Senate. House pass Nic Improvement Act SENATE, HOUSE PASS NICS IMPROVEMENT ACT . . . The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act of 2007 passed in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives last week. The legislation requires federal agencies to provide relevant data for use in the NICS system. Under the legislation, states would either be rewarded for providing appropriate mental health records to NICS or penalized for refusing to turn over such data. The NICS Improvement Act does not expand the definition of who is a prohibited person. Anyone who can legally purchase a firearm today can still do so under this legislation.