I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2640 

To improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2007 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York (for herself, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. 

SMITH of Texas, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. EMANUEL, 

Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SHAYS, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, 

and Mrs. CAPPS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check 

System, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 


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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. 

Sec. 105. Relief from disabilities program required as condition for participation in grant programs. 

TITLE J—FOCUSING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE ON THE 

IMPROVEMENT OF RELEVANT RECORDS 

Sec. 201. Continuing evaluations. 

TITLE K—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 L—GAO AUDIT 

Sec. 401. GAO audit. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Approximately 916,000 individuals were 

4 prohibited from purchasing a firearm for failing a 

5 background check between November 30, 1998, (the 

6 date the National Instant Criminal Background 

7 Check System (NICS) began operating) and Decem8 ber 31, 2004. 

9 (2) From November 30, 1998, through Decem10 ber 31, 2004, nearly 49,000,000 Brady background 

11 checks were processed through NICS. 

12 (3) Although most Brady background checks 

13 are processed through NICS in seconds, many back14 ground checks are delayed if the Federal Bureau of 


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1 Investigation (FBI) does not have automated access 

2 to complete information from the States concerning 

3 persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a 

4 firearm under Federal or State law. 

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

6 accessible by NICS and millions of criminal records 

7 are missing critical data, such as arrest dispositions, 

8 due to data backlogs. 

9 (5) The primary cause of delay in NICS back10 ground checks is the lack of— 

11 (A) updates and available State criminal 

12 disposition records; and 

13 (B) automated access to information con14 cerning persons prohibited from possessing or 

15 receiving a firearm because of mental illness, 

16 restraining orders, or misdemeanor convictions 

17 for domestic violence. 

18 (6) Automated access to this information can 

19 be improved by— 

20 (A) computerizing information relating to 

21 criminal history, criminal dispositions, mental 

22 illness, restraining orders, and misdemeanor 

23 convictions for domestic violence; or 

24 (B) making such information available to 

25 NICS in a usable format. 


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1 (7) Helping States to automate these records 

2 will reduce delays for law-abiding gun purchasers. 

3 (8) On March 12, 2002, the senseless shooting, 

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

5 the Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, New 

6 York, brought attention to the need to improve in7 formation-sharing that would enable Federal and 

8 State law enforcement agencies to conduct a com9 plete background check on a potential firearm pur10 chaser. The man who committed this double murder 

11 had a prior disqualifying mental health commitment 

12 and a restraining order against him, but passed a 

13 Brady background check because NICS did not have 

14 the necessary information to determine that he was 

15 ineligible to purchase a firearm under Federal or 

16 State law. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

18 As used in this Act, the following definitions shall 

19 apply: 

20 (1) COURT ORDER.—The term ‘‘court order’’ 

21 includes a court order (as described in section 

22 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code). 

23 (2) MENTAL HEALTH TERMS.—The terms ‘‘ad24 judicated as a mental defective’’, ‘‘committed to a 

25 mental institution’’, and related terms have the 


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1 meanings given those terms in regulations imple2 menting section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States 

3 Code, as in effect on the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (3) MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIO6 LENCE.—The term ‘‘misdemeanor crime of domestic 

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

8 921(a)(33) of title 18, United States Code. 

9 TITLE I—TRANSMITTAL OF 

10 RECORDS 

11 SEC. 101. ENHANCEMENT OF REQUIREMENT THAT FED12 ERAL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES PRO13 VIDE RELEVANT INFORMATION TO THE NA14 TIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND 

15 CHECK SYSTEM. 

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

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

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and insert20 ing the following: 

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

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

23 following: 

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

25 On request’’; 


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

2 inserting ‘‘furnish electronic versions of the informa3 tion described under subparagraph (A)’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(C) QUARTERLY SUBMISSION TO ATTOR6 NEY GENERAL.—If a department or agency 

7 under subparagraph (A) has any record of any 

8 person demonstrating that the person falls 

9 within one of the categories described in sub10 section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 

11 United States Code, the head of such depart12 ment or agency shall, not less frequently than 

13 quarterly, provide the pertinent information 

14 contained in such record to the Attorney Gen15 eral. 

16 ‘‘(D) INFORMATION UPDATES.—The agen17 cy, on being made aware that the basis under 

18 which a record was made available under sub19 paragraph (A) does not apply, or no longer ap20 plies, shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) update, correct, modify, or re22 move the record from any database that 

23 the agency maintains and makes available 

24 to the Attorney General, in accordance 


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1 with the rules pertaining to that database; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(ii) notify the Attorney General that 

4 such basis no longer applies so that the 

5 National Instant Criminal Background 

6 Check System is kept up to date. 

7 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Attorney 

8 General shall submit an annual report to Con9 gress that describes the compliance of each de10 partment or agency with the provisions of this 

11 paragraph.’’. 

12 (b) PROVISION AND MAINTENANCE OF NICS 

13 RECORDS.— 

14 (1) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

15 The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make 

16 available to the Attorney General— 

17 (A) records, updated not less than quar18 terly, which are relevant to a determination of 

19 whether a person is disqualified from possessing 

20 or receiving a firearm under subsection (g) or 

21 (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States 

22 Code, for use in background checks performed 

23 by the National Instant Criminal Background 

24 Check System; and 


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1 (B) information regarding all the persons 

2 described in subparagraph (A) of this para3 graph who have changed their status to a cat4 egory not identified under section 922(g)(5) of 

5 title 18, United States Code, for removal, when 

6 applicable, from the National Instant Criminal 

7 Background Check System. 

8 (2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney 

9 General shall— 

10 (A) ensure that any information submitted 

11 to, or maintained by, the Attorney General 

12 under this section is kept accurate and con13 fidential, as required by the laws, regulations, 

14 policies, or procedures governing the applicable 

15 record system; 

16 (B) provide for the timely removal and de17 struction of obsolete and erroneous names and 

18 information from the National Instant Criminal 

19 Background Check System; and 

20 (C) work with States to encourage the de21 velopment of computer systems, which would 

22 permit electronic notification to the Attorney 

23 General when— 


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1 (i) a court order has been issued, lift2 ed, or otherwise removed by order of the 

3 court; or 

4 (ii) a person has been adjudicated as 

5 mentally defective or committed to a men6 tal institution. 

7 (c) STANDARD FOR ADJUDICATIONS, COMMITMENTS, 

8 AND DETERMINATIONS RELATED TO MENTAL

9 HEALTH.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—No department or agency of 

11 the Federal Government may provide to the Attor12 ney General any record of an adjudication or deter13 mination related to the mental health of a person, 

14 or any commitment of a person to a mental institu15 tion if— 

16 (A) the adjudication, determination, or 

17 commitment, respectively, has been set aside or 

18 expunged, or the person has otherwise been 

19 fully released or discharged from all mandatory 

20 treatment, supervision, or monitoring; 

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

22 board, commission, or other lawful authority to 

23 no longer suffer from the mental health condi24 tion that was the basis of the adjudication, de25 termination, or commitment, respectively, or 


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1 has otherwise been found to be rehabilitated 

2 through any procedure available under law; or 

3 (C) the adjudication, determination, or 

4 commitment, respectively, is based solely on a 

5 medical finding of disability, without a finding 

6 that the person is a danger to himself or to oth7 ers or that the person lacks the mental capacity 

8 to manage his own affairs. 

9 (2) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ADJUDICATIONS, 

10 DETERMINATIONS, AND COMMITMENTS.— 

11 (A) PROGRAM FOR RELIEF FROM DISABIL12 ITIES.—Each department or agency of the 

13 United States that makes any adjudication or 

14 determination related to the mental health of a 

15 person or imposes any commitment to a mental 

16 institution, as described in subsection (d)(4) 

17 and (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United 

18 States Code, shall establish a program that per19 mits such a person to apply for relief from the 

20 disabilities imposed by such subsections. Relief 

21 and judicial review shall be available according 

22 to the standards prescribed in section 925(c) of 

23 title 18, United States Code. 

