Firearms Guidelines

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices
respondents are encouraged to use
electronic communications.

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
OMB Final Sequestration Report to the
President and Congress for Fiscal Year
2019

Russel T. Vought,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 2019–04171 Filed 3–7–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–P

Executive Office of the
President, Office of Management and
Budget.

AGENCY:

Notice of availability of the
OMB Final Sequestration Report to the
President and Congress for FY 2019.

ACTION:

OMB is issuing its Final
Sequestration Report to the President
and Congress for Fiscal Year 2019 to
report on compliance of enacted 2019
discretionary appropriations legislation
with the discretionary caps. The report
finds that enacted appropriations are
within the discretionary caps for 2019.
As a result, a sequestration of
discretionary budget authority is not
required in 2019.

SUMMARY:

Effective Date: March 4, 2019.
Section 254 of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,
requires the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to issue its Final
Sequestration Report 15 calendar days
after the end of a congressional session.
With regard to this final report and to
each of the three required sequestration
reports, section 254(b) specifically states
the following:

DATES:

SUBMISSION AND AVAILABILITY OF
REPORTS.—Each report required by this
section shall be submitted, in the case of
CBO, to the House of Representatives, the
Senate and OMB and, in the case of OMB,
to the House of Representatives, the Senate,
and the President on the day it is issued. On
the following day, a notice of the report shall
be printed in the Federal Register.

However, a provision in the 2019
Continuing Resolution delayed the
release of this report until 15 days after
the 2019 Continuing Resolution expired
on February 15, 2019.
The OMB Sequestration
Reports to the President and Congress is
available on-line on the OMB home
page at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
omb/legislative/sequestration-reportsorders/.

ADDRESSES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Tobasko, 6202 New Executive
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503,
Email address: [email protected],
telephone number: (202) 395–5745, FAX
number: (202) 395–4768. Because of
delays in the receipt of regular mail
related to security screening,

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NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE
ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES
National Endowment for the Arts
National Council on the Arts 196th
Meeting
National Endowment for the
Arts, National Foundation on the Arts
and the Humanities.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:

Pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given that a
meeting of the National Council on the
Arts will be held. Open to the public on
a space available basis.
DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section for meeting time
and date. The meeting is Eastern time
and the ending time is approximate.
ADDRESSES: Russell Senate Building,
Room #SR–485, 2 Constitution Avenue
NE, Washington DC, 20002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Victoria Hutter, Office of Public Affairs,
National Endowment for the Arts,
Washington, DC 20506, at 202/682–
5570.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: If, in the
course of the open session discussion, it
becomes necessary for the Council to
discuss non-public commercial or
financial information of intrinsic value,
the Council will go into closed session
pursuant to subsection (c)(4) of the
Government in the Sunshine Act, 5
U.S.C. 552b, and in accordance with the
July 5, 2016 determination of the
Chairman. Additionally, discussion
concerning purely personal information
about individuals, such as personal
biographical and salary data or medical
information, may be conducted by the
Council in closed session in accordance
with subsection (c)(6) of 5 U.S.C. 552b.
Any interested persons may attend, as
observers, to Council discussions and
reviews that are open to the public. If
you need special accommodations due
to a disability, please contact Beth
Bienvenu, Office of Accessibility,
National Endowment for the Arts,
Constitution Center, 400 7th St. SW,
Washington, DC 20506, 202/682–5733,
Voice/T.T.Y. 202/682–5496, at least
seven (7) days prior to the meeting.
The upcoming meeting is:
SUMMARY:

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National Council on the Arts 196th
Meeting
This meeting will be open.
Date and time: March 28, 2019; 10:00
a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
From 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.—
Opening remarks and voting on
recommendations for grant funding and
rejection, followed by updates from the
Acting Chairman. There also will be the
following presentations (times are
approximate): From 10:30 a.m. to 11:00
a.m.—Presentation on Importance of the
NEA (Mary Anne Carter, Acting
Chairman); from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30
a.m.—Remarks from Members of
Congress; and from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00
p.m.—Preview of June 2019 NCA
Meeting in Detroit, Michigan (W. Omari
Rush, Chair, Michigan Council for Arts
and Cultural Affairs; and Alison
Watson, Director, Michigan Council for
Arts and Cultural Affairs.)
Dated: March 5, 2019.
Sherry P. Hale,
Staff Assistant, National Endowment for the
Arts.
[FR Doc. 2019–04228 Filed 3–7–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2008–0465]

Revision of Guidelines on Use of
Firearms by Security Personnel
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Firearms guidelines; issuance.
AGENCY:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing, with the
approval of the U.S. Attorney General,
revised guidelines on the use of
weapons by the security personnel of
licensees and certificate holders whose
official duties include the protection of
designated facilities, certain radioactive
material or other property owned or
operated by an NRC licensee or
certificate holder, or radioactive
material or other property that is being
transported to or from a facility owned
or operated by such a licensee or
certificate holder. The revised
guidelines are entitled ‘‘Guidelines on
the Use of Firearms by Security
Personnel in Protecting U.S. NRCRegulated Facilities, Radioactive
Material, and Other Property, Revision
2.’’ The NRC first issued firearms
guidelines on September 11, 2009.
DATES: The revised Firearms Guidelines
take effect on March 8, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2008–0465 when contacting the
SUMMARY:

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices
NRC about the availability of
information regarding this document.
You may access publicly available
information related to this action by the
following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2008–0465. Address
questions about NRC docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Krupskaya Castellon;
telephone: 301–287–9221; email:
[email protected]. For
technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
document.
• NRC’s Agencywide Documents
Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publiclyavailable documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
adams.html. To begin the search, select
‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For
problems with ADAMS, please contact
the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR)
reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, at
301–415–4737, or by email to
[email protected].
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents at
the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Norman St. Amour, Office of the
General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington,
DC 20555–0001, telephone 301–287–
9129, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
161A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
as amended (AEA), ‘‘Use of Firearms by
Security Personnel,’’ (42 U.S.C. 2201a)
provides statutory authority for the
Commission to authorize the security
personnel of an NRC licensee or
certificate holder to transfer, receive,
possess, transport, import, and use
certain firearms, weapons, ammunition,
or devices notwithstanding State, local,
and certain Federal firearms laws that
prohibit such actions. Section 161A of
the AEA took effect on September 11,
2009, when the Commission issued the
original Firearms Guidelines (74 FR
46800).
This revision to the Firearms
Guidelines removes from the guidelines
the 45-day deadline for appealing a
delayed or denied firearms background
check response from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) and the process for
requesting an extension of that deadline.
These appeal provisions applied to
those licensee or certificate holder
security personnel who receive a
delayed or denied firearms background

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check response from the FBI. The
Commission determined that it lacked
the regulatory authority to impose this
deadline and extension request process
on licensee or certificate holder security
personnel because the deadline and
extension request process have no nexus
to radiological health and safety or the
common defense and security. Removal
of these appeal deadline provisions will
not have an adverse impact on licensee
or certificate holder security personnel
because the existing FBI procedures to
appeal a delayed or denied firearms
background check response remain
unaffected by this change. The FBI’s
appeal process does not contain any
appeal deadline. This revision also
makes minor editorial and conforming
changes to the Firearms Guidelines.
These minor changes serve to eliminate
any confusion regarding the appeals
process; the guidelines will continue to
include a reference to the FBI’s appeals
process.
This revision to the Firearms
Guidelines consists of two specific
changes. First, the ninth paragraph
under section 5, ‘‘Firearms Background
Checks,’’ is amended to eliminate the
45-day appeal deadline, the associated
extension request process, and
information regarding appeals that is
better addressed in guidance. Second,
the indentation of ‘‘Satisfactory firearms
background check’’ in Section 8,
‘‘Definitions,’’ is corrected.
The U.S. Attorney General approved
this revision to the Firearms Guidelines
by letter dated February 6, 2019
(ADAMS Accession No. ML19052A207).
The Commission approved and
authorized publication of the revised
Firearms Guidelines in the Federal
Register on September 4, 2018 (ADAMS
Accession No. ML18247A478). The
revised Firearms Guidelines are
included as an attachment to this
document.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 4th day
of March 2019.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Annette L. Vietti-Cook,
Secretary of the Commission.

