HR 1217 · 114th Congress 2015–2017, ended

Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015

Introduced Mar 3, 2015 Originated House Sponsor Peter T. King R-NY

Latest action · Mar 31, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedMar 3, 2015
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015

Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to reauthorize for FY2016-FY2019 the grant program for improvements to the criminal history record system.

Amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to: (1) establish a four-year implementation plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of reporting of records or making records available to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System; (2) direct the Attorney General to make grants to states, Indian tribal governments, and state court systems to improve the automation and transmittal of mental health records and criminal history dispositions; (3) provide for withholding grant funds from states that have not implemented a relief from disabilities program and the reallocation of such funds to states that are in compliance; (4) make federal court information available for inclusion in the System; and (5) allow the submission to the System of mental health records that would otherwise be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) expand the enforcement authority or jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; (2) allow the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a federal firearms registry; or (3) extend background check requirements to transfers of firearms other than those made at gun shows or over the Internet, or to temporary transfers for purposes including lawful hunting or sporting, or to temporary possession of a firearm for purposes of examination or evaluation by a prospective transferee.

National Commission on Mass Violence Act of 2015

Establishes the National Commission on Mass Violence to study the availability and nature of firearms, including the means of acquiring firearms, issues relating to mental health, and the impacts of the availability and nature of firearms on incidents of mass violence or in preventing mass violence. Requires the Commission to conduct a comprehensive factual study of incidents of mass violence, including incidents not involving firearms, to determine the root causes of such mass violence.

