‘An Act To Specify the Procedures Regarding the Court-ordered Surrender of Dangerous Weapons’
| SP0719 LD 1884 |
Session - 128th Maine Legislature C "B", Filing Number S-489, Sponsored by
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LR 2943 Item 3 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Specify the Procedures Regarding the Court-ordered Surrender of Dangerous Weapons’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §393, sub-§1, ¶E, as amended by PL 2015, c. 470, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) Committed involuntarily to a hospital pursuant to an order of the District Court under Title 34-B, section 3864 because the person was found to present a likelihood of serious harm, as defined under Title 34-B, section 3801, subsection 4-A, paragraphs A to C;
(2) Found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity with respect to a criminal charge; or
(3) Found not competent to stand trial with respect to a criminal charge . ; or
(4) Ordered to participate in a progressive treatment program pursuant to Title 34-B, section 3873-A and, as part of that order, directed not to possess firearms pursuant to Title 34-B, section 3873-A, subsection 7-A.
Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime;
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §393, sub-§1-C is enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 34-B MRSA §3873-A, sub-§5, ¶A-1 is enacted to read:
Sec. 4. 34-B MRSA §3873-A, sub-§§7-A and 7-B are enacted to read:
If the court prohibits the patient from possessing a firearm, muzzle-loading firearm, bow, crossbow or other dangerous weapon, the court shall notify the patient that possession of a firearm by the person is prohibited pursuant to Title 15, section 393. The court also shall direct the patient to relinquish, within 24 hours after service of the order on the patient or such earlier time as the court specifies in the order, all firearms, muzzle-loading firearms, bows, crossbows and specified dangerous weapons in the possession of the patient to a law enforcement officer or other individual for the duration of the order. If the weapons are relinquished to an individual other than a law enforcement officer, the patient must file, within 24 hours after such relinquishment, with the court or local law enforcement agency designated in the order a written statement that contains the name and address of the individual holding the weapons and a description of all weapons held by that individual.
The duties and liability of a law enforcement agency with respect to firearms surrendered pursuant to this subsection are governed by Title 25, section 2804-C, subsection 2-C.
The abstract required by this subsection is confidential and is not a public record as defined in Title 1, chapter 13; however, a copy of the abstract may be provided by the State Bureau of Identification to a criminal justice agency for legitimate law enforcement purposes, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant Criminal Background Check System or to an issuing authority for the purpose of processing concealed firearm permit applications. The State Bureau of Identification shall request that the Federal Bureau of Investigation ensure that, immediately after an order issued pursuant to subsection 7-A expires, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System no longer reflects that expired order as a ground for prohibiting the subject of the order from possessing a firearm.
For the purposes of this subsection, "criminal justice agency" means a federal, state, tribal, district, county or local government agency or any subunit of those entities that performs the administration of criminal justice under a statute or executive order and that allocates a substantial part of its annual budget to the administration of criminal justice. Courts and the Department of the Attorney General are considered criminal justice agencies. "Criminal justice agency" also includes any equivalent criminal justice agency at any level of Canadian government.’
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, strikes and replaces the bill. The amendment authorizes a court to order a person admitted to a progressive treatment program not to possess firearms, muzzle-loading firearms, bows, crossbows or other specified dangerous weapons for the duration of the patient's court-ordered participation in the program. Possession of a firearm by a patient in violation of such an order is a Class D crime. A law enforcement officer to whom a patient surrenders a firearm must exercise reasonable care to avoid loss, damage or reduction in value of the surrendered firearm.
The amendment also directs a court of this State that enters an order dissolving, terminating or vacating an order or any portion of an order that constitutes grounds to prohibit a person from possessing a firearm pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, section 393 to promptly notify the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police, State Bureau of Identification of this information. The State Bureau of Identification is required to then promptly notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation and request that the National Instant Criminal Background Check System be promptly updated to reflect the dissolution, termination, vacation or modification of the underlying order.