text: SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF THE BRADY HANDGUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ACT.
  
      (a) Section 922 of Title 18, United States Code.--Section 922 of 
  title 18, United States Code, as added by the Brady Handgun Violence 
  Prevention Act, is amended--
              (1) in subsection (s)(1) by striking ``ending on the day 
          before the date that is 60 months after such date of 
          enactment,'' and inserting ``ending either on the day before 
          the date that is 48 months after such date of enactment, unless 
          the Attorney General extends the date by 12 additional months, 
          or on the day that the Attorney General notifies the licensees 
          under section 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun Violence 
          Prevention Act, whichever occurs earlier,''; and
              (2) by amending subsection (t) to read as follows:
      ``(t)(1) Beginning on the date that is 30 days after the Attorney 
  General notifies licensees under section 103(e)(1) of the Brady Handgun 
  Violence Prevention Act that the national instant criminal background 
  check system is established, and upon notification by the Attorney 
  General to licensees that the system is operational and capable of 
  supplying information immediately (during which 30-day period 
  subsection (s) shall remain in effect), a licensed importer, licensed 
  manufacturer, or licensed dealer shall not transfer a firearm to any 
  other person who is not licensed under this chapter, unless--
              ``(A) before the completion of the transfer, the licensee 
          contacts the national instant criminal background check system 
          established under section 103 of that Act;
              ``(B)(i) the system provides the licensee with a unique 
          identification number; or
              ``(ii) 3 business days (meaning a day on which State 
          offices are open) have elapsed since the licensee contacted the 
          system, and the system has not notified the licensee that the 
          receipt of a firearm by such other person would violate 
          subsection (g) or (n) of this section or State law; and
              ``(C) the transferor has verified the identity of the 
          transferee by examining a valid identification document (as 
          defined in section 1028(d)(1) of this title) of the transferee 
          containing a photograph of the transferee.
      ``(2) If receipt of a firearm would not violate section 922 (g) or 
  (n) or State law, the system shall immediately
              ``(A) assign a unique identification number to the 
          transfer;
              ``(B) provide the licensee with the number; and
              ``(C) destroy all records of the system with respect to the 
          call (other than the identifying number and the date the number 
          was assigned) and all records of the system relating to the 
          person or the transfer.
      ``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a firearm transfer between a 
  licensee and another person if--
              ``(A)(i) such other person has presented to the licensee a 
          permit that--
                      ``(I) allows such other person to possess, acquire, 
                  or carry a firearm; and
                      ``(II) was issued not more than 5 years earlier by 
                  the State in which the transfer is to take place; and
              ``(ii) the law of the State provides that such a permit is 
          to be issued only after an authorized government official has 
          verified that the information available to such official does 
          not indicate that possession of a firearm by such other person 
          would be in violation of law;
              ``(B) the Secretary has approved the transfer under section 
          5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
              ``(C) on application of the transferor, the Secretary has 
          certified that compliance with paragraph (1)(A) is 
          impracticable because--
                      ``(i) the ratio of the number of law enforcement 
                  officers of the State in which the transfer is to occur 
                  to the number of square miles of land area of the State 
                  does not exceed 0.0025;
                      ``(ii) the business premises of the licensee at 
                  which the transfer is to occur are extremely remote in 
                  relation to the chief law enforcement officer (as 
                  defined in subsection (s)(8)); and
                      ``(iii) there is an absence of telecommunications 
                  facilities in the geographical area in which the 
                  business premises are located.
      ``(4) If the national instant criminal background check system 
  notifies the licensee that the information available to the system does 
  not demonstrate that the receipt of a firearm by such other person 
  would violate subsection (g) or (n) or State law, and the licensee 
  transfers a firearm to such other person, the licensee shall include in 
  the record of the transfer the unique identification number provided by 
  the system with respect to the transfer.
      ``(5) If the licensee knowingly transfers a firearm to such other 
  person and knowingly fails to comply with paragraph (1) of this 
  subsection with respect to the transfer and, at the time such other 
  person most recently proposed the transfer, the national instant 
  criminal background check system was operating and information was 
  available to the system demonstrating that receipt of a firearm by such 
  other person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of this section or 
  State law, the Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for a 
  hearing, suspend for not more than 6 months or revoke any license 
  issued to the licensee under section 923, and may impose on the 
  licensee a civil fine of not more than $5,000.
