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	to a waiver that has been revoked under Section 411.226.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.