FY 2010 State of Wisconsin NICS Act Record Improvement Program

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180 ("NICS Improvement Act"), was signed into law by the President on January 8, 2008. The NICS Improvement Act amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 ("the Brady Act") (Pub. L. 103-159), under which the Attorney General established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The Brady Act requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to contact the NICS before transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person for information on whether the proposed transferee is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm under state or federal law. The NICS Improvement Act authorizes grants to be made in a manner consistent with the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).

The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) will use FY 2010 NICS Act Record Improvement Program funds to conduct the following activities:

1) rewrite the application for firearm checks to address record availability of felony indictments and to upgrade the system to a more modern and expandable system;

2) implement the Department of Corrections Digital Imaging program through the purchase of RapID two-print capture devices for the purposes of assisting correctional officers and community corrections officers with verifying a subject's identity;

3) continue expansion of the Restraining Order Information Sharing project to effectively transfer restraining order information from the courts to the sheriff's department and subsequently to the Wisconsin Department of Justice;

4) maintain a Relief from Disabilities Program; and

5) establish a NICS Record Improvement Task Force to guide the development and implementation of an ongoing long-range records improvement plan.

CA/NCF