal and state criminal investigations, arrests, indictments, and prosecutions.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5073 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5073

    To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require 
  microstamping of all firearms manufactured in or imported into the 
United States, and ballistics testing of all firearms in the custody of 
                        the Federal Government.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2006

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to require 
  microstamping of all firearms manufactured in or imported into the 
United States, and ballistics testing of all firearms in the custody of 
                        the Federal Government.

    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 ``Technological Resource to Assist 
Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act''.

SEC. 2. BAN ON MANUFACTURE OR IMPORTATION OF FIREARMS THAT ARE NOT 
              MICROSTAMPED.

    (a) License Revocation.--Section 923(e) of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the penultimate sentence the 
following: ``The Attorney General shall, after notice and opportunity 
for hearing, revoke the license of an importer who imports into the 
United States a firearm that is not microstamped, or the license of a 
manufacturer who manufactures a firearm that is not microstamped or a 
microstamped firearm that does not transfer the array of characters 
constituting the microstamp onto the cartridge case of any ammunition 
fired from the firearm.''.
    (b) Definition of Microstamped.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(36) The term `microstamped' means, with respect to a firearm, 
that etched into the interior surface or internal working parts of the 
firearm is an array of characters which identify the make, model, and 
serial number of the firearm.''.

SEC. 3. BALLISTICS TESTING OF CRIME GUNS; COMPUTERIZATION OF RECORDS.

    (a) In General.--Section 923 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m)(1) The Attorney General shall conduct ballistics testing of 
any firearm in the custody of the Federal Government if there is reason 
to believe that the firearm has been involved in a crime under Federal 
or State law, and establish an electronic database containing records 
of the results of the testing.
    ``(2) The Attorney General shall establish a computer system 
through which State and local law enforcement agencies can promptly 
access the ballistics records stored under this subsection.
    ``(3) Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this 
subsection, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit 
to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives a report regarding the implementation of this 
subsection, including--
            ``(A) the number of Federal and State criminal 
        investigations, arrests, indictments, and prosecutions of all 
        cases in which access to ballistics records, provided through 
        the system established under this section and under similar 
        systems operated by any State, served as a valuable 
        investigative tool in the prosecution of crimes involving 
        firearms; and
            ``(B) the extent to which ballistics records are accessible 
        across jurisdictions.
    ``(4) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney 
General $20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2009, to 
carry out this subsection.''.
    (b) Definition of Ballistics.--Section 921(a) of such title, as 
amended by section 2(b) of this Act, is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(37) The term `ballistics' means a comparative analysis of fired 
bullets and cartridge casings to identify the firearm from which 
bullets and cartridge casings have been discharged, through 
identification of the unique markings that the firearm imprints on 
cartridge casings of ammunition fired from the firearm.''.
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