Florida Senate - 2008 (PROPOSED COMMITTEE BILL) SPB 7022

FOR CONSIDERATION By the Committee on Criminal Justice

591-02817-08 20087022__

1

A bill to be entitled

2

An act relating to the revocation or suspension of

3

concealed weapon and firearm licenses held by licensees

4

who are adjudicated incapacitated or committed to a mental

5

institution; amending s. 790.065, F.S.; authorizing the

6

Department of Law Enforcement to provide data collected

7

from court records to the Department of Agriculture and

8

Consumer Services for purposes of determining whether a

9

license should be revoked or suspended under s.

10

790.06(10), F.S.; providing an effective date.

11

12

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13

14

     Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section

15

790.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

16

     790.065  Sale and delivery of firearms.--

17

     (2)  Upon receipt of a request for a criminal history record

18

check, the Department of Law Enforcement shall, during the

19

licensee's call or by return call, forthwith:

20

     (a)  Review any records available to determine if the

21

potential buyer or transferee:

22

     1.  Has been convicted of a felony and is prohibited from

23

receipt or possession of a firearm pursuant to s. 790.23;

24

     2.  Has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic

25

violence, and therefore is prohibited from purchasing a firearm;

26

     3.  Has had adjudication of guilt withheld or imposition of

27

sentence suspended on any felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic

28

violence unless 3 years have elapsed since probation or any other

29

conditions set by the court have been fulfilled or expunction has

30

occurred; or

31

     4.  Has been adjudicated mentally defective or has been

32

committed to a mental institution by a court and as a result is

33

prohibited by federal law from purchasing a firearm.

34

     a.  As used in this subparagraph, "adjudicated mentally

35

defective" means a determination by a court that a person, as a

36

result of marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness,

37

incompetency, condition, or disease, is a danger to himself or

38

herself or to others or lacks the mental capacity to contract or

39

manage his or her own affairs. The phrase includes shall include

40

a judicial finding of incapacity under s. 744.331(6)(a), an

41

acquittal by reason of insanity of a person charged with a

42

criminal offense, and a judicial finding that a criminal

43

defendant is not competent to stand trial.

44

     b.  As used in this subparagraph, "committed to a mental

45

institution" means involuntary commitment, commitment for mental

46

defectiveness or mental illness, and commitment for substance

47

abuse. The phrase includes shall include involuntary inpatient

48

placement as defined in s. 394.467, involuntary assessment and

49

stabilization under s. 397.6818, and involuntary substance abuse

50

treatment under s. 397.6957, but does shall not include a person

51

in a mental institution for observation or discharged from a

52

mental institution based upon the initial review by the physician

53

or a voluntary admission to a mental institution.

54

     c.  In order to check for these conditions, the department

55

shall compile and maintain an automated database of persons who

56

are prohibited from purchasing a firearm based on court records

57

of adjudications of mental defectiveness or commitments to mental

58

institutions. Clerks of court shall are required to submit these

59

records to the department within 1 month after the rendition of

60

the adjudication or commitment. Reports may be submitted in an

61

automated format. The reports must, at a minimum, include the

62

name, along with any known alias or former name, the sex, and the

63

date of birth of the subject. The department shall delete any

64

mental health record from the database upon request of an

65

individual when 5 years have elapsed since the individual's

66

restoration to capacity by court order after being adjudicated an

67

incapacitated person under s. 744.331, or similar laws of any

68

other state; or, in the case of an individual who was previously

69

committed to a mental institution under chapter 394, or similar

70

laws of any other state, when the individual produces a

71

certificate from a licensed psychiatrist that he or she has not

72

suffered from disability for at least 5 years prior to the date

73

of request for removal of the record. When Where the department

74

has received a subsequent record of an adjudication of mental

75

defectiveness or commitment to a mental institution for such

76

individual, the 5-year timeframe shall be calculated from the

77

most recent adjudication of incapacitation or commitment.

78

     d.  The department is authorized to disclose the collected

79

data to agencies of the Federal Government and other states for

80

use exclusively in determining the lawfulness of a firearm sale

81

or transfer. The department is also authorized to disclose any

82

applicable collected data to the Department of Agriculture and

83

Consumer Services for purposes of determining determination of

84

eligibility for issuance of a concealed weapons or concealed

85

firearms license and for determining whether a basis exists for

86

revoking or suspending a previously issued license pursuant to s.

87

790.06(10) upon receipt of an applicant fingerprint submission

88

forwarded pursuant to s. 790.06(6)(a). When a potential buyer or

89

transferee appeals a nonapproval based on these records, the

90

clerks of court and mental institutions shall, upon request by

91

the department, provide information to help determine whether the

92

potential buyer or transferee is the same person as the subject

93

of the record. Photographs and any other data that could confirm

94

or negate identity must be made available to the department for

95

such purposes, notwithstanding any other provision of state law

96

to the contrary. Any such information that is made confidential

97

or exempt from disclosure by law shall retain such confidential

98

or exempt status when transferred to the department.

99

     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.