Fix NICS Act of 2017
Latest action · Dec 5, 2017 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 322.
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.
- IntroducedNov 29, 2017
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Fix NICS Act of 2017
(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to:
- certify whether it has provided to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm, and
- establish and substantially comply with an implementation plan to maximize record submissions and verify their accuracy.
(Sec. 3) The bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to modify the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP). Specifically, it:
- establishes a domestic abuse and violence prevention initiative as a priority area for NARIP grant funding, and
- creates a funding preference for states that establish an implementation plan and use grant funds to upload felony conviction and domestic violence records.
(Sec. 4) It amends the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1998 to modify the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP). Specifically, it:
- specifies that facilitating full participation in the NICS, as an allowable use of NCHIP grant funds, includes increasing efforts to pre-validate felony conviction and domestic violence records to expedite eligibility determinations; and
- permits the federal share of a grant to exceed 90% of program costs if a state complies with its implementation plan.
(Sec. 5) This section amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to:
- direct the Department of Justice (DOJ), in coordination with each state or tribal government, to establish an implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the NICS;
- require DOJ to conduct, and publish the results of, compliance determinations for state and tribal governments;
- give preference to certain discretionary grant applicants that substantially comply with an implementation plan; and
- require the NICS to notify law enforcement agencies when a firearm is transferred to a person who is subsequently determined to be prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm.
(Sec. 6) DOJ's Bureau of Justice Assistance must report to Congress on the use of bump stocks in the commission of crimes, including the number of instances and the types of firearms.
(Sec. 7) The bill authorizes appropriations for FY2018-FY2022 to carry out activities under this bill.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Nov 29, 2017.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-VA | Barbara Comstock | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| R-TX | Michael T. McCaul | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| D-CA | Pete Aguilar | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
| R-PA | Ryan A. Costello | Original | Nov 29, 2017 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Nov 29, 2017Markup Nov 29, 2017Reported Dec 5, 2017 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2017Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 115-437.
- Dec 5, 2017Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 322.
- Nov 29, 2017Introduced in House
- Nov 29, 2017Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Nov 29, 2017Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Nov 29, 2017Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 17 - 6.
In the Congressional Record 4
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 H5081 | Darren Soto D-FL | Jun 12, 2018 |
| House | Debate and remarks H3355 | Bradley Byrne R-AL | Apr 17, 2018 |
| House | Debate and remarks H1613 | Roger Marshall R-KS | Mar 15, 2018 |
| House | Debate and remarks H1492–H1494, H1496 | Kevin McCarthy R-CA, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX, Steny H. Hoyer D-MD | Mar 8, 2018 |
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.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Dec 6, 2017H.R. 4477, Fix NICS Act of 2017As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on November 29, 2017
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 163, no. 194, November 29, 2017, page H9516.
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 38 | Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 | Related bill | Dec 7, 2017 |
| HR 1625 | Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 | Related bill | Mar 23, 2018 |
| S 2135 | Fix NICS Act of 2017 | Related bill | Mar 14, 2018 |
| HR 4343 | Unlawful Gun Buyer Alert Act | Related bill | Dec 13, 2017 |
| HR 4434 | Fix NICS Act of 2017 | Related bill | Dec 13, 2017 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To enforce current law regarding the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Fix NICS Act of 2017
- Short Titles as Reported to House
- Fix NICS Act of 2017
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
- Congressional oversight
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal justice information and records
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Domestic violence and child abuse
- Drug trafficking and controlled substances
- Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
- Employee performance
- Federal officials
- Firearms and explosives
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Intergovernmental relations
- Mental health
- State and local government operations
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2017Reported in House
- Nov 29, 2017Introduced in House
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.
