I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6281 

To require the search and retention of certain records with respect to 

conducting criminal background checks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2021 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SWALWELL, 

and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the search and retention of certain records with 

respect to conducting criminal background checks, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Instant 

5 Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Data Integ6 rity Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SEARCH OF NATIONAL DATA EXCHANGE. 

2 (a) RETENTION OF BACKGROUND CHECK

3 RECORDS.—Section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence 

4 Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (k) 

6 as subsections (i) through (l), respectively; 

7 (2) in subsection (g), in the last sentence, by 

8 striking ‘‘subsection (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

9 (l)’’; and 

10 (3) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(h) RECORD RETENTION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR RETENTION.—Notwith14 standing any other provision of law, the system shall 

15 retain records related to a transfer or potential 

16 transfer of a firearm to a person who is the subject 

17 of a call to the system pursuant to subsection (s) or 

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

19 for as long as necessary to determine whether re20 ceipt of a firearm by the person would violate sub21 section (g) or (n) of such section or State law. 

22 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF RETENTION.—If the system 

23 has not determined whether receipt of a firearm by 

24 a person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of sec25 tion 922 of title 18, United States Code, or State 

26 law within 30 days after a call to the system with 


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1 respect to the person, the system shall notify the 

2 person in writing (or by electronic mail if the person 

3 has consented to the use of electronic mail) that— 

4 ‘‘(A) the system may retain records relat5 ing to the person and the transfer of a firearm 

6 until the system determines that receipt of such 

7 firearm by the person does not violate sub8 section (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 

9 United States Code, or State law; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the person may submit to the Attor11 ney General information to correct, clarify, or 

12 supplement records (with respect to the person) 

13 retained by the system in accordance with this 

14 section and any regulation established by the 

15 Attorney General.’’. 

16 (b) SEARCH OF NATIONAL DATA EXCHANGE.—Sec17 tion 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention 

18 Act (34 U.S.C. 40901(e)(1)) is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘(L) SEARCH OF NATIONAL DATA EX21 CHANGE DATABASE.—When determining wheth22 er receipt of a firearm by a person would violate 

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

24 United States Code, the system established 


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1 under this section shall search databases con2 taining relevant information, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) the National Data Exchange; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Interstate Identification 

5 Index System (as defined in article I of the 

6 National Crime Prevention and Privacy 

7 Compact, set forth in section 217 of the 

8 Crime Identification Technology Act of 

9 1998 (34 U.S.C. 40316)); 

10 ‘‘(iii) the National Crime Information 

11 Center databases; 

12 ‘‘(iv) the database created for use by 

13 the National Instant Criminal Background 

14 Check System and that contains descrip15 tive information on persons determined to 

16 be disqualified from possessing a firearm 

17 based upon State or Federal law (com18 monly known as the ‘NICS Index’); and 

19 ‘‘(v) any other database determined 

20 by the Attorney General to be relevant to 

21 conducting a background search.’’. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS