How bill to improve Tennessee's gun background checks could resurface

Tennessee lawmakers are hoping to keep up a push for a universal court filing system that would improve the gun background check process as the state continues to face a backlog of hundreds of thousands of court records not yet linked to people’s criminal histories.

The effort comes as a bill that would have developed a centralized court system for electronic case filing was one of dozens quashed this week in a legislative session on public safety that ended in chaos with little significant action on firearms-related issues.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, who sponsored the bill, said he plans to push forward when lawmakers return for their regular session in January. He said the bill would help to address the thousands of court case dispositions that have yet to be entered into the state database used for prospective gun buyers.

“This will allow court-issued dispositions for felons or commitments to immediately be in the database without delay to ensure those who are legally prohibited cannot purchase a firearm,” Sexton said in a statement.

A statewide backlog

When someone is convicted of a crime, court clerks are required to send the case disposition to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which oversees the state background check system.

But sometimes there are snags.

The TBI in a report this year said it was working to clear a backlog of 761,000 cases that have not yet been linked to criminal records due to reporting errors in the files.

That means that some individuals could potentially have a criminal conviction that would disqualify them from buying a gun, but the case may not show up in a background check.

TBI spokesperson Josh DeVine in a statement Tuesday said the agency is “aggressively working” to tackle the problem and has requested state approval for a one-year vendor contract.

Some states, like Alabama, have a centralized court system where electronic records from every county can be easily filed and accessed in one place.

But Tennessee doesn’t have this system, so the process can vary wildly by county. About 3% of counties still send in case dispositions by mail or fax, which can lead to reporting lags, officials said.

Lags in reporting 

In an effort to speed up the process, lawmakers in one of the few bills they did pass in the August special session codified an executive order from Gov. Bill Lee earlier this year that shortened the time frame to 72 hours for court clerks to report the information to the TBI.

But the bill didn’t address the larger issues outlined by TBI as it continues to struggle with timely background check reporting due to dated technology and the lack of a unified court system.

Also, the TBI does not keep track of how many counties are in compliance with the new reporting timeframe and lawmakers in a committee meeting this month acknowledged that there is no penalty if counties don't meet the deadline.

In one of the problems, agencies use different software and send information to the TBI in multiple formats. Agencies submit hardcopy dispositions on at  least 14 different forms.

DeVine said a universal court system would help with the overall reporting process.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, is also pushing for more unified court system. The plan, however, will have to wait until January as the Senate was firm during the special session that it would only pursue a narrow slate of bills.

In a statement, McNally's office said he is aware of the issues highlighted by the TBI and will continue to work with the agency on improvements.

In April, the legislature appropriated $75 million to the Administrative Office of Courts for a statewide e-file system, which is pending approval from lawmakers. While the money has been appropriated, the courts still need direction from lawmakers on how to use the funds, officials said.

"Lt. Governor McNally is confident that next step will be taken in the regular session in January,” the statement said.

Reach Kelly Puente at kpuente@tennessean.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee lawmakers vow to improve background gun checks