NICS Reporting Improvement Act

NICS Reporting Improvement Act

This bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to revise the requirement for states to provide to the Department of Justice (DOJ), as an eligibility condition to receive a grant under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP) and a waiver of the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program, estimates of firearms-related disqualifying records.

It directs DOJ to establish a four-year state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). DOJ must reduce a state's allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for failing to comply with benchmarks.

The bill reauthorizes through FY2020 the NARIP grant program and revises it, among other things, to: add state court systems to the list of eligible grant recipients; require a grant applicant to certify, as an eligibility condition, that no state law or court order prohibits the submission of mental health records to NICS; and create a preference for grant applicants that meet the benchmarks included in the state implementation plan.

The bill repeals the grant program for state and tribal court systems to improve the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records.