II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2135 

To enforce current law regarding the National Instant Criminal Background 

Check System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2017 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. 

HATCH, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. HELLER, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To enforce current law regarding the National Instant 

Criminal Background Check System. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fix NICS Act of 

5 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS 

7 AND AGENCIES. 

8 Section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven9 tion Act (34 U.S.C. 40901) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (e)(1), by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(F) SEMIANNUAL CERTIFICATION AND

4 REPORTING.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The head of each 

6 Federal department or agency shall submit 

7 a semiannual written certification to the 

8 Attorney General indicating whether the 

9 department or agency is in compliance 

10 with the record submission requirements 

11 under subparagraph (C). 

12 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION DATES.—The head 

13 of a Federal department or agency shall 

14 submit a certification to the Attorney Gen15 eral under clause (i)— 

16 ‘‘(I) not later than July 31 of 

17 each year, which shall address all rel18 evant records, including those that 

19 have not been transmitted to the At20 torney General, in possession of the 

21 department or agency during the pe22 riod beginning on January 1 of the 

23 year and ending on June 30 of the 

24 year; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) not later than January 31 

2 of each year, which shall address all 

3 relevant records, including those that 

4 have not been transmitted to the At5 torney General, in possession of the 

6 department or agency during the pe7 riod beginning on July 1 of the pre8 vious year and ending on December 

9 31 of the previous year. 

10 ‘‘(iii) CONTENTS.—A certification re11 quired under clause (i) shall state, for the 

12 applicable period— 

13 ‘‘(I) the total number of records 

14 of the Federal department or agency 

15 demonstrating that a person falls 

16 within one of the categories described 

17 in subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 

18 of title 18, United States Code; 

19 ‘‘(II) for each category of records 

20 described in subclause (I), the total 

21 number of records of the Federal de22 partment or agency that have been 

23 provided to the Attorney General; and 

24 ‘‘(III) the efforts of the Federal 

25 department or agency to ensure comVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Nov 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2135.IS S2135

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1 plete and accurate reporting of rel2 evant records, including efforts to 

3 monitor compliance and correct any 

4 reporting failures or inaccuracies. 

5 ‘‘(G) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

7 year after the date of enactment of this 

8 subparagraph, the head of each Federal 

9 department or agency, in coordination with 

10 the Attorney General, shall establish a plan 

11 to ensure maximum coordination and auto12 mated reporting or making available of 

13 records to the Attorney General as re14 quired under subparagraph (C), and the 

15 verification of the accuracy of those 

16 records, including the pre-validation of 

17 those records, where appropriate, during a 

18 4-year period specified in the plan. The 

19 records shall be limited to those of an indi20 vidual described in subsection (g) or (n) of 

21 section 922 of title 18, United States 

22 Code. 

23 ‘‘(ii) BENCHMARK REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 Each plan established under clause (i) 

25 shall include annual benchmarks to enable 


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1 the Attorney General to assess implemen2 tation of the plan, including— 

3 ‘‘(I) qualitative goals and quan4 titative measures; 

5 ‘‘(II) measures to monitor inter6 nal compliance, including any report7 ing failures and inaccuracies; 

8 ‘‘(III) a needs assessment, in9 cluding estimated compliance costs; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(IV) an estimated date by which 

12 the Federal department or agency will 

13 fully comply with record submission 

14 requirements under subparagraph (C). 

15 ‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE DETERMINA16 TION.—Not later than the end of each fis17 cal year beginning after the date of the es18 tablishment of a plan under clause (i), the 

19 Attorney General shall determine whether 

20 the applicable Federal department or agen21 cy has achieved substantial compliance 

22 with the benchmarks included in the plan. 

23 ‘‘(H) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Attorney 

24 General shall publish, including on the website 

25 of the Department of Justice, and submit to the 


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1 Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee 

2 on Appropriations of the Senate and the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 

4 Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

5 a semiannual report that discloses— 

6 ‘‘(i) the name of each Federal depart7 ment or agency that has failed to submit 

8 a required certification under subpara9 graph (F); 

10 ‘‘(ii) the name of each Federal depart11 ment or agency that has submitted a re12 quired certification under subparagraph 

13 (F), but failed to certify compliance with 

14 the record submission requirements under 

15 subparagraph (C); 

16 ‘‘(iii) the name of each Federal de17 partment or agency that has failed to sub18 mit an implementation plan under sub19 paragraph (G); 

20 ‘‘(iv) the name of each Federal de21 partment or agency that is not in substan22 tial compliance with an implementation 

23 plan under subparagraph (G); 

24 ‘‘(v) a detailed summary of the data, 

25 broken down by department or agency, 


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1 contained in the certifications submitted 

2 under subparagraph (F); 

3 ‘‘(vi) a detailed summary of the con4 tents and status, broken down by depart5 ment or agency, of the implementation 

6 plans established under subparagraph (G); 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(vii) the reasons for which the Attor9 ney General has determined that a Federal 

10 department or agency is not in substantial 

11 compliance with an implementation plan 

12 established under subparagraph (G). 

13 ‘‘(I) NONCOMPLIANCE PENALTIES.—For 

14 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2022, each 

15 political appointee of a Federal department or 

16 agency that has failed to certify compliance 

17 with the record submission requirements under 

18 subparagraph (C), and is not in substantial 

19 compliance with an implementation plan estab20 lished under subparagraph (G), shall not be eli21 gible for the receipt of bonus pay, excluding 

22 overtime pay, until the department or agency— 

23 ‘‘(i) certifies compliance with the 

24 record submission requirements under sub25 paragraph (C); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) achieves substantial compliance 

2 with an implementation plan established 

3 under subparagraph (G). 

4 ‘‘(J) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Attor5 ney General may use funds made available for 

6 the national instant criminal background check 

7 system established under subsection (b) to pro8 vide technical assistance to a Federal depart9 ment or agency, at the request of the depart10 ment or agency, in order to help the depart11 ment or agency comply with the record submis12 sion requirements under subparagraph (C). 

13 ‘‘(K) APPLICATION TO FEDERAL

14 COURTS.—For purposes of this paragraph— 

15 ‘‘(i) the terms ‘department or agency 

16 of the United States’ and ‘Federal depart17 ment or agency’ include a Federal court; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Administra20 tive Office of the United States Courts 

21 shall perform, for a Federal court, the 

22 functions assigned to the head of a depart23 ment or agency.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the 

25 following: ‘‘For purposes of the preceding sentence, 


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1 not later than 60 days after the date on which the 

2 Attorney General receives such information, the At3 torney General shall determine whether or not the 

4 prospective transferee is the subject of an erroneous 

5 record and remove any records that are determined 

6 to be erroneous. In addition to any funds made 

7 available under subsection (k), the Attorney General 

8 may use such sums as are necessary and otherwise 

9 available for the salaries and expenses of the Federal 

10 Bureau of Investigation to comply with this sub11 section.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF NICS ACT RECORD IM13 PROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN WAIVER.—Section 

15 102 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 

16 (34 U.S.C. 40912) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘the Crime Identification 

19 Technology Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 14601)’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘section 102 of the Crime Identi21 fication Technology Act of 1998 (34 U.S.C. 

22 40301)’’; and 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘is in compliance with an 

24 implementation plan established under sub25 section (b) or’’ before ‘‘provides at least 90 perVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:28 Nov 20, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2135.IS S2135

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1 cent of the information described in subsection 

2 (c)’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting ‘‘or 

4 has established an implementation plan under sec5 tion 107’’ after ‘‘the Attorney General’’. 

6 (b) IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE TO STATES.— 

7 Section 103 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act 

8 of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 40913) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting before the 

10 semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, including 

11 through increased efforts to pre-validate the contents 

12 of those records to expedite eligibility determina13 tions’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (e)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’; and 

17 (ii) by inserting before the period at 

18 the end the following: ‘‘, and $125,000,000 

19 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

20 2022’’; and 

21 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert22 ing the following— 

23 ‘‘(2) DOMESTIC ABUSE AND VIOLENCE PREVEN24 TION INITIATIVE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—For each of fiscal 

2 years 2018 through 2022, the Attorney General 

3 shall create a priority area under the NICS Act 

4 Record Improvement Program (commonly 

5 known as ‘NARIP’) for a Domestic Abuse and 

6 Violence Prevention Initiative that emphasizes 

7 the need for grantees to identify and upload all 

8 felony conviction records and domestic violence 

9 records. 

10 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The Attorney General— 

11 ‘‘(i) may use not more than 50 per12 cent of the amounts made available under 

13 this subsection for each of fiscal years 

14 2018 through 2022 to carry out the initia15 tive described in subparagraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall give a funding preference 

17 under NARIP to States that— 

18 ‘‘(I) have established an imple19 mentation plan under section 107; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) will use amounts made 

22 available under this subparagraph to 

23 improve efforts to identify and upload 

24 all felony conviction records and do25 mestic violence records described in 


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1 clauses (i), (v), and (vi) of section 

2 102(b)(1)(C) by not later than Sep3 tember 30, 2022.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Attorney Gen6 eral shall direct the Office of Justice Programs, the Bu7 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and 

8 the Federal Bureau of Investigation to— 

9 ‘‘(1) assist States that are not currently eligible 

10 for grants under this section to achieve compliance 

11 with all eligibility requirements; and 

12 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance and training 

13 services to grantees under this section.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL 

