In the Senate of the United States,

December 19, 2007.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 2640) entitled ‘‘An Act to improve the National

Instant Criminal Background Check System, and for other

purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TILE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NICS

3 Improvement Amendments Act of 2007’’.

4 (b) TABLEOF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

TITLE I—TRANSMITTAL OF RECORDS

Sec. 101. Enhancement of requirement that Federal departments and agencies

provide relevant information to the National Instant Criminal

Background Check System.

Sec. 102. Requirements to obtain waiver.

Sec. 103. Implementation assistance to States.

Sec. 104. Penalties for noncompliance.
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Sec. 105. Relief from disabilities program required as condition for participation

in grant programs.

Sec. 106. Illegal immigrant gun purchase notification.

TITLE II—FOCUSING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE ON THE IMPROVEMENT

OF RELEVANT RECORDS

Sec. 201. Continuing evaluations.

TITLE III—GRANTS TO STATE COURT SYSTEMS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATION AND TRANSMITTAL OF DISPOSITION

RECORDS

Sec. 301. Disposition records automation and transmittal improvement grants.

TITLE IV—GAO AUDIT

Sec. 401. GAO audit.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Approximately 916,000 individuals were pro4 hibited from purchasing a firearm for failing a back5 ground check between November 30, 1998, (the date

6 the National Instant Criminal Background Check

7 System (NICS) began operating) and December 31,

8 2004.

9 (2) From November 30, 1998, through December

10 31, 2004, nearly 49,000,000 Brady background checks

11 were processed through NICS.

12 (3) Although most Brady background checks are

13 processed through NICS in seconds, many background

14 checks are delayed if the Federal Bureau of Investiga15 tion (FBI) does not have automated access to com16 plete information from the States concerning persons
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1 prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm

2 under Federal or State law.

3 (4) Nearly 21,000,000 criminal records are not

4 accessible by NICS and millions of criminal records

5 are missing critical data, such as arrest dispositions,

6 due to data backlogs.

7 (5) The primary cause of delay in NICS back8 ground checks is the lack of—

9 (A) updates and available State criminal

10 disposition records; and

11 (B) automated access to information con12 cerning persons prohibited from possessing or re13 ceiving a firearm because of mental illness, re14 straining orders, or misdemeanor convictions for

15 domestic violence.

16 (6) Automated access to this information can be

17 improved by—

18 (A) computerizing information relating to

19 criminal history, criminal dispositions, mental

20 illness, restraining orders, and misdemeanor con21 victions for domestic violence; or

22 (B) making such information available to

23 NICS in a usable format.

24 (7) Helping States to automate these records will

25 reduce delays for law-abiding gun purchasers.
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1 (8) On March 12, 2002, the senseless shooting,

2 which took the lives of a priest and a parishioner at

3 the Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, New

4 York, brought attention to the need to improve infor5 mation-sharing that would enable Federal and State

6 law enforcement agencies to conduct a complete back7 ground check on a potential firearm purchaser. The

8 man who committed this double murder had a prior

9 disqualifying mental health commitment and a re10 straining order against him, but passed a Brady

11 background check because NICS did not have the nec12 essary information to determine that he was ineligible

13 to purchase a firearm under Federal or State law.

14 (9) On April 16, 2007, a student with a history

15 of mental illness at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute

16 and State University shot to death 32 students and

17 faculty members, wounded 17 more, and then took his

18 own life. The shooting, the deadliest campus shooting

19 in United States history, renewed the need to improve

20 information-sharing that would enable Federal and

21 State law enforcement agencies to conduct complete

22 background checks on potential firearms purchasers.

23 In spite of a proven history of mental illness, the

24 shooter was able to purchase the two firearms used in

25 the shooting. Improved coordination between State
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1 and Federal authorities could have ensured that the

2 shooter’s disqualifying mental health information was

3 available to NICS.

4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

5 As used in this Act, the following definitions shall

6 apply:

7 (1) COURT ORDER.—The term ‘‘court order’’ in8 cludes a court order (as described in section 922(g)(8)

9 of title 18, United States Code).

