H. R. 2640—9 
to mental institutions to assist the Attorney General in 
enforcing section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code. 
(d) PRIVACY PROTECTIONS.—For any information provided to 
the Attorney General for use by the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check System, relating to persons prohibited from 
possessing or receiving a firearm under section 922(g)(4) of title 
18, United States Code, the Attorney General shall work with 
States and local law enforcement and the mental health community 
to establish regulations and protocols for protecting the privacy 
of information provided to the system. The Attorney General shall 
make every effort to meet with any mental health group seeking 
to express its views concerning these regulations and protocols 
and shall seek to develop regulations as expeditiously as practicable. 
(e) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.—Not later than January 31 
of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of States 
in automating the databases containing the information described 
in subsection (b) and in making that information electronically 
available to the Attorney General pursuant to the requirements 
of subsection (c). 
SEC. 103. IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE TO STATES. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to carry 
out this section and subject to section 102(b)(1)(B), the Attorney 
General shall make grants to States and Indian tribal govern-
ments, in a manner consistent with the National Criminal 
History Improvement Program, which shall be used by the 
States and Indian tribal governments, in conjunction with units 
of local government and State and local courts, to establish 
or upgrade information and identification technologies for fire-
arms eligibility determinations. Not less than 3 percent, and 
no more than 10 percent of each grant under this paragraph 
shall be used to maintain the relief from disabilities program 
in accordance with section 105. 
(2) GRANTS
TO
INDIAN
TRIBES.—Up to 5 percent of the 
grant funding available under this section may be reserved 
for Indian tribal governments, including tribal judicial systems. 
(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded to States or 
Indian tribes under this section may only be used to— 
(1) create electronic systems, which provide accurate and 
up-to-date information which is directly related to checks under 
the National Instant Criminal Background Check System 
(referred to in this section as ‘‘NICS’’), including court disposi-
tion and corrections records; 
(2) assist States in establishing or enhancing their own 
capacities to perform NICS background checks; 
(3) supply accurate and timely information to the Attorney 
General concerning final dispositions of criminal records to 
databases accessed by NICS; 
(4) supply accurate and timely information to the Attorney 
General concerning the identity of persons who are prohibited 
from obtaining a firearm under section 922(g)(4) of title 18, 
United States Code, to be used by the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation solely to conduct NICS background checks;
H. R. 2640—10 
(5) supply accurate and timely court orders and records 
of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence for inclusion in 
Federal and State law enforcement databases used to conduct 
NICS background checks; 
(6) collect and analyze data needed to demonstrate levels 
of State compliance with this Act; and 
(7) maintain the relief from disabilities program in accord-
ance with section 105, but not less than 3 percent, and no 
more than 10 percent of each grant shall be used for this 
purpose. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under this section, 
a State shall certify, to the satisfaction of the Attorney General, 
that the State has implemented a relief from disabilities program 
in accordance with section 105. 
(d) CONDITION.—As a condition of receiving a grant under this 
section, a State shall specify the projects for which grant amounts 
will be used, and shall use such amounts only as specified. A 
State that violates this subsection shall be liable to the Attorney 
General for the full amount of the grant received under this section. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out this section $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, 
$250,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $250,000,000 for fiscal year 
2011, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2012, and $125,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2013. 
(2) ALLOCATIONS.—For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the 
Attorney General shall endeavor to allocate at least 1⁄2 of the 
authorized appropriations to those States providing more than 
50 percent of the records required to be provided under sections 
102 and 103. For fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013, the Attorney 
General shall endeavor to allocate at least 1⁄2 of the authorized 
appropriations to those States providing more than 70 percent 
of the records required to be provided under section 102 and 
103. The allocations in this paragraph shall be subject to the 
discretion of the Attorney General, who shall have the authority 
to make adjustments to the distribution of the authorized appro-
priations as necessary to maximize incentives for State compli-
ance. 
(f) USER FEE.—The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall not 
charge a user fee for background checks pursuant to section 922(t) 
of title 18, United States Code. 
SEC. 104. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE. 
(a) ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31 of each year, 
the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of 
the States in automating the databases containing information 
described under sections 102 and 103, and in providing that 
information pursuant to the requirements of sections 102 and 
103. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice, such 
funds as may be necessary to carry out paragraph (1). 
(b) PENALTIES.— 
(1) DISCRETIONARY REDUCTION.—
H. R. 2640—11 
(A) During the 2-year period beginning 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
may withhold not more than 3 percent of the amount 
that would otherwise be allocated to a State under section 
505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) if the State provides less than 
50 percent of the records required to be provided under 
sections 102 and 103. 
