Bill Text: TX HB2161 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to federal firearm reporting for persons recently released from emergency detention.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Filed [HB2161 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-HB2161-Introduced.html

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89R3076 EAS-F
By: Gámez H.B. No. 2161

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to federal firearm reporting for persons recently released
from emergency detention.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.052(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "federal prohibited person
information" means information that identifies:
(1) an individual who is at least 16 years of age as:
(A) a person ordered by a court to receive
inpatient mental health services under Chapter 574, Health and
Safety Code;
(B) a person acquitted in a criminal case by
reason of insanity or lack of mental responsibility, regardless of
whether the person is ordered by a court to receive inpatient
treatment or residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal
Procedure;
(C) a person determined to have an intellectual
disability and committed by a court for long-term placement in a
residential care facility under Chapter 593, Health and Safety
Code; or
(D) a person determined to be incompetent to
stand trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(2) a child who is at least 16 years of age and has
been:
(A) found unfit to proceed under Subchapter C,
Chapter 55, Family Code, as a result of mental illness or an
intellectual disability;
(B) found not responsible for the child's conduct
under Subchapter D, Chapter 55, Family Code, as a result of mental
illness or an intellectual disability;
(C) ordered by a court to receive inpatient
mental health services under Subchapter B, C, or D, Chapter 55,
Family Code, as a result of mental illness; or
(D) committed by a court to a residential care
facility under Subchapter C or D, Chapter 55, Family Code, as a
result of an intellectual disability; [or]
(3) a person who is released from emergency detention
under Chapter 573, Health and Safety Code, and is prohibited under
federal law from engaging in certain activities involving a firearm
on a date earlier than the 30th day following the release date; or
(4) an incapacitated adult person for whom a court has
appointed a guardian of the person under Title 3, Estates Code,
based on the determination that the person lacks the mental
capacity to manage the person's affairs.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 573.0022 to read as follows:
Sec. 573.0022. NOTIFICATION SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY REGARDING WARD. (a) In this section, "department"
means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
(b) As soon as practicable but not later than the first
working day after the date a peace officer places a person who is a
ward into custody under this subchapter, the peace officer shall
provide information on the ward to the department for the
department to provide to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
use with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Except as otherwise provided by state law, the department may
disseminate information on a ward described by this subsection only
to the extent necessary to allow the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to collect and maintain a list of persons who under
federal law are prohibited from engaging in certain activities
involving a firearm.
(c) The department shall provide to a ward described by this
section access to information on the ward that is submitted to the
department.
(d) Information the department maintains on a ward
described by this section is confidential and may not be disclosed
by the department except as otherwise provided by this section or
other state law.
(e) The department by rule shall establish a procedure to
ensure department records reflect the date a ward is released from
emergency detention under this subchapter and a procedure to
transmit the records to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
SECTION 3. Section 573.025(a), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person apprehended, detained, or transported for
emergency detention under this chapter has the right:
(1) to be advised of the location of detention, the
reasons for the detention, and the fact that the detention could
result in a longer period of involuntary commitment;
(2) to a reasonable opportunity to communicate with
and retain an attorney;
(3) to be transported to a location as provided by
Section 573.024 if the person is not admitted for emergency
detention, unless the person is arrested or objects;
(4) to be released from a facility as provided by
Section 573.023;
(5) to be advised that communications with a mental
health professional may be used in proceedings for further
detention;
(6) to be transported in accordance with Sections
573.026 and 574.045, if the person is detained under Section
573.022 or transported under an order of protective custody under
Section 574.023; [and]
(7) to a reasonable opportunity to communicate with a
relative or other responsible person who has a proper interest in
the person's welfare; and
(8) to be advised the person is prohibited from
purchasing a firearm before the 30th day following the date the
person is released from emergency detention.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 573, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 573.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 573.027. NOTIFICATION SUBMITTED TO DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY. (a) In this section, "department" means the
Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
(b) After a person's release under Section 573.023, the
facility from which the person was released shall submit to the
department:
(1) the person's name, race, and sex;
(2) any known identifying number concerning the
person, including an applicable social security number, driver's
license number, or state identification number;
(3) the person's date of birth; and
(4) a statement of the facility's release of the person
under Section 573.023.
(c) If practicable, a facility shall submit to the
department the information described by Subsection (b) in an
electronic format the department prescribes.
(d) The department by rule shall establish a procedure to
provide the information a facility submits under this section
regarding a person released from emergency detention to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for use with the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System. Except as otherwise provided by state
law, the department may disseminate information on a person
described by this subsection only to the extent necessary to allow
the Federal Bureau of Investigation to collect and maintain a list
of persons who are prohibited under federal law from engaging in
certain activities with respect to a firearm.
(e) The department shall provide to a person described by
this section access to the department's information on the person.
(f) Information the department maintains on a person
described by this section is confidential and may not be disclosed
by the department except as otherwise provided by this section or
other state law.
(g) The department by rule shall establish a procedure to
ensure department records reflect the date a person is released
from emergency detention under this subchapter and a procedure to
transmit the records to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an emergency detention that begins on or after the effective date of
this Act. An emergency detention that begins before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately
before that date, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.