10 (2) MENTAL HEALTH TERMS.—The terms ‘‘adju11 dicated as a mental defective’’ and ‘‘committed to a

12 mental institution’’ have the same meanings as in

13 section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code.

14 (3) MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIO15 LENCE.—The term ‘‘misdemeanor crime of domestic

16 violence’’ has the meaning given the term in section

17 921(a)(33) of title 18, United States Code.
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1 TITLE I—TRANSMITTAL OF

2 RECORDS

3 SEC. 101. ENHANCEMENT OF REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL

4 DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES PROVIDE REL5 EVANT INFORMATION TO THE NATIONAL IN6 STANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYS7 TEM.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 103(e)(1) of the Brady

9 Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is

10 amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and inserting

12 the following:

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘On request’’ and inserting the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(B) REQUEST OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.—

17 On request’’;

18 (3) by striking ‘‘furnish such information’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘furnish electronic versions of the informa20 tion described under subparagraph (A)’’; and

21 (4) by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(C) QUARTERLY SUBMISSION TO ATTORNEY

23 GENERAL.—If a Federal department or agency

24 under subparagraph (A) has any record of any

25 person demonstrating that the person falls with-
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1 in one of the categories described in subsection

2 (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United

3 States Code, the head of such department or

4 agency shall, not less frequently than quarterly,

5 provide the pertinent information contained in

6 such record to the Attorney General.

7 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION UPDATES.—The Federal

8 department or agency, on being made aware that

9 the basis under which a record was made avail10 able under subparagraph (A) does not apply, or

11 no longer applies, shall—

12 ‘‘(i) update, correct, modify, or remove

13 the record from any database that the agen14 cy maintains and makes available to the

15 Attorney General, in accordance with the

16 rules pertaining to that database; and

17 ‘‘(ii) notify the Attorney General that

18 such basis no longer applies so that the Na19 tional Instant Criminal Background Check

20 System is kept up to date.

21 The Attorney General upon receiving notice pur22 suant to clause (ii) shall ensure that the record

23 in the National Instant Criminal Background

24 Check System is updated, corrected, modified, or

25 removed within 30 days of receipt.
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1 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney Gen2 eral shall submit an annual report to Congress

3 that describes the compliance of each department

4 or agency with the provisions of this para5 graph.’’.

6 (b) PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF NICS

7 RECORDS.—

8 (1) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—

9 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make

10 available to the Attorney General—

11 (A) records, updated not less than quarterly,

12 which are relevant to a determination of whether

13 a person is disqualified from possessing or re14 ceiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of

15 section 922 of title 18, United States Code, for

16 use in background checks performed by the Na17 tional Instant Criminal Background Check Sys18 tem; and

19 (B) information regarding all the persons

20 described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph

21 who have changed their status to a category not

22 identified under section 922(g)(5) of title 18,

23 United States Code, for removal, when applica24 ble, from the National Instant Criminal Back25 ground Check System.
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1 (2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney

2 General shall—

3 (A) ensure that any information submitted

4 to, or maintained by, the Attorney General

5 under this section is kept accurate and confiden6 tial, as required by the laws, regulations, poli7 cies, or procedures governing the applicable

8 record system;

9 (B) provide for the timely removal and de10 struction of obsolete and erroneous names and

11 information from the National Instant Criminal

12 Background Check System; and

13 (C) work with States to encourage the devel14 opment of computer systems, which would permit

15 electronic notification to the Attorney General

16 when—

17 (i) a court order has been issued, lifted,

18 or otherwise removed by order of the court;

19 or

20 (ii) a person has been adjudicated as a

21 mental defective or committed to a mental

22 institution.

