Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015

Summary: Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015 This bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to revise an eligibility condition for a state to receive a grant under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program and a waiver of the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program.  Specifically, it directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a four-year state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Back Check System (NICS). DOJ must reduce the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (JAG) Program funding for a state that fails to comply with benchmarks. The bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to certify whether it has provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. It amends the federal criminal code and the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to define the terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution." The bill extends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act background check requirements to a transfer of a firearm between private parties by prohibiting such a transfer unless a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer has first taken possession of the firearm for the purpose of submitting a background check.   A gun owner must report a lost or stolen firearm to DOJ and local law enforcement authorities within 48 hours of discovery.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fix Gun Checks Act 
of 2015''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
 TITLE I--ENSURING THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD BE PROHIBITED FROM 
  BUYING A GUN ARE LISTED IN THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
                              CHECK SYSTEM

Sec. 101. Penalties for States that do not make data electronically 
                            available to the National Instant Criminal 
                            Background Check System.
Sec. 102. Requirement that Federal agencies certify that they have 
                            submitted to the National Instant Criminal 
                            Background Check System all records 
                            identifying persons prohibited from 
                            purchasing firearms under Federal law.
Sec. 103. Adjudicated as a mental defective.
Sec. 104. Clarification that Federal court information is to be made 
                            available to the National Instant Criminal 
                            Background Check System.
     TITLE II--REQUIRING A BACKGROUND CHECK FOR EVERY FIREARM SALE

Sec. 201. Purpose.
Sec. 202. Firearms transfers.
Sec. 203. Lost and stolen reporting.

 TITLE I--ENSURING THAT ALL INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD BE PROHIBITED FROM 
  BUYING A GUN ARE LISTED IN THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
                              CHECK SYSTEM

SEC. 101. PENALTIES FOR STATES THAT DO NOT MAKE DATA ELECTRONICALLY 
              AVAILABLE TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
              CHECK SYSTEM.

    Section 102(b) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 
U.S.C. 922 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(b) Implementation Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--Within 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection, the Attorney General, in 
        coordination with the States, shall establish, for each State 
        or Indian tribal government, a plan to ensure maximum 
        coordination and automation of the reporting of records or 
        making of records available to the National Instant Criminal 
        Background Check System established under section 103 of the 
        Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, during a 4-year period 
        specified in the plan.
            ``(2) Benchmark requirements.--Each such plan shall include 
        annual benchmarks, including qualitative goals and quantitative 
        measures, to enable the Attorney General to assess 
        implementation of the plan.
            ``(3) Penalties for noncompliance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--During the 4-year period covered 
                by such a plan, the Attorney General shall withhold the 
                following percentage of the amount that would otherwise 
                be allocated to a State under section 505 of the 
                Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
                U.S.C. 3755) if the State does not meet the benchmark 
                established under paragraph (2) for the following year 
                in the period:
                            ``(i) 10 percent, in the case of the 1st 
                        year in the period.
                            ``(ii) 11 percent, in the case of the 2nd 
                        year in the period.
                            ``(iii) 13 percent, in the case of the 3rd 
                        year in the period.
                            ``(iv) 15 percent, in the case of the 4th 
                        year in the period.
                    ``(B) Failure to establish a plan.--A State with 
                respect to which a plan is not established under 
                paragraph (1) shall be treated as having not met any 
                benchmark established under paragraph (2).''.

SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL AGENCIES CERTIFY THAT THEY HAVE 
              SUBMITTED TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
              CHECK SYSTEM ALL RECORDS IDENTIFYING PERSONS PROHIBITED 
              FROM PURCHASING FIREARMS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.

    Section 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 
U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Semiannual certification and reporting.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The head of each Federal 
                        department or agency shall submit to the 
                        Attorney General a written certification 
                        indicating whether the department or agency has 
                        provided to the Attorney General the pertinent 
                        information contained in any record of any 
                        person that the department or agency was in 
                        possession of during the time period addressed 
                        by the report demonstrating that the person 
                        falls within a category described in subsection 
                        (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United 
                        States Code.
                            ``(ii) Submission dates.--The head of a 
                        Federal department or agency shall submit a 
                        certification under clause (i)--
                                    ``(I) not later than July 31 of 
                                each year, which shall address any 
                                record the department or agency was in 
                                possession of during the period 
                                beginning on January 1 of the year and 
                                ending on June 30 of the year; and
                                    ``(II) not later than January 31 of 
                                each year, which shall address any 
                                record the department or agency was in 
                                possession of during the period 
                                beginning on July 1 of the previous 
                                year and ending on December 31 of the 
                                previous year.
                            ``(iii) Contents.--A certification required 
                        under clause (i) shall state, for the 
                        applicable period--
                                    ``(I) the number of records of the 
                                Federal department or agency 
                                demonstrating that a person fell within 
                                each of the categories described in 
                                section 922(g) of title 18, United 
                                States Code;
                                    ``(II) the number of records of the 
                                Federal department or agency 
                                demonstrating that a person fell within 
                                the category described in section 
                                922(n) of title 18, United States Code; 
                                and
                                    ``(III) for each category of 
                                records described in subclauses (I) and 
                                (II), the total number of records of 
                                the Federal department or agency that 
                                have been provided to the Attorney 
                                General.''.

