[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5717 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5717

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in 
   place laws that authorize the seizure of firearms from dangerous 
                  individuals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2018

   Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Upton, Mrs. 
Dingell, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr. Paulsen, Mr. Coffman, Mr. Dent, Mr. Bera, 
Mr. Costello of Pennsylvania, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. MacArthur, and 
 Mr. Moulton) introduced the following 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 the seizure of firearms from dangerous 
                  individuals, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jake Laird Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``firearm'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 921 of title 18, United States Code.
            (2) The term ``dangerous'' means, with respect to an 
        individual, that the individual--
                    (A) presents an imminent risk of injuring himself 
                or herself, or another individual; or
                    (B) the individual--
                            (i) may present a risk of injuring himself 
                        or herself, or another individual; and
                            (ii)(I) has a mental illness that may be 
                        controlled by medication, but has demonstrated 
                        a pattern of not voluntarily and consistently 
                        taking such medication, except under 
                        supervision;
                            (II) is the subject of documented evidence 
                        that would give rise to a reasonable belief 
                        that the individual has a propensity for 
                        violent or emotionally unstable conduct; or
                            (III) poses a significant danger of 
                        personal injury to himself or herself, or 
                        another individual, by possessing a firearm.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW.

    (a) Authorization.--The Attorney General is authorized to make 
grants to States that have in place a law which authorizes the seizure 
of a firearm from a dangerous individual in accordance with section 4.
    (b) Use of Funds.--A State that receives a grant under this section 
may use such grant to implement the law described in subsection (a), 
and to train law enforcement officers and prosecutors on the 
implementation of such law.
    (c) Application.--A State seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit to the Attorney General an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General may 
reasonably require, including a copy of the law described in subsection 
(a).

SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW.

    In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, a State law 
shall provide for a process that is substantially similar to the 
following:
            (1) Warrant to seize a firearm from a dangerous 
        individual.--
                    (A) Issuance.--A court of competent jurisdiction 
                may issue a warrant authorizing a law enforcement 
                officer to seize a firearm from a person that the court 
                determines there is probable cause to believe is 
                dangerous and in possession of a firearm.
                    (B) Affidavit required.--A law enforcement officer 
                seeking a warrant described in subparagraph (A) shall 
                submit to the court an affidavit, which contains the 
                following information:
                            (i) Facts supporting the law enforcement 
                        officer's probable cause to believe that the 
                        individual is dangerous and in possession of a 
                        firearm, including a description of the law 
                        enforcement officer's interaction with the 
                        individual, or with another individual who 
                        provided information relating to the individual 
                        against whom the warrant is sought, and who the 
                        law enforcement officer determines is credible 
                        and reliable.
                            (ii) The specific location of the firearm.
            (2) Seizure of a firearm without a warrant.--A law 
        enforcement officer may seize a firearm from an individual who 
        the law enforcement officer determines there is probable cause 
        to believe is dangerous without obtaining a warrant under 
        paragraph (1) in the case of exigent circumstances.
            (3) Return filed with court.--Not later than 48 hours after 
        serving a warrant issued under paragraph (1) or seizing a 
        firearm under paragraph (2), the law enforcement officer who 
        served the warrant shall file a return with the court that 
        includes the following information:
                    (A) The time and date on which the warrant was 
                served, or the firearm was seized, as applicable.
                    (B) The name and address of the individual with 
                respect to whom the warrant was issued, or from whom 
                the firearm was seized, as applicable.
                    (C) The quantity of firearms seized, and a 
                description of each such firearm.
            (4) Hearing.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 21 days after a 
                return is filed under paragraph (3), the court shall 
                hold a hearing to determine whether the individual is 
                dangerous. If the court determines that the individual 
                is dangerous, the court shall--
                            (i) order that the law enforcement agency 
                        maintain possession of the firearm;
                            (ii) in the case of an individual who has a 
                        license to carry a firearm, revoke such 
                        license; and
                            (iii) enter an order restraining that 
                        individual from acquiring a firearm.
                    (B) Notice.--The court shall provide notice of such 
                hearing to the government, and to the individual from 
                whom the firearm was seized.
                    (C) Burden of proof.--At a hearing under 
                subparagraph (A), the government shall have the burden 
                of proving, by clear and convincing evidence, that the 
                individual is dangerous, and that the firearm should 
                not be returned to the individual from whom it was 
                seized.
                    (D) Firearm owned by another individual.--If the 
                court determines that the firearm seized is owned by an 
                individual other than the individual with respect to 
                whom the warrant was issued, the court shall order the 
                return of the firearm to that individual.
                    (E) Inclusion in nics.--In the case that a court 
                enters an order described in subparagraph (A), the 
                appropriate person shall make such information 
                available to the Attorney General to be included in the 
                National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
            (5) Petition for return of firearm.--
                    (A) In general.--Beginning on the date that is 180 
                days after the date on which a court entered an order 
                described in clauses (i) through (iii) of paragraph 
                (4)(A), an individual against whom such an order was 
                entered may petition the court for the reversal of such 
                order.
                    (B) Granting of petition.--The court shall grant a 
                petition filed under subparagraph (A) if the petitioner 
                proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the 
                individual is not dangerous.
                    (C) Denial of petition.--If the court denies a 
                petition under this section, the individual against 
                whom such order was entered may file another petition 
                under this section beginning on the date that is 180 
                days after such denial.
            (6) Disposal of firearm.--In the case that an order under 
        paragraph (4)(A)(i) is still in effect on the date that is 5 
        years after the date on which it was entered, the court, after 
        giving notice to the appropriate parties, may order the law 
        enforcement agency with custody of such firearm to dispose of 
        the firearm in accordance with any applicable policy of the 
        jurisdiction in which the firearm was seized.
            (7) Request to sell firearm.--
                    (A) In general.--An individual whose firearms were 
                retained by a law enforcement agency pursuant to an 
                order under paragraph (4)(A)(i) may petition the court 
                for the law enforcement agency to sell the firearm in 
                accordance with any applicable policy of the 
                jurisdiction in which the firearm was seized, and 
                provide the proceeds of such sale to the individual. 
                The court shall grant such order unless the serial 
                number on the firearm is damaged.
                    (B) Timing.--A petition described in subparagraph 
                (A) may be filed any time prior to the entry of an 
                order under paragraph (6).
                    (C) Sale.--A law enforcement agency ordered to sell 
                a firearm under this section shall sell the firearm not 
                later than 1 year after the entry of such order, and 
                may retain not more than 8 percent of the sale cost to 
                cover the costs of the sale.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry out 
this Act for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2021.
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