23 (c) STANDARD FOR ADJUDICATIONS AND COMMIT24 MENTS RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—No department or agency of

2 the Federal Government may provide to the Attorney

3 General any record of an adjudication related to the

4 mental health of a person or any commitment of a

5 person to a mental institution if—

6 (A) the adjudication or commitment, respec7 tively, has been set aside or expunged, or the per8 son has otherwise been fully released or dis9 charged from all mandatory treatment, super10 vision, or monitoring;

11 (B) the person has been found by a court,

12 board, commission, or other lawful authority to

13 no longer suffer from the mental health condition

14 that was the basis of the adjudication or commit15 ment, respectively, or has otherwise been found to

16 be rehabilitated through any procedure available

17 under law; or

18 (C) the adjudication or commitment, respec19 tively, is based solely on a medical finding of

20 disability, without an opportunity for a hearing

21 by a court, board, commission, or other lawful

22 authority, and the person has not been adju23 dicated as a mental defective consistent with sec24 tion 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code, ex25 cept that nothing in this section or any other
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1 provision of law shall prevent a Federal depart2 ment or agency from providing to the Attorney

3 General any record demonstrating that a person

4 was adjudicated to be not guilty by reason of in5 sanity, or based on lack of mental responsibility,

6 or found incompetent to stand trial, in any

7 criminal case or under the Uniform Code of

8 Military Justice.

9 (2) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ADJUDICATIONS

10 AND COMMITMENTS.—

11 (A) PROGRAM FOR RELIEF FROM DISABIL12 ITIES.—

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each department or

14 agency of the United States that makes any

15 adjudication related to the mental health of

16 a person or imposes any commitment to a

17 mental institution, as described in sub18 section (d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of

19 title 18, United States Code, shall establish,

20 not later than 120 days after the date of en21 actment of this Act, a program that permits

22 such a person to apply for relief from the

23 disabilities imposed by such subsections.

24 (ii) PROCESS.—Each application for

25 relief submitted under the program required
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1 by this subparagraph shall be processed not

2 later than 365 days after the receipt of the

3 application. If a Federal department or

4 agency fails to resolve an application for re5 lief within 365 days for any reason, includ6 ing a lack of appropriated funds, the de7 partment or agency shall be deemed for all

8 purposes to have denied such request for re9 lief without cause. Judicial review of any

10 petitions brought under this clause shall be

11 de novo.

12 (iii) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Relief and

13 judicial review with respect to the program

14 required by this subparagraph shall be

15 available according to the standards pre16 scribed in section 925(c) of title 18, United

17 States Code. If the denial of a petition for

18 relief has been reversed after such judicial

19 review, the court shall award the prevailing

20 party, other than the United States, a rea21 sonable attorney’s fee for any and all pro22 ceedings in relation to attaining such relief,

23 and the United States shall be liable for

24 such fee. Such fee shall be based upon the

25 prevailing rates awarded to public interest
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1 legal aid organizations in the relevant com2 munity.

3 (B) RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES.—In the

4 case of an adjudication related to the mental

5 health of a person or a commitment of a person

6 to a mental institution, a record of which may

7 not be provided to the Attorney General under

8 paragraph (1), including because of the absence

9 of a finding described in subparagraph (C) of

10 such paragraph, or from which a person has

11 been granted relief under a program established

12 under subparagraph (A) or (B), or because of a

13 removal of a record under section 103(e)(1)(D) of

14 the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, the

15 adjudication or commitment, respectively, shall

16 be deemed not to have occurred for purposes of

17 subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of

18 title 18, United States Code. Any Federal agency

19 that grants a person relief from disabilities

20 under this subparagraph shall notify such person

21 that the person is no longer prohibited under

22 922(d)(4) or 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States

23 Code, on account of the relieved disability for

24 which relief was granted pursuant to a pro25 ceeding conducted under this subparagraph, with
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1 respect to the acquisition, receipt, transfer, ship2 ment, transportation, or possession of firearms.

