86R7942 GCB-D
By: Watson S.B. No. 1945
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a court's authority to temporarily restrict the ability
of a proposed patient for court-ordered mental health services to
possess a firearm.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 18.191, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by amending Subsections (c) and (d) and adding Subsection
(d-1) to read as follows:
(c) Not later than the 30th day after the date a firearm
subject to disposition under this article is seized, the law
enforcement agency holding the firearm shall contact the court in
the county having jurisdiction to order commitment under Chapter
574, Health and Safety Code, and request the disposition of the
case. Not later than the 30th day after the date of this request,
the clerk of the court shall advise the requesting agency:
(1) whether the person taken into custody was released
under Section 573.023, Health and Safety Code, or was ordered to
receive outpatient mental health services or inpatient mental
health services under Section 574.034 or 574.035, Health and Safety
Code; and
(2) whether the person is subject to a temporary
firearm restriction ordered under Section 574.0335, Health and
Safety Code.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (d-1), not [Not] later
than the 30th day after the date the clerk of the court informs a law
enforcement agency holding a firearm subject to disposition under
this article that the person taken into custody was released under
Section 573.023, Health and Safety Code, the law enforcement agency
shall:
(1) conduct a check of state and national criminal
history record information to verify whether the person may
lawfully possess a firearm under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g); and
(2) provide written notice to the person by certified
mail that the firearm may be returned to the person on verification
under Subdivision (1) that the person may lawfully possess the
firearm.
(d-1) If the clerk of court informs a law enforcement agency
holding a firearm subject to disposition under this article that
the person is subject to a temporary firearm restriction ordered
under Section 574.0335, Health and Safety Code, the law enforcement
agency shall hold the firearm until the expiration of the 90-day
period of the restriction. Not later than 30 days before the
expiration of the 90-day period of the restriction, the law
enforcement agency shall conduct the verification required under
Subsection (d)(1) and provide the notice described by Subsection
(d)(2). If the law enforcement agency verifies that the person
lawfully may possess a firearm, the firearm may be returned to the
person on expiration of the 90-day period of the restriction. A law
enforcement agency may return a firearm to a person who lawfully may
possess a firearm before the expiration of the 90-day period if the
person provides a copy of an order showing the court granted the
person's appeal of the restriction, in accordance with Section
574.0335(b), Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 574, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 574.0335 to read as follows:
Sec. 574.0335. ORDER IMPOSING TEMPORARY FIREARM
RESTRICTION. (a) The judge may issue an order prohibiting the
owning, possessing, or purchasing of a firearm for a period of 90
days by a proposed patient who is ordered to receive court-ordered
outpatient mental health services under Section 574.034 or 574.035,
or who does not otherwise meet the applicable criteria for
court-ordered mental health services and is released under Section
574.033, if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that
the proposed patient's possession of a firearm would present a
substantial risk of serious harm to the proposed patient's self or
to others.
(b) A person may appeal a temporary firearm restriction
imposed on the person under this section not sooner than 30 days
after the date the order is imposed. The court shall hold a hearing
to consider the appeal and shall remove the restriction unless the
court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person's
possession of a firearm continues to pose a substantial risk of
serious harm to the person's self or to others.
(c) If the court denies a person's appeal, the temporary
firearm restriction shall continue, and the person may not make a
subsequent appeal of the restriction for the remainder of the
90-day period for which the restriction is imposed.
SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act to Article
18.191, Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to the disposition
of a firearm seized by a law enforcement agency on or after the
effective date of this Act.
(b) The change in law made by this Act in adding Section
574.0335, Health and Safety Code, applies to a hearing held under
that chapter on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless
of whether conduct of a proposed patient that is a subject of the
hearing occurred before the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.