SEC. 103. ADJUDICATED AS A MENTAL DEFECTIVE.

    (a) In General.--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(36) The term `adjudicated as a mental defective' shall--
            ``(A) have the meaning given the term in section 478.11 of 
        title 27, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 
        thereto; and
            ``(B) include an order by a court, board, commission, or 
        other lawful authority that a person, in response to mental 
        illness, incompetency, or marked subnormal intelligence, be 
        compelled to receive services--
                    ``(i) including counseling, medication, or testing 
                to determine compliance with prescribed medications; 
                and
                    ``(ii) not including testing for use of alcohol or 
                for abuse of any controlled substance or other drug.
    ``(37) The term `committed to a mental institution' shall have the 
meaning given the term in section 478.11 of title 27, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor thereto.''.
    (b) Limitation.--An individual who has been adjudicated as a mental 
defective before the effective date described in section 203 may not 
apply for relief from disability under section 101(c)(2) of the NICS 
Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) on the basis 
that the individual does not meet the requirements in section 
921(a)(36) of title 18, United States Code, as added by subsection (a).
    (c) NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007.--Section 3 of the NICS 
Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by 
striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Mental health terms.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the terms `adjudicated as a mental 
                defective' and `committed to a mental institution' 
                shall have the meaning given the terms in section 
                921(a) of title 18, United States Code.
                    ``(B) Exception.--For purposes of sections 102 and 
                103, the terms `adjudicated as a mental defective' and 
                `committed to a mental institution' shall have the same 
                meanings as on the day before the date of enactment of 
                the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015 until the end of the 2-
                year period beginning on such date of enactment.''.

SEC. 104. CLARIFICATION THAT FEDERAL COURT INFORMATION IS TO BE MADE 
              AVAILABLE TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 
              CHECK SYSTEM.

    Section 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act (18 
U.S.C. 922 note), as amended by section 102 of this Act, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Application to federal courts.--In this 
                paragraph--
                            ``(i) the terms `department or agency of 
                        the United States' and `Federal department or 
                        agency' include a Federal court; and
                            ``(ii) for purposes of any request, 
                        submission, or notification, the Director of 
                        the Administrative Office of the United States 
                        Courts shall perform the functions of the head 
                        of the department or agency.''.

     TITLE II--REQUIRING A BACKGROUND CHECK FOR EVERY FIREARM SALE

SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to extend the Brady Law background 
check procedures to all sales and transfers of firearms.

SEC. 202. FIREARMS TRANSFERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subsection (s) and redesignating subsection 
        (t) as subsection (s);
            (2) in subsection (s), as so redesignated--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)(C)(ii), by striking ``(as 
                defined in subsection (s)(8))''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) In this subsection, the term `chief law enforcement 
        officer' means the chief of police, the sheriff, or an 
        equivalent officer or the designee of any such individual.''; 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (s), as so redesignated, 
        the following:
    ``(t)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person who is not a licensed 
importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer a 
firearm to any other person who is not so licensed, unless a licensed 
importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken 
possession of the firearm for the purpose of complying with subsection 
(s). Upon taking possession of the firearm, the licensee shall comply 
with all requirements of this chapter as if the licensee were 
transferring the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the 
unlicensed transferee.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to--
            ``(A) a transfer of a firearm by or to any law enforcement 
        agency or any law enforcement officer, armed private security 
        professional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent the 
        officer, professional, or member is acting within the course 
        and scope of employment and official duties;
            ``(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift between 
        spouses, between domestic partners, between parents and their 
        children, between siblings, or between grandparents and their 
        grandchildren;
            ``(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee, or 
        personal representative of an estate or a trust that occurs by 
        operation of law upon the death of another person;
            ``(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to prevent 
        imminent death or great bodily harm, if the possession by the 
        transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to 
        prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm;
            ``(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attorney General 
        under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
            ``(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has no reason 
        to believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the 
        firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms 
        under State or Federal law, and the transfer takes place and 
        the transferee's possession of the firearm is exclusively--
                    ``(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting gallery 
                or other area designated and built for the purpose of 
                target shooting;
                    ``(ii) while hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the 
                hunting, trapping, or fishing is legal in all places 
                where the transferee possesses the firearm and the 
                transferee holds all licenses or permits required for 
                such hunting, trapping, or fishing; or
                    ``(iii) while in the presence of the transferor.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 922.--Section 922(y)(2) of such title is 
        amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)'' and inserting ``and 
        (g)(5)(B)''.
            (2) Section 925A.--Section 925A of such title is amended in 
        the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection 
        (s) or (t) of section 922'' and inserting ``section 922(s)''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)(4) shall 
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 203. LOST AND STOLEN REPORTING.

    (a) In General.--Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(aa) It shall be unlawful for any person who lawfully possesses 
or owns a firearm that has been shipped or transported in, or has been 
possessed in or affecting, interstate or foreign commerce, to fail to 
report the theft or loss of the firearm, within 48 hours after the 
person discovers the theft or loss, to the Attorney General and to the 
appropriate local authorities.''.
    (b) Penalty.--Section 924(a)(1)(B) of such title is amended to read 
as follows:
                    ``(B) knowingly violates subsection (a)(4), (f), 
                (k), (q), or (aa) of section 922;''.