42 U.S.C. § 2201a — Use of firearms by security personnel

Page 5490 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 2201a 1 See References in Text note below. 1 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. and authorized to be appropriated such sums as were necessary. REPORT WITH RESPECT TO RENEGOTIATIONS, REAPPRAISALS, AND SALES PROCEEDINGS Pub. L. 85–162, title II, § 203, Aug. 21, 1957, 71 Stat. 410, directed Atomic Energy Commission, Federal Housing Administration, and Housing and Home Finance Agen- cy to report to Joint Committee by Jan. 31, 1958, with respect to renegotiations, reappraisals, and sales pro- ceedings authorized under sections 201 and 202 of Pub. L. 85–162 [amending subsec. (e) of this section and en- acting section 2325(c) of this title]. Executive Documents EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS For assignment of certain emergency preparedness functions to Members of the Nuclear Regulatory Com- mission, see Parts 1, 2, and 21 of Ex. Ord. No. 12656, Nov. 18, 1988, 53 F.R. 47491, set out as a note under section 5195 of this title. § 2201a. Use of firearms by security personnel (a) Definitions In this section, the terms ‘‘handgun’’, ‘‘rifle’’, ‘‘shotgun’’, ‘‘firearm’’, ‘‘ammunition’’, ‘‘ma- chinegun’’, ‘‘short-barreled shotgun’’, and ‘‘short-barreled rifle’’ have the meanings given the terms in section 921(a) of title 18. (b) Authorization Notwithstanding subsections (a)(4), (a)(5), (b)(2), (b)(4), and (o) of section 922 of title 18, sec- tion 925(d)(3) of title 18, section 5844 of title 26, and any law (including regulations) of a State or a political subdivision of a State that prohibits the transfer, receipt, possession, transportation, importation, or use of a handgun, a rifle, a shot- gun, a short-barreled shotgun, a short-barreled rifle, a machinegun, a semiautomatic assault weapon, ammunition for any such gun or weap- on, or a large capacity ammunition feeding de- vice, in carrying out the duties of the Commis- sion, the Commission may authorize the secu- rity personnel of any licensee or certificate holder of the Commission (including an em- ployee of a contractor of such a licensee or cer- tificate holder) to transfer, receive, possess, transport, import, and use 1 or more such guns, weapons, ammunition, or devices, if the Com- mission determines that— (1) the authorization is necessary to the dis- charge of the official duties of the security personnel; and (2) the security personnel— (A) are not otherwise prohibited from pos- sessing or receiving a firearm under Federal or State laws relating to possession of fire- arms by a certain category of persons; (B) have successfully completed any re- quirement under this section for training in the use of firearms and tactical maneuvers; (C) are engaged in the protection of— (i) a facility owned or operated by a li- censee or certificate holder of the Commis- sion that is designated by the Commission; or (ii) radioactive material or other prop- erty owned or possessed by a licensee or certificate holder of the Commission, or that is being transported to or from a fa- cility owned or operated by such a licensee or certificate holder, and that has been de- termined by the Commission to be of sig- nificance to the common defense and secu- rity or public health and safety; and (D) are discharging the official duties of the security personnel in transferring, re- ceiving, possessing, transporting, or import- ing the weapons, ammunition, or devices. (c) Background checks A person that receives, possesses, transports, imports, or uses a weapon, ammunition, or a de- vice under subsection (b) shall be subject to a background check by the Attorney General, based on fingerprints and including a back- ground check under section 103(b) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Public Law 103–159; 18 U.S.C. 922 note) 1 to determine wheth- er the person is prohibited from possessing or re- ceiving a firearm under Federal or State law. (d) Effective date This section takes effect on the date on which guidelines are issued by the Commission, with the approval of the Attorney General, to carry out this section. (Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, title I, § 161A, as added Pub. L. 109–58, title VI, § 653, Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 811.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven- tion Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is section 103 of Pub. L. 103–159, which was classified as a note under section 922 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification as section 40901 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law Enforcement. Guidelines to carry out this section, referred to in subsec. (d), were issued effective Sept. 11, 2009, see 74 F.R. 46800. § 2201b. Commission workforce (a) Direct hire authority (1) In general Notwithstanding section 2201(d) of this title and any provision of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1980 (94 Stat. 3585; 5 U.S.C. app.),1 and without regard to any provision of title 5 (ex- cept section 3328) governing appointments in the civil service, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (in this section re- ferred to as the ‘‘Chairman’’) may, in order to carry out the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- sion’s (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Com- mission’’) responsibilities and activities in a timely, efficient, and effective manner and subject to the limitations described in para- graphs (2), (3), and (4)— (A) recruit and directly appoint exception- ally well-qualified individuals into the ex- cepted service for covered positions; and (B) establish in the excepted service term- limited covered positions and recruit and di- rectly appoint exceptionally well-qualified individuals into such term-limited covered