3 (3) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—Effective 30 days

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, any Federal

5 department or agency that conducts proceedings to

6 adjudicate a person as a mental defective under

7 922(d)(4) or 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code,

8 shall provide both oral and written notice to the indi9 vidual at the commencement of the adjudication proc10 ess including—

11 (A) notice that should the agency adjudicate

12 the person as a mental defective, or should the

13 person be committed to a mental institution,

14 such adjudication, when final, or such commit15 ment, will prohibit the individual from pur16 chasing, possessing, receiving, shipping or trans17 porting a firearm or ammunition under section

18 922(d)(4) or section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United

19 States Code;

20 (B) information about the penalties im21 posed for unlawful possession, receipt, shipment

22 or transportation of a firearm under section

23 924(a)(2) of title 18, United States Code; and

24 (C) information about the availability of re25 lief from the disabilities imposed by Federal laws
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1 with respect to the acquisition, receipt, transfer,

2 shipment, transportation, or possession of fire3 arms.

4 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except for paragraph

5 (3), this subsection shall apply to names and other

6 information provided before, on, or after the date of

7 enactment of this Act. Any name or information pro8 vided in violation of this subsection (other than in

9 violation of paragraph (3)) before, on, or after such

10 date shall be removed from the National Instant

11 Criminal Background Check System.

12 SEC. 102. REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN WAIVER.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 3 years after the date

14 of the enactment of this Act, a State shall be eligible to re15 ceive a waiver of the 10 percent matching requirement for

16 National Criminal History Improvement Grants under the

17 Crime Identification Technology Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C.

18 14601) if the State provides at least 90 percent of the infor19 mation described in subsection (c). The length of such a

20 waiver shall not exceed 2 years.

21 (b) STATE ESTIMATES.—

22 (1) INITIAL STATEESTIMATE.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—To assist the Attorney

24 General in making a determination under sub25 section (a) of this section, and under section 104,
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1 concerning the compliance of the States in pro2 viding information to the Attorney General for

3 the purpose of receiving a waiver under sub4 section (a) of this section, or facing a loss of

5 funds under section 104, by a date not later than

6 180 days after the date of the enactment of this

7 Act, each State shall provide the Attorney Gen8 eral with a reasonable estimate, as calculated by

9 a method determined by the Attorney General

10 and in accordance with section 104(d), of the

11 number of the records described in subparagraph

12 (C) applicable to such State that concern persons

13 who are prohibited from possessing or receiving

14 a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section

15 922 of title 18, United States Code.

16 (B) FAILURETO PROVIDEINITIAL ESTI17 MATE.—A State that fails to provide an estimate

18 described in subparagraph (A) by the date re19 quired under such subparagraph shall be ineli20 gible to receive any funds under section 103,

21 until such date as it provides such estimate to

22 the Attorney General.

23 (C) RECORD DEFINED.—For purposes of

24 subparagraph (A), a record is the following:
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1 (i) A record that identifies a person

2 who has been convicted in any court of a

3 crime punishable by imprisonment for a

4 term exceeding 1 year.

5 (ii) A record that identifies a person

6 for whom an indictment has been returned

7 for a crime punishable by imprisonment for

8 a term exceeding 1 year that is valid under

9 the laws of the State involved or who is a

10 fugitive from justice, as of the date of the es11 timate, and for which a record of final dis12 position is not available.

13 (iii) A record that identifies a person

14 who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to

15 a controlled substance (as such terms ‘‘un16 lawful user’’ and ‘‘addicted’’ are respec17 tively defined in regulations implementing

18 section 922(g)(3) of title 18, United States

19 Code, as in effect on the date of the enact20 ment of this Act) as demonstrated by ar21 rests, convictions, and adjudications, and

22 whose record is not protected from disclo23 sure to the Attorney General under any pro24 vision of State or Federal law.
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1 (iv) A record that identifies a person

2 who has been adjudicated as a mental defec3 tive or committed to a mental institution,

4 consistent with section 922(g)(4) of title 18,

5 United States Code, and whose record is not

6 protected from disclosure to the Attorney

7 General under any provision of State or

8 Federal law.

9 (v) A record that is electronically

10 available and that identifies a person who,

11 as of the date of such estimate, is subject to

12 a court order described in section 922(g)(8)

13 of title 18, United States Code.