24 (B) RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES.—In the 

25 case of an adjudication or determination related 


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1 to the mental health of a person or a commit2 ment of a person to a mental institution, a 

3 record of which may not be provided to the At4 torney General under paragraph (1), including 

5 because of the absence of a finding described in 

6 subparagraph (C) of such paragraph, or from 

7 which a person has been granted relief under a 

8 program established under subparagraph (A), 

9 the adjudication, determination, or commit10 ment, respectively, shall be deemed not to have 

11 occurred for purposes of subsections (d)(4) and 

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

13 Code. 

14 (d) INFORMATION EXCLUDED FROM NICS 

15 RECORDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—No department or agency of 

17 the Federal Government may make available to the 

18 Attorney General, for use by the National Instant 

19 Criminal Background Check System (nor may the 

20 Attorney General make available to such system), 

21 the name or any other relevant identifying informa22 tion of any person adjudicated or determined to be 

23 mentally defective or any person committed to a 

24 mental institution for purposes of assisting the At25 torney General in enforcing subsections (d)(4) and 


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

2 unless such adjudication, determination, or commit3 ment, respectively, included a finding that the per4 son is a danger to himself or to others or that the 

5 person lacks the mental capacity to manage his own 

6 affairs. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 

8 apply to names and other information provided be9 fore, on, or after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act. Any name or information provided in violation 

11 of paragraph (1) before such date shall be removed 

12 from the National Instant Criminal Background 

13 Check System. 

14 SEC. 102. REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN WAIVER. 

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

16 of the enactment of this Act, a State shall be eligible to 

17 receive a waiver of the 10 percent matching requirement 

18 for National Criminal History Improvement Grants under 

19 the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1988 (42 

20 U.S.C. 14601) if the State provides at least 90 percent 

21 of the information described in subsection (c). The length 

22 of such a waiver shall not exceed 2 years. 

23 (b) STATE ESTIMATES.— 

24 (1) INITIAL STATE ESTIMATE.— 


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

2 General in making a determination under sub3 section (a) of this section, and under section 

4 104, concerning the compliance of the States in 

5 providing information to the Attorney General 

6 for the purpose of receiving a waiver under sub7 section (a) of this section, or facing a loss of 

8 funds under section 104, by a date not later 

9 than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act, each State shall provide the Attor11 ney General with a reasonable estimate, as cal12 culated by a method determined by the Attor13 ney General, of the number of the records de14 scribed in subparagraph (C) applicable to such 

15 State that concern persons who are prohibited 

16 from possessing or receiving a firearm under 

17 subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 

18 United States Code. 

19 (B) FAILURE TO PROVIDE INITIAL ESTI20 MATE.—A State that fails to provide an esti21 mate described in subparagraph (A) by the date 

22 required under such subparagraph shall be in23 eligible to receive any funds under section 103, 

24 until such date as it provides such estimate to 

25 the Attorney General. 


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1 (C) RECORD DEFINED.—For purposes of 

2 subparagraph (A), a record is the following: 

3 (i) A record that identifies a person 

4 arrested for a crime that is punishable by 

5 imprisonment for a term exceeding one 

6 year, and for which a record of final dis7 position is available electronically or other8 wise. 

9 (ii) A record that identifies a person 

10 for whose arrest a warrant or process has 

11 been issued that is valid under the laws of 

12 the State involved, as of the date of the es13 timate. 

14 (iii) A record that identifies a person 

15 who is an unlawful user of or addicted to 

16 a controlled substance (as such terms ‘‘un17 lawful user’’ and ‘‘addicted’’ are respec18 tively defined in regulations implementing 

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

20 Code, as in effect on the date of the enact21 ment of this Act) and whose record is not 

22 protected from disclosure to the Attorney 

23 General under any provision of State or 

24 Federal law. 


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1 (iv) A record that identifies a person 

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

4 (as determined in regulations implementing 

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

6 Code, as in effect on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act) and whose record is not 

8 protected from disclosure to the Attorney 

9 General under any provision of State or 

10 Federal law. 

11 (v) A record that is electronically 

12 available and that identifies a person who, 

13 as of the date of such estimate, is subject 

14 to a court order described in section 

15 922(g)(8) of title 18, United States Code. 

16 (vi) A record that is electronically 

17 available and that identifies a person con18 victed in any court of a misdemeanor crime 

19 of domestic violence, as defined in section 

20 921(a)(33) of title 18, United States Code. 

