Jake Laird Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2786 To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in place laws that authorize law enforcement agencies to retain firearms taken from dangerous individuals, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2019 Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana (for herself, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. UPTON, Mrs. DIN- GELL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in place laws that authorize law enforcement agencies to retain firearms taken from dangerous individ- uals, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Jake Laird Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2786 IH (1) The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the meaning given 1 that term in section 921 of title 18, United States 2 Code. 3 (2) The term ‘‘dangerous’’ means, with respect 4 to an individual, that the individual— 5 (A) presents an imminent risk of injuring 6 himself or herself, or another individual; or 7 (B) the individual— 8 (i) may present a risk of injuring him- 9 self or herself, or another individual; and 10 (ii)(I) has a mental illness that may 11 be controlled by medication, but has dem- 12 onstrated a pattern of not voluntarily and 13 consistently taking such medication, except 14 under supervision; 15 (II) is the subject of documented evi- 16 dence that would give rise to a reasonable 17 belief that the individual has a propensity 18 for violent or emotionally unstable conduct; 19 or 20 (III) poses a significant danger of 21 personal injury to himself or herself, or an- 22 other individual, by possessing a firearm. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2786 IH SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW. 1 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au- 2 thorized to make grants to States that have in place a 3 law which authorizes the seizure of a firearm from a dan- 4 gerous individual in accordance with section 4. 5 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 6 under this section may use such grant to implement the 7 law described in subsection (a), and to train law enforce- 8 ment officers and prosecutors on the implementation of 9 such law. 10 (c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under 11 this section shall submit to the Attorney General an appli- 12 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 13 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re- 14 quire, including a copy of the law described in subsection 15 (a). 16 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW. 17 In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, 18 a State law shall provide for a process that is substantially 19 similar to the following: 20 (1) WARRANT TO SEIZE A FIREARM FROM A 21 DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL.— 22 (A) ISSUANCE.—A court of competent ju- 23 risdiction may issue a warrant authorizing a 24 law enforcement officer to seize a firearm from 25 a person that the court determines there is 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2786 IH probable cause to believe is dangerous and in 1 possession of a firearm. 2 (B) AFFIDAVIT REQUIRED.—A law en- 3 forcement officer seeking a warrant described in 4 subparagraph (A) shall submit to the court an 5 affidavit, which contains the following informa- 6 tion: 7 (i) Facts supporting the law enforce- 8 ment officer’s probable cause to believe 9 that the individual is dangerous and in 10 possession of a firearm, including a de- 11 scription of the law enforcement officer’s 12 interaction with the individual, or with an- 13 other individual who provided information 14 relating to the individual against whom the 15 warrant is sought, and who the law en- 16 forcement officer determines is credible 17 and reliable. 18 (ii) The specific location of the fire- 19 arm. 20 (2) SEIZURE OF A FIREARM WITHOUT A WAR- 21 RANT.—A law enforcement officer may seize a fire- 22 arm from an individual who the law enforcement of- 23 ficer determines there is probable cause to believe is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2786 IH dangerous without obtaining a warrant under para- 1 graph (1) in the case of exigent circumstances. 2 (3) RETURN FILED WITH COURT.—Not later 3 than 48 hours after serving a warrant issued under 4 paragraph (1) or seizing a firearm under paragraph 5 (2), the law enforcement officer who served the war- 6 rant shall file a return with the court that includes 7 the following information: 8 (A) The time and date on which the war- 9 rant was served, or the firearm was seized, as 10 applicable. 11 (B) The name and address of the indi- 12 vidual with respect to whom the warrant was 13 issued, or from whom the firearm was seized, as 14 applicable. 15 (C) The quantity of firearms seized, and a 16 description of each such firearm. 17 (4) HEARING.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days 19 after a return is filed under paragraph (3), the 20 court shall hold a hearing to determine whether 21 the individual is dangerous. If the court deter- 22 mines that the individual is dangerous, the 23 court shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2786 IH (i) order that the law enforcement 1 agency maintain possession of the firearm; 2 (ii) in the case of an individual who 3 has a license to carry a firearm, revoke 4 such license; and 5 (iii) enter an order restraining that 6 individual from acquiring a firearm. 7 (B) NOTICE.—The court shall provide no- 8 tice of such hearing to the government, and to 9 the individual from whom the firearm was 10 seized. 11 (C) BURDEN OF PROOF.—At a hearing 12 under subparagraph (A), the government shall 13 have the burden of proving, by clear and con- 14 vincing evidence, that the individual is dan- 15 gerous, and that the firearm should not be re- 16 turned to the individual from whom it was 17 seized. 18 (D) FIREARM OWNED BY ANOTHER INDI- 19 VIDUAL.—If the court determines that the fire- 20 arm seized is owned by an individual other than 21 the individual with respect to whom the warrant 22 was issued, the court shall order the return of 23 the firearm to that individual. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2786 IH (E) INCLUSION IN NICS.—In the case that 1 a court enters an order described in subpara- 2 graph (A), the appropriate person shall make 3 such information available to the Attorney Gen- 4 eral to be included in the National Instant 5 Criminal Background Check System. 6 (5) PETITION FOR RETURN OF FIREARM.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 8 that is 180 days after the date on which a court 9 entered an order described in clauses (i) 10 through (iii) of paragraph (4)(A), an individual 11 against whom such an order was entered may 12 petition the court for the reversal of such order. 13 (B) GRANTING OF PETITION.—The court 14 shall grant a petition filed under subparagraph 15 (A) if the petitioner proves by a preponderance 16 of the evidence that the individual is not dan- 17 gerous. 18 (C) DENIAL OF PETITION.—If the court 19 denies a petition under this section, the indi- 20 vidual against whom such order was entered 21 may file another petition under this section be- 22 ginning on the date that is 180 days after such 23 denial. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2786 IH (6) DISPOSAL OF FIREARM.—In the case that 1 an order under paragraph (4)(A)(i) is still in effect 2 on the date that is 5 years after the date on which 3 it was entered, the court, after giving notice to the 4 appropriate parties, may order the law enforcement 5 agency with custody of such firearm to dispose of 6 the firearm in accordance with any applicable policy 7 of the jurisdiction in which the firearm was seized. 8 (7) REQUEST TO SELL FIREARM.— 9 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual whose 10 firearms were retained by a law enforcement 11 agency pursuant to an order under paragraph 12 (4)(A)(i) may petition the court for the law en- 13 forcement agency to sell the firearm in accord- 14 ance with any applicable policy of the jurisdic- 15 tion in which the firearm was seized, and pro- 16 vide the proceeds of such sale to the individual. 17 The court shall grant such order unless the se- 18 rial number on the firearm is damaged. 19 (B) TIMING.—A petition described in sub- 20 paragraph (A) may be filed any time prior to 21 the entry of an order under paragraph (6). 22 (C) SALE.—A law enforcement agency or- 23 dered to sell a firearm under this section shall 24 sell the firearm not later than 1 year after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2786 IH entry of such order, and may retain not more 1 than 8 percent of the sale cost to cover the 2 costs of the sale. 3 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 4 There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 5 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 2020 through 6 2022. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:43 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2786.IH H2786 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS