Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3076 To authorize the issuance of extreme risk protection orders. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2019 Mrs. MCBATH (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Ms. MUCARSEL- POWELL, Ms. DEAN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. CROW, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. SHERRILL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. TRONE, Mr. EVANS, Ms. BASS, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. MENG, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. CLARK of Massa- chusetts, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SOTO, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. RUSH, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. MOULTON, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To authorize the issuance of extreme risk protection orders. 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 ‘‘Federal Extreme Risk 4 Protection Order Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 3076 IH SEC. 2. EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDERS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 44 of title 18, United 2 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘§ 932. Extreme risk protection orders 5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘designated law enforcement offi- 7 cer’ means a law enforcement officer, designated by 8 a United States marshal, who agrees to receive fire- 9 arms, ammunition, and permit, as applicable, sur- 10 rendered under subsection (f); 11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 12 the Administrative Office of the United States 13 Courts; 14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘ex parte extreme risk protection 15 order’ or ‘ex parte order’ means an extreme risk pro- 16 tection order issued under subsection (c); 17 ‘‘(4) the term ‘extreme risk protection order’ 18 means an order issued by a Federal court that en- 19 joins an individual from purchasing, possessing, or 20 receiving, in or affecting interstate and foreign com- 21 merce, a firearm or ammunition; 22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘family or household member’, 23 with respect to a respondent, means any— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 3076 IH ‘‘(A) parent, spouse, sibling, or child re- 1 lated by blood, marriage, or adoption to the re- 2 spondent; 3 ‘‘(B) dating partner of the respondent; 4 ‘‘(C) individual who has a child in common 5 with the respondent, regardless of whether the 6 individual has— 7 ‘‘(i) been married to the respondent; 8 or 9 ‘‘(ii) lived together with the respond- 10 ent at any time; 11 ‘‘(D) individual who resides or has resided 12 with the respondent during the past year; 13 ‘‘(E) domestic partner of the respondent; 14 ‘‘(F) individual who has a legal parent- 15 child relationship with the respondent, including 16 a stepparent-stepchild and grandparent-grand- 17 child relationship; and 18 ‘‘(G) individual who is acting or has acted 19 as the legal guardian of the respondent; 20 ‘‘(6) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means 21 any officer, agent, or employee of the Federal Gov- 22 ernment or a State government, unit of local govern- 23 ment, or Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 3076 IH Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 1 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) authorized— 2 ‘‘(A) by law or by a government agency to 3 engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, 4 or investigation of any violation of criminal law; 5 or 6 ‘‘(B) by law to supervise sentenced crimi- 7 nal offenders; 8 ‘‘(7) the term ‘long-term extreme risk protec- 9 tion order’ or ‘long-term order’ means an extreme 10 risk protection order issued under subsection (d); 11 ‘‘(8) the term ‘mental health agency’ means an 12 agency of a State or local government or its con- 13 tracted agency that is responsible for mental health 14 services or co-occurring mental health and substance 15 abuse services; and 16 ‘‘(9) the term ‘national instant criminal back- 17 ground check system’ means the national instant 18 criminal background check system established under 19 section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Preven- 20 tion Act (34 U.S.C. 40901). 21 ‘‘(b) PETITION.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A family or household 23 member of the applicable individual, or a law en- 24 forcement officer, may submit to an appropriate dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 3076 IH trict court of the United States a petition requesting 1 that the court issue an ex parte extreme risk protec- 2 tion order or long-term extreme risk protection order 3 with respect to an individual. 