I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 329 
To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to encourage 
States to provide records to the National Instant Background Check System. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 22, 2013 
Mr. FITZPATRICK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To amend the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 
to encourage States to provide records to the National 
Instant Background Check System. 
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 ‘‘Strengthening Back-
ground Checks Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR STATES THAT DO NOT MAKE DATA 
AVAILABLE 
TO 
THE 
NATIONAL 
INSTANT 
CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM. 
(a) INCREASED MANDATORY PENALTIES.—Section 
104(b) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 
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2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended by striking para-
graph (3) and inserting after paragraph (2) the following 
new paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) INCREASED
MANDATORY
REDUCTIONS.— 
Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), after the 
expiration of the period referred to in section 
107(b), the Attorney General shall withhold 10 per-
cent of the amount that would otherwise be allocated 
to a State under section 505 of title I of the Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3755), if— 
‘‘(A) the State fails to comply with section 
107; or 
‘‘(B) the State provides less than 90 per-
cent of the records required to be provided 
under sections 102 and 103. 
‘‘(4) WAIVERS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 
Attorney General may— 
‘‘(A) waive the applicability of paragraph 
(2) to a State if the State provides substantial 
evidence, as determined by the Attorney Gen-
eral, that the State is making a reasonable ef-
fort to comply with the requirements of sections 
102 and 103, including an inability to comply 
due to court order or other legal restriction; 
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‘‘(B) waive the applicability of paragraph 
(3) to a State for one year if the State provides 
substantial evidence, as determined by the At-
torney General, that the State is making a rea-
sonable effort to comply with the requirements 
of sections 102, 103, and 107, including an in-
ability to comply due to court order, conflicts 
between section 107 and the constitution of the 
State, or other legal restriction; and 
‘‘(C) waive the applicability of paragraph 
(3), in part, to a State for which the waiver pe-
riod under subparagraph (B) has expired, for 
additional one-year periods, if— 
‘‘(i) the State provides substantial evi-
dence, as determined by the Attorney Gen-
eral, that the State is making a reasonable 
effort to comply with the requirements of 
sections 102, 103, and 107, including an 
inability to comply due to court order, con-
flicts between section 107 and the constitu-
tion of the State, or other legal restriction; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the Attorney General withholds 5 
percent of the amount that would other-
wise be allocated to a State under section 
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505 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3755) for each such one-year pe-
riod.’’. 
(b) 
STATE
LAWS
REQUIRING
PROVISION
OF 
RECORDS.—Title I of the NICS Improvement Amend-
ments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is further amend-
ed by inserting after section 106 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 
107. 
STATE 
LAWS 
REQUIRING 
PROVISION 
OF 
RECORDS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year after the ex-
piration of the period specified in subsection (b), the State 
shall have in effect throughout the State laws and policies 
that— 
‘‘(1) require the State to provide to the Attor-
ney General not less than 90 percent of the records 
required to be provided under sections 102 and 103; 
and 
‘‘(2) require the State to provide such records 
to the Attorney General in the same manner, or in 
a manner substantially similar to, the manner in 
which such records are required to be provided by 
the State under such sections. 
‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE PERIOD.—Each State shall have 
not more than 2 years from the date of enactment of the 
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Strengthening Background Checks Act of 2013 in which 
to fully implement this section.’’. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION AND APPROPRIATION FOR IM-
PLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE TO STATES.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
Section 103(e) of the NICS Improvement Amend-
ments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amend-
ed— 
(A) 
in 
paragraph 
(1), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$125,000,000 for fiscal year 2012’’ and all 
that follows and inserting ‘‘and $125,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2015.’’; 
and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘fiscal 
years 2011, 2012, and 2013’’ and inserting 
‘‘each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015’’. 
(2) APPROPRIATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby ap-
propriated for the first fiscal year beginning 
after the date of enactment of this Act, out of 
funds in the Treasury not otherwise appro-
priated, $125,000,000 to carry out the grant 
program authorized under section 103 of the 
NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 
(18 U.S.C. 922 note). 
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(B) OFFSET.—Of the unobligated balances 
available under the Department of Justice As-
sets Forfeiture Fund, $125,000,000 are perma-
nently cancelled. 
Æ 
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