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H.R. 4199: Safer Communities Act of 2019

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H.R. 4199: Safer Communities Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-08-20 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-08-20 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-5] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. 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

Safer Communities Act of 2019

Plain summary

Safer Communities Act of 2019 This bill establishes grants for mental health programs, revises certain prohibitions related to firearms, and revises criminal history reporting systems. Specifically, it provides grants to expand mental health crisis assistance programs, support comprehensive school mental health programs, and enhance mental health and substance abuse needs of prisoners. The Department of Health and Human Services must expand research on violence associated with mental illness and substance abuse disorders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must expand the National Violent Death Reporting System to all 50 states and research the causes, mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries from gun violence. Additionally, physicians are not prohibited from asking patients about guns in their homes, speaking to a patient about gun safety, or reporting a patient's threat of violence. The bill authorizes state grants to remove firearms from individuals who pose a threat to themselves or others. The Department of Justice must promptly notify law enforcement agencies when a prohibited person attempts to purchase a firearm. It also revises the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to establish procedures to restore firearm ownership rights after a mental health adjudication or commitment, authorize state grants for the automation and transmittal of mental health and criminal history records, and require certain annual reports and quarterly updates. Finally, it reauthorizes through FY2024 the National Criminal History Records Improvement Program.

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

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Safer Communities Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-5] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-5] reported raising $5.5 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)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
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

Record fed-us-cong116-hr4199 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116