21 (2) SCOPE.—The Attorney General, in deter22 mining the compliance of a State under this section 

23 or section 104 of this Act for the purpose of grant24 ing a waiver or imposing a loss of Federal funds, 

25 shall assess the total percentage of records provided 


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1 by the State concerning any event occurring within 

2 the prior 30 years, which would disqualify a person 

3 from possessing a firearm under subsection (g) or 

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

5 (3) CLARIFICATION.—Notwithstanding para6 graph (2), States shall endeavor to provide the Na7 tional Instant Criminal Background Check System 

8 with all records concerning persons who are prohib9 ited from possessing or receiving a firearm under 

10 subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 

11 United States Code, regardless of the elapsed time 

12 since the disqualifying event. 

13 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATE RECORDS FOR SUBMIS14 SION TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACK15 GROUND CHECK SYSTEM.— 

16 (1) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—From information col18 lected by a State, the State shall make elec19 tronically available to the Attorney General 

20 records relevant to a determination of whether 

21 a person is disqualified from possessing or re22 ceiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of 

23 section 922 of title 18, United States Code, or 

24 applicable State law. 


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

2 made aware that the basis under which a record 

3 was made available under subparagraph (A) 

4 does not apply, or no longer applies, shall, as 

5 soon as practicable— 

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

7 the record from any database that the 

8 Federal or State government maintains 

9 and makes available to the National In10 stant Criminal Background Check System, 

11 consistent with the rules pertaining to that 

12 database; or 

13 (ii) notify the Attorney General that 

14 such basis no longer applies so that the 

15 record system in which the record is main16 tained is kept up to date. 

17 (C) CERTIFICATION.—To remain eligible 

18 for a waiver under subsection (a), a State shall 

19 certify to the Attorney General, not less than 

20 once during each 2-year period, that at least 90 

21 percent of all information described in subpara22 graph (A) has been made electronically avail23 able to the Attorney General in accordance with 

24 subparagraph (A). 


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1 (D) INCLUSION OF ALL RECORDS.—For 

2 purposes of this paragraph, a State shall iden3 tify and include all of the records described 

4 under subparagraph (A) without regard to the 

5 age of the record. 

6 (2) APPLICATION TO PERSONS CONVICTED OF

7 MISDEMEANOR CRIMES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.— 

8 The State shall make available to the Attorney Gen9 eral, for use by the National Instant Criminal Back10 ground Check System, records relevant to a deter11 mination of whether a person has been convicted in 

12 any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic vio13 lence. With respect to records relating to such 

14 crimes, the State shall provide information specifi15 cally describing the offense and the specific section 

16 or subsection of the offense for which the defendant 

17 has been convicted and the relationship of the de18 fendant to the victim in each case. 

19 (3) APPLICATION TO PERSONS WHO HAVE BEEN

20 ADJUDICATED AS A MENTAL DEFECTIVE OR COM21 MITTED TO A MENTAL INSTITUTION.—The State 

22 shall make available to the Attorney General, for use 

23 by the National Instant Criminal Background Check 

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1 tive or those committed to mental institutions to as2 sist the Attorney General in enforcing section 

3 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code. 

4 (d) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—For any information 

5 provided to the Attorney General for use by the National 

6 Instant Criminal Background Check System, relating to 

7 persons prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm 

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

9 the Attorney General shall work with States and local law 

10 enforcement and the mental health community to establish 

11 regulations and protocols for protecting the privacy of in12 formation provided to the system. The Attorney General 

13 shall make every effort to meet with any mental health 

14 group seeking to express its views concerning these regula15 tions and protocols and shall seek to develop regulations 

16 as expeditiously as practicable. 

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

18 January 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall sub19 mit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep21 resentatives a report on the progress of States in auto22 mating the databases containing the information described 

23 in subsection (b) and in making that information elec24 tronically available to the Attorney General pursuant to 

25 the requirements of subsection (c). 


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1 SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE TO STATES. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail4 able to carry out this section and subject to section 

5 102(b)(1)(B), the Attorney General shall make 

6 grants to States and Indian tribal governments, in 

7 a manner consistent with the National Criminal His8 tory Improvement Program, which shall be used by 

9 the States and Indian tribal governments, in con10 junction with units of local government and State 

11 and local courts, to establish or upgrade information 

12 and identification technologies for firearms eligibility 

13 determinations. 

