Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1819 To support State, Tribal, and local efforts to remove access to firearms from individuals who are a danger to themselves or others pursuant to court orders for this purpose. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 25, 2021 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CASEY, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. SMITH, Mr. DUR- BIN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. CANTWELL, Ms. WARREN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MENEN- DEZ, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To support State, Tribal, and local efforts to remove access to firearms from individuals who are a danger to them- selves or others pursuant to court orders for this pur- pose. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Extreme Risk Protec- 4 tion Order Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1819 IS SEC. 2. EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER GRANT PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 4 ty’’ means— 5 (A) a State or Indian Tribe— 6 (i) that enacts legislation described in 7 subsection (c); 8 (ii) with respect to which the Attorney 9 General determines that the legislation de- 10 scribed in clause (i) complies with the re- 11 quirements under subsection (c)(1); and 12 (iii) that certifies to the Attorney 13 General that the State or Indian Tribe 14 shall— 15 (I) use the grant for the purposes 16 described in subsection (b)(2); and 17 (II) allocate not less than 25 per- 18 cent and not more than 70 percent of 19 the amount received under a grant 20 under subsection (b) for the develop- 21 ment and dissemination of training 22 for law enforcement officers in accord- 23 ance with subsection (b)(4); or 24 (B) a unit of local government or other 25 public or private entity that— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1819 IS (i) is located in a State or in the terri- 1 tory under the jurisdiction of an Indian 2 Tribe that meets the requirements de- 3 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) of subpara- 4 graph (A); and 5 (ii) certifies to the Attorney General 6 that the unit of local government or entity 7 shall— 8 (I) use the grant for the purposes 9 described in subsection (b)(2); and 10 (II) allocate not less than 25 per- 11 cent and not more than 70 percent of 12 the amount received under a grant 13 under this section for the development 14 and dissemination of training for law 15 enforcement officers in accordance 16 with subsection (b)(4). 17 (2) EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER.—The 18 term ‘‘extreme risk protection order’’ means a writ- 19 ten order or warrant, issued by a State or Tribal 20 court or signed by a magistrate (or other com- 21 parable judicial officer), the primary purpose of 22 which is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death 23 or injury by doing 1 or more of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1819 IS (A) Prohibiting a named individual from 1 having under the custody or control of the indi- 2 vidual, owning, purchasing, possessing, or re- 3 ceiving a firearm. 4 (B) Having a firearm removed or requiring 5 the surrender of firearms from a named indi- 6 vidual. 7 (3) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the 8 meaning given the term in section 921 of title 18, 9 United States Code. 10 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 11 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 12 section 1709 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 13 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389). 14 (5) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 15 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means a public servant 16 authorized by Federal, State, local, or Tribal law or 17 by a Federal, State, local, or Tribal government 18 agency to— 19 (A) engage in or supervise the prevention, 20 detection, investigation, or prosecution of an of- 21 fense; or 22 (B) supervise sentenced criminal offenders. 23 (6) PETITIONER.—The term ‘‘petitioner’’ 24 means an individual authorized under State or Trib- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1819 IS al law to petition for an extreme risk protection 1 order. 2 (7) RESPONDENT.—The term ‘‘respondent’’ 3 means an individual named in the petition for an ex- 4 treme risk protection order or subject to an extreme 5 risk protection order. 6 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 7 (A) a State; 8 (B) the District of Columbia; 9 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 10 and 11 (D) any other territory or possession of the 12 United States. 13 (9) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 14 ‘‘unit of local government’’ has the meaning given 15 the term in section 901 of title I of the Omnibus 16 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 17 U.S.C. 10251). 18 (b) GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHED.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 20 establish a program under which, from amounts 21 made available to carry out this section, the Attor- 22 ney General may make grants to eligible entities to 23 assist in carrying out the provisions of the legisla- 24 tion described in subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1819 IS (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under 1 this subsection may be used by an applicant to— 2 (A) enhance the capacity of law enforce- 3 ment agencies and the courts of a State, unit 4 of local government, or Indian Tribe by pro- 5 viding personnel, training, technical assistance, 6 data collection, and other resources to carry out 7 enacted legislation described in subsection (c); 8 (B) train judges, court personnel, health 9 care and legal professionals, and law enforce- 10 ment officers to more accurately identify indi- 11 viduals whose access to firearms poses a danger 12 of causing harm to themselves or others by in- 13 creasing the risk of firearms suicide or inter- 14 personal violence; 15 (C) develop and implement law enforce- 16 ment and court protocols, forms, and orders so 17 that law enforcement agencies and the courts 18 may carry out the provisions of the enacted leg- 19 islation described in subsection (c) in a safe, eq- 20 uitable, and effective manner, including through 21 the removal and storage of firearms pursuant to 22 extreme risk protection orders under the en- 23 acted legislation; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1819 IS (D) raise public awareness and under- 1 standing of the enacted legislation described in 2 subsection (c), including through subgrants to 3 community-based organizations for the training 4 of community members, so that extreme risk 5 protection orders may be issued in appropriate 6 situations to reduce the risk of firearms-related 7 death and injury. 