SB48: SB48 Disclosure and Dissemination of Criminal Records; a judicial procedure for purging a person's involuntary hospitalization information; provide

Georgia's crime records center (the Georgia Crime Information Center) keeps information on people who have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health treatment, because federal law requires that information to be checked before someone buys a gun through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Currently the law does not spell out clear rules for how long that information is kept or how a person can get it removed. This bill rewrites part of that law (O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34) to require the center to automatically purge a person's involuntary hospitalization record five years after it is received. It also creates a new court process letting a person petition the court where their hospitalization happened to have their record purged sooner. The court must hold a hearing within 60 days, weigh evidence about the person's condition, criminal history, and reputation, and can grant relief if it finds the person is not likely to be dangerous. People can only file this petition starting 12 months after release from hospitalization, and must wait two years between petitions.

• Requires the state crime records center to automatically purge a person's involuntary hospitalization information within 30 days after five years have passed since it was received.
• Creates a new court petition process allowing a formerly hospitalized person to ask for early removal of that information from gun background check records.
• Sets a 60 day deadline for courts to hold a hearing on the petition and a 30 day deadline to issue a written decision afterward.
• Lists the evidence a court must consider, including the circumstances of the hospitalization, mental health and criminal records, character evidence, and changes in the person's condition.
• Bars a first petition until 12 months after discharge from hospitalization and requires a two year wait between repeated petitions.
• Protects information given to a prosecuting attorney during this process from being used against the petitioner in other cases unless obtained separately.

People who have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health treatment in Georgia, probate and superior courts that handle hospitalization records, the Georgia Crime Information Center, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuting attorneys who may participate in the new court hearings.

People with a past involuntary hospitalization on record can be blocked from buying firearms under the federal background check system. This bill gives them a specific court process to seek removal of that flag and sets a firm five year limit on how long the state keeps the information, changing how long such a record can affect someone's ability to buy a gun.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34, the law governing disclosure of criminal and mental health records for background checks.
• Requires the Georgia Crime Information Center to purge involuntary hospitalization information within 30 days after five years have elapsed since receipt.
• Creates a petition process (new subparagraph (B)) letting a hospitalized person ask the original court for relief, with the petition served on the opposing party or prosecutor.
• Requires a hearing within 60 days of the petition, extendable for good cause, where the court considers hospitalization circumstances, treatment records, character evidence, and changes in condition.
• Sets the legal standard for granting relief: a preponderance of evidence that the person is unlikely to be dangerous and that relief matches standards for weapons carry licenses under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129.
• Requires the clerk of court to report a granted petition to the center within 10 days, after which the center must purge the record within 30 days.
• Bars a first petition until 12 months after discharge and requires a two year gap between subsequent petitions.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)

• gun background checks
• mental health records
• involuntary hospitalization
• court petitions
• gun rights