(B) During the 5-year period after the expiration of 
the period referred to in subparagraph (A), the Attorney 
General may withhold not more than 4 percent of the 
amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State under 
section 505 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755) if the State provides less 
than 70 percent of the records required to be provided 
under sections 102 and 103. 
(2) MANDATORY REDUCTION.—After the expiration of the 
periods referred to in paragraph (1), the Attorney General 
shall withhold 5 percent of the amount that would otherwise 
be allocated to a State under section 505 of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3755), 
if the State provides less than 90 percent of the records required 
to be provided under sections 102 and 103. 
(3) WAIVER BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 
may waive the applicability of paragraph (2) to a State if 
the State provides substantial evidence, as determined by the 
Attorney General, that the State is making a reasonable effort 
to comply with the requirements of sections 102 and 103, 
including an inability to comply due to court order or other 
legal restriction. 
(c) REALLOCATION.—Any funds that are not allocated to a State 
because of the failure of the State to comply with the requirements 
of this Act shall be reallocated to States that meet such require-
ments. 
(d) METHODOLOGY.—The method established to calculate the 
number of records to be reported, as set forth in section 102(b)(1)(A), 
and State compliance with the required level of reporting under 
sections 102 and 103 shall be determined by the Attorney General. 
The Attorney General shall calculate the methodology based on 
the total number of records to be reported from all subcategories 
of records, as described in section 102(b)(1)(C). 
SEC. 105. RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES PROGRAM REQUIRED AS CONDI-
TION FOR PARTICIPATION IN GRANT PROGRAMS. 
(a) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A relief from disabilities program 
is implemented by a State in accordance with this section if the 
program— 
(1) permits a person who, pursuant to State law, has been 
adjudicated as described in subsection (g)(4) of section 922 
of title 18, United States Code, or has been committed to 
a mental institution, to apply to the State for relief from the 
disabilities imposed by subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of such 
section by reason of the adjudication or commitment; 
(2) provides that a State court, board, commission, or other 
lawful authority shall grant the relief, pursuant to State law 
and in accordance with the principles of due process, if the
H. R. 2640—12 
circumstances regarding the disabilities referred to in para-
graph (1), and the person’s record and reputation, are such 
that the person will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous 
to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not 
be contrary to the public interest; and 
(3) permits a person whose application for the relief is 
denied to file a petition with the State court of appropriate 
jurisdiction for a de novo judicial review of the denial. 
(b) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE RELIEF FROM CERTAIN DISABILITIES 
WITH RESPECT TO FIREARMS.—If, under a State relief from disabil-
ities program implemented in accordance with this section, an 
application for relief referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section 
is granted with respect to an adjudication or a commitment to 
a mental institution or based upon a removal of a record under 
section 102(c)(1)(B), the adjudication or commitment, as the case 
may be, is deemed not to have occurred for purposes of subsections 
(d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code. 
SEC. 106. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GUN PURCHASE NOTIFICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
or of this Act, all records obtained by the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check system relevant to whether an individual is 
prohibited from possessing a firearm because such person is an 
alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States shall be made 
available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General, at his or her discre-
tion, shall promulgate guidelines relevant to what records relevant 
to illegal aliens shall be provided pursuant to the provisions of 
this Act. 
TITLE II—FOCUSING FEDERAL ASSIST-
ANCE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF REL-
EVANT RECORDS 
SEC. 201. CONTINUING EVALUATIONS. 
(a) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Director of the Bureau of Jus-
tice Statistics (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’) shall 
study and evaluate the operations of the National Instant Criminal 
Background Check System. Such study and evaluation shall include 
compilations and analyses of the operations and record systems 
of the agencies and organizations necessary to support such System. 
(b) REPORT ON GRANTS.—Not later than January 31 of each 
year, the Director shall submit to Congress a report containing 
the estimates submitted by the States under section 102(b). 
(c) REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than January 31 
of each year, the Director shall submit to Congress, and to each 
State participating in the National Criminal History Improvement 
Program, a report of the practices of the States regarding the 
collection, maintenance, automation, and transmittal of information 
relevant to determining whether a person is prohibited from pos-
sessing or receiving a firearm by Federal or State law, by the 
State or any other agency, or any other records relevant to the 
National Instant Criminal Background Check System, that the 
Director considers to be best practices.