      ``(6) Neither a local government nor an employee of the Federal 
  Government or of any State or local government, responsible for 
  providing information to the national instant criminal background check 
  system shall be liable in an action at law for damages--
              ``(A) for failure to prevent the sale or transfer of a 
          firearm to a person whose receipt or possession of the firearm 
          is unlawful under this section; or
              ``(B) for preventing such a sale or transfer to a person 
          who may lawfully receive or possess a firearm.''.
      (b) National Instant Criminal Background Check System.--Section 103 
  of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act is amended to read as 
  follows:
  
  ``SEC. 103. NATIONAL INSTANT CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK SYSTEM.
  
      ``(a) Determination of Timetables.--Not later than 6 months after 
  the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall--
              ``(1) determine the type of computer hardware and software 
          that will be used to operate the national instant criminal 
          background check system and the means by which State criminal 
          records systems and the telephone or electric device of 
          licensees that will communicate with the national system;
              ``(2) investigate the criminal records system of each State 
          and determine for each State a timetable by which the State 
          should be able to provide criminal records on an on-line 
          capacity basis to the national system; and
              ``(3) notify each State of the determinations made pursuant 
          to paragraphs (1) and (2).
      ``(b) Establishment of System.--
              ``(1) Determinations.--Not later than the date that is 24 
          months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
          General shall--
                      ``(A) determine whether--
                              ``(i) the equipment used to link State 
                          criminal history records systems to the 
                          national criminal history records system and 
                          the equipment necessary to operate the national 
                          instant criminal background check system are 
                          operational; and
                              ``(ii) any group of States that--
                                      ``(I) have at least 80 percent of 
                                  the population of the United States; 
                                  and
                                      ``(II) have reported during a 12-
                                  month period at least 80 percent of the 
                                  number of crimes of violence reported 
                                  by all of the States during that 
                                  period,
                          have achieved and maintained at an average of 
                          at least 60 percent currency of felony case 
                          dispositions in computerized criminal history 
                          files for all cases in which there has been an 
                          event or activity within the last 5 years; and
                      ``(B) if such determinations are made in the 
                  affirmative, certify that the national system is 
                  established.
              ``(2) Establishment.--The Attorney General shall establish 
          a national instant criminal background check system that any 
          licensee may contact, by telephone and by other electronic 
          means in addition to the telephone, for information, to be 
          supplied immediately, on whether receipt of a firearm by a 
          prospective transferee would violate section 922 of title 18, 
          United States Code, or State law.
      ``(c) Expedited Action by the Attorney General.--The Attorney 
  General shall expedite--
              ``(1) the upgrading and indexing of State criminal history 
          records in the Federal criminal records system maintained by 
          the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
              ``(2) the development of hardware and software systems to 
          link State criminal history check systems into the national 
          instant criminal background check system established by the 
          Attorney General pursuant to this section; and
              ``(3) the current revitalization initiatives by the Federal 
          Bureau of Investigation for technologically advanced 
          fingerprint and criminal records identification.
      ``(d) Notification of Licensees.--
              ``(1) System established.--On establishment of the system 
          under this section, the Attorney General shall notify each 
          licensee and the chief law enforcement officer of each State of 
          the existence and purpose of the system and the means to be 
          used to contact the system.
              ``(2) Compliance with timetable.--At any time at which the 
          Attorney General determines that a State is in compliance with 
          the timetable set for that State under section (a), the 
          Attorney General shall notify each licensee in the State and 
          the chief law enforcement officer of the State of the 
          determination.
      ``(e) Administrative Provisions.--
              ``(1) Authority to obtain official information.--
          Notwithstanding any other law, the Attorney General may secure 
          directly from any department or agency of the United States 
          such information on persons for whom receipt of a firearm would 
          violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18, 
          United States Code, or State law as is necessary to enable the 
          system to operate in accordance with this section. On request 
          of the Attorney General, the head of such department or agency 
          shall furnish such information to the system.
              ``(2) Other authority.--The Attorney General shall develop 
          such computer software, design and obtain such 
          telecommunications and computer hardware, and employ such 
          personnel, as are necessary to establish and operate the system 
          in accordance with this section.
      ``(f) Written Reasons Provided on Request.--If the national instant 
  criminal background check system determines that an individual is 
  ineligible to receive a firearm and the individual requests the system 
  to provide the reasons for the determination, the system shall provide 
  such reasons to the individual, in writing, within 5 business days 
  after the date of the request.
