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119-s-4926119th Congress

State Firearms Dealer Licensing Enhancement Act

Sponsored By: Senator Schatz, Brian [D-HI]

Introduced

Summary

Would create a federal grant program for state firearms dealer licensing. The bill would fund competitive grants and set rules to help states adopt mandatory licensing, inspections, and enforcement for firearms dealers.

Show full summary
  • States and local governments: States that enact required dealer-licensing laws could apply for competitive grants to develop, implement, or improve licensing programs. States may subaward funds to local governments to run inspections and enforcement on the ground.
  • Licensed dealers and compliance: Eligible state laws must require a business license to operate as a firearms dealer, limit license terms to three years, mandate inspections, and allow suspension, revocation, or penalties for noncompliance. Grant recipients must report annual counts of inspections, violations by type, and licensing activity.
  • Transparency and program rules: The Attorney General would publish annual reports showing who received funds, cumulative and per-grantee awards, denied applicants and reasons, and the data grantees submitted. Any single grant is capped at $2.5 million per fiscal year and funding is authorized as needed.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Reports on dealer licensing grants

If enacted, each grant recipient would send an annual report to the Attorney General with counts for the previous year. Reports would include number of inspections, violations by type, total licensed dealers at year end, and numbers of licenses issued, renewed, suspended, or revoked. The Attorney General would report to Congress and the public not later than 390 days after the first grants are awarded and every year after. That report would list funded applicants and funds awarded, include each grantee's submitted data, and list eligible applicants denied grants with reasons.

New federal grants for dealer licensing

This bill would create a new competitive grant program run by the Attorney General to help States and tribal governments build or improve firearms dealer licensing programs. The Attorney General would start awarding grants not later than 180 days after Congress provides money. Congress could appropriate such sums as may be necessary each year to run the program. No single grant could be more than $2,500,000 per fiscal year. A State that receives a grant would be allowed to make subawards to local governments that oversee or enforce the funded licensing program. Applicants would have to submit applications showing the enacted dealer licensing law, how the funds would be used, and their inspection bodies and procedures.

State dealer licensing requirements

The bill would make States or tribal governments eligible for grants only if they have a law that requires people who do business as firearms dealers to be licensed. That law would have to require licensing only after an application process, make licenses valid for not more than 3 years, let licensed dealers be inspected, and allow suspension or revocation and civil or criminal penalties for noncompliance. The bill would treat 'licensed dealer' the same way as in federal law (18 U.S.C. 921(a)).

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Schatz, Brian [D-HI]

HI • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA]

    PA • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]

    HI • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]

    RI • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]

    RI • D

    Sponsored 6/24/2026

  • Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 7/30/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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