Attachment
Guidelines on the Use of Firearms by
Security Personnel in Protecting U.S. NRC
Regulated Facilities, Radioactive Material,
and Other Property, Revision 2
1. Authority and Scope
On August 8, 2005, the President signed
into law the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (the
Act), Public Law 109–58, 119 Stat. 594.
Section 653 of the Act amended the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (AEA) by
adding section 161A, ‘‘Use of Firearms by
Security Personnel,’’ 42 U.S.C. 2201a.
Section 161A of the AEA provides new

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authority to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (Commission or NRC) to
enhance security at designated facilities of
NRC licensees and certificate holders and to
enhance security with respect to certain
radioactive material or other property owned
or possessed by an NRC licensee or certificate
holder, or the transportation of such material
or other property.
Specifically, section 161A provides two
potential advantages to NRC licensees and
certificate holders to enhance security. First,
the Commission is authorized to permit the
security personnel of licensees and certificate
holders to obtain enhanced weapons, such as
machineguns, short-barreled shotguns, and
short-barreled rifles, not previously
permitted to be owned or possessed under
Commission authority (enhanced weapons
authority). Second, section 161A authorizes
the Commission to permit the security
personnel of licensees or certificate holders
to transfer, receive, possess, transport,
import, and use handguns, rifles, shotguns,
short-barreled shotguns, short-barreled rifles,
machineguns, semiautomatic assault
weapons, ammunition for such weapons, and
large capacity ammunition feeding devices
notwithstanding State, local, and certain
Federal firearms laws, including regulations,
that prohibit such conduct (preemption
authority).
Prior to the enactment of section 161A,
with limited exceptions, only Federal, State
or local law enforcement could lawfully
possess machineguns. Section 161A
authority, however, allows licensees and
certificate holders, who obtain the necessary
authorization from the NRC, to lawfully
possess machineguns (enhanced weapons
authority) that they previously were not
authorized to possess.
An NRC licensee or certificate holder must
apply to the Commission to take advantage
of the provisions of section 161A. Prior to
granting an application to permit security
personnel of an NRC licensee or certificate
holder to transfer, receive, possess, transport,
import, and use a weapon, ammunition, or
device not previously authorized, the
Commission must determine that the
requested authority is necessary in the
discharge of the official duties of the security
personnel and the security personnel are
engaged in protecting: (1) A facility owned or
operated by an NRC licensee or certificate
holder and designated by the Commission, or
(2) radioactive material or other property that
has been determined by the Commission to
be of significance to public health and safety
or the common defense and security, and that
is owned or possessed by an NRC licensee or
certificate holder, or that is being transported
to or from an NRC-regulated facility. The
Commission’s authorization shall only apply
to use by security personnel of a licensee or
certificate holder of a weapon, ammunition,
or a device listed in section 161A.b. when
used by such personnel while in the
discharge of their official duties.
Section 161A also mandates that all
security personnel that receive, possess,
transport, import, or use a weapon,
ammunition, or a device otherwise
prohibited by State, local, or certain Federal
laws, including regulations, as provided by