4 ‘‘(2) NO FEES.—A court may not charge a peti- 5 tioner any fee for filing a petition under paragraph 6 (1). 7 ‘‘(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—A petitioner who is a 8 law enforcement officer may provide the identity of 9 the petitioner’s sources, and any identifying informa- 10 tion, to the court under seal. 11 ‘‘(c) EX PARTE ORDERS.— 12 ‘‘(1) TIMING.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 14 subparagraph (B), a court that receives a peti- 15 tion for an ex parte order under subsection (b) 16 shall grant or deny the petition on the date on 17 which the petition is submitted. 18 ‘‘(B) LATE PETITIONS.—If a court receives 19 a petition for an ex parte order submitted 20 under subsection (b) too late in the day to per- 21 mit effective review, the court shall grant or 22 deny the petition on the next day of judicial 23 business at a time early enough to permit the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 3076 IH court to file an order with the clerk of the court 1 during that day. 2 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE REQUIRED.—Before issuing an 3 ex parte order, a court shall require that the peti- 4 tioner submit a signed affidavit, sworn to before the 5 court, that— 6 ‘‘(A) explains why the petitioner believes 7 that the respondent poses a risk of imminent 8 personal injury to himself or herself, or another 9 individual, by purchasing, possessing, or receiv- 10 ing a firearm or ammunition; and 11 ‘‘(B) describes the interactions and con- 12 versations of the petitioner with— 13 ‘‘(i) the respondent; or 14 ‘‘(ii) another individual, if the peti- 15 tioner believes that information obtained 16 from that individual is credible and reli- 17 able. 18 ‘‘(3) STANDARD FOR ISSUANCE OF ORDER.—A 19 court may issue an ex parte order only upon a find- 20 ing of probable cause to believe that— 21 ‘‘(A) the respondent poses a risk of immi- 22 nent personal injury to himself or herself, or 23 another individual, by purchasing, possessing, 24 or receiving a firearm or ammunition; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 3076 IH ‘‘(B) the order is necessary to prevent the 1 injury described in subparagraph (A). 2 ‘‘(4) DURATION.—An ex parte order shall ex- 3 pire on the earlier of— 4 ‘‘(A) the date that is 14 days after the 5 date of issuance; or 6 ‘‘(B) the date on which the court deter- 7 mines whether to issue a long-term order with 8 respect to the respondent. 9 ‘‘(d) LONG-TERM ORDERS.— 10 ‘‘(1) HEARING REQUIRED.—If a court receives 11 a petition for an extreme risk protection order for a 12 respondent under subsection (b), the court shall hold 13 a hearing to determine whether to issue a long-term 14 order with respect to the respondent either— 15 ‘‘(A)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 16 not later than 72 hours after the court issues 17 an ex parte order with respect to the respond- 18 ent; or 19 ‘‘(ii) if the court issues an ex parte order 20 with respect to the respondent but the order is 21 not served on the respondent within 72 hours of 22 the issuance, not later than 72 hours after the 23 order is served on the respondent; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 3076 IH ‘‘(B) if the respondent waives the right to 1 a hearing under subparagraph (A) or the court 2 does not issue an ex parte order, not later than 3 14 days after the date on which the court re- 4 ceives the petition. 5 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO BE 6 HEARD.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The court shall pro- 8 vide the respondent with notice and the oppor- 9 tunity to be heard at a hearing under this sub- 10 section, sufficient to protect the due process 11 rights of the respondent. 12 ‘‘(B) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—At a hearing 14 under this subsection, the respondent may 15 be represented by counsel who is— 16 ‘‘(I) chosen by the respondent; 17 and 18 ‘‘(II) authorized to practice at 19 such a hearing. 20 ‘‘(ii) COURT-PROVIDED COUNSEL.—If 21 the respondent is financially unable to ob- 22 tain representation by counsel, the court, 23 at the request of the respondent, shall en- 24 sure to the extent practicable that the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 3076 IH spondent is represented by an attorney for 1 the Legal Services Corporation with re- 2 spect to the petition. 3 ‘‘(3) BURDEN OF PROOF; STANDARD.