Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1945 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R7942 GCB-D
2	2	By: Watson S.B. No. 1945
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to a court's authority to temporarily restrict the ability
8	8	of a proposed patient for court-ordered mental health services to
9	9	possess a firearm.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article 18.191, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
12	12	amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection
13	13	(d-1) to read as follows:
14	14	(c) Not later than the 30th day after the date a firearm
15	15	subject to disposition under this article is seized, the law
16	16	enforcement agency holding the firearm shall contact the court in
17	17	the county having jurisdiction to order commitment under Chapter
18	18	574, Health and Safety Code, and request the disposition of the
19	19	case. Not later than the 30th day after the date of this request,
20	20	the clerk of the court shall advise the requesting agency:
21	21	(1) whether the person taken into custody was released
22	22	under Section 573.023, Health and Safety Code, or was ordered to
23	23	receive outpatient mental health services or inpatient mental
24	24	health services under Section 574.034 or 574.035, Health and Safety
25	25	Code; and
26	26	(2) whether the person is subject to a temporary
27	27	firearm restriction ordered under Section 574.0335, Health and
28	28	Safety Code.
29	29	(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), not [Not] later
30	30	than the 30th day after the date the clerk of the court informs a law
31	31	enforcement agency holding a firearm subject to disposition under
32	32	this article that the person taken into custody was released under
33	33	Section 573.023, Health and Safety Code, the law enforcement agency
34	34	shall:
35	35	(1) conduct a check of state and national criminal
36	36	history record information to verify whether the person may
37	37	lawfully possess a firearm under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g); and
38	38	(2) provide written notice to the person by certified
39	39	mail that the firearm may be returned to the person on verification
40	40	under Subdivision (1) that the person may lawfully possess the
41	41	firearm.
42	42	(d-1) If the clerk of court informs a law enforcement agency
43	43	holding a firearm subject to disposition under this article that
44	44	the person is subject to a temporary firearm restriction ordered
45	45	under Section 574.0335, Health and Safety Code, the law enforcement
46	46	agency shall hold the firearm until the expiration of the 90-day
47	47	period of the restriction. Not later than 30 days before the
48	48	expiration of the 90-day period of the restriction, the law
49	49	enforcement agency shall conduct the verification required under
50	50	Subsection (d)(1) and provide the notice described by Subsection
51	51	(d)(2). If the law enforcement agency verifies that the person
52	52	lawfully may possess a firearm, the firearm may be returned to the
53	53	person on expiration of the 90-day period of the restriction. A law
54	54	enforcement agency may return a firearm to a person who lawfully may
55	55	possess a firearm before the expiration of the 90-day period if the
56	56	person provides a copy of an order showing the court granted the
57	57	person's appeal of the restriction, in accordance with Section
58	58	574.0335(b), Health and Safety Code.
59	59	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 574, Health and Safety
60	60	Code, is amended by adding Section 574.0335 to read as follows:
61	61	Sec. 574.0335. ORDER IMPOSING TEMPORARY FIREARM
62	62	RESTRICTION. (a) The judge may issue an order prohibiting the
63	63	owning, possessing, or purchasing of a firearm for a period of 90
64	64	days by a proposed patient who is ordered to receive court-ordered
65	65	outpatient mental health services under Section 574.034 or 574.035,
66	66	or who does not otherwise meet the applicable criteria for
67	67	court-ordered mental health services and is released under Section
68	68	574.033, if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that
69	69	the proposed patient's possession of a firearm would present a
70	70	substantial risk of serious harm to the proposed patient's self or
71	71	to others.
72	72	(b) A person may appeal a temporary firearm restriction
73	73	imposed on the person under this section not sooner than 30 days
74	74	after the date the order is imposed. The court shall hold a hearing
75	75	to consider the appeal and shall remove the restriction unless the
76	76	court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person's
77	77	possession of a firearm continues to pose a substantial risk of
78	78	serious harm to the person's self or to others.
79	79	(c) If the court denies a person's appeal, the temporary
80	80	firearm restriction shall continue, and the person may not make a
81	81	subsequent appeal of the restriction for the remainder of the
82	82	90-day period for which the restriction is imposed.
83	83	SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act to Article
84	84	18.191, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to the disposition
85	85	of a firearm seized by a law enforcement agency on or after the
86	86	effective date of this Act.
87	87	(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Section
88	88	574.0335, Health and Safety Code, applies to a hearing held under
89	89	that chapter on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless
90	90	of whether conduct of a proposed patient that is a subject of the
91	91	hearing occurred before the effective date of this Act.
92	92	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.