II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 480 

To improve the effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background 

Check System by clarifying reporting requirements related to adjudications of mental incompetency, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2013 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. BEGICH, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. PRYOR, and Mr. 

HELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To improve the effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal 

Background Check System by clarifying reporting requirements related to adjudications of mental incompetency, 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 ‘‘NICS Reporting Im5 provement Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS RELATING TO MENTAL HEALTH. 

7 (a) TITLE 18 DEFINITIONS.—Chapter 44 of title 18, 

8 United States Code, is amended— 

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1 (1) in section 921(a), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(36)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the term ‘has 

4 been adjudicated mentally incompetent or has been com5 mitted to a psychiatric hospital’, with respect to a per6 son— 

7 ‘‘(i) means the person is the subject of an order 

8 or finding by a judicial officer, court, board, commis9 sion, or other adjudicative body— 

10 ‘‘(I) that was issued after a hearing— 

11 ‘‘(aa) of which the person received ac12 tual notice; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) at which the person had an op14 portunity to participate with counsel; and 

15 ‘‘(II) that found that the person, as a re16 sult of marked subnormal intelligence, mental 

17 impairment, or mental illness— 

18 ‘‘(aa) was an imminent danger to 

19 himself or to others; 

20 ‘‘(bb) was guilty but mentally ill in a 

21 criminal case; 

22 ‘‘(cc) was not guilty in a criminal case 

23 by reason of insanity or mental disease or 

24 defect; 

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1 ‘‘(dd) was incompetent to stand trial 

2 in a criminal case; 

3 ‘‘(ee) was not guilty only by reason of 

4 lack of mental responsibility under section 

5 850a of title 10 (article 50a of the Uni6 form Code of Military Justice); 

7 ‘‘(ff) required involuntary inpatient 

8 treatment by a psychiatric hospital; 

9 ‘‘(gg) required involuntary outpatient 

10 treatment by a psychiatric hospital based 

11 on a finding that the person is an immi12 nent danger to himself or to others; or 

13 ‘‘(hh) required involuntary commit14 ment to a psychiatric hospital for any rea15 son, including drug use; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) does not include— 

17 ‘‘(I) a person who is in a psychiatric hos18 pital for observation; or 

19 ‘‘(II) a voluntary admission to a psy20 chiatric hospital. 

21 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph, the term ‘order or finding’ 

22 does not include— 

23 ‘‘(i) an order or finding that— 

24 ‘‘(I) has expired or has been set aside or 

25 expunged; or 

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1 ‘‘(II) requires treatment, supervision, or 

2 monitoring of a person, from which treatment, 

3 supervision, or monitoring the person has been 

4 fully released or discharged; 

5 ‘‘(ii) an order or finding that is no longer appli6 cable because a judicial officer, court, board, com7 mission, or other adjudicative body has found that 

8 the person who is the subject of the order or find9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(I) does not present a danger to himself 

11 or to others; 

12 ‘‘(II) has been restored to sanity or cured 

13 of mental disease or defect; 

14 ‘‘(III) has been restored to competency; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) no longer requires involuntary inpa16 tient or outpatient treatment by, or involuntary 

17 commitment to, a psychiatric hospital; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) an order or finding with respect to which 

19 the person who is subject to the order or finding has 

20 been found to be rehabilitated or has been granted 

21 relief from disabilities through any procedure avail22 able under the law of the jurisdiction in which the 

23 order or finding was issued. 

24 ‘‘(37) The term ‘psychiatric hospital’ includes a men25 tal health facility, a mental hospital, a sanitarium, a psymstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 chiatric facility, and any other facility that provides diag2 noses by licensed professionals of mental retardation or 

3 mental illness, including a psychiatric ward in a general 

4 hospital.’’; and 

5 (2) in section 922— 

6 (A) in subsection (d)(4)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘mentally incompetent’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘any mental institu10 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘a psychiatric hos11 pital’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (g)(4)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective 

14 or who has’’ and inserting ‘‘mentally in15 competent or has’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘mental institution’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘psychiatric hospital’’. 

18 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

19 The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 

20 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘as a mental defective’’ each 

22 place that term appears and inserting ‘‘mentally in23 competent’’; 

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1 (2) by striking ‘‘mental institution’’ each place 

2 that term appears and inserting ‘‘psychiatric hos3 pital’’; and 

4 (3) in section 102(c)(3)— 

5 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘AS A MENTAL DEFECTIVE OR COMMITTED TO

7 A MENTAL INSTITUTION’’ and inserting ‘‘MEN8 TALLY INCOMPETENT OR COMMITTED TO A PSY9 CHIATRIC HOSPITAL’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘mental institutions’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘psychiatric hospitals’’. 

Æ 

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