FIREARM Act

Fighting Irrational Regulatory Enforcement to Avert Retailers’ Misfortune Act or the FIREARM Act

This bill prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from bringing an enforcement action to revoke or deny renewal of a federal firearms license on the basis of a self-reported violation that is correctable, so long as the violation did not involve the transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person.

The term self-reported violation means a violation of a statutory provision or implementing regulation by a federal firearms licensee (e.g., a gun dealer) that the licensee reports to the ATF before it is discovered during a compliance inspection.

The bill applies retroactively.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3770 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3770

 To provide firearm licensees an opportunity to correct statutory and 
             regulatory violations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2025

 Mr. Issa (for himself, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Van Orden, 
  Mr. Collins, Mr. Hunt, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Downing, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. 
 Guthrie, Mr. DesJarlais, Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Burchett, Mr. Mills, Mr. 
  Guest, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Kustoff, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Scott 
 Franklin of Florida, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Edwards, 
Mr. Biggs of Arizona, Ms. Stefanik, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mrs. Hinson, Mrs. 
  Luna, and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide firearm licensees an opportunity to correct statutory and 
             regulatory violations, 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 ``Fighting Irrational Regulatory 
Enforcement to Avert Retailers' Misfortune Act'' or the ``FIREARM 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FIREARM LICENSING REVOCATIONS AND DENIALS.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(39) The term `self-reported violation' means a violation by a 
licensee of any provision of this chapter or any implementing 
regulation thereof that the licensee reports to the Attorney General 
before the Attorney General discovers the violation during an 
inspection of the licensee under this chapter.
    ``(40) The term `willfully' has the meaning given the term in 
section 5336(h) of title 31, except that--
            ``(A) the term only includes conduct resulting from or 
        achieved through deliberate planning or specific intent;
            ``(B) willfulness shall not be inferred from previous 
        conduct; and
            ``(C) minor, clerical, or curable conduct is presumptively 
        not willful.
    ``(41) The term `uncorrectable violation' means any violation that, 
despite best efforts, cannot be corrected by the licensee, including a 
violation in which the licensee transferred a firearm to a prohibited 
person.''.
    (b) Self-Reported Violations; Opportunity To Correct Violations.--
Section 923(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' after ``(e)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2)(A) The Attorney General may not bring an enforcement action 
to revoke, or deny a renewal of, a license for a violation of any 
provision of this chapter or any implementing regulation thereof on the 
basis of a self-reported violation, except in the case of a violation--
            ``(i) that is not correctable after the violation occurred; 
        or
            ``(ii) in which a firearm was transferred to a person who 
        is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to any 
        provision of this chapter or any implementing regulation 
        thereof.
    ``(B) In the case of a self-reported violation, the Attorney 
General shall--
            ``(i) assist the licensee to correct the self-reported 
        violation; and
            ``(ii) provide the licensee with instructions and 
        compliance training designed to assist the licensee in avoiding 
        repetition of the self-reported violation in the future.
    ``(3)(A) Before initiating an enforcement action under this 
subsection, the Attorney General shall provide the licensee with actual 
notice of the violation giving rise to the enforcement action, which 
shall include, at a minimum--
            ``(i) a detailed explanation of the substance of the 
        violation;
            ``(ii) all evidence or documentation in the possession of 
        the Attorney General regarding the enforcement action; and
            ``(iii) a statement that the Attorney General will not 
        initiate the enforcement action if the licensee corrects the 
        violation by the date that is 30 business days after the date 
        on which the licensee first receives actual notice of the 
        violation.
    ``(B) The Attorney General may bring an enforcement action under 
this subsection against a licensee described in subparagraph (A) if--
            ``(i) 30 business days have elapsed since the date on which 
        the licensee received the notice of the violation required 
        under that subparagraph; and
            ``(ii) the licensee has not corrected the violation.
    ``(C) If a self-reported violation is of a nature such that it 
cannot be corrected within the grace period and with the assistance 
provided pursuant to paragraph (2) or (3), the Attorney General may 
deny a licensee the opportunity to correct.
    ``(4) The Attorney General may not bring an enforcement action on 
the basis of any violation of any provision of this chapter or any 
implementing regulation thereof that has been corrected pursuant to 
paragraph (2) or (3) unless the violation involves a prohibited 
transfer of a firearm or another uncorrectable violation which creates 
a direct and acute risk of death or serious bodily injury as a result 
of the uncorrectable violation.''.
    (c) Direct Judicial Review of License Revocations.--Section 923(f) 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``If'' and inserting 
        ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), if''; and
            (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
    ``(3)(A) If after a hearing held under paragraph (2) the Attorney 
General decides not to reverse his or her decision to deny an 
application or revoke a license, during the 15-business-day period 
beginning on the date on which a license holder or applicant receives a 
written notice of revocation or denial, that aggrieved party may file a 
petition with the United States district court for the district in 
which the aggrieved party resides or has his or her principal place of 
business for a judicial review of the revocation or denial.
    ``(B) If a license holder files a petition with a United States 
district court under subparagraph (A), the Attorney General shall stay 
the effective date of the revocation until the court issues a judgment.
    ``(C) In a proceeding conducted under this paragraph, the court may 
consider any evidence submitted by the parties to the proceeding, shall 
review the Attorney General's decision de novo, and shall uphold any 
revocation decision only upon a finding, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, that the license holder willfully violated the statute under 
this title or any implementing regulation.
    ``(D) If the court decides that the Attorney General did not have a 
sufficient basis to revoke or deny a license, the court shall order the 
Attorney General to take such action as may be necessary to comply with 
the judgment of the court.''.

SEC. 3. RETROACTIVE APPLICATION TO LICENSES REVOKED UNDER ENHANCED 
              REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT POLICY.

    (a) Retroactive Application.--Notwithstanding any provision of law, 
the provisions of this Act shall apply retroactively to any licensee 
whose license was revoked or denied pursuant to the Enhanced Regulatory 
Enforcement Policy announced on June 23, 2021.
    (b) Restoration of Licenses.--In the case of any licensee whose 
license was revoked or denied renewal pursuant to the Enhanced 
Regulatory Enforcement Policy, or who surrendered their license at the 
request or suggestion from an ATF Industry Operations Investigator 
during the course of an inspection with respect to which an Enhanced 
Regulatory Enforcement Policy type violation was cited or disclosed to 
the licensee, the Attorney General shall provide the licensee an 
opportunity to reapply for a license, and approve such application, 
provided the licensee--
            (1) has not been convicted of a violation that would 
        otherwise prohibit the issuance of a license under section 
        923(d) of title 18, United States Code; and
            (2) submits evidence to demonstrate compliance with the 
        relevant regulations, including corrective action for 
        previously cited violations.
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