I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1605 
To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individuals who should 
be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and con-
sistent background check process. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 17, 2013 
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individ-
uals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm 
are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background 
Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent 
background check process. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Safety and Sec-
ond Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Congress supports, respects, and defends 
the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear 
arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the 
Constitution of the United States. 
(2) Congress supports and reaffirms the exist-
ing prohibition on a national firearms registry. 
(3) Congress believes the Department of Justice 
should prosecute violations of background check re-
quirements to the maximum extent of the law. 
(4) There are deficits in the background check 
system in existence prior to the date of enactment 
of this Act and the Department of Justice should 
make it a top priority to work with States to swiftly 
input missing records, including mental health 
records. 
(5) Congress and the citizens of the United 
States agree that in order to promote safe and re-
sponsible gun ownership, dangerous criminals and 
the seriously mentally ill should be prohibited from 
possessing firearms; therefore, it should be incum-
bent upon all citizens to ensure weapons are not 
being transferred to such people. 
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SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act, or any amendment made by this 
Act, shall be construed to— 
(1) expand in any way the enforcement author-
ity or jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms, and Explosives; or 
(2) allow the establishment, directly or indi-
rectly, of a Federal firearms registry. 
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or an amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of a provision or amend-
ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid 
for any reason in any court of competent jurisdiction, the 
remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, 
and the application of the provisions and amendment to 
any other person or circumstance, shall not be affected. 
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TITLE I—ENSURING THAT ALL 
INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD 
BE PROHIBITED FROM BUY-
ING A GUN ARE LISTED IN 
THE 
NATIONAL 
INSTANT 
CRIMINAL 
BACKGROUND 
CHECK SYSTEM 
SEC. 101. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL 
HISTORY 
RECORDS 
IMPROVEMENT 
PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 106(b) of Public Law 103–159 (18 U.S.C. 
922 note) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 
subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘of this Act’’ and in-
serting ‘‘of the Public Safety and Second Amend-
ment Rights Protection Act of 2013’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated for grants 
under this subsection $100,000,000 for each of fis-
cal years 2014 through 2017.’’. 
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SEC. 102. IMPROVEMENT OF METRICS AND INCENTIVES. 
Section 102(b) of the NICS Improvement Amend-
ments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of the Public Safety and Sec-
ond Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013, the 
Attorney General, in coordination with the States, 
shall establish for each State or Indian tribal gov-
ernment desiring a grant under section 103 a 4-year 
implementation plan to ensure maximum coordina-
tion and automation of the reporting of records or 
making records available to the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System. 
‘‘(2) BENCHMARK
REQUIREMENTS.—Each 4- 
year plan established under paragraph (1) shall in-
clude annual benchmarks, including both qualitative 
goals and quantitative measures, to assess imple-
mentation of the 4-year plan. 
‘‘(3) PENALTIES FOR NON-COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—During the 4-year pe-
riod covered by a 4-year plan established under 
paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall with-
hold— 
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‘‘(i) 10 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 does not meet 
the benchmark established under para-
graph (2) for the first year in the 4-year 
period; 
‘‘(ii) 11 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 does not meet 
the benchmark established under para-
graph (2) for the second year in the 4-year 
period; 
‘‘(iii) 13 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 does not meet 
the benchmark established under para-
graph (2) for the third year in the 4-year 
period; and 
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‘‘(iv) 15 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 does not meet 
the benchmark established under para-
graph (2) for the fourth year in the 4-year 
period. 
‘‘(B) FAILURE TO ESTABLISH A PLAN.—A 
State that fails to establish a plan under para-
graph (1) shall be treated as having not met 
any benchmark established under paragraph 
(2).’’. 
SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CO-
ORDINATION AND AUTOMATION OF NICS 
RECORD REPORTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The NICS Improvement Amend-
ments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended— 
(1) by striking section 103 and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES FOR IMPROVEMENT OF CO-
ORDINATION AND AUTOMATION OF NICS 
RECORD REPORTING. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—From amounts made avail-
able to carry out this section, the Attorney General shall 
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make grants to States, Indian Tribal governments, and 
State court systems, in a manner consistent with the Na-
tional Criminal History Improvement Program and con-
sistent with State plans for integration, automation, and 
accessibility of criminal history records, for use by the 
State, or units of local government of the State, Indian 
Tribal government, or State court system to improve the 
automation and transmittal of mental health records and 
criminal history dispositions, records relevant to deter-
mining whether a person has been convicted of a mis-
demeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and 
mental health adjudications or commitments to Federal 
and State record repositories in accordance with section 
102 and the National Criminal History Improvement Pro-
gram. 
‘‘(b) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants awarded to 
States, Indian Tribal governments, or State court systems 
under this section may only be used to— 
‘‘(1) carry out, as necessary, assessments of the 
capabilities of the courts of the State or Indian Trib-
al government for the automation and transmission 
of arrest and conviction records, court orders, and 
mental health adjudications or commitments to Fed-
eral and State record repositories; 
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‘‘(2) implement policies, systems, and proce-
dures for the automation and transmission of arrest 
and conviction records, court orders, and mental 
health adjudications or commitments to Federal and 
State record repositories; 
‘‘(3) create electronic systems that provide ac-
curate and up-to-date information which is directly 
related to checks under the National Instant Crimi-
nal Background Check System, including court dis-
position and corrections records; 
‘‘(4) assist States or Indian Tribal governments 
in establishing or enhancing their own capacities to 
perform background checks using the National In-
stant Criminal Background Check System; and 
‘‘(5) develop and maintain the relief from dis-
abilities program in accordance with section 105. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 
under this section, a State, Indian Tribal govern-
ment, or State court system shall certify, to the sat-
isfaction of the Attorney General, that the State, In-
dian Tribal government, or State court system— 
‘‘(A) is not prohibited by State law or 
court order from submitting mental health 
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records to the National Instant Criminal Back-
ground Check System; and 
‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), has imple-
mented a relief from disabilities program in ac-
cordance with section 105. 
‘‘(2) RELIEF FROM DISABILITIES PROGRAM.— 
For purposes of obtaining a grant under this sec-
tion, a State, Indian Tribal government, or State 
court system shall not be required to meet the eligi-
bility requirement described in paragraph (1)(B) 
until the date that is 2 years after the date of enact-
ment of the Public Safety and Second Amendment 
Rights Protection Act of 2013. 
‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.— 
‘‘(1) STUDIES, ASSESSMENTS, NON-MATERIAL 
ACTIVITIES.—The Federal share of a study, assess-
ment, creation of a task force, or other non-material 
activity, as determined by the Attorney General, car-
ried out with a grant under this section shall be not 
more than 25 percent. 
‘‘(2) INFRASTRUCTURE OR SYSTEM DEVELOP-
MENT.—The Federal share of an activity involving 
infrastructure or system development, including 
labor-related costs, for the purpose of improving 
State or Indian Tribal government record reporting 
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to the National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System carried out with a grant under this section 
may amount to 100 percent of the cost of the activ-
ity. 
‘‘(e) GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Up to 5 percent 
of the grant funding available under this section may be 
reserved for Indian tribal governments for use by Indian 
tribal judicial systems. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 
2017.’’; 
(2) by striking title III; and 
(3) in section 401(b), by inserting after ‘‘of this 
Act’’ the following: ‘‘and 18 months after the date 
of enactment of the Public Safety and Second 
Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2013’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 
The table of sections in section 1(b) of the NICS Improve-
ment Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 103 and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘Sec. 103. Grants to States for improvement of coordination and automation 
of NICS record reporting.’’. 
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