[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4757 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4757

 To improve the national instant criminal background check system, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 16, 2002

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York (for herself, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Kirk, Mr. 
    Conyers, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Gilman, Mrs. Tauscher, Mrs. 
   Morella, Mr. Andrews, Mrs. Roukema, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Castle, Mr. 
 Capuano, Mr. Frank, Ms. Norton, Mr. Moore, Ms. Brown of Florida, Ms. 
 Woolsey, Mr. Blagojevich, Ms. Carson of Indiana, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. 
 Langevin, Mr. Meehan, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. Davis of Illinois, 
  Mr. Hoeffel, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Wexler, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Waxman, Mr. 
Engel, Mr. Ford, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Israel, Mr. 
 Weiner, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Waters, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. 
 Towns, Mr. Rush, Mr. Clay, Mr. Rothman, Ms. DeLauro, and Mr. Sherman) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To improve the national instant criminal background check system, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Our Lady of Peace Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Since 1994, more than 689,000 individuals have been 
        denied a gun for failing a background check.
            (2) States that fail to computerize their criminal and 
        mental illness records are the primary cause of delays for 
        background checks. Helping States automate their records will 
        reduce delays for law-abiding gun owners.
            (3) 25 States have automated less than 60 percent of their 
        felony criminal conviction records.
            (4) 33 States do not automate or share disqualifying mental 
        health records.
            (5) In 13 States, domestic violence restraining orders are 
        not automated or accessible by the national instant criminal 
        background check system.
            (6) In 15 States, no domestic violence misdemeanor records 
        are automated or accessible by the national instant criminal 
        background check system.

                    TITLE I--TRANSMITTAL OF RECORDS

SEC. 101. ENHANCEMENT OF REQUIREMENT THAT FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND 
              AGENCIES PROVIDE RELEVANT INFORMATION TO THE NATIONAL 
              INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Section 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence 
Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``may'' and inserting ``shall, not less 
        frequently than quarterly,'';
            (2) by inserting ``electronically'' before ``furnish''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following: ``The head of each 
        such department or agency shall ascertain whether the 
        department or agency has any records on any person described in 
        any paragraph of section 922(g), title 18, United States Code, 
        and on being made aware that the department or agency of such a 
        record, shall transmit a copy of the record to the Attorney 
        General for inclusion in the system. The Attorney General shall 
        notify the Congress on a quarterly basis as to whether the 
        Attorney General has obtained from each such department or 
        agency the information required to be provided to the Attorney 
        General under this subsection.''.
    (b) Immigration Records.--The Commissioner of the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service shall immediately transmit all relevant records 
of persons disqualified from acquiring a firearm under Federal law, 
including but not limited to, illegal aliens, visitors to the United 
States on student visas, and visitors to the United States on tourist 
visas, to the Attorney General for inclusion in the national instant 
criminal background check system.

SEC. 102. TRANSMITTAL OF STATE RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL 
              BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--A State that does not meet the requirements of 
this section shall be subject to section 104.
    (b) Requirements.--The requirements of this section are as follows:
            (1) The State shall provide the name of and other relevant 
        identifying information relating to persons disqualified from 
        acquiring a firearm under Federal or State law to the Attorney 
        General for inclusion in the national instant criminal 
        background check system.
            (2) Any information provided to the Attorney General under 
        paragraph (1) may be accessed only by personnel legally 
        entitled to access such system.
            (3) The State shall certify to the Attorney General that at 
        least 95 percent of all information under paragraph (1) has 
        been provided to the Attorney General under paragraph (1).

SEC. 103. TRANSMITTAL OF STATE MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS TO THE NATIONAL 
              INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--A State that does not meet the requirement of this 
section shall be subject to section 104.
    (b) Requirement.--The requirement of this section is that the State 
shall provide the name of and other relevant identifying information 
relating to persons adjudicated as mental defective or those committed 
to mental institutions to the Attorney General for inclusion in the 
national instant criminal background check system.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of subsection (b), an adjudication as 
a mental defective occurs when a court, board, commission, or other 
lawful authority determines that an individual is mentally retarded or 
of marked subnormal intelligence, mentally ill, or mentally 
incompetent, including--
            (1) defendants in criminal cases adjudicated as not guilty 
        by reason of insanity, or found incompetent to stand trial;
            (2) individuals found to be a danger to others as a result 
        of a mental disorder or illness;
            (3) individuals involuntarily committed to a mental 
        institution by a court, board, commission, or other authority;
            (4) individuals committed for reasons other than mental 
        defectiveness or mental illness; and
            (5) individuals committed within the past 5 years to a 
        mental institution--
                    (A) for treatment of alcoholism; or
                    (B) as an unlawful user of, or person addicted to, 
                any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of 
                the Controlled Substances Act), provided that such 
                unlawful use has occurred recently enough to indicate 
                that the individual is actively engaged in such 
                conduct.
    (d) Exception.--This section does not apply to--
            (1) a person--
                    (A) in a mental institution for observation; or
                    (B) voluntarily committed to a mental institution; 
                or
            (2) information protected by doctor-patient privilege.
    (e) Privacy Protections.--The Attorney General shall work with 
State and local law enforcement and the mental health community to 
establish protocols for protecting the privacy of information provided 
in this section. Such protocols shall be in addition to any other 
applicable laws for protecting the privacy of such information.
    (e) Commencement of Transmittal.--Notwithstanding subsection (c), 
the State shall begin to comply with subsection (b) not later than 
January 1, 2005. If such compliance occurs before the establishment of 
protocols under subsection (c), the Attorney General shall ensure that 
any information provided under this section may be accessed only by 
personnel authorized by law to access the national instant criminal 
background check system.

SEC. 104. PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

    (a) 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 information under sections 102 and 103 and in 
providing that information pursuant to the requirements of sections 102 
and 103.
    (b) Penalties.--
            (1) After three years.--During the period beginning three 
        years after the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 
        five years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
        Attorney General may (but need not), for any State that fails 
        to provide under sections 102 and 103 at least 60 percent of 
        the information required to be provided under those sections, 
        decline to allocate to that State up to 5 percent of the 
        amounts that would otherwise be allocated to that State under 
        section 506 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
        of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3756).
            (2) After five years.--After the expiration of the period 
        referred to in paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall, for 
        any State that fails to provide under sections 102 and 103 at 
        least 95 percent of the information required to be provided 
        under those sections, decline to allocate to that State 10 
        percent of the amounts that would otherwise be allocated to 
        that State under section 506 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
        Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3765).
            (3) Waiver by attorney general.--The Attorney General may 
        waive the applicability of paragraph (2) to a State if that 
        State provides compelling evidence of its inability to meet the 
        requirements of sections 102 and 103.
    (c) Reallocation.--Any funds that are not allocated for failure to 
comply with the requirements of subsection (b) shall be reallocated to 
States that meet such requirements.

SEC. 105. IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS TO STATES.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
section, the Attorney General shall make grants to each State, in a 
manner consistent with the national criminal history improvement 
program, which shall be used by the State, in conjunction with units of 
local government and State and local courts, to establish or upgrade 
information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility 
determinations.
    (b) Use of Grant Amounts.--Grants under this section may only be 
awarded for the following purposes:
            (1) Building databases that are directly related to checks 
        under the national instant criminal background check system 
        (NICS), including court disposition and corrections records.
            (2) Assisting States in establishing or enhancing their own 
        capacities to perform NICS background checks.
            (3) Improving final dispositions of criminal records.
            (4) Supplying mental health records to NICS.
            (5) Supplying domestic violence restraining orders and 
        temporary restraining orders for inclusion in NICS.
    (c) 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 section shall be liable to the Attorney General for 
the full amount granted.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $250,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2003, 2004, and 2005.

 TITLE II--FOCUSING FEDERAL ASSISTANCE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF RELEVANT 
                                RECORDS

SEC. 201. CONTINUING EVALUATIONS.

    (a) Evaluation Required.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics shall study and evaluate the operations of the national 
instant criminal background check system. Such study and evaluation 
shall include, but not be limited to, compilations and analyses of the 
operations and record systems of the agencies and organizations 
participating in such system.
    (b) Report on Grants.--Not later than January 31 of each year, the 
Director shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation of 
sections 102 and 103 of this Act.
    (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 identifying information 
relating to individuals described in section 922(g) of title 18, United 
States Code, 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.

TITLE III--GRANTS TO STATE COURTS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATION AND 
                   TRANSMITTAL OF DISPOSITION RECORDS

SEC. 301. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    (a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
section, the Attorney General shall make grants to each State for use 
by the chief judicial officer of the State to improve the handling of 
proceedings related to criminal history dispositions and temporary 
restraining orders as they relate to disqualification from firearms 
ownership under State and Federal laws.
    (b) Use of Funds.--Amounts granted under this section shall be used 
by the chief judicial officer only as follows:
            (1) For fiscal year 2003, such amounts shall be used to 
        carry out assessments of the capabilities of the courts of the 
        State for the automation and transmission to State and Federal 
        record repositories the arrest and conviction records of such 
        courts to the extent relevant to disqualification from firearms 
        ownership under State and Federal laws.
            (2) For fiscal years after 2003, such amounts shall be used 
        to implement policies, systems, and procedures for the 
        automation and transmission to State and Federal record 
        repositories the arrest and conviction records of such courts 
        to the extent relevant to disqualification from firearms 
        ownership under State and Federal laws.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section 
$125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2003, 2004, and 2005.
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