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section 161A.b. (42 U.S.C. 2201a(b)) shall be
subject to a fingerprint-based background
check by the Attorney General and a firearms
background check against the Federal
National Instant Background Check System
(NICS). These firearms background checks
will provide assurance that such security
personnel are not barred from possessing,
transporting, or using any covered weapons.
Section 161A took effect with the
publication of these guidelines in the Federal
Register on September 11, 2009 (74 FR
46800).
Regulations or orders issued by the
Commission concerning section 161A shall
be consistent with the provisions of these
guidelines. Modification of these guidelines
by the Commission must be made with the
concurrence of the Attorney General.
Definitions of terms that may not have a
commonly understood meaning are
contained in section 8 of these guidelines.
2. Commission Designations and
Determinations
After the issuance of these guidelines, the
Commission will promulgate regulations or
issue orders that designate specific classes of
licensees and certificate holders eligible to
apply to the Commission to use the authority
of section 161A. Commission regulations or
orders will designate the specific types of
facilities, radioactive material, or other
property owned or possessed by NRC
licensees and certificate holders, or specific
types of radioactive material or other
property being transported to or from a
facility owned or operated by an NRC
licensee or certificate holder, for which an
application to the Commission may be made
to use the authority of section 161A. The
Commission’s designation of specific
radioactive material or other property will be
based upon a finding that the material or
property is of significance to the common
defense and security or public health and
safety. These regulations or orders will
require NRC licensees or certificate holders
that have been designated by the Commission
pursuant to section 161A, and that have
chosen to apply for preemption authority
only or for enhanced weapons authority and
preemption authority, to ensure that their
armed security personnel who will have
access to covered weapons and who are
engaged in the protection of a designated
facility, radioactive material, or other
property, complete a satisfactory firearms
background check as described in section 5
of these guidelines.
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders establishing a
process for NRC-regulated entities to apply
for and obtain preemption authority under
section 161A. The Commission will also
promulgate regulations or issue orders
establishing a process for NRC-regulated
entities to apply for and obtain both
enhanced weapons authority and preemption
authority under section 161A. An NRCregulated entity may obtain preemption
authority without applying for enhanced
weapons authority. An NRC-regulated entity
seeking enhanced weapons authority must
obtain both enhanced weapons authority and
preemption authority. A licensee’s or

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certificate holder’s applications for
preemption authority and enhanced weapons
authority may be sequential or concurrent,
but the NRC must approve the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s applications for
preemption authority at the same time as or
before approving its application for enhanced
weapons authority.
In addition, Commission regulations or
orders will require that before licensees and
certificate holders may be granted authority
by the NRC to obtain enhanced weapons they
must: (1) Apply to the NRC for preemption
authority, (2) apply to the NRC for approval
to obtain enhanced weapons, and (3) develop
new, or revise existing, physical security
plans (including plans for the safe storage of
enhanced weapons), security personnel
training and qualification plans, safeguards
contingency plans, and safety assessments
incorporating the use of the enhanced
weapons to be employed. These plans and
assessments must be specific to the facility,
radioactive material, or other property being
protected; must identify the specific type(s)
of enhanced weapons that will be used by
security personnel; and must address how
these enhanced weapons will be employed in
meeting the NRC-required protective strategy.
Licensees and certificate holders must submit
these new, or revised, plans and assessments
to the NRC for review and written approval.
The requirements for the contents of the
licensee’s and certificate holder’s physical
security plans, security personnel training
and qualification plans, safeguards
contingency plans, and safety assessments on
the use of enhanced weapons are contained
in NRC regulations.
Based upon the NRC’s review of an
applicant’s plans and assessments (as
provided in the preceding paragraph) and
upon a determination that all of the
requirements of section 161A have been, or
will be, met, the NRC will provide a written
statement to the licensee or certificate holder
stating that the NRC has determined that the
licensee’s or certificate holder’s need for the
specific enhanced weapons that the licensee
or certificate holder intends to deploy
satisfies the requirements of the NRC under
section 161A.
Licensees and certificate holders lawfully
possessing enhanced weapons under an
authority other than section 161A on or
before the effective date of these guidelines
are not required to revise their previously
approved security plans, unless the licensee
or certificate holder applies to the NRC under
section 161A for preemption authority or for
enhanced weapons authority and preemption
authority.
3. Applicability of Federal Firearms Laws,
Regulations and Licensing Requirements
In addition to complying with Commission
regulations and orders implementing section
161A, NRC licensees and certificate holders
must also comply with applicable provisions
of Title 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44 (the Gun
Control Act), Title 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53
(National Firearms Act), and 27 CFR parts
478 and 479 (the applicable regulations
promulgated under those laws by the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (ATF)), regarding the transfer,

