Georgia CommonsHB 285: Law enforcement agencies; judicial procedure for purging a person's involuntary hospitalization information; provide
Last action March 6, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
A Georgia House bill would replace the automatic five-year purge of involuntary hospitalization records used in gun background checks with a court petition process that people must use to get their records removed.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, when a person is involuntarily hospitalized for mental health reasons, that information is sent to the Georgia Crime Information Center so it can be used in National Instant Criminal Background Check System checks for gun purchases. Current law automatically purges that information after five years. This bill removes that automatic five-year purge and replaces it with a court process: a person must petition the court that handled their hospitalization case to have the record removed. The bill lays out how that petition works. The petitioner must notify the opposing party or prosecutor, and the court must hold a hearing within 60 days, considering the circumstances of the hospitalization, mental health and criminal history, reputation evidence, and changes since the hospitalization. The court can grant relief if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is unlikely to be dangerous. People cannot petition until they are discharged, must wait 12 months after discharge for a first petition, and must wait two years after a denied petition to try again.
What the bill does
- Removes the current five-year automatic purge of a person's involuntary hospitalization information from the Georgia Crime Information Center's gun background check records.
- Creates a court petition process allowing a person to ask the court that handled their hospitalization to purge that information from background check records.
- Requires the court to hold a hearing within 60 days of a petition and consider the person's hospitalization circumstances, mental health and criminal history, reputation, and changes since hospitalization.
- Sets a legal standard for relief: the court must find by a preponderance of the evidence the person is unlikely to be dangerous and that relief fits weapons carry license standards (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129).
- Bars a first petition until 12 months after discharge and blocks a new petition for two years after a denied petition.
- Requires the clerk of court to report a granted petition to the center within 10 days, and the center to purge the record within 30 days of receiving that order.
Who it affects
People who have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health reasons and want their records cleared from gun background check systems, prosecuting attorneys and opposing civil parties in the underlying hospitalization case, probate and superior courts that would hear these petitions, and the Georgia Crime Information Center and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which maintain and share the records.
Why it matters
People previously involuntarily hospitalized would no longer have their background check record automatically cleared after five years; instead they would need to go to court, wait out mandatory time periods, and prove they are unlikely to be dangerous before regaining eligibility to pass a gun background check.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34(e)(2) to eliminate the automatic five-year purge of involuntary hospitalization information held for background check purposes.
- New subparagraph (B) creates a petition process filed with the court that handled the original hospitalization proceeding, requiring service on the opposing party or prosecutor and a hearing within 60 days.
- New subparagraph (C) lists the evidence the court must consider, including hospitalization circumstances, mental health and criminal records (with a signed waiver required), reputation evidence, and changes in condition.
- New subparagraph (D) requires a written decision within 30 days of the hearing, sets the preponderance-of-evidence standard tied to weapons carry license rules, and specifies appeal procedures, including de novo review to superior court for probate court decisions.
- New subparagraph (D)(iii) requires the clerk to notify the center within 10 days of a granted order, with the center purging the record within 30 days.
- New subparagraph (E) bars petitions before discharge, requires a 12-month wait after discharge for a first petition, and a two-year wait after a denied petition before refiling.
- New subparagraph (F) limits use of information gathered during the petition process, barring prosecutors from using it in other cases unless obtained independently.
- Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“such person may petition the court in which such hospitalization proceedings occurred for relief.”
“The court shall grant a petition filed under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner will not likely act in a manner dangerous to himself or herself or that endangers public safety”
“No petition for relief pursuant to this Code section may be filed within a period of two years from the date of the final order on a previous petition for relief.”
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
Topics
- gun background checks
- mental health records
- involuntary hospitalization
- court procedure
- gun rights restoration