15 HISTORY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) STATE GRANT PROGRAM FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE

17 IDENTIFICATION, INFORMATION, AND COMMUNICA18 TION.—Section 102 of the Crime Identification Tech19 nology Act of 1998 (34 U.S.C. 40301) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)(3)— 

21 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (C), 

22 (D), and (E) as subparagraphs (D), (E), and 

23 (F), respectively; and 

24 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) identification of all individuals who 

2 have been convicted of a crime punishable by 

3 imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (b)(6)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘(18 U.S.C. 922 note)’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘(34 U.S.C. 40901(b))’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting before the semicolon at 

8 the end the following: ‘‘, including through in9 creased efforts to pre-validate the contents of 

10 felony conviction records and domestic violence 

11 records to expedite eligibility determinations, 

12 and measures and resources necessary to estab13 lish and achieve compliance with an implemen14 tation plan under section 107 of the NICS Im15 provement Amendments Act of 2007’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (d), by inserting after ‘‘un17 less’’ the following: ‘‘the State has achieved compli18 ance with an implementation plan under section 107 

19 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 

20 or’’; and 

21 (4) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘2002 

22 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2018 through 2022’’. 

23 (b) GRANTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF CRIMINAL

24 RECORDS.—Section 106(b)(1) of the Brady Handgun Vio25 lence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40302(1)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘as of the date of enact3 ment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘, as of the 

4 date of enactment of the Fix NICS Act of 

5 2017,’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘files,’’ and inserting the 

7 following: ‘‘files and that will utilize funding 

8 under this subsection to prioritize the identifica9 tion and transmittal of felony conviction records 

10 and domestic violence records,’’; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; 

13 (3) in subparagraph (C)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘upon establishment of the 

15 national system,’’; and 

16 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

17 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (4) by adding at the end the following— 

19 ‘‘(D) to establish and achieve compliance 

20 with an implementation plan under section 107 

21 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 

22 2007.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. IMPROVING INFORMATION SHARING WITH THE 

2 STATES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the NICS Improvement 

4 Amendments Act of 2007 (34 U.S. 40911 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 107. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Fix NICS Act of 2017, the Attor9 ney General, in coordination with the States and Indian 

10 tribal governments, shall establish, for each State or In11 dian tribal government, a plan to ensure maximum coordi12 nation and automation of the reporting or making avail13 able of appropriate records to the National Instant Crimi14 nal Background Check System established under section 

15 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 

16 U.S.C. 40901) and the verification of the accuracy of 

17 those records during a 4-year period specified in the plan. 

18 The records shall be limited to those of an individual de19 scribed in subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 

20 United States Code 

21 ‘‘(b) BENCHMARK REQUIREMENTS.—Each plan es22 tablished under this section shall include annual bench23 marks to enable the Attorney General to assess the imple24 mentation of the plan, including— 

25 ‘‘(1) qualitative goals and quantitative meas26 ures; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) a needs assessment, including estimated 

2 compliance costs. 

3 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE DETERMINATION.—Not later than 

4 the end of each fiscal year beginning after the date of the 

5 establishment of an implementation plan under this sec6 tion, the Attorney General shall determine whether each 

7 State or Indian tribal government has achieved substantial 

8 compliance with the benchmarks included in the plan. 

9 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Attorney General— 

10 ‘‘(1) shall disclose and publish, including on the 

11 website of the Department of Justice— 

12 ‘‘(A) the name of each State or Indian 

13 tribal government that received a determination 

14 of failure to achieve substantial compliance with 

15 an implementation plan under subsection (c) for 

16 the preceding fiscal year; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a description of the reasons for which 

18 the Attorney General has determined that the 

19 State or Indian tribal government is not in sub20 stantial compliance with the implementation 

21 plan, including, to the greatest extent possible, 

22 a description of the types and amounts of 

23 records that have not been submitted; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) if a State or Indian tribal government de2 scribed in paragraph (1) subsequently receives a de3 termination of substantial compliance, shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) immediately correct the applicable 

5 record; and 

6 ‘‘(B) not later than 3 days after the deter7 mination, remove the record from the website of 

8 the Department of Justice and any other loca9 tion where the record was published. 

10 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVES.—For each of fiscal years 2018 

11 through 2022, the Attorney General shall give affirmative 

12 preference to all Bureau of Justice Assistance discre13 tionary grant applications of a State or Indian tribal gov14 ernment that received a determination of substantial com15 pliance under subsection (c) for the fiscal year in which 

16 the grant was solicited.’’. 

17 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

18 section 1(b) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act 

19 of 2007 (Public Law 110–180; 121 Stat. 2559) is amend20 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 106 the 

21 following: 

‘‘Sec. 107. Implementation plan.’’. 

Æ 


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