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receipt, possession, transportation,
importation, or use of covered weapons,
except to the extent that those regulations are
superseded by section 161A. After a
licensee’s or certificate holder’s receipt of the
NRC’s written approval of their application
for enhanced weapons authority, the licensee
or certificate holder may, in accordance with
26 U.S.C. Chapter 53, have enhanced
weapons transferred to them. An application
to transfer an enhanced weapon to a licensee
or certificate holder must be submitted to
ATF by the transferor of the enhanced
weapon. The application must include all
required information including a copy of the
NRC’s written approval to possess specific
enhanced weapons under section 161A. All
enhanced weapons must be registered with
ATF under the name of the licensee or
certificate holder.
4. Training and Qualification on Enhanced
Weapons
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders requiring NRC
licensees or certificate holders who have
received written NRC approval of their
application for section 161A enhanced
weapons authority to provide specific
training to their security personnel on the
possession, storage, maintenance, and use of
enhanced weapons and on tactical
maneuvers employing such weapons in
protecting NRC-designated facilities,
radioactive material, or other property,
whichever is applicable. The regulations or
orders will require such licensees and
certificate holders to incorporate within their
security personnel training and qualification
plans specific training and qualification
information applicable to the enhanced
weapons to be employed, including
information regarding tactical maneuvers that
security personnel will carry out with those
weapons. This training and qualification
information must conform to firearms
training and qualification standards
developed by nationally-recognized firearms
organizations or standard setting bodies, or
with standards developed by Federal
agencies, such as the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security’s Federal Law
Enforcement Training Center, the U.S.
Department of Energy’s National Training
Center, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
5. Firearms Background Checks
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders establishing
requirements for firearms background checks.
Licensees and certificate holders may apply
to the NRC for preemption authority only or
for both enhanced weapons authority and
preemption authority. In either case, to
obtain approval of such an application,
satisfactory firearms background checks must
have been completed for the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s security personnel whose
official duties require access to covered
weapons. The firearms background check
requirement applies to such security
personnel whether they are directly
employed by the licensee or certificate holder
or they are employed by a security contractor
who provides security services to the
licensee or certificate holder.

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The Commission’s regulations or orders
will set forth the criteria for satisfactory and
adverse firearms background checks, as
defined in section 8(a) of these guidelines.
The regulations or orders will require that
NRC licensees and certificate holders
designated by the Commission pursuant to
section 161A, and who have applied for
preemption authority only or for enhanced
weapons authority and preemption authority,
ensure that their armed security personnel
who have access to covered weapons and
who are engaged in the protection of a
designated facility, radioactive material, or
other property, complete a firearms
background check. The firearms background
checks are in addition to any other
background checks or criminal history
checks required for security personnel under
Commission regulations or orders.
An applicant for preemption authority only
or for enhanced weapons authority and
preemption authority may begin firearms
background checks of its security personnel
who are proposed to have official duties that
require access to covered weapons in the
protection of such facilities, radioactive
material, or other property after the NRC
notifies the applicant that its application has
been accepted for review. Upon notification
that any personnel have received a ‘‘denied’’
National Instant Criminal Background Check
System (NICS) response, an applicant must
immediately remove such personnel from
duties that would require access to covered
weapons. Once a licensee or certificate
holder has been granted preemption
authority only or enhanced weapons
authority and preemption authority under
section 161A, a licensee or certificate holder
must prohibit any personnel receiving a
‘‘denied’’ or ‘‘delayed’’ NICS response from
assuming duties requiring access to covered
weapons. Security personnel who received a
‘‘denied’’ or ‘‘delayed’’ NICS response and
who subsequently receive a response that a
satisfactory firearms background check has
been completed may be permitted access to
covered weapons.
Before granting preemption authority, the
Commission will require persons who are
licensees and certificate holders on the
effective date of these guidelines, and who
have applied for preemption authority only
or for enhanced weapons authority and
preemption authority, to notify the NRC in
writing after a sufficient number of security
personnel have completed a satisfactory
firearms background check to permit the
licensee or certificate holder to meet the
licensee’s or certificate holder’s security
personnel minimum staffing and fatigue
requirements. The NRC will review such
readiness notifications on a case-by-case
basis prior to approving a licensee’s or
certificate holder’s application for
preemption authority.
Any licensee or certificate holder granted
preemption authority only or enhanced
weapons authority and preemption authority
is required to conduct periodic firearms
background checks of all security personnel
who have, or are proposed to have, official
duties that require access to covered weapons
in the protection of such a facility,
radioactive material, or other property, at a