14 (vi) A record that is electronically

15 available and that identifies a person con16 victed in any court of a misdemeanor crime

17 of domestic violence, as defined in section

18 921(a)(33) of title 18, United States Code.

19 (2) SCOPE.—The Attorney General, in deter20 mining the compliance of a State under this section

21 or section 104 for the purpose of granting a waiver

22 or imposing a loss of Federal funds, shall assess the

23 total percentage of records provided by the State con24 cerning any event occurring within the prior 20

25 years, which would disqualify a person from pos-
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1 sessing a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of sec2 tion 922 of title 18, United States Code.

3 (3) CLARIFICATION.—Notwithstanding para4 graph (2), States shall endeavor to provide the Na5 tional Instant Criminal Background Check System

6 with all records concerning persons who are prohib7 ited from possessing or receiving a firearm under sub8 section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United

9 States Code, regardless of the elapsed time since the

10 disqualifying event.

11 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATE RECORDS FOR SUBMISSION

12 TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

13 CHECK SYSTEM.—

14 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—From the information

16 collected by a State, the State shall make elec17 tronically available to the Attorney General

18 records relevant to a determination of whether a

19 person is disqualified from possessing or receiv20 ing a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of sec21 tion 922 of title 18, United States Code, or ap22 plicable State law.

23 (B) NICS UPDATES.—The State, on being

24 made aware that the basis under which a record

25 was made available under subparagraph (A)
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1 does not apply, or no longer applies, shall, as

2 soon as practicable—

3 (i) update, correct, modify, or remove

4 the record from any database that the Fed5 eral or State government maintains and

6 makes available to the National Instant

7 Criminal Background Check System, con8 sistent with the rules pertaining to that

9 database; and

10 (ii) notify the Attorney General that

11 such basis no longer applies so that the

12 record system in which the record is main13 tained is kept up to date.

14 The Attorney General upon receiving notice pur15 suant to clause (ii) shall ensure that the record

16 in the National Instant Criminal Background

17 Check System is updated, corrected, modified, or

18 removed within 30 days of receipt.

19 (C) CERTIFICATION.—To remain eligible for

20 a waiver under subsection (a), a State shall cer21 tify to the Attorney General, not less than once

22 during each 2-year period, that at least 90 per23 cent of all records described in subparagraph (A)

24 has been made electronically available to the At-
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1 torney General in accordance with subparagraph

2 (A).

3 (D) INCLUSION OF ALL RECORDS.—For

4 purposes of this paragraph, a State shall iden5 tify and include all of the records described

6 under subparagraph (A) without regard to the

7 age of the record.

8 (2) APPLICATION TO PERSONS CONVICTED OF

9 MISDEMEANOR CRIMES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—The

10 State shall make available to the Attorney General,

11 for use by the National Instant Criminal Background

12 Check System, records relevant to a determination of

13 whether a person has been convicted in any court of

14 a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. With re15 spect to records relating to such crimes, the State

16 shall provide information specifically describing the

17 offense and the specific section or subsection of the of18 fense for which the defendant has been convicted and

19 the relationship of the defendant to the victim in each

20 case.

21 (3) APPLICATION TO PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN

22 ADJUDICATED AS A MENTAL DEFECTIVE OR COM23 MITTED TO A MENTAL INSTITUTION.—The State shall

24 make available to the Attorney General, for use by the

25 National Instant Criminal Background Check Sys-
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1 tem, the name and other relevant identifying infor2 mation of persons adjudicated as a mental defective

3 or those committed to mental institutions to assist the

4 Attorney General in enforcing section 922(g)(4) of

5 title 18, United States Code.

6 (d) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—For any information

7 provided to the Attorney General for use by the National

8 Instant Criminal Background Check System, relating to

9 persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm

10 under section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code, the

11 Attorney General shall work with States and local law en12 forcement and the mental health community to establish

13 regulations and protocols for protecting the privacy of in14 formation provided to the system. The Attorney General

15 shall make every effort to meet with any mental health

16 group seeking to express its views concerning these regula17 tions and protocols and shall seek to develop regulations as

18 expeditiously as practicable.

