Fix NICS Act of 2017
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Fix NICS Act of 2017
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.
The bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to:
direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the NICS;
waive the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) for a state that complies with its implementation plan;
reauthorize through FY2022 the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP);
establish, as a priority area for NARIP grant funding, a domestic abuse and violence prevention initiative; and
create a funding preference under the NARIP program for states that establish an implementation plan and use grant funds to upload felony conviction and domestic violence records.
It amends the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1998 to reauthorize through FY2022 the NCHIP program. If a state complies with its implementation plan, then the federal share of an NCHIP grant may exceed 90% of program costs.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on November 16, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 13, 2017: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Henry Cuellar (D-TX) introduced it on November 16, 2017, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 2 Democrats, 3 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 16, 2017, 3220 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3193 days ago, on December 13, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers