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ATF budget rider (signed into law on Friday)

Many, many gains.

The one limit is the the bar to granting relief from disabilities is still in there, with its exemption for corporations convicted of felonies!

Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Programs for the Fiscal Year ending
September 30, 2012, and for other purposes. Conference Report to accompany
H.R. 2112. H.R. Report No. 112-284, 112th Congress, 1st Session.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2011, pages 58-60.

BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES
SALARIES AND EXPENSES

For necessary expenses of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives,....
:
Provided, That no funds appropriated herein or hereafter
shall be available for salaries or administrative expenses in connection
with consolidating or centralizing, within the Department of
Justice, the records, or any portion thereof, of acquisition and disposition
of firearms maintained by Federal firearms licensees: Provided
further, That no funds appropriated herein shall be used to
pay administrative expenses or the compensation of any officer or
employee of the United States to implement an amendment or
amendments to 27 CFR 478.118 or to change the definition of ‘‘Curios
or relics’’ in 27 CFR 478.11 or remove any item from ATF Publication
5300.11 as it existed on January 1, 1994: Provided further,
That none of the funds appropriated herein shall be available to investigate
or act upon applications for relief from Federal firearms
disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c): Provided further, That such
funds shall be available to investigate and act upon applications
filed by corporations for relief from Federal firearms disabilities
under section 925(c) of title 18, United States Code: Provided further,
That no funds made available by this or any other Act may
be used to transfer the functions, missions, or activities of the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to other agencies or Departments: Provided further, That, during the current fiscal
year and in each fiscal year thereafter, no funds appropriated under
this or any other Act may be used to disclose part or all of the contents
of the Firearms Trace System database maintained by the National
Trace Center of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives or any information required to be kept by licensees pursuant
to section 923(g) of title 18, United States Code, or required
to be reported pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (7) of such section,
except to: (1) a Federal, State, local, or tribal law enforcement agency,
or a Federal, State, or local prosecutor; or (2) a foreign law enforcement
agency solely in connection with or for use in a criminal
investigation or prosecution; or (3) a Federal agency for a national
security or intelligence purpose; unless such disclosure of such data
to any of the entities described in (1), (2) or (3) of this proviso would
compromise the identity of any undercover law enforcement officer
or confidential informant, or interfere with any case under investigation;
and no person or entity described in (1), (2) or (3) shall
knowingly and publicly disclose such data; and all such data shall
be immune from legal process, shall not be subject to subpoena or
other discovery, shall be inadmissible in evidence, and shall not be
used, relied on, or disclosed in any manner, nor shall testimony or
other evidence be permitted based on the data, in a civil action in
any State (including the District of Columbia) or Federal court or
in an administrative proceeding other than a proceeding commenced
by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
to enforce the provisions of chapter 44 of such title, or a review of
such an action or proceeding; except that this proviso shall not be
construed to prevent: (A) the disclosure of statistical information
concerning total production, importation, and exportation by each
licensed importer (as defined in section 921(a)(9) of such title) and
licensed manufacturer (as defined in section 921(a)(10) of such
title); (B) the sharing or exchange of such information among and
between Federal, State, local, or foreign law enforcement agencies,
Federal, State, or local prosecutors, and Federal national security,
intelligence, or counterterrorism officials; or (C) the publication of
annual statistical reports on products regulated by the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, including total production,
importation, and exportation by each licensed importer (as so
defined) and licensed manufacturer (as so defined), or statistical aggregate
data regarding firearms traffickers and trafficking channels,
or firearms misuse, felons, and trafficking investigations: Provided
further, That no funds made available by this or any other
Act shall be expended to promulgate or implement any rule requiring
a physical inventory of any business licensed under section 923 of title 18, United States Code: Provided further, That, hereafter, no
funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to electronically
retrieve information gathered pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
923(g)(4) by name or any personal identification code: Provided further,
That no funds authorized or made available under this or any
other Act may be used to deny any application for a license under
section 923 of title 18, United States Code, or renewal of such a li-
cense due to a lack of business activity, provided that the applicant
is otherwise eligible to receive such a license, and is eligible to report
business income or to claim an income tax deduction for business
expenses under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

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