Bill Text: TX HB521 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the establishment and use of a voluntary registry of individuals experiencing mental illness who waive the right to purchase or receive transfer of a firearm; creating criminal offenses.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-01 - Referred to Homeland Security & Public Safety [HB521 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB521-Introduced.html

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87R440 EAS-D
By: Fierro H.B. No. 521

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment and use of a voluntary registry of
individuals experiencing mental illness who waive the right to
purchase or receive transfer of a firearm; creating criminal
offenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H-1. VOLUNTARY REGISTRY OF INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING
MENTAL ILLNESS WHO WAIVE RIGHT TO PURCHASE OR RECEIVE TRANSFER OF
FIREARM
Sec. 411.221. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section
46.01, Penal Code.
(2) "Licensed firearms dealer" means an individual who
is licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
Sec. 411.222. VOLUNTARY REGISTRY OF INDIVIDUALS WAIVING
RIGHT TO PURCHASE OR RECEIVE TRANSFER OF FIREARM. The department
shall establish and maintain a registry that identifies individuals
who have voluntarily waived the right to purchase or receive
transfer of a firearm under Section 411.223, except that the
registry may not include information for an individual with respect
to a waiver that has been revoked under Section 411.226.
Sec. 411.223. WAIVER OF RIGHT TO PURCHASE OR RECEIVE
TRANSFER OF FIREARM. (a) An individual experiencing mental
illness may submit to the department, on a form prescribed by the
department, a waiver of the individual's right to purchase or
receive transfer of a firearm.
(b) The waiver form must require the individual to provide
information sufficient to enable the department to verify the
individual's identity.
(c) In addition to other requirements specified by
department rule, the waiver form must contain the following
prominently displayed statement:
"BECAUSE YOU HAVE SUBMITTED THIS WAIVER, YOU MAY NOT PURCHASE
OR RECEIVE TRANSFER OF ANY FIREARMS. YOU MAY VOLUNTARILY REVOKE
THIS WAIVER AT ANY TIME BY SUBMITTING A REVOCATION FORM TO THE TEXAS
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY."
(d) In submitting the waiver, the individual may designate a
third person to be notified if the individual revokes the waiver.
(e) The fact that an individual has submitted a waiver under
this section or is listed in the voluntary registry does not in
itself prohibit the individual from possessing a firearm under
state law.
Sec. 411.224. ADDITION TO VOLUNTARY REGISTRY. Not later
than 24 hours after the department receives the completed waiver
form, the department shall enter the individual's name and
identifying information in the registry.
Sec. 411.225. DUTY TO ACCESS VOLUNTARY REGISTRY. Before
transferring a firearm to an individual, a licensed firearms dealer
shall access the voluntary registry to ensure that the individual
is not listed in that registry, regardless of whether the
individual presents an apparently valid license to carry a handgun
issued under Subchapter H.
Sec. 411.226. REVOCATION OF WAIVER; REMOVAL FROM VOLUNTARY
REGISTRY. (a) An individual experiencing mental illness may
revoke a waiver under this subchapter by submitting a revocation to
the department on a form prescribed by the department.
(b) The revocation form must require the individual to
provide information sufficient to enable the department to verify
that the individual submitting the revocation is the same
individual who submitted the waiver.
(c) Not later than 24 hours after the department receives a
revocation form, the department shall, if applicable, notify the
third person designated in the waiver under Section 411.223(d) that
the department has received a revocation form.
(d) Subject to Subsection (e), not later than the seventh
day after the date the department receives a revocation form, the
department shall:
(1) remove all information about the individual from
the voluntary registry;
(2) destroy all records of the waiver and revocation
forms; and
(3) notify the individual that all information about
the individual was successfully removed from the voluntary
registry.
(e) The department may not remove information about an
individual from the voluntary registry before the seventh day after
the date the individual submitted the waiver for inclusion in the
registry, regardless of whether a revocation of the waiver is made
before the expiration of that period.
