I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3599 

To establish a grant program for States and Indian Tribes to enroll individuals purchasing firearms and holders of licenses or permits to possess, 

carry, sell, or transfer firearms into the FBI’s Rap Back program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 28, 2019 

Ms. ADAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program for States and Indian Tribes 

to enroll individuals purchasing firearms and holders of 

licenses or permits to possess, carry, sell, or transfer 

firearms into the FBI’s Rap Back program. 

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 ‘‘Law Enforcement 

5 Needs to Know Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) The National Instant Criminal Background 

2 Check System (NICS), which is used to conduct 

3 background checks on individuals as they purchase 

4 a gun from federally licensed firearms dealers, pro5 vides a one-time snapshot view of an individual’s 

6 criminal history status. It does not, however, provide 

7 notice to Federal, State, or local law enforcement of8 ficials if a firearm owner later falls into a category 

9 of people prohibited by law from possessing fire10 arms. 

11 (2) Law enforcement should be notified when a 

12 firearm license or permit holder loses his or her legal 

13 eligibility for the license or permit through criminal 

14 activity anywhere in the country. 

15 (3) The Rap Back Service is a capability of the 

16 Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Next Generation 

17 Identification (NGI) system. The Rap Back Service 

18 provides notice to authorized agencies of activity of 

19 licensed individuals that might impact their contin20 ued eligibility for a license. Enrollment in the Rap 

21 Back Service eliminates the need for repeated back22 ground checks on a person in order to determine 

23 whether they continue to be eligible for their license. 

24 (4) In 2012, the Government Accountability Of25 fice issued a report based on a survey of State conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:41 Jul 15, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.IH H3599

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1 cealed carry permitting systems. The report found 

2 that 6 of the 9 States surveyed used in-State rap 

3 back services to monitor the continued eligibility of 

4 concealed carry permitholders. The report also found 

5 that the FBI’s nationwide Rap Back Service may 

6 provide States with ‘‘the opportunity to subscribe to 

7 this service and automatically be notified of subse8 quent arrests across the United States for crimes 

9 committed by permit holders.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall award 

12 grants to States and Indian Tribal governments to assist 

13 those States and Indian Tribal governments in enrolling 

14 individuals purchasing firearms or applying for firearm li15 censes in the Rap Back Service. 

16 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 

18 under subsection (a), a State or Indian Tribal gov19 ernment shall have in place a law that— 

20 (A) with respect to an individual pur21 chasing a firearm— 

22 (i) requires the individual to provide 

23 fingerprints in connection with such pur24 chase, which fingerprints shall be sufficient 

25 to enroll the individual in the Rap Back 


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1 Service upon the completion of the sale of 

2 the firearm; and 

3 (ii) requires each agency that facili4 tates the sale of the firearm to ensure that 

5 the individual is enrolled in the Rap Back 

6 Service; and 

7 (B) in the case of a State or Indian Tribal 

8 government that issues licenses for an indi9 vidual to purchase, possess, transfer, acquire, or 

10 carry a firearm in some or all circumstances or 

11 locations— 

12 (i) requires the individual to provide 

13 fingerprints in connection with an applica14 tion for the issuance or renewal of such a 

15 license, which fingerprints shall be suffi16 cient to enroll the individual in the Rap 

17 Back Service upon the completion of the 

18 sale of the firearm; and 

19 (ii) requires each agency that issues 

20 or renews such license to ensure that the 

21 individual is enrolled in the Rap Back 

22 Service. 

23 (2) APPLICATION.—A requirement for a law de24 scribed under paragraph (1) does not apply with re25 spect to individuals who are certified to purchase, 


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1 possess, own, transfer, acquire, or carry a firearm in 

2 the course of their employment. 

3 (c) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded to 

4 States or Indian Tribes under this section may only be 

5 used to— 

6 (1) create electronic systems to enroll individ7 uals described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of sub8 section (b)(1) in the Rap Back Service and for the 

9 receipt of criminal history information about such 

10 individuals from the Rap Back Service; 

11 (2) assist local agencies in establishing or en12 hancing their own capacities to perform activities de13 scribed in paragraph (1); 

14 (3) ensure the accuracy and security of the sys15 tems established under paragraphs (1) and (2); 

16 (4) enroll such individuals in the Rap Back 

17 Service; or 

18 (5) collect and analyze data to measure compli19 ance with the level of enrollment of such individuals 

20 in the Rap Back Service. 

21 (d) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of 

22 an activity provided by a grant under subsection (a) may 

23 not exceed 50 percent, unless the Attorney General waives, 

24 wholly or in part, the requirement under this subsection 

25 of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of an activity. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec3 essary to carry out this section. 

4 (f) CONSISTENCY WITH NATIONAL CRIMINAL HIS5 TORY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.—The Attorney General 

6 shall carry out the grant program under this section in 

7 a manner that is consistent with the National Criminal 

8 History Improvement Program. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the meaning given 

12 the term in section 921 of title 18, United States 

13 Code. 

14 (2) The term ‘‘Rap Back Service’’ means the 

15 capability of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s 

16 Next Generation Identification system to provide no17 tice to law enforcement agencies authorized by the 

18 Federal Bureau of Investigation to use such capa19 bility of arrests or other activity of licensees that 

20 might impact their continued eligibility for a license 

21 to purchase, possess, own, transfer, acquire, or carry 

22 a firearm in some or all circumstances or locations. 

Æ 


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