SECTION 1. Chapter 134, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding to part I a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§134- Ownership or possession by persons who pose a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety prohibited; penalty; proceedings for the seizure and retention of firearms or ammunition. (a) Any person found by a judge of the State of Hawaii, or of the United States, after a hearing described in subsection (f), to pose a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety that warrants disqualification from firearms ownership, possession, or control, shall be prohibited from owning, possessing, or controlling any firearm or ammunition.

(b) A judge may issue a warrant to search for and seize firearms or ammunition if:

(1) An ex parte application for the warrant is filed by the attorney general, a deputy attorney general, any county prosecutor or deputy county prosecutor, or the United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii or any Assistant United States Attorney;

(2) The ex parte application includes a sworn affidavit from a law enforcement officer of the State of Hawaii or of the United States that:

(A) States why the law enforcement officer believes that the person poses a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety and is in possession of a firearm;

(B) Describes the law enforcement officer's observations of or interactions with the person who is alleged to pose a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety;

(C) Describes any other individual's observations of or interactions with the person, if the law enforcement officer believes that information obtained from that individual is credible and reliable; and

(D) Describes the location of the firearm; and

(3) The judge determines that probable cause exists to believe that the individual owns, possesses, or controls a firearm or ammunition, and poses a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety.

(c) Prior to the execution and return of a warrant issued under this section, the clerk of the court shall not disclose any information pertaining to the application or any affidavits upon which the application was based.

(d) The warrant shall be executed within a reasonable period of time, and shall permit the law enforcement officer to enter into and search any place where the firearm or ammunition is located, and to seize any and all firearms and ammunition owned, possessed, or controlled by the person named in the warrant. The warrant shall name the date, time, and location of a hearing to be held pursuant to subsection (f).

(e) Not later than forty-eight hours after the warrant is served, the law enforcement officer shall file a return with the court that sets forth the time and date on which the warrant was served, the name and address of the person named in the warrant, and the quantity and identity of any firearm or ammunition seized by the law enforcement officer.

(f) Not later than thirty days after issuance of the warrant, the court shall conduct a hearing to determine whether the person named in the warrant poses a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety, and whether the seized firearms and ammunition should be returned to the individual from whom they were seized, or retained by the law enforcement agency having custody of the firearm or ammunition. In making this determination, the court shall consider, among any other pertinent factors:

(1) Whether the person is named on the Terrorist Screening Database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or any successor or equivalent to the Terrorist Screening Database;

(2) Whether the person has made statements in support of any foreign terrorist organization, as designated by the United States Secretary of State;

(3) Whether the person has expressed a credible desire to kill or commit other criminal acts of violence against others;

(4) Whether the person is a mentally ill person, as defined in section 334-1, or has a significant behavioral, emotional, or mental disorder, as defined by the most current diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association;

(5) For a person described in paragraph (4), whether such person's mental illness or disease may be controlled by medication, and whether the person has shown a pattern of not voluntarily and consistently taking such medication; or

(6) Whether the person is the subject of other documented, credible evidence that would give rise to a reasonable belief that the individual poses a serious risk of committing unlawful violent conduct.

(g) In a hearing conducted under subsection (f), the party that sought the warrant has the burden of proving all material facts by clear and convincing evidence.

(h) If the court determines that the party that sought the warrant has proved by clear and convincing evidence that the individual named in the warrant poses a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety, the court shall order the law enforcement agency having custody of the seized firearm or ammunition to retain the firearm. If the court determines that the party has failed to so prove, the court shall order the firearm or ammunition returned to its lawful owner. If the court orders a law enforcement agency to retain a firearm, the law enforcement agency shall retain the firearm until the court orders the firearm returned or otherwise disposed of. If the lawful owner so requests, the court may order the law enforcement agency to sell the firearm at auction, and provide the proceeds of the sale to the lawful owner of the firearm.

(i) Any person who has been found to pose a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety after a hearing described in subsection (f) shall be disqualified from ownership, possession, control, or the right to transfer ownership of firearms and ammunition.

(j) Any person who owns, possesses, or controls a firearm or ammunition after having been found to pose a serious risk of violence or harm to public safety after a hearing described in subsection (f) shall be guilty of a class B felony."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	898
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII