Police departments and other law enforcement agencies that receive federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding would be barred from buying or selling firearms through licensed dealers that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has linked to at least 25 crime-gun traces in two of the past three years. The ATF would have to publish that list of flagged dealers publicly each year and notify any state or local agency if a firearm it transferred was later traced to a suspected crime. The bill also repeals a series of longstanding federal budget provisions, some dating back to 2003, that have restricted how much of the ATF's firearms-trace data could be shared with the public. Together these changes affect police agencies nationwide that rely on Byrne JAG grants, one of the largest federal funding sources for state and local law enforcement.
Transparency & Accountability
- ATF trace-data disclosure — Appropriations-rider limits on public release repealed
- Byrne JAG grant eligibility — Barred from dealing with dealers on ATF's public crime-gun list
Congressional Summary
Responsible Retirement of Law Enforcement Firearms Act of 2025 or the RRLEF Act of 2025This bill establishes a framework to limit the transfer of firearms to and purchase from federally licensed gun dealers whose firearms have a short time to crime. The term short time to crime means a period of three years or less between the date of the last known retail sale of a firearm and the date a firearm is recovered in an actual or suspected criminal offense.Specifically, the bill directs the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to notify a state or local law enforcement agency if a firearm transferred by the agency is used, or suspected of being used, in the commission of a criminal offense, as traced by the National Tracing Center.Additionally, the bill directs the ATF to publish annually a list of federally licensed gun dealers who have 25 or more traces of firearms with a short time to crime in at least two of the three previous years.The bill prohibits a state (including the District of Columbia), territory, or local government that receives funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program from transferring a firearm to, or purchasing a firearm from, a dealer on the list.The bill removes limits on the authority of the ATF to disclose firearms tracing data.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-09-18
- Date Added
- 2026-07-02
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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