(a) In general
Not later than 1 year after March 23, 2018, the Attorney General, in coordination with the States and Indian tribal governments, shall establish, for each State or Indian tribal government, a plan to ensure maximum coordination and automation of the reporting or making available of appropriate records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System established under section 40901 of this title and the verification of the accuracy of those records during a 4-year period specified in the plan. The records shall be limited to those of an individual described in subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of title 18 ¹

(b) Benchmark requirements
Each plan established under this section shall include annual benchmarks to enable the Attorney General to assess the implementation of the plan, including—

(1) qualitative goals and quantitative measures; and

(2) a needs assessment, including estimated compliance costs.

(c) Compliance determination
Not later than the end of each fiscal year beginning after the date of the establishment of an implementation plan under this section, the Attorney General shall determine whether each State or Indian tribal government has achieved substantial compliance with the benchmarks included in the plan.

(d) Accountability
The Attorney General—

(1) shall disclose and publish, including on the website of the Department of Justice—

(A) the name of each State or Indian tribal government that received a determination of failure to achieve substantial compliance with an implementation plan under subsection (c) for the preceding fiscal year; and

(B) a description of the reasons for which the Attorney General has determined that the State or Indian tribal government is not in substantial compliance with the implementation plan, including, to the greatest extent possible, a description of the types and amounts of records that have not been submitted; and

(2) if a State or Indian tribal government described in paragraph (1) subsequently receives a determination of substantial compliance, shall—

(A) immediately correct the applicable record; and

(B) not later than 3 days after the determination, remove the record from the website of the Department of Justice and any other location where the record was published.

(e) Incentives
For each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the Attorney General shall give affirmative preference to all Bureau of Justice Assistance discretionary grant applications of a State or Indian tribal government that received a determination of substantial compliance under subsection (c) for the fiscal year in which the grant was solicited.