Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 This bill makes it a crime to knowingly import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding device (LCAFD). The prohibition does not apply to a firearm that is (1) manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action, except for certain shotguns; (2) permanently inoperable; (3) an antique; (4) only capable of firing rimfire ammunition; or (5) a rifle or shotgun specifically identified by make and model. The bill also exempts from the prohibition the following, with respect to a SAW or LCAFD: importation, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession related to certain law enforcement efforts, or authorized tests or experiments; importation, sale, transfer, or possession related to securing nuclear materials; and possession by a retired law enforcement officer. The bill permits continued possession, sale, or transfer of a grandfathered SAW, which must be securely stored. A licensed gun dealer must conduct a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a grandfathered SAW between private parties. The bill permits continued possession of, but prohibits sale or transfer of, a grandfathered LCAFD. Newly manufactured LCAFDs must display serial number identification. Newly manufactured SAWs and LCAFDs must display the date of manufacture. The bill also allows a state or local government to use Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funds to compensate individuals who surrender a SAW or LCAFD under a buy-back program.
Michael Enzi Voluntary Protection Program Act
Safeguard Healthcare Industry Employees from Litigation and Distress Act or the SHIELD Act This bill establishes a framework to limit interference with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health services at the state level. For the purposes of this summary, interference with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health services includes acts to prevent, restrict, impede, or retaliate against a health care provider who provides reproductive health care services, any person or entity who helps health care providers to provide such services, any person who seeks to access such services, or any person or entity who helps another person to access such services. First, the bill reduces the allocation of funds under certain law enforcement grant programs for a state that has in effect a law authorizing state or local officers or employees to interfere with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health services. Second, the bill prohibits interference with persons seeking to provide or access reproductive health care services by state or local officers or employees acting under color of law in any manner that would have a discriminatory effect on a woman, and by persons who are not state or local officers or employees and are attempting to implement or enforce a state law in circumstances affecting interstate commerce. The bill authorizes civil remedies for a violation, including damages and injunctive relief. Additionally, it authorizes criminal penalties for a violation involving the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or the infliction of bodily injury.
Effective and Humane Treatment of Youth Act of 2023 or Kalief's Law This bill establishes requirements for the treatment of youth in the criminal justice system at the federal, state, and local levels. A youth is an individual who is 21 years of age or younger. At the federal level, the bill requires federal law enforcement officers to record youth custodial interrogations, limits the use of solitary confinement for youth at federal facilities, and limits the use of restraints on youth during federal court proceedings. At the state and local levels, the bill places conditions on existing grants and establishes a new grant to incentivize the implementation of similar policies with respect to youth. First, the bill reauthorizes the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program for FY2023-FY2027. To be eligible for grant funds, state and local governments must implement policies that, with respect to youth, provide a right to speedy trial, provide a right to timely bail consideration, and restrict the use of solitary confinement. Second, a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program or the Community Oriented Policing Services program must implement policies and training on police-youth interaction. Third, the bill directs the Department of Justice to award grants to help state and local governments record youth custodial interrogations.
Providing Relief and Stability for Medicare Patients Act of 2023
Michael F. Donoughe Tax Credit for Off Road Electric Vehicles Act
Restoring Faith in Elections Act This bill establishes certain standards for voting, including voting by mail, in federal elections. It also establishes certain requirements for voter registration and maintenance of official lists of eligible voters. First, the bill establishes certain requirements for voting by mail in federal elections, including by requiring mail-in ballots to be received by the time the polls close on election day. Additionally, the bill makes it unlawful to possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by another person (commonly referred to as ballot harvesting), with exceptions. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, a prison term of up to one year, or both. Further, the bill establishes certain requirements for reporting results of federal elections, including by requiring states to count all eligible ballots within 24 hours after the election. Next, the bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters. The Election Assistance Commission must make grants to states to implement these automatic voter registration programs. It also requires states and jurisdictions to use standards that apply equally to all methods of voting used in federal elections, including standards related to signature verification. Finally, the bill establishes the National Deconfliction Voting Database and Clearinghouse to serve as a database and clearinghouse for voter registration records and lists of eligible voters. Additionally, each state must certify that it has removed ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters prior to the federal election.
Sergeant First Class Michael Clark TRICARE Reserve Parity Act
Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans. The commission must (1) compile documentary evidence of slavery in the United States; (2) study the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery; (3) analyze discriminatory laws and policies against freed African slaves and their descendants; and (4) recommend ways the United States may recognize and remedy the effects of slavery and discrimination on African Americans, including through a formal apology and compensation (i.e., reparations). The commission consists of individuals from civil society and reparations organizations and individuals appointed by the President and congressional leadership; Members of Congress and governmental employees may not serve on the commission. The commission may hold hearings, subpoena witnesses and records, and contract with other entities to conduct its work. The commission must submit its final report within 18 months of its first meeting.
A resolution honoring the lives of 2 fallen Mississippi police officers, Sergeant Steven Robin and Officer Branden Estorffe, and expressing condolences to their families.