HR2267-119

What This Bill Does

The NICS Data Reporting Act of 2026 creates an annual reporting requirement for firearm background-check denials. Within one year after enactment and every year afterward, the Attorney General must report to the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee on people determined to be ineligible to purchase a firearm based on a National Instant Criminal Background Check System background check. The report must include demographic data, if available, including race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, average annual income, and English language proficiency. The reported data must be disaggregated by the reason for the ineligibility determination. For people whose ineligibility determinations are overturned on appeal, the report must include the same demographic categories, allowing Congress to compare denial and appeal-overturn patterns.

Who Benefits and How

House and Senate Judiciary Committees benefit by receiving annual NICS denial and appeal-overturn data for oversight of firearm background checks. Civil-rights researchers benefit from demographic data that can identify whether denial outcomes or appeal reversals vary by race, ethnicity, disability, income, language proficiency, sex, gender, age, or national origin. Firearm purchasers whose denials are overturned benefit because appeal outcomes become part of the oversight record. NICS administrators benefit from clearer reporting expectations for denial and appeal data. Public-safety policymakers benefit from a data source linking ineligibility reasons to demographics.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Attorney General and Department of Justice must collect available demographic data, disaggregate it by ineligibility reason, include appeal-overturn data, and send annual reports to Congress. FBI NICS program staff may need to compile denial, appeal, and demographic data from background-check records. State and local agencies that supply NICS records may face follow-up if data gaps affect report completeness. Privacy officials must manage sensitivity around demographic and firearm background-check data. People denied firearm purchases may have their aggregated demographic categories included in federal reporting.

Key Provisions

• Requires an Attorney General report within 1 year after enactment and annually thereafter.
• Covers people found ineligible to purchase a firearm after a NICS background check.
• Requires demographic data including race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, income, and English proficiency when available.
• Requires disaggregation by the reason for the ineligibility determination.
• Requires the same demographic data for people whose ineligibility determinations are overturned on appeal.
• Directs reports to the House Judiciary Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee.