Sponsor
Scott Perry
Representative · R-PA
Representative · R-PA
The bill strengthens incentives and legal clarity to protect firearm-related personal information and reduce misuse, but does so by conditioning federal grant eligibility on certifications that may impose compliance costs, legal uncertainty, and risks of funding loss for jurisdictions that disclosed PII—even unintentionally.
People who register firearms and apply for carry permits will face a lower risk of their personally identifiable information being disclosed or misused because grant eligibility is conditioned on certifications that recipients did not disclose firearm-related PII.
State, local, tribal governments and other grant recipients are incentivized to strengthen data-handling and privacy controls (and to be administratively accountable) to retain federal Byrne JAG and related grants, achieved without creating a new federal spending program.
Law enforcement, courts, and agencies gain clearer statutory definitions for 'firearm' and 'personally identifiable information,' reducing ambiguity in applying grant rules and enabling more consistent handling and protections for sensitive records.
State, local, tribal governments, and nonprofits that have inadvertently disclosed firearm-related PII risk losing Byrne JAG or other federal public-safety grant funding, which could reduce resources for local criminal-justice and public-safety programs.
Smaller jurisdictions, understaffed agencies, and nonprofit applicants will face additional administrative and compliance burdens to prove they did not disclose PII, diverting limited staff time from core public-safety work.
Linking grant eligibility to a certification about disclosures could discourage transparent reporting of accidental PII disclosures (due to fear of losing funds), reducing accountability and increasing underreporting of breaches.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires DOJ grant applicants to certify they did not disclose firearm-related personally identifiable information in the prior fiscal year and adds statutory definitions of “firearm” and “personally identifiable information.”
Official title: To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require certifications related to the intentional, accidental, or otherwise knowing disclosure of personally identifiable information of persons involved in transactions related to possession of firearms, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 12, 2026 by Scott Perry · Last progress May 12, 2026
Requires applicants for several federal law-enforcement and community-policing grant programs to certify they did not intentionally, accidentally, or knowingly disclose personally identifiable information (PII) connected to firearm transactions, permits, or background checks in the prior fiscal year. The bill also adds statutory definitions of “firearm” (by reference) and “personally identifiable information,” and extends the certification requirement to states, local governments, Indian tribes, private entities, and Byrne/COPS grant applicants.