Cosponsors 188

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 3, 2015 to Sep 15, 2016; 7 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-MS	Bennie G. Thompson	Original	Mar 3, 2015
D-CT	Elizabeth H. Esty	Original	Mar 3, 2015
D-NY	Kathleen M. Rice	Original	Mar 3, 2015
R-PA	Michael G. Fitzpatrick	Original	Mar 3, 2015
D-CA	Mike Thompson	Original	Mar 3, 2015
R-PA	Patrick Meehan	Original	Mar 3, 2015
R-IL	Robert J. Dold	Original	Mar 3, 2015
R-NY	Daniel M. Donovan, Jr.		Jul 28, 2015
D-NY	Nita M. Lowey		Jul 28, 2015
D-CA	Adam B. Schiff		Oct 6, 2015
D-NJ	Albio Sires		Oct 6, 2015
D-FL	Alcee L. Hastings		Oct 6, 2015
D-IN	André Carson		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Anna G. Eshoo		Oct 6, 2015
D-NM	Ben Ray Luján		Oct 6, 2015
D-TX	Beto O'Rourke		Oct 6, 2015
D-MN	Betty McCollum		Oct 6, 2015
D-IL	Bill Foster		Oct 6, 2015
D-NJ	Bill Pascrell, Jr.		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Brian Higgins		Oct 6, 2015
D-LA	Cedric L. Richmond		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Charles B. Rangel		Oct 6, 2015
D-ME	Chellie Pingree		Oct 6, 2015
D-MD	Chris Van Hollen		Oct 6, 2015
D-IL	Danny K. Davis		Oct 6, 2015
D-NC	David E. Price		Oct 6, 2015
D-FL	Debbie Wasserman Schultz		Oct 6, 2015
D-WA	Denny Heck		Oct 6, 2015
D-WA	Derek Kilmer		Oct 6, 2015
D-NV	Dina Titus		Oct 6, 2015
D-MD	Donna F. Edwards		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Doris O. Matsui		Oct 6, 2015
D-OR	Earl Blumenauer		Oct 6, 2015
D-CO	Ed Perlmutter		Oct 6, 2015
D-DC	Eleanor Holmes Norton		Oct 6, 2015
D-MD	Elijah E. Cummings		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Eliot L. Engel		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Eric Swalwell		Oct 6, 2015
D-VA	Gerald E. Connolly		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Grace F. Napolitano		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Grace Meng		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Gregory W. Meeks		Oct 6, 2015
D-WI	Gwen Moore		Oct 6, 2015
D-CT	James A. Himes		Oct 6, 2015
D-SC	James E. Clyburn		Oct 6, 2015
D-MA	James P. McGovern		Oct 6, 2015
D-RI	James R. Langevin		Oct 6, 2015
D-IL	Janice D. Schakowsky		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Janice Hahn		Oct 6, 2015
D-CO	Jared Polis		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Jerrold Nadler		Oct 6, 2015
D-TN	Jim Cooper		Oct 6, 2015
D-KY	John A. Yarmuth		Oct 6, 2015
D-CT	John B. Larson		Oct 6, 2015
D-DE	John C. Carney, Jr.		Oct 6, 2015
D-MI	John Conyers, Jr.		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	John Garamendi		Oct 6, 2015
D-MD	John K. Delaney		Oct 6, 2015
D-GA	John Lewis		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Juan Vargas		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Judy Chu		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Julia Brownley		Oct 6, 2015
D-MA	Katherine M. Clark		Oct 6, 2015
D-MN	Keith Ellison		Oct 6, 2015
D-TX	Lloyd Doggett		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Lois Capps		Oct 6, 2015
D-FL	Lois Frankel		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Louise McIntosh Slaughter		Oct 6, 2015
D-GU	Madeleine Z. Bordallo		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Mark DeSaulnier		Oct 6, 2015
D-WI	Mark Pocan		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Mark Takano		Oct 6, 2015
D-NM	Michelle Lujan Grisham		Oct 6, 2015
D-IL	Mike Quigley		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Nancy Pelosi		Oct 6, 2015
D-MA	Niki Tsongas		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Nydia M. Velázquez		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Paul Tonko		Oct 6, 2015
D-OR	Peter A. DeFazio		Oct 6, 2015
D-IN	Peter J. Visclosky		Oct 6, 2015
D-WA	Rick Larsen		Oct 6, 2015
D-PA	Robert A. Brady		Oct 6, 2015
D-VA	Robert C. "Bobby" Scott		Oct 6, 2015
D-IL	Robin L. Kelly		Oct 6, 2015
D-CT	Rosa L. DeLauro		Oct 6, 2015
D-AZ	Ruben Gallego		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Sam Farr		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Scott H. Peters		Oct 6, 2015
D-NY	Sean Patrick Maloney		Oct 6, 2015
D-TX	Sheila Jackson Lee		Oct 6, 2015
D-MA	Stephen F. Lynch		Oct 6, 2015
D-WA	Suzan K. DelBene		Oct 6, 2015
D-OR	Suzanne Bonamici		Oct 6, 2015
D-FL	Theodore E. Deutch		Oct 6, 2015
D-OH	Tim Ryan		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Tony Cárdenas		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Xavier Becerra		Oct 6, 2015
D-CA	Alan S. Lowenthal		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Ami Bera		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Brad Sherman		Oct 7, 2015
D-NY	Carolyn B. Maloney		Oct 7, 2015
D-IL	Daniel Lipinski		Oct 7, 2015
D-MI	Daniel T. Kildee		Oct 7, 2015
D-RI	David N. Cicilline		Oct 7, 2015
D-CO	Diana DeGette		Oct 7, 2015
D-VA	Donald S. Beyer, Jr.		Oct 7, 2015
D-NJ	Frank Pallone, Jr.		Oct 7, 2015
D-FL	Frederica S. Wilson		Oct 7, 2015
D-NY	Hakeem S. Jeffries		Oct 7, 2015
D-GA	Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Jared Huffman		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Jerry McNerney		Oct 7, 2015
D-WA	Jim McDermott		Oct 7, 2015
D-CT	Joe Courtney		Oct 7, 2015
D-NY	Jose E. Serrano		Oct 7, 2015
D-NY	Joseph Crowley		Oct 7, 2015
D-MA	Joseph P. Kennedy III		Oct 7, 2015
D-FL	Kathy Castor		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Lucille Roybal-Allard		Oct 7, 2015
D-PA	Matt Cartwright		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Maxine Waters		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Michael M. Honda		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Norma J. Torres		Oct 7, 2015
D-FL	Patrick Murphy		Oct 7, 2015
D-VT	Peter Welch		Oct 7, 2015
D-MN	Richard M. Nolan		Oct 7, 2015
D-MD	Steny H. Hoyer		Oct 7, 2015
D-TN	Steve Cohen		Oct 7, 2015
D-NY	Steve Israel		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Susan A. Davis		Oct 7, 2015
D-IL	Tammy Duckworth		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Ted Lieu		Oct 7, 2015
D-CA	Zoe Lofgren		Oct 7, 2015
D-NC	Alma S. Adams		Oct 8, 2015
D-NH	Ann M. Kuster		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Barbara Lee		Oct 8, 2015
D-IL	Bobby L. Rush		Oct 8, 2015
D-NJ	Bonnie Watson Coleman		Oct 8, 2015
D-PA	Brendan F. Boyle		Oct 8, 2015
D-MD	C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger		Oct 8, 2015
D-PA	Chaka Fattah		Oct 8, 2015
D-FL	Corrine Brown		Oct 8, 2015
D-IA	David Loebsack		Oct 8, 2015
D-GA	David Scott		Oct 8, 2015
D-NJ	Donald M. Payne, Jr.		Oct 8, 2015
D-TX	Eddie Bernice Johnson		Oct 8, 2015
D-MO	Emanuel Cleaver		Oct 8, 2015
D-NC	G. K. Butterfield		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Jackie Speier		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Jim Costa		Oct 8, 2015
D-TX	Joaquin Castro		Oct 8, 2015
D-MD	John P. Sarbanes		Oct 8, 2015
D-OH	Joyce Beatty		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Karen Bass		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Linda T. Sánchez		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Loretta Sanchez		Oct 8, 2015
D-IL	Luis V. Gutierrez		Oct 8, 2015
D-TX	Marc A. Veasey		Oct 8, 2015
D-OH	Marcia L. Fudge		Oct 8, 2015
D-OH	Marcy Kaptur		Oct 8, 2015
D-HI	Mark Takai		Oct 8, 2015
D-MA	Michael E. Capuano		Oct 8, 2015
D-PA	Michael F. Doyle		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Pete Aguilar		Oct 8, 2015
D-AZ	Raúl M. Grijalva		Oct 8, 2015
D-CA	Raul Ruiz		Oct 8, 2015
D-MA	Richard E. Neal		Oct 8, 2015
D-TX	Ruben Hinojosa		Oct 8, 2015
D-MI	Sander M. Levin		Oct 8, 2015
D-MA	Seth Moulton		Oct 8, 2015
D-VI	Stacey E. Plaskett		Oct 8, 2015
D-HI	Tulsi Gabbard		Oct 8, 2015
D-MA	William R. Keating		Oct 8, 2015
D-MO	Wm. Lacy Clay		Oct 8, 2015
D-NY	Yvette D. Clarke		Oct 8, 2015
D-WA	Adam Smith		Oct 9, 2015
D-TX	Al Green		Oct 9, 2015
D-FL	Alan Grayson		Oct 9, 2015
D-MI	Brenda L. Lawrence		Oct 9, 2015
D-NJ	Donald Norcross		Oct 9, 2015
D-MP	Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan		Oct 9, 2015
D-PR	Pedro R. Pierluisi		Oct 9, 2015
D-MI	Debbie Dingell		Oct 22, 2015
D-AZ	Ann Kirkpatrick		Nov 5, 2015
D-IL	Cheri Bustos		Dec 11, 2015
D-FL	Gwen Graham		Jun 15, 2016
D-TX	Filemon Vela		Jul 7, 2016
R-FL	David W. Jolly		Sep 15, 2016

