Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2011, $3,250,000)
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).
Under this award, the Office of Policy and Management, the Judicial Branch, and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) will use funds to: 1) establish and support a NICS Records Improvement Task Force to guide the development and implementation of both ongoing and long-range records improvement plans; 2) design and build an electronic record system that will provide more timely and complete electronic disposition records in the criminal courts and separate the maintenance and reporting of criminal dispositions from the main body of statewide case management system to improve the availability of criminal court records for firearm eligibility determinations; 3) improve the completeness, automation, and transmittal of relevant probate court records (specifically mental health information) to the NICS; and 4) provide automated access to the state DMHAS to civil commitment data to enable mental health data submitted by DMHAS to NICS to be available electronically for the preparation of mandatory reports and auditing purposes. (CA/NCF)