      ``(g) Correction of Erroneous System Information.--A prospective 
  transferee may submit to the Attorney General information that to 
  correct, clarify, or supplement records of the system with respect to 
  the prospective transferee. After receipt of such information, the 
  Attorney General shall immediately consider the information, 
  investigate the matter further, and correct all erroneous Federal 
  records relating to the prospective transferee and give notice of the 
  error to any Federal department or agency or any State that was the 
  source of such erroneous records.
      ``(h) Regulations.--After 90 days' notice to the public and an 
  opportunity for hearing by interested parties, the Attorney General 
  shall prescribe regulations to ensure the privacy and security of the 
  information of the system established under this section.
      ``(i) Prohibition Relating To Establishment of Registration Systems 
  With Respect to Firearms.--No department, agency, officer, or employee 
  of the United States may--
              ``(1) require that any record or portion thereof generated 
          by the system established under this section be recorded at or 
          transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the 
          United States or any State or political subdivision thereof; or
              ``(2) use the system established under this section to 
          establish any system for the registration of firearms, firearm 
          owners, or firearm transactions or dispositions, except with 
          respect to persons, prohibited by section 922 (g) or (n) of 
          title 18, United States Code, or State law from receiving a 
          firearm.
      ``(j) Definitions.--As used in this section:
              (1) Licensee.--The term ``licensee'' means a licensed 
          importer (as defined in section 921(a)(9) of title 18, United 
          States Code), a licensed manufacturer (as defined in section 
          921(a)(10) of that title), or a licensed dealer (as defined in 
          section 921(a)(11) of that title).
              ``(2) Other terms.--The terms ``firearm'', ``handgun'', 
          ``licensed importer'', ``licensed manufacturer'', and 
          ``licensed dealer'' have the meanings stated in section 921(a) 
          of title 18, United States Code, as amended by subsection 
          (a)(2).
      ``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
  appropriated, which may be appropriated from the Violent Crime 
  Reduction Trust Fund established by section 1115 of title 31, United 
  States Code, such sums as are necessary to enable the Attorney General 
  to carry out this section.''.
      (c) Notification of Adjudications of Persons as Mental Defectives 
  and Commitments to Mental Institutions.--Section 503(a) of title I of 
  the Omnibus Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
  3753(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
              ``(12) A certification that the State has established a 
          plan under which the State will provide to the Department of 
          Justice, without fee--
                      ``(A) within 30 days after the date on which any 
                  person in the State is adjudicated as a mental 
                  defective or committed to a mental institution, notice 
                  of the adjudication or commitment; and
                      ``(B) within 30 days after the date on which the 
                  Department of Justice requests it, a copy of the 
                  certified record of the adjudication or commitment.''.
target: Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to:  (1) shorten to 48 months the period that a five-day waiting period and background check are to be imposed pending establishment of a national instant criminal background check system (system) for handgun transfers; and (2) provide that system check requirements shall not apply until notification by the Attorney General to licensees that the system is operational and capable of supplying information immediately.  Makes the latter provision inapplicable to a firearm transfer between a licensee and another person who has presented a firearm permit meeting certain conditions. 
  Directs the Attorney General to:  (1) establish the system within 24 (currently, 60) months after the enactment of such Act; and (2) notify each licensee in, and the chief law enforcement officer of, a State at any time of a determination that the State is in compliance with the timetable set for that State. 
  Authorizes a prospective transferee to submit to the Attorney General information to correct, clarify, or supplement records of the system with respect to the prospective transferee.  Requires the Attorney General to immediately consider the information, to investigate further, and to correct erroneous information and give notice of the error to any Federal department or agency or any State that was the source of such records. 
  Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include among State application requirements for drug control and system improvement grants a certification that the State has established a plan under which the State will provide the Department of Justice with notification of adjudications of persons as mental defectives and of commitments to mental institutions.
feat_title: A bill to amend the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to establish standards for determining whether the national instant criminal background check system is operational and to amend section 503(a) of title I of the Omnibus Safe Streets and Crime Control Act of 1968 to require a State to certify that the State has established a plan under which the State will provide to the Department of Justice notice of the adjudication of any person as a mental defective or the commitment of any person to a mental institution.