I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2786 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States that have 

in place laws that authorize law enforcement agencies to retain firearms 

taken from dangerous individuals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana (for herself, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. UPTON, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States 

that have in place laws that authorize law enforcement 

agencies to retain firearms taken from dangerous individuals, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jake Laird Act of 

5 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the meaning given 

2 that term in section 921 of title 18, United States 

3 Code. 

4 (2) The term ‘‘dangerous’’ means, with respect 

5 to an individual, that the individual— 

6 (A) presents an imminent risk of injuring 

7 himself or herself, or another individual; or 

8 (B) the individual— 

9 (i) may present a risk of injuring him10 self or herself, or another individual; and 

11 (ii)(I) has a mental illness that may 

12 be controlled by medication, but has dem13 onstrated a pattern of not voluntarily and 

14 consistently taking such medication, except 

15 under supervision; 

16 (II) is the subject of documented evi17 dence that would give rise to a reasonable 

18 belief that the individual has a propensity 

19 for violent or emotionally unstable conduct; 

20 or 

21 (III) poses a significant danger of 

22 personal injury to himself or herself, or an23 other individual, by possessing a firearm. 


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1 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au3 thorized to make grants to States that have in place a 

4 law which authorizes the seizure of a firearm from a dan5 gerous individual in accordance with section 4. 

6 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 

7 under this section may use such grant to implement the 

8 law described in subsection (a), and to train law enforce9 ment officers and prosecutors on the implementation of 

10 such law. 

11 (c) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under 

12 this section shall submit to the Attorney General an appli13 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

14 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re15 quire, including a copy of the law described in subsection 

16 (a). 

17 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR FIREARM SEIZURE LAW. 

18 In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, 

19 a State law shall provide for a process that is substantially 

20 similar to the following: 

21 (1) WARRANT TO SEIZE A FIREARM FROM A

22 DANGEROUS INDIVIDUAL.— 

23 (A) ISSUANCE.—A court of competent ju24 risdiction may issue a warrant authorizing a 

25 law enforcement officer to seize a firearm from 

26 a person that the court determines there is 


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1 probable cause to believe is dangerous and in 

2 possession of a firearm. 

3 (B) AFFIDAVIT REQUIRED.—A law en4 forcement officer seeking a warrant described in 

5 subparagraph (A) shall submit to the court an 

6 affidavit, which contains the following informa7 tion: 

8 (i) Facts supporting the law enforce9 ment officer’s probable cause to believe 

10 that the individual is dangerous and in 

11 possession of a firearm, including a de12 scription of the law enforcement officer’s 

13 interaction with the individual, or with an14 other individual who provided information 

15 relating to the individual against whom the 

16 warrant is sought, and who the law en17 forcement officer determines is credible 

18 and reliable. 

19 (ii) The specific location of the fire20 arm. 

21 (2) SEIZURE OF A FIREARM WITHOUT A WAR22 RANT.—A law enforcement officer may seize a fire23 arm from an individual who the law enforcement of24 ficer determines there is probable cause to believe is 


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1 dangerous without obtaining a warrant under para2 graph (1) in the case of exigent circumstances. 

3 (3) RETURN FILED WITH COURT.—Not later 

4 than 48 hours after serving a warrant issued under 

5 paragraph (1) or seizing a firearm under paragraph 

6 (2), the law enforcement officer who served the war7 rant shall file a return with the court that includes 

8 the following information: 

9 (A) The time and date on which the war10 rant was served, or the firearm was seized, as 

11 applicable. 

12 (B) The name and address of the indi13 vidual with respect to whom the warrant was 

14 issued, or from whom the firearm was seized, as 

15 applicable. 

16 (C) The quantity of firearms seized, and a 

17 description of each such firearm. 

18 (4) HEARING.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days 

20 after a return is filed under paragraph (3), the 

21 court shall hold a hearing to determine whether 

22 the individual is dangerous. If the court deter23 mines that the individual is dangerous, the 

24 court shall— 


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1 (i) order that the law enforcement 

2 agency maintain possession of the firearm; 

3 (ii) in the case of an individual who 

4 has a license to carry a firearm, revoke 

5 such license; and 

6 (iii) enter an order restraining that 

7 individual from acquiring a firearm. 

8 (B) NOTICE.—The court shall provide no9 tice of such hearing to the government, and to 

10 the individual from whom the firearm was 

11 seized. 

12 (C) BURDEN OF PROOF.—At a hearing 

13 under subparagraph (A), the government shall 

14 have the burden of proving, by clear and con15 vincing evidence, that the individual is dan16 gerous, and that the firearm should not be re17 turned to the individual from whom it was 

18 seized. 

19 (D) FIREARM OWNED BY ANOTHER INDI20 VIDUAL.—If the court determines that the fire21 arm seized is owned by an individual other than 

22 the individual with respect to whom the warrant 

23 was issued, the court shall order the return of 

24 the firearm to that individual. 


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1 (E) INCLUSION IN NICS.—In the case that 

2 a court enters an order described in subpara3 graph (A), the appropriate person shall make 

4 such information available to the Attorney Gen5 eral to be included in the National Instant 

6 Criminal Background Check System. 

7 (5) PETITION FOR RETURN OF FIREARM.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date 

9 that is 180 days after the date on which a court 

10 entered an order described in clauses (i) 

11 through (iii) of paragraph (4)(A), an individual 

12 against whom such an order was entered may 

13 petition the court for the reversal of such order. 

14 (B) GRANTING OF PETITION.—The court 

15 shall grant a petition filed under subparagraph 

16 (A) if the petitioner proves by a preponderance 

17 of the evidence that the individual is not dan18 gerous. 

19 (C) DENIAL OF PETITION.—If the court 

20 denies a petition under this section, the indi21 vidual against whom such order was entered 

22 may file another petition under this section be23 ginning on the date that is 180 days after such 

24 denial. 


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1 (6) DISPOSAL OF FIREARM.—In the case that 

2 an order under paragraph (4)(A)(i) is still in effect 

3 on the date that is 5 years after the date on which 

4 it was entered, the court, after giving notice to the 

5 appropriate parties, may order the law enforcement 

6 agency with custody of such firearm to dispose of 

7 the firearm in accordance with any applicable policy 

8 of the jurisdiction in which the firearm was seized. 

9 (7) REQUEST TO SELL FIREARM.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—An individual whose 

11 firearms were retained by a law enforcement 

12 agency pursuant to an order under paragraph 

13 (4)(A)(i) may petition the court for the law en14 forcement agency to sell the firearm in accord15 ance with any applicable policy of the jurisdic16 tion in which the firearm was seized, and pro17 vide the proceeds of such sale to the individual. 

18 The court shall grant such order unless the se19 rial number on the firearm is damaged. 

20 (B) TIMING.—A petition described in sub21 paragraph (A) may be filed any time prior to 

22 the entry of an order under paragraph (6). 

23 (C) SALE.—A law enforcement agency or24 dered to sell a firearm under this section shall 

25 sell the firearm not later than 1 year after the 


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1 entry of such order, and may retain not more 

2 than 8 percent of the sale cost to cover the 

3 costs of the sale. 

4 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 

6 to carry out this Act for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

7 2022. 

Æ 


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