—At a 4 hearing under this subsection, the petitioner— 5 ‘‘(A) shall have the burden of proving all 6 material facts; and 7 ‘‘(B) shall be required to demonstrate, by 8 clear and convincing evidence, that— 9 ‘‘(i) the respondent poses a risk of 10 personal injury to himself or herself, or an- 11 other individual, during the period to be 12 covered by the proposed extreme risk pro- 13 tection order, by purchasing, possessing, or 14 receiving a firearm or ammunition; and 15 ‘‘(ii) the order is necessary to prevent 16 the injury described in clause (i). 17 ‘‘(4) ISSUANCE.—Upon a showing of clear and 18 convincing evidence under paragraph (3), the court 19 shall issue a long-term order with respect to the re- 20 spondent that shall be in effect for a period of not 21 more than 180 days. 22 ‘‘(5) DENIAL.—If the court finds that there is 23 not clear and convincing evidence to support the 24 issuance of a long-term order, the court shall dis- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 3076 IH solve any ex parte order then in effect with respect 1 to the respondent. 2 ‘‘(6) RENEWAL.— 3 ‘‘(A) NOTICE OF SCHEDULED EXPIRA- 4 TION.—Thirty days before the date on which a 5 long-term order is scheduled to expire, the court 6 that issued the order shall— 7 ‘‘(i) notify the petitioner and the re- 8 spondent that the order is scheduled to ex- 9 pire; and 10 ‘‘(ii) advise the petitioner and the re- 11 spondent of the procedures for seeking a 12 renewal of the order under this paragraph. 13 ‘‘(B) PETITION.—If a family or household 14 member of the respondent, or a law enforce- 15 ment officer, believes that the conditions under 16 paragraph (3)(B) continue to apply with respect 17 to a respondent who is subject to a long-term 18 order, the family or household member or law 19 enforcement officer may submit to the court 20 that issued the order a petition for a renewal of 21 the order. 22 ‘‘(C) HEARING.—A court that receives a 23 petition submitted under subparagraph (B) 24 shall hold a hearing to determine whether to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 3076 IH issue a renewed long-term order with respect to 1 the respondent. 2 ‘‘(D) APPLICABLE PROCEDURES.—The re- 3 quirements under paragraphs (2) through (5) 4 shall apply to the consideration of a petition for 5 a renewed long-term order submitted under 6 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph. 7 ‘‘(E) ISSUANCE.—Upon a showing by clear 8 and convincing evidence that the conditions 9 under paragraph (3)(B) continue to apply with 10 respect to the respondent, the court shall issue 11 a renewed long-term order with respect to the 12 respondent. 13 ‘‘(e) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—In determining 14 whether to issue an extreme risk protection order, a 15 court— 16 ‘‘(1) shall consider factors including— 17 ‘‘(A) recent threats or acts of violence by 18 the respondent directed toward other individ- 19 uals; 20 ‘‘(B) recent threats or acts of violence by 21 the respondent directed toward himself or her- 22 self; 23 ‘‘(C) recent acts of cruelty to animals by 24 the respondent; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 3076 IH ‘‘(D) evidence of— 1 ‘‘(i) recent criminal offenses by the re- 2 spondent that involve controlled substances 3 or alcohol; or 4 ‘‘(ii) ongoing abuse of controlled sub- 5 stances or alcohol by the respondent; and 6 ‘‘(2) may consider other factors, including— 7 ‘‘(A) the reckless use, display, or bran- 8 dishing of a firearm by the respondent; 9 ‘‘(B) a history of violence or attempted vio- 10 lence by the respondent against other individ- 11 uals; and 12 ‘‘(C) prior involuntary confinement of the 13 respondent in a hospital for individuals with 14 psychiatric disabilities. 15 ‘‘(f) RELINQUISHMENT OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNI- 16 TION.— 17 ‘‘(1) ORDER OF SURRENDER.—Upon issuance 18 of an ex parte order or long-term order, the court 19 shall order the respondent to surrender all firearms 20 and ammunition that the respondent possesses or 21 owns, in or affecting interstate commerce, as well as 22 any permit authorizing the respondent to purchase 23 or possess firearms (including a concealed carry per- 24 mit), to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3076.IH H3076 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 3076 IH ‘‘(A) the United States Marshals Service; 1 or 2 ‘‘(B) a designated law enforcement officer. 3 ‘‘(2) SURRENDER AND REMOVAL.— 4 ‘‘(A) MANNER OF SERVICE.— 5 ‘‘(i) PERSONAL SERVICE.—Except as 6 pro [Text truncated for display. 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