Committees 2

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Judiciary Committee	Referred Mar 3, 2015
	Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee	Referred Mar 31, 2015
House	Veterans' Affairs Committee	Referred Mar 3, 2015
	Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee	Referred Mar 19, 2015

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 31, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Mar 19, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
Mar 3, 2015Introduced in House
Mar 3, 2015Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

In the Congressional Record 17

Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.

Where	In the Record	Members	Date
House	Debate and remarks H5441, H5444, H5445, H5446, H5447, H5456–H5459	Anna G. Eshoo D-CA, Barbara Lee D-CA, Bonnie Watson Coleman D-NJ, Bradley Byrne R-AL, Brenda L. Lawrence D-MI, David N. Cicilline D-RI, Earl Blumenauer D-OR, Ed Perlmutter D-CO, Elizabeth H. Esty D-CT, Eric Swalwell D-CA, Grace F. Napolitano D-CA, Gregory W. Meeks D-NY, Jackie Speier D-CA, James P. McGovern D-MA, Janice D. Schakowsky D-IL, John B. Larson D-CT, John Lewis D-GA, Joseph Crowley D-NY, Judy Chu D-CA, Katherine M. Clark D-MA, Kathy Castor D-FL, Keith Ellison D-MN, Lois Capps D-CA, Lois Frankel D-FL, Louise McIntosh Slaughter D-NY, Michael F. Doyle D-PA, Michael M. Honda D-CA, Michelle Lujan Grisham D-NM, Mike Thompson D-CA, Robin L. Kelly D-IL, Rosa L. DeLauro D-CT, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX, Susan A. Davis D-CA, Terri A. Sewell D-AL	Sep 14, 2016
House	Debate and remarks H5251	Eleanor Holmes Norton D-DC	Sep 9, 2016
Extensions	Debate and remarks E1139	Joyce Beatty D-OH	Jul 15, 2016
House	Debate and remarks H4975, H4977, H4979, H4980, H4983, H4984, H4985, H4994–H5002	David E. Price D-NC, David N. Cicilline D-RI, Eleanor Holmes Norton D-DC, James E. Clyburn D-SC, James R. Langevin D-RI, Joyce Beatty D-OH, Mark Takano D-CA, Maxine Waters D-CA, Mike Thompson D-CA, Nancy Pelosi D-CA, Niki Tsongas D-MA, Steny H. Hoyer D-MD, Stephen F. Lynch D-MA, Suzanne Bonamici D-OR	Jul 14, 2016
House	Debate and remarks H4818, H4819, H4825, H4827, H4828	Grace F. Napolitano D-CA, James E. Clyburn D-SC, Katherine M. Clark D-MA, Mike Thompson D-CA, Pete Aguilar D-CA	Jul 13, 2016

Show all 17 days

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Article I, Section 8, Clause 6 The Congress shall have Power . . . To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 36, March 3, 2015, page H1567.

Printed hearings 1

Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.

Number	Hearing	Committee	Held
S. Hrg. 114-856	PENSION ADVANCES: LEGITIMATE. LOANS OR SHADY SCHEMES?135 pages	Aging (Special) Committee	Sep 30, 2015

CRS reports 5

Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.

Cite it 5

Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.

Product	Title	Kind	Published
R44818	Gun Control, Veterans Benefits, and Mental Incompetency Determinations Archived	Report	Sep 7, 2021
R45970	Gun Control: National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations and Related Legislation Archived	Report	Oct 17, 2019
R44686	Gun Control: FY2017 Appropriations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Other Initiatives Archived	Report	Aug 7, 2017
R44655	Gun Control: Federal Law and Legislative Action in the 114th Congress Archived	Report	Apr 19, 2017
R44752	Gun Control, Mental Incompetency, and Social Security Administration Final Rule Archived	Report	Apr 19, 2017

Related bills 5

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 1351	Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act	Related bill	May 14, 2015
S 1738	Safer Communities Act of 2015	Related bill	Jul 9, 2015
S 2192	NICS Reporting Improvement Act	Related bill	Oct 21, 2015
HR 2246	Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act	Related bill	Jun 1, 2015
HR 2994	Safer Communities Act of 2015	Related bill	Jul 29, 2015

Titles 3

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To protect Second Amendment rights, ensure that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and provide a responsible and consistent background check process.
Short Titles as Introduced: Public Safety and Second Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2015
Short Titles as Introduced for portions of this bill: National Commission on Mass Violence Act of 2015

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Mar 3, 2015Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.