I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1236 
To support State, Tribal, and local efforts to remove access to firearms 
from individuals who are a danger to themselves or others pursuant 
to court orders for this purpose. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 14, 2019 
Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. BEYER, Mr. DEUTCH, and 
Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To support State, Tribal, and local efforts to remove access 
to firearms from individuals who are a danger to them-
selves or others pursuant to court orders for this pur-
pose. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Extreme Risk Protec-
tion Order Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
ty’’ means— 
(A) a State or Indian Tribe— 
(i) that enacts legislation described in 
section 4; 
(ii) with respect to which the Attorney 
General determines that the legislation de-
scribed in clause (i) complies with the re-
quirements of section 4; and 
(iii) that certifies to the Attorney 
General that the State or Indian Tribe 
shall— 
(I) use the grant for the purposes 
described in section 3(b); and 
(II) allocate not less than 25 per-
cent of the amount received under a 
grant under section 3 for training for 
law enforcement; or 
(B) a unit of local government or other 
public or private entity that— 
(i) is located in a State or in the terri-
tory under the jurisdiction of an Indian 
Tribe that meets the requirements de-
scribed in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) of subpara-
graph (A); and 
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(ii) certifies to the Attorney General 
that the unit of local government or entity 
shall— 
(I) use the grant for the purposes 
described in section 3(b); and 
(II) allocate not less than 25 per-
cent of the amount received under a 
grant under section 3 for training for 
law enforcement. 
(2) EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER.—The 
term ‘‘extreme risk protection order’’ means a writ-
ten order or warrant, issued by a State or Tribal 
court or signed by a magistrate (or other com-
parable judicial officer), the primary purpose of 
which is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death 
or injury by doing one or more of the following: 
(A) Prohibiting a named individual from 
having under the custody or control of the indi-
vidual, owning, purchasing, possessing, or re-
ceiving a firearm. 
(B) Having a firearm removed or requiring 
the surrender of firearms from a named indi-
vidual. 
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(3) FIREARM.—The term ‘‘firearm’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 921 of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 
section 1709 of the Public Safety and Community 
Policing Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 10389). 
(5) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 
‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means a public servant 
authorized by State, local, or Tribal law or by a 
State, local, or Tribal government agency to— 
(A) engage in or supervise the prevention, 
detection, investigation, or prosecution of an of-
fense; or 
(B) supervise sentenced criminal offenders. 
(6) 
PETITIONER.—The 
term 
‘‘petitioner’’ 
means an individual authorized under State or Trib-
al law to petition for an extreme risk protection 
order. 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 
(A) a State; 
(B) the District of Columbia; 
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 
and 
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(D) any other territory or possession of the 
United States. 
(8) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘unit of local government’’ has the meaning given 
the term in section 901 of the Omnibus Crime Con-
trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10251). 
SEC. 3. EXTREME RISK PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 
Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department 
of Justice shall establish a program under which, from 
amounts made available to carry out this section, the Di-
rector may make grants to eligible entities to assist in car-
rying out the provisions of the legislation described in sec-
tion 4. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds awarded under this sec-
tion may be used by an applicant to— 
(1) enhance the capacity of law enforcement 
agencies and the courts of a State, unit of local gov-
ernment, or Indian Tribe by providing personnel, 
training, technical assistance, data collection, and 
other resources to carry out legislation described in 
section 4; 
(2) train judges, court personnel, and law en-
forcement officers to more accurately identify indi-
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viduals whose access to firearms poses a danger of 
causing harm to themselves or others by increasing 
the risk of firearms suicide or interpersonal violence; 
(3) develop and implement law enforcement and 
court protocols, forms, and orders so that law en-
forcement agencies and the courts may carry out the 
provisions of the legislation described in section 4 in 
a safe and effective manner, including through the 
removal and storage of firearms pursuant to extreme 
risk protection orders under the legislation; and 
(4) raise public awareness and understanding of 
the legislation described in section 4 so that extreme 
risk protection orders may be issued in appropriate 
situations to reduce the risk of firearms-related 
death and injury. 
(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Attorney General 
an application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining or accompanied by such information as the Attor-
ney General may reasonably require. 
(d) INCENTIVES.—For each of fiscal years 2020 
through 2024, the Attorney General shall give affirmative 
preference in awarding any discretionary grant awarded 
by the Bureau of Justice Assistance to a State or Indian 
Tribe that has enacted legislation described in section 4. 
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(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this section. 
SEC. 4. NATIONAL EXTREME RISK PROTECTION ORDER 
LAW. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Legislation described in this 
section is legislation that establishes requirements that are 
substantially similar to the following: 
(1) APPLICATION FOR EXTREME RISK PROTEC-
TION ORDER.—A petitioner, including a law enforce-
ment officer, may submit an application to a State 
or Tribal court, on a form designed by the court or 
a State or Tribal agency, that— 
(A) describes the facts and circumstances 
justifying that an extreme risk protection order 
be issued against the named individual; and 
(B) is signed by the applicant, under oath. 
(2) NOTICE.—The individual named in an ap-
plication for an extreme risk protection order as de-
scribed in paragraph (1) shall be given written no-
tice of the application and an opportunity to be 
heard on the matter in accordance with this section. 
(3) ISSUANCE OF EXTREME RISK PROTECTION 
ORDERS.— 
(A) HEARING.— 
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(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an 
application described in paragraph (1), the 
court shall order a hearing to be held not 
later than 30 days after the date of such 
application. 
(ii) DETERMINATION.—If the court 
finds by a preponderance of the evidence 
that the respondent poses a danger of 
causing harm to himself, herself, or others 
by having access to a firearm, the court 
may issue an extreme risk protection 
order. 
(B) LENGTH OF EXTREME RISK PROTEC-
TION ORDER.—An extreme risk protection order 
shall be in effect for a period not to exceed 1 
year, unless renewed. 
(4) EX PARTE EXTREME RISK PROTECTION OR-
DERS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receipt of an ap-
plication described in paragraph (1), the court 
may issue an ex parte extreme risk protection 
order before conducting the hearing required 
under paragraph (3), if— 
(i) the application for an extreme risk 
protection order alleges that the respond-
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ent poses a danger of causing harm to 
himself, herself, or others in the near fu-
ture by having access to a firearm; and 
(ii) the court finds there is reasonable 
cause to believe that the respondent poses 
a danger of causing harm to himself, her-
self, or others in the near future by having 
access to a firearm. 
(B) LENGTH OF EX PARTE EXTREME RISK 
PROTECTION ORDER.—An ex parte extreme risk 
protection order shall be in effect for a period 
not to exceed 30 days, unless continued for 
good cause. 
(5) STORAGE
OF
REMOVED
FIREARMS.—All 
firearms removed or surrendered pursuant to an ex-
treme risk protection order shall be retained by a 
law enforcement officer or a law enforcement agency 
until the named individual regains his or her eligi-
bility to possess firearms, except that the legislation 
may authorize a law enforcement agency to— 
(A) contract with a manufacturer, dealer, 
or importer licensed under chapter 44 of title 
18, United States Code, for the secure storage 
of firearms; and 
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