8 (3) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a 9 grant under this subsection shall submit to the At- 10 torney General an application at such time, in such 11 manner, and containing or accompanied by such in- 12 formation as the Attorney General may reasonably 13 require. 14 (4) TRAINING.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant 16 under this subsection shall provide training to 17 law enforcement officers, including officers of 18 relevant Federal, State, local, and Tribal law 19 enforcement agencies, in the safe, impartial, ef- 20 fective, and equitable use and administration of 21 extreme risk protection orders, including train- 22 ing to address— 23 (i) bias based on race and racism, eth- 24 nicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1819 IS identity, religion, language proficiency, 1 mental health condition, disability, and 2 classism in the use and administration of 3 extreme risk protection orders; 4 (ii) the appropriate use of extreme 5 risk protection orders in cases of domestic 6 violence, including the applicability of other 7 policies and protocols to address domestic 8 violence in situations that may also involve 9 extreme risk protection orders and the ne- 10 cessity of safety planning with the victim 11 before a law enforcement officer petitions 12 for and executes an extreme risk protection 13 order, if applicable; 14 (iii) interacting with persons with a 15 mental illness or emotional distress, includ- 16 ing de-escalation and crisis intervention; 17 and 18 (iv) best practices for referring per- 19 sons subject to extreme risk protection or- 20 ders and associated victims of violence to 21 social service providers that may be avail- 22 able in the jurisdiction and appropriate for 23 those individuals, including health care, 24 mental health, substance abuse, and legal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1819 IS services, employment and vocational serv- 1 ices, housing assistance, case management, 2 and veterans and disability benefits. 3 (B) CONSULTATION WITH EXPERTS.—A 4 recipient of a grant under this subsection, in 5 developing law enforcement training required 6 under subparagraph (A), shall seek advice from 7 domestic violence service providers (including 8 culturally specific (as defined in section 40002 9 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 10 U.S.C. 12291)) organizations), social service 11 providers, suicide prevention advocates, violence 12 intervention specialists, law enforcement agen- 13 cies, mental health disability experts, and other 14 community groups working to reduce suicides 15 and violence, including domestic violence, within 16 the State or the territory under the jurisdiction 17 of the Indian Tribe, as applicable, that enacted 18 the legislation described in subsection (c) that 19 enabled the grant recipient to be an eligible en- 20 tity. 21 (5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 22 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 23 as are necessary to carry out this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1819 IS (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR EXTREME RISK PROTECTION 1 ORDER GRANT PROGRAM.— 2 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Legislation described in 3 this subsection is legislation that establishes require- 4 ments that are substantially similar to the following: 5 (A) PETITION FOR EXTREME RISK PRO- 6 TECTION ORDER.—A petitioner, including a law 7 enforcement officer, may submit a petition to a 8 State or Tribal court, on a form designed by 9 the court or a State or Tribal agency, that— 10 (i) describes the facts and cir- 11 cumstances justifying that an extreme risk 12 protection order be issued against the 13 named individual; and 14 (ii) is signed by the applicant, under 15 oath. 16 (B) NOTICE AND DUE PROCESS.—The in- 17 dividual named in a petition for an extreme risk 18 protection order as described in subparagraph 19 (A) shall be given written notice of the petition 20 and an opportunity to be heard on the matter 21 in accordance with this paragraph. 22 (C) ISSUANCE OF EXTREME RISK PROTEC- 23 TION ORDERS.— 24 (i) HEARING.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1819 IS (I) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt 1 of a petition described in subpara- 2 graph (A) or request of an individual 3 named in such a petition, the court 4 shall order a hearing to be held within 5 a reasonable time, and not later than 6 30 days after the date of the petition 7 or request. 8 (II) DETERMINATION.—If the 9 court finds at the hearing ordered 10 under subclause (I), by a preponder- 11 ance of the evidence or according to a 12 higher evidentiary standard estab- 13 lished by the State or Indian Tribe, 14 that the respondent poses a danger of 15 causing harm to self or others by hav- 16 ing access to a firearm, the court may 17 issue an extreme risk protection order. 18 (ii) DURATION OF EXTREME RISK 19 PROTECTION ORDER.—An extreme risk 20 protection order shall be in effect— 21 (I) until an order terminating or 22 superseding the extreme risk protec- 23 tion order is issued; or 24 (II) for a set period of time. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1819 IS (D) EX PARTE EXTREME RISK PROTEC- 1 TION ORDERS.— 2 (i) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of a 3 petition described in subparagraph (A), the 4 court may issue an ex parte extreme risk 5 protection order, if— 6 (I) the petition for an extreme 7 risk protection order alleges that the 8 respondent poses a danger of causing 9 harm to self or others by having ac- 10 cess to a firearm; and 11 (II) the court finds there is prob- 12 able cause to believe, or makes a find- 13 ing according to a higher evidentiary 14 standard established by the State or 15 Indian Tribe, that the respondent 16 poses a danger of causing harm to self 17 or others by having access to a fire- 18 arm. 19 (ii) DURATION OF EX PARTE EX- 20 TREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER.—An ex 21 parte extreme risk protection order shall 22 remain in effect only until the hearing re- 23 quired under subparagraph (C)(i). 24 (E) STORAGE OF REMOVED FIREARMS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:57 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1819.IS S1819 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1819 IS (i) AVAILABILITY FOR RETURN.—All 1 firearms removed or surrendered pursuant 2 to an extreme risk protection order shall 3 only be available for return to the named 4 individual when the individual has regained 5 eligibility under Federal and State law, 6 and, where applicable, Tribal law to pos- 7 sess firearms. 8 (ii) CONSENT REQUIRED FOR DIS- 9 POSAL OR DESTRUCTION.—Firearms 10 owned by a named individual may not be 11 disposed of or destroyed during [Text truncated for display. 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