Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB1207 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 1094
3	3	By Hensley
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 1207
6	6	By Kumar
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB1207
10	10	002921
11	11	- 1 -
12	12
13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
14	14	Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to suicide prevention.
15	15
16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	17	SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Suicide Prevention Act of
18	18	2025."
19	19	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, is amended by
20	20	adding the following as a new section:
21	21	39-17-1367.
22	22	(a)
23	23	(1) In an effort to prevent violence, including suicide, homicide, or mass
24	24	shooting by persons with mental illness using firearms, the Tennessee bureau of
25	25	investigation (TBI) shall establish a program for revocable voluntary waiver of
26	26	firearms rights so as to avoid purchase, possession, and transportation of
27	27	firearms by and sale of firearms to:
28	28	(A) A person who is voluntarily admitted to a public or private
29	29	hospital or treatment resource for diagnosis, observation, and treatment
30	30	of a mental illness or serious emotional disturbance in accordance with
31	31	title 33, chapter 6, part 2. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(A)
32	32	may submit the request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to a mental
33	33	health counselor upon release from the hospital or treatment resource,
34	34	who must then submit the form to the circuit court clerk in the county
35	35	where the hospital or treatment resource is located; or
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39	39
40	40	(B) A person who is concerned about the person's mental health
41	41	and desires to enroll in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
42	42	program. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(B) may submit the
43	43	request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to the circuit court clerk in the
44	44	county in which the person resides.
45	45	(2) The TBI shall create a request form for revocable voluntary waiver of
46	46	firearms rights. The form must include:
47	47	(A) A statement at the top that the form is to be submitted to the
48	48	clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee resides;
49	49	(B) A space for the enrollee to designate up to two (2) persons as
50	50	guardian angels, if the enrollee wishes to do so, provide contact
51	51	information for the guardian angels, and have the guardian angels sign
52	52	indicating consent to be the enrollee's guardian angel;
53	53	(C) An explanation that:
54	54	(i) Reasonable efforts will be made to inform a guardian
55	55	angel if the enrollee revokes the enrollee's enrollment in the
56	56	revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
57	57	(ii) A designated guardian angel has no obligation to
58	58	remain available to receive or act upon the information received if
59	59	the enrollee revokes enrollment in the revocable voluntary waiver
60	60	of firearms rights program and that there is no civil or criminal
61	61	liability for failure to receive or act upon the information;
62	62	(D) A declaration of any firearms that are in the ownership of the
63	63	enrollee and the planned disposition of each firearm;
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68	68	(E) An attestation that the enrollee does not currently possess or
69	69	have access to any firearms at the time of enrolling in the revocable
70	70	voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
71	71	(F) An acknowledgement by the enrollee that it is an offense for a
72	72	person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
73	73	program to possess, purchase, or transport a firearm and that a violation
74	74	of subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
75	75	(3) If the request form is submitted directly to the circuit court clerk, then
76	76	the circuit court clerk must require the person to present a valid photo
77	77	identification to verify the person's identity prior to accepting the form.
78	78	(4) The circuit court clerk must:
79	79	(A) Transmit the completed request form to the TBI within three
80	80	(3) business days for entry into the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms
81	81	rights program; and
82	82	(B) Transmit a copy of the completed request form to the
83	83	department of safety within three (3) business days.
84	84	(5)
85	85	(A) The TBI must maintain and update the revocable voluntary
86	86	waiver of firearms rights request data to be used, in accordance with §
87	87	39-17-1316, to advise a gun dealer if the TBI's records indicate a firearm
88	88	buyer is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
89	89	(B) Upon receipt of the form, the department of safety must
90	90	revoke the person's handgun carry permit under § 39-17-1351 and § 39-
91	91	17-1366.
92	92	(6)
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97	97	(A) No sooner than fourteen (14) calendar days after filing a
98	98	revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights request form, an enrollee
99	99	may file a revocation of the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
100	100	with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee
101	101	resides. The circuit court clerk must require a valid photo identification to
102	102	verify the person's identity prior to accepting the revocation form. The
103	103	filing of a revocation form allows the person executing the form to
104	104	purchase, possess, or transport a firearm after the TBI has completed
105	105	processing the form unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase
106	106	or possess a firearm under federal or state law. The circuit court clerk
107	107	must transmit the completed revocation request form to the TBI within
108	108	three (3) business days and transmit a copy of the completed revocation
109	109	request form to the department of safety within three (3) business days.
110	110	(B) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
111	111	on which the request for revocation was received, the TBI must:
112	112	(i) Notify the person that the person's name has been
113	113	removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
114	114	program;
115	115	(ii) Make reasonable efforts to inform the person's
116	116	guardian angel of the revocation if the person has designated a
117	117	guardian angel;
118	118	(iii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment
119	119	in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
120	120	(iv) Remove the person from the national instant criminal
121	121	background check system and other federal or state computer-
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126	126	based systems used by law enforcement to identify prohibited
127	127	purchasers of firearms in which the person's enrollment in the
128	128	revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program was
129	129	entered, unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase or
130	130	possess a firearm under federal or state law.
131	131	(C) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
132	132	on which the request for revocation was received, the department of
133	133	safety must:
134	134	(i) Reinstate the person's handgun carry permit under §
135	135	39-17-1351 and § 39-17-1366, unless the person is otherwise
136	136	ineligible to obtain a permit under state or federal law; and
137	137	(ii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment in
138	138	the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program after
139	139	reinstating the person's handgun carry permit.
140	140	(b) A person who knowingly makes a false statement regarding the person's
141	141	identity on an enrollment or revocation form for the revocable voluntary waiver of
142	142	firearms rights commits perjury, as defined in § 39-16-702.
143	143	(c) The TBI is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this section. The
144	144	rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures
145	145	Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
146	146	(d) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the bureau and the department
147	147	of safety shall withhold from public disclosure all information regarding a request to be
148	148	enrolled into or removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
149	149	and any other personal identifying information contained in or related to a revocable
150	150	voluntary waiver of firearms rights, except that such information may be disclosed to a
151	151
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155	155	law enforcement officer acting in the performance of official duties, a gun dealer as
156	156	required by § 39-17-1316, the applicant with respect to the applicant's own information,
157	157	or in the course of criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f) or § 39-16-702.
158	158	Records obtained and produced pursuant to this section are confidential and are not an
159	159	open record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
160	160	(e) A request form used to enroll in or withdraw from the revocable voluntary
161	161	waiver of firearms rights program must not be considered by a court in a legal
162	162	proceeding in which the person executing the form is a party, except that such form may
163	163	be used in a criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f), § 39-16-702, or § 39-
164	164	17-1316.
165	165	(f) It is an offense for a person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver
166	166	of firearms rights program to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm. A violation of
167	167	this subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
168	168	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316(a)(1)(A), is amended by
169	169	adding the following new subdivision:
170	170	(vi) Are enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
171	171	pursuant to § 39-17-1367.
172	172	SECTION 4. For the purpose of implementation, this act takes effect upon becoming a
173	173	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
174	174	the public welfare requiring it.