Title VI — Submission of Mental Health Records to National Instant Criminal Background Check System

S. 2872 · 113th Congress · Sep 18, 2014 · Lineage

VI Submission of Mental Health Records to National Instant Criminal Background Check System

Sec. 601 Reports relating to submission of information to NICS

Section 201 of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended—

(1)

by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:

“(b) Report on persons prohibited from obtaining firearms as a result of a conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence—Not later than January 31 of each year, the Director shall submit to Congress a report containing the number of persons reported by each State to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System under section 102(b) who are prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under section 922(g)(9) of title 18, United States Code.”

(2)

by redesignating subsection (d) as (e); and

(3)

by inserting after subsection (c) the following:

“(d) Report on promising practices

“(1) In general—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014, and annually thereafter, 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 that the Director considers to be promising practices.

“(2) Promising practice defined—For purposes of this subsection, the term promising practice means a program, activity, or strategy of a State regarding the collection, maintenance, automation, and transmittal by the State or any State agency of information relevant to determining whether a person is prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm by Federal or State law, or any other records relevant to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, that the Director determines—

“(A) has been used by a State or any State agency to successfully increase or expand its ability to collect, maintain, automate, and transmit the information described in the matter preceding this subparagraph;

“(B) shows promise in its early stages of becoming a best practice under subsection (c), with long-term sustainable impact; and

“(C) may be replicated by other States or State agencies.”

Sec. 602 Reauthorization of the National Criminal History Records Improvement Program

Section 106(b) of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “this Act” and inserting “the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014”; and

(2)

in paragraph (2), by striking “a total of” and all that follows and inserting the following: “$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015 through 2018.”.

Sec. 603 Improvement of metrics and incentives

Section 102(b) of the NICS Improvement Amendments 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 Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014, the Attorney General, in coordination with the States, shall establish for each State or Indian tribal government desiring a grant under section 103 a 4-year implementation plan to ensure maximum coordination 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 include annual benchmarks, including both qualitative goals and quantitative measures, to assess the implementation of the 4-year plan.

“(3) Penalties for non-compliance

“(A) In general—During the 4-year period covered by a 4-year plan established under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall withhold—

“(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 paragraph (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 paragraph (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 paragraph (2) for the third year in the 4-year period; and

“(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 paragraph (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 paragraph (1) shall be treated as having not met any benchmark established under paragraph (2).”

Sec. 604 Grants to States to improve coordination and automation of NICS record reporting

(a)

In general— The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended—

(1)

by striking section 103 and inserting the following:

“103. Grants to States for improvement of coordination and automation of NICS record reporting

“(a) Authorization—From amounts made available to carry out this section, the Attorney General shall make grants to States, Indian tribal governments, and State court systems, in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program and consistent 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 determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor 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 Program.

“(b) Use of grant amounts—A grant awarded to a State, Indian tribal government, or State court system 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 tribal government for the automation and transmittal of arrest and conviction records, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments to Federal and State record repositories;

“(2) implement policies, systems, and procedures for the automation and transmittal 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 accurate and up-to-date information that is directly related to checks under the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, including court disposition and corrections records;

“(4) assist the State or Indian tribal government in establishing or enhancing its own capacity to perform background checks using the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and

“(5) develop and maintain the relief from disabilities program in accordance with section 105.

“(c) Eligibility

“(1) In general—To be eligible for a grant under this section, a State, Indian tribal government, or State court system shall certify, to the satisfaction of the Attorney General, that the State, Indian tribal government, or State court system—

“(A) is not prohibited by State law or court order from submitting mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; and

“(B) subject to paragraph (2), has implemented a relief from disabilities program in accordance with section 105.

“(2) Relief from disabilities program—For purposes of obtaining a grant under this section, a State, Indian tribal government, or State court system shall not be required to meet the eligibility requirement described in paragraph (1)(B) until the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014.

“(d) Federal share

“(1) Studies, assessments, non-material activities—The Federal share of a study, assessment, creation of a task force, or other non-material activity, as determined by the Attorney General, carried out with a grant under this section shall be not more than 25 percent.

“(2) Infrastructure or system development—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 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 activity.

“(e) Grants to Indian tribes—Not more than 5 percent of the amounts made 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 2015 through 2018.”

(2)

by striking title III; and

(3)

in section 401(b), by inserting after “of this Act” the following: “, and not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014”.

(b)

Technical and conforming amendment— The table of sections in section 1(b) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended—

(1)

by striking the item relating to section 103 and inserting the following:

(2)

by striking the item relating to title III; and

(3)

by striking the item relating to section 301.

Sec. 605 Sharing of records by Federal departments and agencies with NICS

Section 101(b) of the NICS Improvement Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (2)—

(A)

in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” at the end;

(B)

in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(C)

by inserting at the end the following:

“(D) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Promoting Healthy Minds for Safer Communities Act of 2014, and annually thereafter, submit a report to Congress on the compliance of the head of each department or agency of the Federal Government with the requirements under paragraphs (1) and (3).”

(2)

by adding at the end the following:

“(3) Other Federal departments and agencies—The head of each department or agency of the Federal Government that is in possession of a record that is relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, United States Code, shall make available to the Attorney General the record, updated not less than quarterly, for use in the background checks performed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.”

Sec. 606 Rulemaking to permit submission of mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System pursuant to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall promulgate final regulations, in accordance with section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note), to allow disclosures of information described in section 102(c)(3) of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (18 U.S.C. 922 note) to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to assist the Attorney General in enforcing section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code.