Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB1094 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1
2		-	HOUSE BILL 1207
3		-	By Kumar
	2	+	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
4	3
5	4		SENATE BILL 1094
6	5		By Hensley
7	6
8	7
9	8		SB1094
10	9		002921
11	10		- 1 -
12	11
13	12		AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
14	13		Chapter 17, Part 13, relative to suicide prevention.
15	14
16	15		BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	16		SECTION 1. This act is known and may be cited as the "Suicide Prevention Act of
18	17		2025."
19	18		SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13, is amended by
20	19		adding the following as a new section:
21	20		39-17-1367.
22	21		(a)
23	22		(1) In an effort to prevent violence, including suicide, homicide, or mass
24	23		shooting by persons with mental illness using firearms, the Tennessee bureau of
25	24		investigation (TBI) shall establish a program for revocable voluntary waiver of
26	25		firearms rights so as to avoid purchase, possession, and transportation of
27	26		firearms by and sale of firearms to:
28	27		(A) A person who is voluntarily admitted to a public or private
29	28		hospital or treatment resource for diagnosis, observation, and treatment
30	29		of a mental illness or serious emotional disturbance in accordance with
31	30		title 33, chapter 6, part 2. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(A)
32	31		may submit the request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to a mental
33	32		health counselor upon release from the hospital or treatment resource,
34	33		who must then submit the form to the circuit court clerk in the county
35	34		where the hospital or treatment resource is located; or
36	35
37	36
38	37		- 2 - 002921
39	38
40	39		(B) A person who is concerned about the person's mental health
41	40		and desires to enroll in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
42	41		program. A person described in this subdivision (a)(1)(B) may submit the
43	42		request form described in subdivision (a)(2) to the circuit court clerk in the
44	43		county in which the person resides.
45	44		(2) The TBI shall create a request form for revocable voluntary waiver of
46	45		firearms rights. The form must include:
47	46		(A) A statement at the top that the form is to be submitted to the
48	47		clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee resides;
49	48		(B) A space for the enrollee to designate up to two (2) persons as
50	49		guardian angels, if the enrollee wishes to do so, provide contact
51	50		information for the guardian angels, and have the guardian angels sign
52	51		indicating consent to be the enrollee's guardian angel;
53	52		(C) An explanation that:
54	53		(i) Reasonable efforts will be made to inform a guardian
55	54		angel if the enrollee revokes the enrollee's enrollment in the
56	55		revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
57	56		(ii) A designated guardian angel has no obligation to
58	57		remain available to receive or act upon the information received if
59	58		the enrollee revokes enrollment in the revocable voluntary waiver
60	59		of firearms rights program and that there is no civil or criminal
61	60		liability for failure to receive or act upon the information;
62	61		(D) A declaration of any firearms that are in the ownership of the
63	62		enrollee and the planned disposition of each firearm;
64	63
65	64
66	65		- 3 - 002921
67	66
68	67		(E) An attestation that the enrollee does not currently possess or
69	68		have access to any firearms at the time of enrolling in the revocable
70	69		voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
71	70		(F) An acknowledgement by the enrollee that it is an offense for a
72	71		person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
73	72		program to possess, purchase, or transport a firearm and that a violation
74	73		of subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
75	74		(3) If the request form is submitted directly to the circuit court clerk, then
76	75		the circuit court clerk must require the person to present a valid photo
77	76		identification to verify the person's identity prior to accepting the form.
78	77		(4) The circuit court clerk must:
79	78		(A) Transmit the completed request form to the TBI within three
80	79		(3) business days for entry into the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms
81	80		rights program; and
82	81		(B) Transmit a copy of the completed request form to the
83	82		department of safety within three (3) business days.
84	83		(5)
85	84		(A) The TBI must maintain and update the revocable voluntary
86	85		waiver of firearms rights request data to be used, in accordance with §
87	86		39-17-1316, to advise a gun dealer if the TBI's records indicate a firearm
88	87		buyer is prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
89	88		(B) Upon receipt of the form, the department of safety must
90	89		revoke the person's handgun carry permit under § 39-17-1351 and § 39-
91	90		17-1366.
92	91		(6)
93	92
94	93
95	94		- 4 - 002921
96	95
97	96		(A) No sooner than fourteen (14) calendar days after filing a
98	97		revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights request form, an enrollee
99	98		may file a revocation of the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
100	99		with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the enrollee
101	100		resides. The circuit court clerk must require a valid photo identification to
102	101		verify the person's identity prior to accepting the revocation form. The
103	102		filing of a revocation form allows the person executing the form to
104	103		purchase, possess, or transport a firearm after the TBI has completed
105	104		processing the form unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase
106	105		or possess a firearm under federal or state law. The circuit court clerk
107	106		must transmit the completed revocation request form to the TBI within
108	107		three (3) business days and transmit a copy of the completed revocation
109	108		request form to the department of safety within three (3) business days.
110	109		(B) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
111	110		on which the request for revocation was received, the TBI must:
112	111		(i) Notify the person that the person's name has been
113	112		removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights
114	113		program;
115	114		(ii) Make reasonable efforts to inform the person's
116	115		guardian angel of the revocation if the person has designated a
117	116		guardian angel;
118	117		(iii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment
119	118		in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program; and
120	119		(iv) Remove the person from the national instant criminal
121	120		background check system and other federal or state computer-
122	121
123	122
124	123		- 5 - 002921
125	124
126	125		based systems used by law enforcement to identify prohibited
127	126		purchasers of firearms in which the person's enrollment in the
128	127		revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program was
129	128		entered, unless the person is otherwise ineligible to purchase or
130	129		possess a firearm under federal or state law.
131	130		(C) By the end of the fourteenth business day following the date
132	131		on which the request for revocation was received, the department of
133	132		safety must:
134	133		(i) Reinstate the person's handgun carry permit under §
135	134		39-17-1351 and § 39-17-1366, unless the person is otherwise
136	135		ineligible to obtain a permit under state or federal law; and
137	136		(ii) Destroy all records related to the person's enrollment in
138	137		the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program after
139	138		reinstating the person's handgun carry permit.
140	139		(b) A person who knowingly makes a false statement regarding the person's
141	140		identity on an enrollment or revocation form for the revocable voluntary waiver of
142	141		firearms rights commits perjury, as defined in § 39-16-702.
143	142		(c) The TBI is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this section. The
144	143		rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures
145	144		Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
146	145		(d) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, the bureau and the department
147	146		of safety shall withhold from public disclosure all information regarding a request to be
148	147		enrolled into or removed from the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
149	148		and any other personal identifying information contained in or related to a revocable
150	149		voluntary waiver of firearms rights, except that such information may be disclosed to a
151	150
152	151
153	152		- 6 - 002921
154	153
155	154		law enforcement officer acting in the performance of official duties, a gun dealer as
156	155		required by § 39-17-1316, the applicant with respect to the applicant's own information,
157	156		or in the course of criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f) or § 39-16-702.
158	157		Records obtained and produced pursuant to this section are confidential and are not an
159	158		open record pursuant to title 10, chapter 7.
160	159		(e) A request form used to enroll in or withdraw from the revocable voluntary
161	160		waiver of firearms rights program must not be considered by a court in a legal
162	161		proceeding in which the person executing the form is a party, except that such form may
163	162		be used in a criminal prosecution for a violation of subsection (f), § 39-16-702, or § 39-
164	163		17-1316.
165	164		(f) It is an offense for a person who is enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver
166	165		of firearms rights program to purchase, possess, or transport a firearm. A violation of
167	166		this subsection (f) is a Class C misdemeanor.
168	167		SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1316(a)(1)(A), is amended by
169	168		adding the following new subdivision:
170	169		(vi) Are enrolled in the revocable voluntary waiver of firearms rights program
171	170		pursuant to § 39-17-1367.
172	171		SECTION 4. For the purpose of implementation, this act takes effect upon becoming a
173	172		law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
174	173		the public welfare requiring it.