14 (2) GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Up to 5 per15 cent of the grant funding available under this sec16 tion may be reserved for Indian tribal governments, 

17 including tribal judicial systems. 

18 (b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded to 

19 States or Indian tribes under this section may only be 

20 used to— 

21 (1) create electronic systems, which provide ac22 curate and up-to-date information which is directly 

23 related to checks under the National Instant Crimi24 nal Background Check System (referred to in this 

25 section as ‘‘NICS’’), including court disposition and 

26 corrections records; 


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1 (2) assist States in establishing or enhancing 

2 their own capacities to perform NICS background 

3 checks; 

4 (3) supply accurate and timely information to 

5 the Attorney General concerning final dispositions of 

6 criminal records to databases accessed by NICS; 

7 (4) supply accurate and timely information to 

8 the Attorney General concerning the identity of per9 sons who are prohibited from obtaining a firearm 

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

11 Code, to be used by the Federal Bureau of Inves12 tigation solely to conduct NICS background checks; 

13 (5) supply accurate and timely court orders and 

14 records of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence 

15 for inclusion in Federal and State law enforcement 

16 databases used to conduct NICS background checks; 

17 and 

18 (6) collect and analyze data needed to dem19 onstrate levels of State compliance with this Act. 

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

21 this section, a State shall certify, to the satisfaction of 

22 the Attorney General, that the State has implemented a 

23 relief from disabilities program in accordance with section 

24 105. 


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

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

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

4 amounts only as specified. A State that violates this sub5 section shall be liable to the Attorney General for the full 

6 amount of the grant received under this section. 

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $250,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 

10 2010. 

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

12 shall not charge a user fee for background checks pursu13 ant to section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code. 

14 SEC. 104. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. 

15 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.— 

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

17 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to 

18 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

20 Representatives a report on the progress of the 

21 States in automating the databases containing infor22 mation described under sections 102 and 103, and 

23 in providing that information pursuant to the re24 quirements of sections 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.—During the 

7 2-year period beginning 3 years after the date of en8 actment of this Act, the Attorney General may with9 hold not more than 3 percent of the amount that 

10 would otherwise be allocated to a State under sec11 tion 506 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

12 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3756) if the State 

13 provides less than 60 percent of the information re14 quired to be provided under sections 102 and 103. 

15 (2) MANDATORY REDUCTION.—After the expi16 ration of the period referred to in paragraph (1), the 

17 Attorney General shall withhold 5 percent of the 

18 amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State 

19 under section 506 of the Omnibus Crime Control 

20 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3756), if 

21 the State provides less than 90 percent of the infor22 mation required to be provided under sections 102 

23 and 103. 

24 (3) WAIVER BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At25 torney General may waive the applicability of paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:25 Jun 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2640.IH H2640

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1 graph (2) to a State if the State provides substantial 

2 evidence, as determined by the Attorney General, 

3 that the State is making a reasonable effort to com4 ply with the requirements of sections 102 and 103. 

5 (c) REALLOCATION.—Any funds that are not allo6 cated to a State because of the failure of the State to com7 ply with the requirements of this title shall be reallocated 

8 to States that meet such requirements. 

9 SEC. 105. RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES PROGRAM REQUIRED 

10 AS CONDITION FOR PARTICIPATION IN 

11 GRANT PROGRAMS. 

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

13 program is implemented by a State in accordance with this 

14 section if the program— 

15 (1) permits a person who, pursuant to State 

16 law, has been adjudicated as described in subsection 

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

18 or has been committed to a mental institution, to 

19 apply to the State for relief from the disabilities im20 posed by subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of such sec21 tion by reason of the adjudication or commitment; 

22 (2) provides that a State court, board, commis23 sion, or other lawful authority shall grant the relief, 

24 pursuant to State law and in accordance with the 

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1 garding the disabilities referred to in paragraph (1), 

2 and the person’s record and reputation, are such 

3 that the person will not be likely to act in a manner 

4 dangerous to public safety and that the granting of 

5 the relief would not be contrary to the public inter6 est; and 

7 (3) permits a person whose application for the 

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

9 of appropriate jurisdiction for a de novo judicial re10 view of the denial. 