Sec. 411.227. MULTIPLE WAIVERS AND REVOCATIONS PERMITTED.
An individual experiencing mental illness may make one or more
waivers or revocations of waiver under this subchapter, as the
individual considers necessary or appropriate.
Sec. 411.228. WAIVERS AND REVOCATIONS BY AUTHORIZED
REPRESENTATIVE PERMITTED. A person who is authorized by law to
represent an individual experiencing mental illness may make, as
the authorized representative considers necessary or appropriate,
waivers or revocations of waivers under this subchapter on behalf
of the individual, provided that the waiver or revocation is
considered within the scope of the representation.
Sec. 411.229. AVAILABILITY OF FORMS. The department shall
make available the waiver form described by Section 411.223 and the
revocation form described by Section 411.226:
(1) on the department's Internet website;
(2) at each county clerk's office;
(3) at the location at which a licensed firearms
dealer conducts sales or other transfers of firearms; and
(4) to individuals and facilities that are licensed,
certified, or otherwise authorized to provide mental health care
services, for profit or otherwise, in the ordinary course of
business or professional practice.
Sec. 411.230. VOLUNTARY REGISTRY ACCESSIBILITY. The
department shall ensure that the volunteer registry is maintained
in a secure electronic database that:
(1) documents the date and time that any information
about a specific individual is added to or removed from the
registry;
(2) provides a licensed firearms dealer with real time
access to the registry and documents the name of the specific dealer
gaining access and the date and time that the access occurred; and
(3) prevents unauthorized access to the registry.
Sec. 411.231. CONFIDENTIALITY AND DISCLOSURE OF
INFORMATION. Information obtained by the department for the
voluntary registry:
(1) is confidential and not subject to disclosure
under Chapter 552; and
(2) may not be disclosed except to a licensed firearms
dealer in connection with a prospective transfer of a firearm or to
a law enforcement agency.
Sec. 411.232. OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if
the person knowingly:
(1) submits a waiver form under Section 411.223 to the
department to add the name and identifying information of another
person to the voluntary registry without the other person's
effective consent; or
(2) submits a revocation form under Section 411.226 to
the department to remove the name and identifying information of
another person from the voluntary registry without the other
person's effective consent.
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.
Sec. 411.233. CONSIDERATION IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
PROHIBITED. A court may not consider a waiver or revocation under
this subchapter as evidence in any legal proceeding other than in
the prosecution of an offense under Section 46.06(a)(7), Penal
Code, or Section 411.232 of this code.
Sec. 411.234. BENEFITS. Subject to Section 411.228, a
person may not require an individual experiencing mental illness to
submit a waiver under this subchapter for any reason, including as a
condition of receiving employment, housing, education, or any
benefit or service.
Sec. 411.235. RULES. (a) The director shall adopt rules to
establish and maintain the voluntary registry, including rules
prescribing the forms necessary for submission or revocation of a
waiver described by this subchapter.
(b) The rules governing use or disclosure of information in
the registry must be at least as stringent as the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act and Privacy Standards, as
defined by Section 181.001, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 46.06(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
unlawful act;
(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any child
younger than 18 years of age any firearm, club, or
location-restricted knife;
(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
intoxicated;
(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
(A) the person's release from confinement
following conviction of the felony; or
(B) the person's release from supervision under
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
conviction of the felony;
(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered; [or]
(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
order is directed to the actor; or
(7) is a licensed firearms dealer and sells or
otherwise transfers a firearm to a person the dealer knows is listed
in the voluntary registry created under Subchapter H-1, Chapter
411, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 46.06(b), Penal Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
(3) "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is
licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
SECTION 4. (a) Not later than September 1, 2022, the
Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall develop and
make available the waiver and revocation forms and create the
voluntary registry required by Subchapter H-1, Chapter 411,
Government Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Section 46.06(a), Penal Code, as amended by this Act,
applies only to a sale or other transfer of a firearm that occurs on
or after September 1, 2022.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.