The Trump administration wants to streamline the process for exporting American firearms, a change sought for years by domestic gun companies as a way to increase sales.

A proposed rule expected to be published in the Federal Register on Thursday would transfer jurisdiction of consumer gun exports from the State Department, where the licensing process is expensive and extensive, to the Commerce Department, which has a simpler application process.

Publication of the rule kicks off a 45-day comment period, after which departments including State and Commerce will review corrections and suggestions and then send a revised draft to Congress before final publication.

Gun industry groups said that the shift, which was first conceived during the Obama administration but halted after the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, would pare down a bureaucratic process that currently discourages American firearms companies from sending their products abroad.