34 U.S.C. § 40914 — Penalties for noncompliance

Page 633 TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT § 40914 area under the NICS Act Record Improve- ment Program (commonly known as ‘‘NARIP’’) for a Domestic Abuse and Vio- lence Prevention Initiative that emphasizes the need for grantees to identify and upload all felony conviction records and domestic violence records. (B) Funding The Attorney General— (i) may use not more than 50 percent of the amounts made available under this subsection for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022 to carry out the initiative de- scribed in subparagraph (A); and (ii) shall give a funding preference under NARIP to States that— (I) have established an implementation plan under section 40917 of this title; and (II) will use amounts made available under this subparagraph to improve ef- forts to identify and upload all felony conviction records and domestic violence records described in clauses (i), (v), and (vi) of section 40912(b)(1)(C) of this title by not later than September 30, 2022. (f) User fee The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall not charge a user fee for background checks pursu- ant to section 922(t) of title 18. (g) Technical assistance The Attorney General shall direct the Office of Justice Programs, the Bureau of Alcohol, To- bacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation to— (1) assist States that are not currently eligi- ble for grants under this section to achieve compliance with all eligibility requirements; and (2) provide technical assistance and training services to grantees under this section. (Pub. L. 110–180, title I, § 103, Jan. 8, 2008, 121 Stat. 2567; Pub. L. 115–141, div. S, title VI, § 603(b), Mar. 23, 2018, 132 Stat. 1135.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified in a note under sec- tion 922 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–141, § 603(b)(1), in- serted before semicolon at end ‘‘, including through in- creased efforts to pre-validate the contents of those records to expedite eligibility determinations’’. Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 115–141, § 603(b)(2)(A), struck out ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘2012,’’ and inserted before period at end ‘‘, and $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 115–141, § 603(b)(2)(B), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which related to allo- cations for fiscal years 2009 to 2013. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–141, § 603(b)(3), added subsec. (g). § 40914. Penalties for noncompliance (a) Attorney General report (1) In general Not later than January 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the States in automating the databases con- taining information described under sections 40912 and 40913 of this title, and in providing that information pursuant to the require- ments of sections 40912 and 40913 of this title. (2) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice, such funds as may be necessary to carry out paragraph (1). (b) Penalties (1) Discretionary reduction (A) During the 2-year period beginning 3 years after January 8, 2008, the Attorney Gen- eral may withhold not more than 3 percent of the amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State under section 10156 of this title if the State provides less than 50 percent of the records required to be provided under sections 40912 and 40913 of this title. (B) During the 5-year period after the expira- tion of the period referred to in subparagraph (A), the Attorney General may withhold not more than 4 percent of the amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State under sec- tion 10156 of this title if the State provides less than 70 percent of the records required to be provided under sections 40912 and 40913 of this title. (2) Mandatory reduction After the expiration of the periods referred to in paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall withhold 5 percent of the amount that would otherwise be allocated to a State under sec- tion 10156 of this title, if the State provides less than 90 percent of the records required to be provided under sections 40912 and 40913 of this title. (3) Waiver by Attorney General The Attorney General may waive the appli- cability of paragraph (2) to a State if the State provides substantial evidence, as determined by the Attorney General, that the State is making a reasonable effort to comply with the requirements of sections 40912 and 40913 of this title, including an inability to comply due to court order or other legal restriction. (c) Reallocation Any funds that are not allocated to a State be- cause of the failure of the State to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall be reallo- cated to States that meet such requirements. (d) Methodology The method established to calculate the num- ber of records to be reported, as set forth in sec- tion 40912(b)(1)(A) of this title, and State compli- ance with the required level of reporting under sections 40912 and 40913 of this title shall be de- termined by the Attorney General. The Attor- ney General shall calculate the methodology based on the total number of records to be re- ported from all subcategories of records, as de- scribed in section 40912(b)(1)(C) of this title. (Pub. L. 110–180, title I, § 104, Jan. 8, 2008, 121 Stat. 2568.) Page 634 TITLE 34—CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT § 40915 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a period. Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified in a note under sec- tion 922 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. § 40915. Relief from disabilities program required as condition for participation in grant pro- grams (a) Program described A relief from disabilities program is imple- mented by a State in accordance with this sec- tion if the program— (1) permits a person who, pursuant to State law, has been adjudicated as described in sub- section (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18 or has been committed to a mental institution, to apply to the State for relief from the disabil- ities imposed by subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of such section by reason of the adjudication or commitment; (2) provides that a State court, board, com- mission, or other lawful authority shall grant the relief, pursuant to State law and in ac- cordance with the principles of due process, if the circumstances regarding the disabilities referred to in paragraph (1), and the person’s record and reputation, are such that the per- son will not be likely to act in a manner dan- gerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the pub- lic interest; and (3) permits a person whose application for the relief is denied to file a petition with the State court of appropriate jurisdiction for a de novo judicial review of the denial. (b) Authority to provide relief from certain dis- abilities with respect to firearms If, under a State relief from disabilities pro- gram implemented in accordance with this sec- tion, an application for relief referred to in sub- section (a)(1) of this section is granted with re- spect to an adjudication or a commitment to a mental institution or based upon a removal of a record under section 40912(c)(1)(B) of this title, the adjudication or commitment, as the case may be, is deemed not to have occurred for pur- poses of subsections (d)(4) and (g)(4) of section 922 of title 18. (Pub. L. 110–180, title I, § 105, Jan. 8, 2008, 121 Stat. 2569.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified in a note under sec- tion 922 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. § 40916. Illegal immigrant gun purchase notifica- tion (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law or of this chapter, all records obtained by the Na- tional Instant Criminal Background Check sys- tem relevant to whether an individual is prohib- ited from possessing a firearm because such per- son is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States shall be made available to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (b) Regulations The Attorney General, at his or her discretion, shall promulgate guidelines relevant to what records relevant to illegal aliens shall be pro- vided pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. (Pub. L. 110–180, title I, § 106, Jan. 8, 2008, 121 Stat. 2570.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section was formerly classified in a note under sec- tion 922 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section. § 40917. Implementation plan (a) In general Not later than 1 year after March 23, 2018, the Attorney General, in coordination with the States and Indian tribal governments, shall es- tablish, for each State or Indian tribal govern- ment, a plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of the reporting or making available of appropriate records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System es- tablished under section 40901 of this title and the verification of the accuracy of those records during a 4-year period specified in the plan. The records shall be limited to those of an individual described in subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18 1 (b) Benchmark requirements Each plan established under this section shall include annual benchmarks to enable the Attor- ney General to assess the implementation of the plan, including— (1) qualitative goals and quantitative meas- ures; and (2) a needs assessment, including estimated compliance costs. (c) Compliance determination Not later than the end of each fiscal year be- ginning after the date of the establishment of an implementation plan under this section, the At- torney General shall determine whether each State or Indian tribal government has achieved substantial compliance with the benchmarks in- cluded in the plan. (d) Accountability The Attorney General— (1) shall disclose and publish, including on the website of the Department of Justice— (A) the name of each State or Indian tribal government that received a determination of failure to achieve substantial compliance with an implementation plan under sub- section (c) for the preceding fiscal year; and (B) a description of the reasons for which the Attorney General has determined that the State or Indian tribal government is not in substantial compliance with the imple- mentation plan, including, to the greatest