Makes a State eligible to receive a waiver of the ten percent matching requirement for National Criminal History Improvement Grants if the State provides at least 95 percent of the information described in this Act, including the name of and other relevant identifying information related to each person disqualified from acquiring a firearm.
Requires the Attorney General to make grants to each State: (1) to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) for use by the State's chief judicial officer to improve the handling of proceedings related to criminal history dispositions and restraining orders. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate the operations of the System and to report on grants and on best practices of States.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2826 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2826
To improve the national instant criminal background check system, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2002
Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Craig, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. McCain)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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 inserting ``electronically'' before ``furnish''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``The head of each
department or agency shall ascertain whether the department or
agency has any records relating to any person described in
subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States
Code and on being made aware that the department or agency has
such a record, shall make the record available to the Attorney
General for inclusion in the system to the extent the Attorney
General deems appropriate. The head of each department or
agency, on being made aware that the basis under which a record
was made available under this section does not apply or no
longer applies, shall transmit a certification identifying the
record (and any name or other relevant identifying information)
to the Attorney General for removal from the system. The
Attorney General shall notify the Congress on an annual basis
as to whether the Attorney General has obtained from each such
department or agency the information requested by the Attorney
General under this subsection.''.
(b) Immigration Records.--The Commissioner of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service shall cooperate in providing information
regarding 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. REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN WAIVER.
(a) In General.--Beginning 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, a State shall be eligible to receive a waiver of the 10
percent matching requirement for National Criminal History Improvement
Grants under the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1988 if the
State provides at least 95 percent of the information described under
subsections (b) and (c). The length of such a waiver shall not exceed 5
years.
(b) Eligibility of State Records for Submission to the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System.--
(1) Requirements for eligibility.--The State shall make
available the following information established either through
its own database or provide information to the Attorney
General:
(A) The name of and other relevant identifying
information relating to each person disqualified from
acquiring a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title
18, United States Code, and each person disqualified from acquiring a
firearm under applicable State law.
(B) The State, on being made aware that the basis
under which a record was made available under
subparagraph (A) does not apply or no longer applies,
shall transmit a certification identifying the record
(and any name or other relevant identifying
information) to the Attorney General for removal from
the system.
(C) Any information provided to the Attorney
General under subparagraph (A) may be accessed only for
background check purposes under section 922(t) of title
18, United States Code.
(D) The State shall certify to the Attorney General
that at least 95 percent of all information described
in subparagraph (A) has been provided to the Attorney
General in accordance with subparagraph (A).
(2) Application to persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes
of domestic violence.--(A) For purposes of paragraph (1), a
person disqualified from acquiring a firearm as referred to in
that paragraph includes a person who has been convicted in any
court of any Federal, State, or local offense that--
(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law or,
in a State that does not classify offenses as
misdemeanors, is an offense punishable by imprisonment
for a term of 1 year or less (or punishable by only a
fine);
(ii) has, as an element of the offense, the use or
attempted use of physical force (for example, assault
and battery), or the threatened use of a deadly weapon;
and
(iii) was committed by a current or former spouse,
parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with
whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person
who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the
victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, (for example,
the equivalent of ``common-law marriage'' even if such
relationship is not recognized under the law), or a
person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or
guardian of the victim (for example, two persons who
are residing at the same location in an intimate
relationship with the intent to make that place their
home would be similarly situated to a spouse).
(B) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted
of such an offense for purposes of subparagraph (A) unless--
(i) the person is considered to have been convicted
by the jurisdiction in which the proceeding was held;
(ii) the person was represented by counsel in the
case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right
to counsel in the case; and
(iii) in the case of a prosecution for which a
person was entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction
in which the case was tried--
(I) the case was tried by a jury; or
(II) the person knowingly and intelligently
waived the right to have the case tried by a
jury, by guilty plea, or otherwise.
(C) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted
of such an offense for purposes of subparagraph (A) if the
conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for
which the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights
restored (if the law of the jurisdiction in which the
proceedings were held provides for the loss of civil rights
upon conviction of such an offense) unless the pardon,
expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides
that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive
firearms, and the person is not otherwise prohibited by the law
of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held from
receiving or possessing any firearms.
(c) Application to Persons Who Have Been Adjudicated as a Mental
Defective or Committed to a Mental Institution.--
(1) Requirement.--The requirement of this subsection 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.
(2) Definition.--For purposes of paragraph (1), an
adjudication as a mental defective occurs when a court, board,
commission, or other government entity determines that an
individual is mentally retarded or of marked subnormal
intelligence, mentally ill, or mentally incompetent,
including--
(A) defendants in criminal cases adjudicated as not
guilty by reason of insanity, or found incompetent to
stand trial;
(B) individuals who are a danger to others as a
result of a mental disorder or illness;
(C) individuals involuntarily committed to a mental
institution by a court, board, commission, or other
authority;
(D) individuals committed because they lack the
mental capacity to contract or manage their own
affairs; and
(E) individuals found to be a danger to themselves
as a result of a mental disorder or illness.
(3) Exception.--This subsection does not apply to--
(A) a person--
(i) in a mental institution for
observation; or
(ii) voluntarily committed to a mental
institution; or
(B) information protected by doctor-patient
privilege.
(4) Privacy protections.--For any information provided
under the national instant criminal background check system,
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.
(5) State authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of this subsection, a State may designate that records
transmitted under this subsection shall be used only to
determine eligibility to purchase or possess a firearm.
(d) 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 subsections (b) and
(c) and in providing that information pursuant to the requirements of
such subsections.
SEC. 103. 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 court-ordered domestic restraining orders and
records of domestic violence misdemeanors (as defined in
section 102 of this Act) 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 2004, 2005, and 2006.
(e) 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.
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
subsections (b) and (c) of section 102 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 subsection (g) or (n) of section
922 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 restraining
orders.
(b) Use of Funds.--Amounts granted under this section shall be used
by the chief judicial officer only as follows:
(1) For fiscal year 2004, 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.
(2) For fiscal years after 2004, 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.
(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 2004, 2005, and 2006.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7583-7584)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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