Title: Law Enforcement Needs to Know Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Law Enforcement Needs to Know Act
This bill directs the Department of Justice to award grants to state and tribal governments to enroll individuals who purchase firearms or apply for firearm licenses in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Rap Back Service. The service provides notice to authorized law enforcement agencies of arrests or other activity of firearm licensees that might impact their continued eligibility for a license.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3599 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3599

  To establish a grant program for States and Indian Tribes to enroll 
 individuals purchasing firearms and holders of licenses or permits to 
  possess, carry, sell, or transfer firearms into the FBI's Rap Back 
                                program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 28, 2019

  Ms. Adams introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a grant program for States and Indian Tribes to enroll 
 individuals purchasing firearms and holders of licenses or permits to 
  possess, carry, sell, or transfer firearms into the FBI's Rap Back 
                                program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Law Enforcement Needs to Know Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) The National Instant Criminal Background Check System 
        (NICS), which is used to conduct background checks on 
        individuals as they purchase a gun from federally licensed 
        firearms dealers, provides a one-time snapshot view of an 
        individual's criminal history status. It does not, however, 
        provide notice to Federal, State, or local law enforcement 
        officials if a firearm owner later falls into a category of 
        people prohibited by law from possessing firearms.
            (2) Law enforcement should be notified when a firearm 
        license or permit holder loses his or her legal eligibility for 
        the license or permit through criminal activity anywhere in the 
        country.
            (3) The Rap Back Service is a capability of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation's Next Generation Identification (NGI) 
        system. The Rap Back Service provides notice to authorized 
        agencies of activity of licensed individuals that might impact 
        their continued eligibility for a license. Enrollment in the 
        Rap Back Service eliminates the need for repeated background 
        checks on a person in order to determine whether they continue 
        to be eligible for their license.
            (4) In 2012, the Government Accountability Office issued a 
        report based on a survey of State concealed carry permitting 
        systems. The report found that 6 of the 9 States surveyed used 
        in-State rap back services to monitor the continued eligibility 
        of concealed carry permitholders. The report also found that 
        the FBI's nationwide Rap Back Service may provide States with 
        ``the opportunity to subscribe to this service and 
        automatically be notified of subsequent arrests across the 
        United States for crimes committed by permit holders.''.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall award grants to States 
and Indian Tribal governments to assist those States and Indian Tribal 
governments in enrolling individuals purchasing firearms or applying 
for firearm licenses in the Rap Back Service.
    (b) Eligibility Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--To be eligible for a grant under 
        subsection (a), a State or Indian Tribal government shall have 
        in place a law that--
                    (A) with respect to an individual purchasing a 
                firearm--
                            (i) requires the individual to provide 
                        fingerprints in connection with such purchase, 
                        which fingerprints shall be sufficient to 
                        enroll the individual in the Rap Back Service 
                        upon the completion of the sale of the firearm; 
                        and
                            (ii) requires each agency that facilitates 
                        the sale of the firearm to ensure that the 
                        individual is enrolled in the Rap Back Service; 
                        and
                    (B) in the case of a State or Indian Tribal 
                government that issues licenses for an individual to 
                purchase, possess, transfer, acquire, or carry a 
                firearm in some or all circumstances or locations--
                            (i) requires the individual to provide 
                        fingerprints in connection with an application 
                        for the issuance or renewal of such a license, 
                        which fingerprints shall be sufficient to 
                        enroll the individual in the Rap Back Service 
                        upon the completion of the sale of the firearm; 
                        and
                            (ii) requires each agency that issues or 
                        renews such license to ensure that the 
                        individual is enrolled in the Rap Back Service.
            (2) Application.--A requirement for a law described under 
        paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to individuals who 
        are certified to purchase, possess, own, transfer, acquire, or 
        carry a firearm in the course of their employment.
    (c) Use of Grant Amounts.--Grants awarded to States or Indian 
Tribes under this section may only be used to--
            (1) create electronic systems to enroll individuals 
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) in 
        the Rap Back Service and for the receipt of criminal history 
        information about such individuals from the Rap Back Service;
            (2) assist local agencies in establishing or enhancing 
        their own capacities to perform activities described in 
        paragraph (1);
            (3) ensure the accuracy and security of the systems 
        established under paragraphs (1) and (2);
            (4) enroll such individuals in the Rap Back Service; or
            (5) collect and analyze data to measure compliance with the 
        level of enrollment of such individuals in the Rap Back 
        Service.
    (d) Matching Funds.--The portion of the costs of an activity 
provided by a grant under subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent, 
unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirement 
under this subsection of a non-Federal contribution to the costs of an 
activity.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
    (f) Consistency With National Criminal History Improvement 
Program.--The Attorney General shall carry out the grant program under 
this section in a manner that is consistent with the National Criminal 
History Improvement Program.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``firearm'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 921 of title 18, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``Rap Back Service'' means the capability of 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Next Generation 
        Identification system to provide notice to law enforcement 
        agencies authorized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to 
        use such capability of arrests or other activity of licensees 
        that might impact their continued eligibility for a license to 
        purchase, possess, own, transfer, acquire, or carry a firearm 
        in some or all circumstances or locations.
                                 <all>