19 (e) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than

20 January 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit

21 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the

22 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives

23 a report on the progress of States in automating the data24 bases containing the information described in subsection (b)

25 and in making that information electronically available to
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1 the Attorney General pursuant to the requirements of sub2 section (c).

3 SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE TO STATES.

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail6 able to carry out this section and subject to section

7 102(b)(1)(B), the Attorney General shall make grants

8 to States and Indian tribal governments, in a man9 ner consistent with the National Criminal History

10 Improvement Program, which shall be used by the

11 States and Indian tribal governments, in conjunction

12 with units of local government and State and local

13 courts, to establish or upgrade information and iden14 tification technologies for firearms eligibility deter15 minations. Not less than 3 percent, and no more than

16 10 percent of each grant under this paragraph shall

17 be used to maintain the relief from disabilities pro18 gram in accordance with section 105.

19 (2) GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Up to 5 per20 cent of the grant funding available under this section

21 may be reserved for Indian tribal governments, in22 cluding tribal judicial systems.

23 (b) USEOF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded to

24 States or Indian tribes under this section may only be used

25 to—
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1 (1) create electronic systems, which provide accu2 rate and up-to-date information which is directly re3 lated to checks under the National Instant Criminal

4 Background Check System (referred to in this section

5 as ‘‘NICS’’), including court disposition and correc6 tions records;

7 (2) assist States in establishing or enhancing

8 their own capacities to perform NICS background

9 checks;

10 (3) supply accurate and timely information to

11 the Attorney General concerning final dispositions of

12 criminal records to databases accessed by NICS;

13 (4) supply accurate and timely information to

14 the Attorney General concerning the identity of per15 sons who are prohibited from obtaining a firearm

16 under section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States

17 Code, to be used by the Federal Bureau of Investiga18 tion solely to conduct NICS background checks;

19 (5) supply accurate and timely court orders and

20 records of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence

21 for inclusion in Federal and State law enforcement

22 databases used to conduct NICS background checks;

23 (6) collect and analyze data needed to dem24 onstrate levels of State compliance with this Act; and
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1 (7) maintain the relief from disabilities program

2 in accordance with section 105, but not less than 3

3 percent, and no more than 10 percent of each grant

4 shall be used for this purpose.

5 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under this

6 section, a State shall certify, to the satisfaction of the Attor7 ney General, that the State has implemented a relief from

8 disabilities program in accordance with section 105.

9 (d) CONDITION.—As a condition of receiving a grant

10 under this section, a State shall specify the projects for

11 which grant amounts will be used, and shall use such

12 amounts only as specified. A State that violates this sub13 section shall be liable to the Attorney General for the full

14 amount of the grant received under this section.

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated to carry out this section $125,000,000 for

18 fiscal year 2009, $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2010,

19 $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, $125,000,000 for

20 fiscal year 2012, and $125,000,000 for fiscal year

21 2013.

22 (2) ALLOCATIONS.—For fiscal years 2009 and

23 2010, the Attorney General shall endeavor to allocate

at least 1 24 ⁄2 of the authorized appropriations to those

25 States providing more than 50 percent of the records
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1 required to be provided under sections 102 and 103.

2 For fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, the Attorney

General shall endeavor to allocate at least 1 3 ⁄2 of the

4 authorized appropriations to those States providing

5 more than 70 percent of the records required to be

6 provided under section 102 and 103. The allocations

7 in this paragraph shall be subject to the discretion of

8 the Attorney General, who shall have the authority to

9 make adjustments to the distribution of the authorized

10 appropriations as necessary to maximize incentives

11 for State compliance.

12 (f) USER FEE.—The Federal Bureau of Investigation

13 shall not charge a user fee for background checks pursuant

14 to section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code.

15 SEC. 104. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

16 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31 of

18 each year, the Attorney General shall submit to the

19 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the

20 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report on the progress of the States in

22 automating the databases containing information de23 scribed under sections 102 and 103, and in providing

24 that information pursuant to the requirements of sec25 tions 102 and 103.
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1 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De3 partment of Justice, such funds as may be necessary

4 to carry out paragraph (1).