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minimum of once every five years after their
first background check. However, these
checks may be conducted more frequently if
required by Commission regulation or order,
or if the licensee or certificate holder requires
an earlier check.
Security personnel who receive an adverse
firearms background check response upon a
recheck must be removed from duties that
require access to covered weapons. Security
personnel so removed who subsequently
complete a satisfactory firearms background
check may be permitted access to covered
weapons. In addition, the Commission will
require a new firearms background check for
security personnel who have had a break of
greater than one (1) week in employment by
the licensee or certificate holder or in
employment by a contractor who provides
security services to a licensee or certificate
holder.
The Commission will require a new
firearms background check for security
personnel who have transferred to the
employment or the service of the licensee or
certificate holder from a different licensee or
certificate holder in whose employ they
previously completed a satisfactory firearms
background check. However, a change in the
ownership of the licensee or certificate
holder, a change in the ownership of the
security contractor providing the security
personnel, or a change in the security
contractor providing the security personnel
will not require, by itself, the performance of
a new firearms background check for
personnel who have previously completed a
satisfactory firearms background check.
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders requiring a
licensee or certificate holder who has been
granted preemption authority only or
enhanced weapons authority and preemption
authority to establish procedures for
notifying the NRC when a security officer
assigned duties requiring access to covered
weapons is permanently removed from such
duties because of an adverse firearms
background check. The NRC will promptly
report suspected violations of Federal law to
the appropriate Federal agency and
suspected violations of State law to the
appropriate State agency.
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders requiring
licensees and certificate holders to inform
security personnel who have received an
adverse firearms background check of the
process to appeal a ‘‘denied’’ NICS response
to the FBI, or to provide additional
information to the FBI to resolve a ‘‘delayed’’
NICS response.
6. Enhanced Weapons Accountability,
Transfer, Transportation, and Record
Keeping
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders requiring
licensees and certificate holders to perform
periodic accountability inventories of the
enhanced weapons in their possession to
verify their continued possession of each
enhanced weapon. The regulations or orders
will require licensees or certificate holders to
complete such inventories at specified
intervals, and at least one inventory will be

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conducted each year. These inventories must
be based upon the verification of the
presence at the licensee’s or certificate
holder’s facility of each enhanced weapon or
upon a verification of the presence of an
intact tamper indicating device for enhanced
weapons that are stored in locked and sealed
storage or ready-service containers at the
licensee’s or certificate holder’s facility. The
regulations or orders will require that
licensees and certificate holders permitting
enhanced weapons to be removed from their
facility (i.e., the owner-controlled area) by
security personnel for permissible reasons
verify that such weapons are subsequently
returned to the licensee’s or certificate
holder’s facility upon completion of official
use of the weapons.
Permissible reasons for removal of
enhanced weapons from the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s facility include: (1)
Removal for use at a firing range or training
facility used by the licensee or certificate
holder, and (2) removal for use in escorting
shipments of radioactive material or other
property designated by the Commission
under section 2 of these guidelines, if the
material or other property is being
transported to or from the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s facility. The Commission
may provide other permissible reasons for
the removal of enhanced weapons by
regulation or order.
Any removal of the enhanced weapons
from a licensee’s or certificate holder’s
facility by a contractor would constitute a
transfer of those weapons unless
accompanied by the licensee’s security
personnel who are authorized to direct the
contractor and therefore maintain control
over the weapons. The licensee or certificate
holder may only transfer (by sale or
otherwise) enhanced weapons pursuant to an
application approved by ATF under 26
U.S.C. Chapter 53.
A licensee or certificate holder receiving
enhanced weapons must assist the transferor
in completing an application to transfer such
weapons in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 5812,
and must provide the transferor a copy of the
NRC’s written approval of its application for
enhanced weapons authority. Enhanced
weapons may only be transferred to the
licensee or certificate holder, not to a
contractor of the licensee or certificate
holder.
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders requiring a
licensee or certificate holder possessing
enhanced weapons to notify the NRC and the
appropriate local authorities of any stolen or
lost enhanced weapons upon the discovery of
such theft or loss. Licensees and certificate
holders will also have an independent
obligation, pursuant to 27 CFR 479.141, to
report to ATF stolen or lost enhanced
weapons registered in accordance with 26
U.S.C. 5841 immediately upon the discovery
of such theft or loss.
Security personnel transporting enhanced
weapons to or from a firing range or training
facility used by the licensee or certificate
holder are responsible for assuring that the
weapons are unloaded and locked in a secure
container during transport. Except as
provided in the next paragraph, security