11 (b) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE RELIEF FROM CER12 TAIN DISABILITIES WITH RESPECT TO FIREARMS.—If, 

13 under a State relief from disabilities program implemented 

14 in accordance with this section, an application for relief 

15 referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section is granted 

16 with respect to an adjudication or a commitment to a men17 tal institution, the adjudication or commitment, as the 

18 case may be, is deemed not to have occurred for purposes 

19 of subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, 

20 United States Code. 


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1 TITLE J—FOCUSING FEDERAL 

2 ASSISTANCE ON THE IM3 PROVEMENT OF RELEVANT 

4 RECORDS 

5 SEC. 201. CONTINUING EVALUATIONS. 

6 (a) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Director of the 

7 Bureau of Justice Statistics (referred to in this section 

8 as the ‘‘Director’’) shall study and evaluate the operations 

9 of the National Instant Criminal Background Check Sys10 tem. Such study and evaluation shall include compilations 

11 and analyses of the operations and record systems of the 

12 agencies and organizations necessary to support such Sys13 tem. 

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

15 31 of each year, the Director shall submit to Congress 

16 a report containing the estimates submitted by the States 

17 under section 102(b). 

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

19 January 31 of each year, the Director shall submit to Con20 gress, and to each State participating in the National 

21 Criminal History Improvement Program, a report of the 

22 practices of the States regarding the collection, mainte23 nance, automation, and transmittal of information rel24 evant to determining whether a person is prohibited from 

25 possessing or receiving a firearm by Federal or State law, 


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1 by the State or any other agency, or any other records 

2 relevant to the National Instant Criminal Background 

3 Check System, that the Director considers to be best prac4 tices. 

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

7 necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010 

8 to complete the studies, evaluations, and reports required 

9 under this section. 

10 TITLE K—GRANTS TO STATE 

11 COURT SYSTEMS FOR THE IM12 PROVEMENT IN AUTOMATION 

13 AND TRANSMITTAL OF DIS14 POSITION RECORDS 

15 SEC. 301. DISPOSITION RECORDS AUTOMATION AND 

16 TRANSMITTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS. 

17 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 

18 available to carry out this section, the Attorney General 

19 shall make grants to each State, consistent with State 

20 plans for the integration, automation, and accessibility of 

21 criminal history records, for use by the State court system 

22 to improve the automation and transmittal of criminal his23 tory dispositions, records relevant to determining whether 

24 a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of 

25 domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjuVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:25 Jun 12, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2640.IH H2640

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1 dications or commitments, to Federal and State record re2 positories in accordance with sections 102 and 103 and 

3 the National Criminal History Improvement Program. 

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

5 of the grant funding available under this section may be 

6 reserved for Indian tribal governments for use by Indian 

7 tribal judicial systems. 

8 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts granted under this 

9 section shall be used by the State court system only— 

10 (1) to carry out, as necessary, assessments of 

11 the capabilities of the courts of the State for the au12 tomation and transmission of arrest and conviction 

13 records, court orders, and mental health adjudica14 tions or commitments to Federal and State record 

15 repositories; and 

16 (2) to implement policies, systems, and proce17 dures for the automation and transmission of arrest 

18 and conviction records, court orders, and mental 

19 health adjudications or commitments to Federal and 

20 State record repositories. 

21 (d) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

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

23 of the Attorney General, that the State has implemented 

24 a relief from disabilities program in accordance with sec25 tion 105. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

3 to carry out this section $125,000,000 for each of the fis4 cal years 2008 through 2010. 

5 TITLE L—GAO AUDIT 

6 SEC. 401. GAO AUDIT. 

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

8 United States shall conduct an audit of the expenditure 

9 of all funds appropriated for criminal records improve10 ment pursuant to section 106(b) of the Brady Handgun 

11 Violence Prevention Act (Public Law 103–159) to deter12 mine if the funds were expended for the purposes author13 ized by the Act and how those funds were expended for 

14 those purposes or were otherwise expended. 

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

16 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

17 submit a report to Congress describing the findings of the 

18 audit conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 

Æ 


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