5 (b) PENALTIES.—

6 (1) DISCRETIONARY REDUCTION.—

7 (A) During the 2-year period beginning 3

8 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the

9 Attorney General may withhold not more than 3

10 percent of the amount that would otherwise be

11 allocated to a State under section 505 of the Om12 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of

13 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) if the State provides less

14 than 50 percent of the records required to be pro15 vided under sections 102 and 103.

16 (B) During the 5-year period after the expi17 ration of the period referred to in subparagraph

18 (A), the Attorney General may withhold not

19 more than 4 percent of the amount that would

20 otherwise be allocated to a State under section

21 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

22 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) if the State

23 provides less than 70 percent of the records re24 quired to be provided under sections 102 and

25 103.
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1 (2) MANDATORY REDUCTION.—After the expira2 tion of the periods referred to in paragraph (1), the

3 Attorney General shall withhold 5 percent of the

4 amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State

5 under section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and

6 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755), if the

7 State provides less than 90 percent of the records re8 quired to be provided under sections 102 and 103.

9 (3) WAIVER BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attor10 ney General may waive the applicability of para11 graph (2) to a State if the State provides substantial

12 evidence, as determined by the Attorney General, that

13 the State is making a reasonable effort to comply

14 with the requirements of sections 102 and 103, in15 cluding an inability to comply due to court order or

16 other legal restriction.

17 (c) REALLOCATION.—Any funds that are not allocated

18 to a State because of the failure of the State to comply with

19 the requirements of this Act shall be reallocated to States

20 that meet such requirements.

21 (d) METHODOLOGY.—The method established to cal22 culate the number of records to be reported, as set forth in

23 section 102(b)(1)(A), and State compliance with the re24 quired level of reporting under sections 102 and 103 shall

25 be determined by the Attorney General. The Attorney Gen-
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1 eral shall calculate the methodology based on the total num2 ber of records to be reported from all subcategories of

3 records, as described in section 102(b)(1)(C).

4 SEC. 105. RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES PROGRAM REQUIRED

5 AS CONDITION FOR PARTICIPATION IN

6 GRANT PROGRAMS.

7 (a) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A relief from disabilities

8 program is implemented by a State in accordance with this

9 section if the program—

10 (1) permits a person who, pursuant to State law,

11 has been adjudicated as described in subsection (g)(4)

12 of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, or has

13 been committed to a mental institution, to apply to

14 the State for relief from the disabilities imposed by

15 subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of such section by reason

16 of the adjudication or commitment;

17 (2) provides that a State court, board, commis18 sion, or other lawful authority shall grant the relief,

19 pursuant to State law and in accordance with the

20 principles of due process, if the circumstances regard21 ing the disabilities referred to in paragraph (1), and

22 the person’s record and reputation, are such that the

23 person will not be likely to act in a manner dan24 gerous to public safety and that the granting of the
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1 relief would not be contrary to the public interest;

2 and

3 (3) permits a person whose application for the

4 relief is denied to file a petition with the State court

5 of appropriate jurisdiction for a de novo judicial re6 view of the denial.

7 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE RELIEF FROM CERTAIN

8 DISABILITIES WITH RESPECT TO FIREARMS.—If, under a

9 State relief from disabilities program implemented in ac10 cordance with this section, an application for relief referred

11 to in subsection (a)(1) of this section is granted with respect

12 to an adjudication or a commitment to a mental institution

13 or based upon a removal of a record under section

14 102(c)(1)(B), the adjudication or commitment, as the case

15 may be, is deemed not to have occurred for purposes of sub16 sections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United

17 States Code.

18 SEC. 106. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GUN PURCHASE NOTIFICA19 TION.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law or of this Act, all records obtained by the Na22 tional Instant Criminal Background Check system relevant

23 to whether an individual is prohibited from possessing a

24 firearm because such person is an alien illegally or unlaw-
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1 fully in the United States shall be made available to U.S.

