FY 2011 Virginia 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 Virginia State Police (VSP) and Supreme Court of Virginia (SCV) will use NARIP funds to complete tasks associated with the following projects: 1) equip 40 general district courts with the requisite infrastructure to automate the receipt of mental health data from the SCV to VSP for subsequent submission to NICS and 2) enhance and upgrade the Virginia Background Check System to reduce the number of delayed transactions and meet additional NICS program requirements, including the removal of mental health information when NIAA compliant and the transmission of the denial reason, the NICS purpose ID number, and the correct prohibiting category codes for Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence. (CA/NCF)