S. 2135: Fix NICS Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-11-15 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-11-15 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Fix NICS Act of 2017

Plain summary

Fix NICS Act of 2017 This bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to: certify whether it has provided to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm, and establish and substantially comply with an implementation plan to maximize record submissions and verify their accuracy. The bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to: direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the NICS; waive the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP) for a state that complies with its implementation plan; reauthorize through FY2022 the NICS Act Record Improvement Program (NARIP); establish, as a priority area for NARIP grant funding, a domestic abuse and violence prevention initiative; and create a funding preference under the NARIP program for states that establish an implementation plan and use grant funds to upload felony conviction and domestic violence records. It amends the Crime Identification Technology Act of 1998 to reauthorize through FY2022 the NCHIP program. If a state complies with its implementation plan, then the federal share of an NCHIP grant may exceed 90% of program costs.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Fix NICS Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · 77 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Todd Young (R-IN), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Boozman (R-AR), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and 17 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] reported raising $8.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s2135.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s2135 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115