2 Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

3 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General, at his or

4 her discretion, shall promulgate guidelines relevant to what

5 records relevant to illegal aliens shall be provided pursuant

6 to the provisions of this Act.

7 TITLE II—FOCUSING FEDERAL

8 ASSISTANCE ON THE IM9 PROVEMENT OF RELEVANT

10 RECORDS

11 SEC. 201. CONTINUING EVALUATIONS.

12 (a) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Director of the Bu13 reau of Justice Statistics (referred to in this section as the

14 ‘‘Director’’) shall study and evaluate the operations of the

15 National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

16 Such study and evaluation shall include compilations and

17 analyses of the operations and record systems of the agencies

18 and organizations necessary to support such System.

19 (b) REPORT ON GRANTS.—Not later than January 31

20 of each year, the Director shall submit to Congress a report

21 containing the estimates submitted by the States under sec22 tion 102(b).

23 (c) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than

24 January 31 of each year, the Director shall submit to Con25 gress, and to each State participating in the National
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1 Criminal History Improvement Program, a report of the

2 practices of the States regarding the collection, mainte3 nance, automation, and transmittal of information relevant

4 to determining whether a person is prohibited from pos5 sessing or receiving a firearm by Federal or State law, by

6 the State or any other agency, or any other records relevant

7 to the National Instant Criminal Background Check Sys8 tem, that the Director considers to be best practices.

9 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

10 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec11 essary for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to com12 plete the studies, evaluations, and reports required under

13 this section.

14 TITLE III—GRANTS TO STATE

15 COURT SYSTEMS FOR THE IM16 PROVEMENT IN AUTOMATION

17 AND TRANSMITTAL OF DIS18 POSITION RECORDS

19 SEC. 301. DISPOSITION RECORDS AUTOMATION AND

20 TRANSMITTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.

21 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made

22 available to carry out this section, the Attorney General

23 shall make grants to each State, consistent with State plans

24 for the integration, automation, and accessibility of crimi25 nal history records, for use by the State court system to
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1 improve the automation and transmittal of criminal his2 tory dispositions, records relevant to determining whether

3 a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of do4 mestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudica5 tions or commitments, to Federal and State record reposi6 tories in accordance with sections 102 and 103 and the Na7 tional Criminal History Improvement Program.

8 (b) GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Up to 5 percent of

9 the grant funding available under this section may be re10 served for Indian tribal governments for use by Indian trib11 al judicial systems.

12 (c) USEOF FUNDS.—Amounts granted under this sec13 tion shall be used by the State court system only—

14 (1) to carry out, as necessary, assessments of the

15 capabilities of the courts of the State for the automa16 tion and transmission of arrest and conviction

17 records, court orders, and mental health adjudications

18 or commitments to Federal and State record reposi19 tories; and

20 (2) to implement policies, systems, and proce21 dures for the automation and transmission of arrest

22 and conviction records, court orders, and mental

23 health adjudications or commitments to Federal and

24 State record repositories.
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1 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

2 under this section, a State shall certify, to the satisfaction

3 of the Attorney General, that the State has implemented a

4 relief from disabilities program in accordance with section

5 105.

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

7 authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General to

8 carry out this section $62,500,000 for fiscal year 2009,

9 $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $125,000,000 for fiscal

10 year 2011, $62,500,000 for fiscal year 2012, and

11 $62,500,000 for fiscal year 2013.

12 TITLE IV—GAO AUDIT

13 SEC. 401. GAO AUDIT.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the

15 United States shall conduct an audit of the expenditure of

16 all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement

17 pursuant to section 106(b) of the Brady Handgun Violence

18 Prevention Act (Public Law 103–159) to determine if the

19 funds were expended for the purposes authorized by the Act

20 and how those funds were expended for those purposes or

21 were otherwise expended.

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall sub-
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1 mit a report to Congress describing the findings of the audit

2 conducted pursuant to subsection (a).

Attest:

Secretary.
110TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2640

AMENDMENT