Possibilities include directing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to prod states to submit more records, upgrading technology to automatically notify law enforcement when someone fails a background check and improving incentives for states to submit records.

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Under the 10th Amendment, the federal government cannot legally make states submit these records, regardless of importance.

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Instead, the agency will be required to submit an annual certification to DOJ, attesting that the agency continues to submit relevant records and has corrected, modified, or removed appropriate records.

WHITEHOUSE: The White House

In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, Congress passed a law providing financial incentives to encourage states to submit such court records.

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Mr. Baker said that at Thursday's meeting, he suggested the administration work on ways to push states to submit mental-health records into the background-check system, an emerging area of consensus in response to Newtown.

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