STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 54th Legislature (2014)

SENATE BILL 1845	By:	Treat

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to firearm disabilities; directing court clerks to forward commitment orders to certain entities; directing court clerks to provide certain notice; authorizing petition for relief; requiring service of petition; directing courts to consider certain evidence; providing hearing procedures; directing court clerks to forward orders to certain entities; amending 43A O.S. 2011, Section 5-415, as last amended by Section 5, Chapter 217, O.S.L. 2013 (43A O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 5-415), which relates to hearing and records; conforming language; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 1290.27 of Title 21, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A.  When a court orders a commitment or makes a finding or adjudication under the laws of this state by which a person becomes subject to the provisions of Section 922(d)(4) and (g)(4) of Title 18 of the United States Code, the clerk of the court shall forward a certified copy of the commitment order to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or its successor agency for the sole purpose of inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check system database and to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.  The clerk of the court shall also notify the person of the prohibitions contained within the provisions of Section 922(d)(4) and (g)(4) of Title 18 of the United States Code.  If the person does not have a handgun license, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall destroy the information within three (3) days of receiving such information.
B.  A person who is subject to the disabilities of Section 922(d)(4) and (g)(4) of Title 18 of the United States Code or of paragraphs 3 and 4 of subsection A of Section 1290.11 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes because of an adjudication or commitment that occurred under the laws of this state may petition the court in which such adjudication or commitment proceedings occurred or the district court of the county in which the person currently resides to remove all such disabilities.  Not less than thirty (30) days prior to any hearing on the matter, a copy of the petition for relief shall be served upon the district attorney for that county.
C.  The court shall receive and consider evidence in a closed hearing, including evidence offered by the petitioner, concerning:
1.  The circumstances regarding the firearm disabilities from which relief is sought;
2.  The mental health and criminal history records of the petitioner, if any;
3.  The reputation of the petitioner, developed at a minimum through character witness statements, testimony, or other character evidence; and
4.  Changes in the condition or circumstances of the petitioner since the original adjudication or commitment relevant to the relief sought.
The court shall grant the petition for relief if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting the relief will not be contrary to the interests of the public.  A record shall be kept of the proceedings, but it shall remain confidential and be disclosed only to a court or the parties in the event of an appeal.  No records of proceedings pursuant to this subsection shall be open to public inspection except by order of the court or to the person's attorney of record.  The petitioner may appeal a denial of the requested relief, and review on appeal shall be de novo.
D.  The clerk of the court shall promptly forward to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or its successor agency for the sole purpose of inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check system database and to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation a certified copy of the order granting relief under this section.  If the person does not have a handgun license, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall destroy the information within three (3) days of receiving such information.
E.  A person may petition for relief under this section not more than once every two (2) years and, in the case of a person who was committed to a mental institution, not before the person has been discharged from such commitment.
SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     43A O.S. 2011, Section 5-415, as last amended by Section 5, Chapter 217, O.S.L. 2013 (43A O.S. Supp. 2013, Section 5-415), is amended to read as follows:
Section 5-415.  A.  Upon receiving a petition alleging a person to be a person requiring treatment, the court shall set a day and time for the hearing.
1.  If the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment does not have an attorney, the court shall immediately appoint an attorney for the person.
2.  If a copy of a mental health evaluation is not attached to the petition at the time it is filed, the court shall immediately order a mental health evaluation of the person as provided by Section 5-414 of this title.
B.  If the court deems it necessary, or if the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment demands, the court shall schedule the hearing on the petition as a jury trial to be held within one hundred twenty (120) hours or five (5) days of the demand, excluding weekends and holidays, or within as much additional time as is requested by the attorney of such person upon good cause shown.
C.  The court, at the hearing on the petition, shall determine by clear and convincing evidence whether the person is a person requiring treatment.
1.  The court shall take evidence and make findings of fact concerning the person's competency to consent to or refuse the treatment that may be ordered, including, but not limited to, the consumer's right to refuse medication.
2.  If a jury trial is not demanded, the court may receive as evidence and act upon the affidavits of the licensed mental health professionals who evaluated the person and the mental health evaluation.
3.  When the hearing is conducted as a jury trial, the petitioner and any witness in behalf of the petitioner shall be subject to cross-examination by the attorney for the person alleged to be a person requiring treatment.  The person alleged to be a person requiring treatment may also be called as a witness and cross-examined.
D.  After the hearing, when the court determines that the person is not a person requiring treatment, the court shall dismiss the petition and, if the person is being detained, order the person to be discharged from detention.
E.  After the hearing, when the court determines the person to be a person requiring treatment, the court shall order the person to receive the least restrictive treatment consistent with the treatment needs of the person and the safety of the person and others.
1.  The court shall not order hospitalization without a thorough consideration of available treatment alternatives to hospitalization and may direct the submission of evidence as to the least restrictive treatment alternative or may order a mental health examination.
2.  If the court finds that a program other than hospitalization is appropriate to meet the treatment needs of the individual and is sufficient to prevent injury to the individual or to others, the court may order the individual to receive whatever treatment other than hospitalization that is appropriate for a period set by the court, during which time the court shall continue its jurisdiction over the individual as a person requiring treatment.
3.  If the court orders the person to be committed for involuntary inpatient treatment, the court shall commit the person to the custody of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for a placement that is suitable to the person's needs or to a private facility willing to accept the person for treatment.
4.  The person shall be delivered to the custody of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for a placement that is suitable to the person's needs or to a private facility willing to accept the person for treatment.
5.  If the person is placed in the custody of the Department, the Department may designate two or more facilities to provide treatment and if the person to be treated or a parent, spouse, guardian, brother, sister or child, who is at least eighteen (18) years of age, of the person, expresses a preference for one such facility, the Department shall attempt, if administratively possible, to comply with the preference.
6.  The person shall be discharged from inpatient treatment at such time as the person no longer requires treatment as determined by the executive director of the facility or the designee of the executive director, or as otherwise required by law.
F.  The court shall make and keep records of all cases brought before it.
1.  No Except as provided in Section 1 of this act, no records of proceedings pursuant to this section shall be open to public inspection except by order of the court or to employees of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the person's attorney of record, the person's treatment advocate as defined pursuant to Section 1-109.1 of this title, if any, a person having a valid power of attorney with health care decision-making authority, a person having valid guardianship with health care decision-making authority, a person having an advance health care directive, a person having an attorney-in-fact as designated in a valid mental health advance directive or persons having a legitimate treatment interest, unless specifically indicated otherwise by the instrument or court order.  The documents shall not identify the alleged person requiring treatment directly or indirectly as a person with a substance abuse disorder.
2.  Bonded abstractors may be deemed to be persons having a legitimate interest for the purpose of having access to records regarding determinations of persons requiring treatment under this section.
SECTION 3.  This act shall become effective November 1, 2014.

54-2-2435	TEK	1/16/2014 2:55:40 PM