SB 48: Disclosure and Dissemination of Criminal Records; a judicial procedure for purging a person's involuntary hospitalization information; provide

Under current Georgia law, when someone is involuntarily hospitalized for mental health reasons, that information is sent to the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) so it can be checked through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the federal system used for gun purchases. Right now, the center automatically purges that hospitalization information five years after receiving it. Senate Bill 48 removes that automatic five-year purge. Instead, a person whose hospitalization information was submitted would have to petition the court where the hospitalization proceedings happened to get the record cleared. The court would hold a hearing, consider evidence about the person's mental health history, criminal history, reputation, and any changes in their circumstances, and could grant relief if it finds the person is unlikely to be dangerous and meets the standards for a weapons carry license. Petitions can only be filed starting 12 months after discharge, and repeat petitions must wait two years after a denial. If granted, the center must purge the record within 30 days.

• Eliminates the current rule requiring the Georgia Crime Information Center to automatically purge involuntary hospitalization records after five years.
• Creates a court petition process allowing a person to ask the court that handled their hospitalization to clear that record from background check systems.
• Requires courts to hold a hearing within 60 days of a petition and consider the person's mental health history, criminal history, reputation, and current circumstances.
• Sets eligibility rules: petitions can only be filed 12 months after discharge, and denied petitioners must wait two years to refile.
• Directs the center to purge a record within 30 days after a court grants relief, and requires clerks to report such orders within 10 days.
• Keeps hearing records on these petitions exempt from disclosure under Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4).

People who have been involuntarily hospitalized for mental health treatment and want to regain eligibility to legally possess firearms, probate and superior courts that handle these petitions, prosecuting attorneys who may appear at hearings, and the Georgia Crime Information Center and Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which maintain the records.

People whose hospitalization records are flagged for background checks would no longer have their records cleared automatically after five years. Instead, they would need to go through a court hearing to prove they are not dangerous, which could make clearing a record slower or more difficult for some, while giving courts more individualized oversight over who regains firearm eligibility.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 35-3-34(e)(2) to remove the automatic five-year purge of involuntary hospitalization records held by the Georgia Crime Information Center.
• New subparagraph (B) creates a petition process letting a hospitalized person ask the original court for relief, with notice served on the opposing party or prosecutor and a hearing within 60 days.
• New subparagraph (C) lists what courts must consider: the circumstances of hospitalization, mental health and criminal records, reputation evidence, and changes since hospitalization.
• New subparagraph (D) requires a written decision within 30 days of the hearing, sets the legal standard (preponderance of evidence the person is not dangerous and meets weapons carry license standards), and allows appeal, with probate court appeals going by de novo review to superior court.
• New subparagraph (D)(v) requires the court clerk to notify the center within 10 days of a grant, and the center to purge the record within 30 days.
• New subparagraph (E) bars a first petition until 12 months after discharge and requires a two-year wait between petitions after a denial.
• New subparagraph (F) limits use of information gathered during the petition process, barring it from being used against the petitioner in other cases unless independently obtained.

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

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

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