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 46 / Friday, March 8, 2019 / Notices

personnel transporting enhanced weapons to
or from a licensee’s or certificate holder’s
facility following the completion of, or in
preparation for, escorting designated
radioactive material or other property being
transported to or from the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s facility are responsible for
assuring that the weapons are unloaded and
locked in a secure container during transport.
Only authorized personnel shall have access
to the contents of the container. Unloaded
covered weapons and ammunition for such
weapons may be transported in the same
secure container during transport.
Security personnel required to carry
covered weapons while escorting designated
radioactive material or other property being
transported to or from the licensee’s or
certificate holder’s facility (whether intrastate
or interstate) are responsible for assuring that
such weapons are maintained in a state of
loaded readiness and available for immediate
use while they are accompanying the
transport.
To facilitate compliance with these
guidelines, the NRC’s regulations or orders
will require licensees and certificate holders
to keep records (capable of being inspected
or audited by the NRC) relating to the receipt,
transfer, and transportation of enhanced
weapons. The records will be required to
include the following minimum information
relating to receipt and transfer of enhanced
weapons: The date of receipt of the enhanced
weapon; the name and address of the person
from whom the enhanced weapon was
received; the name of the manufacturer and
importer (if any) of the enhanced weapon;
the model, serial number, type, and caliber
or gauge of the enhanced weapon; and for
any transfer of an enhanced weapon
(including sending off for repairs) by the
licensee or certificate holder to another
person, the name and address of the person
to whom the enhanced weapon was
transferred and the date of the transfer. The
records will be required to include the
following minimum information relating to
transportation of enhanced weapons: The
date of departure of the enhanced weapon
from, and the date of return of the enhanced
weapon to, the licensee’s or certificate
holder’s facility; the purpose of the enhanced
weapon’s transportation; the name of the
person transporting the enhanced weapon
and the name of the person/facility to whom
the enhanced weapon is being transported;
and the model, serial number, type, and
caliber or gauge of the enhanced weapon.
7. Termination, Modification, Suspension,
and Revocation
The Commission will promulgate
regulations or issue orders setting forth
standards for the termination, modification,
suspension, or revocation of the NRC’s
approval of a licensee’s or certificate holder’s
preemption authority or enhanced weapons
authority and preemption authority. Within
three (3) business days of notifying the
licensee or certificate holder, the NRC will
notify ATF of the termination, modification,
suspension, or revocation of a licensee’s or
certificate holder’s preemption authority or
enhanced weapons authority and preemption
authority. Such a notification will be made

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to the position or point of contact designated
by ATF. The regulations or orders will
require licensees and certificate holders to
transfer any enhanced weapons that they are
no longer authorized to lawfully possess
under section 161A, or that they wish to
dispose of, to (1) a Federal, State, or local
government entity; (2) a Federal firearms
licensee authorized to receive the enhanced
weapons under applicable law and
regulations; or (3) other NRC licensees and
certificate holders subject to section 161A
that are authorized to receive and possess
these weapons. Licensees and certificate
holders may also abandon such weapons to
ATF. Transfers of such enhanced weapons
must be made in accordance with section 6
of these guidelines.
The regulations or orders will require
licensees and certificate holders to transfer
any enhanced weapons (1) prior to NRC
approval of the termination or modification
of a licensee’s or certificate holder’s authority
to possess the enhanced weapons under
section 161A, and (2) as soon as practicable
following NRC suspension or revocation of
the licensee’s or certificate holder’s authority
to lawfully possess enhanced weapons under
section 161A.
Licensees and certificate holders who have
had their preemption authority or enhanced
weapons and preemption authority
suspended or revoked may reapply for such
authority by filing a new application for such
authority under these guidelines.
Licensees and certificate holders who
intend to obtain enhanced weapons different
from the weapons previously approved by
the NRC must submit to the NRC for prior
review and approval revised physical
security plans, training and qualification
plans, safeguards contingency plans, and
safety assessments addressing the use of
these different enhanced weapons.
8. Definitions
(a) As used in these guidelines—
Adverse firearms background check means
a firearms background check that has
resulted in a ‘‘denied’’ or ‘‘delayed’’ NICS
response.
Covered weapon means any handgun, rifle,
shotgun, short-barreled shotgun, shortbarreled rifle, semiautomatic assault weapon,
machinegun, ammunition for any such
weapon, or large capacity ammunition
feeding device otherwise prohibited by State,
local, or certain Federal laws, including
regulations, as specified under section
161A.b.
Enhanced weapon means any shortbarreled shotgun, short-barreled rifle, or
machinegun. Enhanced weapons do not
include destructive devices as defined in 18
U.S.C. 921(a).
Firearms background check means a
background check by the Attorney General
pursuant to section 161A that includes a
check against the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s (FBI’s) fingerprint system and
the NICS.
NICS means the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System established by
section 103(b) of the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act, Public Law 103–
159, 107 Stat. 1536 (1993), that is operated

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by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information
Services Division.
NICS response means a response provided
by the FBI as the result of a firearms
background check against the NICS. Such a
response may be ‘‘proceed,’’ ‘‘delayed,’’ or
‘‘denied.’’
Satisfactory firearms background check
means a firearms background check that has
resulted in a ‘‘proceed’’ NICS response.
(b) The terms ‘‘handgun, rifle, shotgun,
short-barreled shotgun, short-barreled rifle,
machinegun, and ammunition,’’ have the
same meaning provided for these terms in 18
U.S.C. 921(a).
(c) The terms ‘‘semiautomatic assault
weapon’’ and ‘‘large capacity ammunition
feeding device’’ have the same meaning
provided for these terms in sections
110101(b) and 110103(b) of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994,
Public Law 103_322, 108 Stat 1796, before
the expiration of those sections on September
13, 2004.
(d) The terms ‘‘proceed,’’ ‘‘delayed,’’ and
‘‘denied,’’ as used in NICS responses, have
the same meaning provided for these terms
in the FBI’s regulations in 28 CFR part 25.
Disclaimer
These guidelines may not be relied upon
to create any rights, substantive or
procedural, enforceable by law by any party
in any manner, civil or criminal, and they do
not place any limitations on otherwise lawful
activities of the agencies.
[FR Doc. 2019–04163 Filed 3–7–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No.
33388; 812–14956]

BlackRock Credit Strategies Fund, et
al.
March 5, 2019.

Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

Notice of an application under section
6(c) of the Investment Company Act of
1940 (the ‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from
sections 18(a)(2), 18(c) and 18(i) of the
Act, under sections 6(c) and 23(c) of the
Act for an exemption from rule 23c–3
under the Act, and for an order pursuant
to section 17(d) of the Act and rule 17d–
1 under the Act.
SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants
request an order to permit certain
registered closed-end management
investment companies to issue multiple
classes of shares and to impose assetbased distribution and/or service fees
and early withdrawal charges (‘‘EWCs’’).
APPLICANTS: BlackRock Credit Strategies
Fund (the ‘‘Fund’’), BlackRock
Advisors, LLC (the ‘‘Advisor’’) and

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