Jun. 19, 2018
HARRISBURG – House Judiciary Committee Majority Chairman Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) today led the committee in approving legislation addressing public safety, violence and Pennsylvania’s firearms laws.
“The focus of the legislation that was addressed in today’s meeting was public safety and Pennsylvania’s firearms laws, and was the result of months of work on these hugely important topics,” said Marsico.
In April, the House Judiciary Committee held an unprecedented six days of hearings at which every member of the House of Representatives was welcome to come forward to outline his or her proposals, ideas and concerns on this very serious issue. In the end, 37 members testified at those hearings. Many more attended the hearings.
In May, the committee held another hearing, at which major advocacy groups came forward to share their input. These groups also have been meeting with members individually.
“It has been my goal to identify meaningful legislation that a bipartisan majority of the House can support. That is no small task. But, I have been working to identify legislation that will better protect Pennsylvanians from possible violence and will honor and respect our constitutional rights,” said Marsico. “One thing that I took away from the committee’s hearings was that many members are willing to consider legislation that addresses dangerous people. The members overwhelmingly wanted to encourage mental health treatment, for example. Getting people the help that they need will keep us all safer.”
The focus of the package of bills that ran in today’s meeting was meant to provide tools that will quickly, but temporarily, remove firearms from those people a judge finds to be imminently dangerous. They also focused on changing the law in such a way as to encourage those who are suffering from serious mental health concerns to get the treatment they need.
“I know not everyone agrees with the list of bills I selected to run in today’s meeting and that some people probably wish to have seen other bills included. Others may have wanted some of the bills on today’s agenda to have been left off or changed,” said Marsico. “But, that’s okay. That’s democracy. I just asked the members to vote for what they thought was in the best interest of their constituents, and in the best interest of Pennsylvania.”
The following bills moved through the committee today:
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House Bill 273, which would create a voluntary self-exclusion program by which an individual can agree to be prohibited from purchasing or receiving a firearm for a period of one year, three years, or five years.
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House Bill 2060, which would amend the Uniform Firearms Act and the Protection From Abuse Act (PFA) to amend the process and requirements for relinquishment of firearms following a PFA order or conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. This is the House companion bill to the much-discussed Senate Bill 501. An amendment to this legislation passed through the committee today, along with the bill, to incorporate the wording of Senate Bill 501 while correcting drafting errors in that bill and harmonizing certain features of Senate Bill 501 with the “extreme risk protection order” process.
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House Bill 2227, which would provide for a new judicial process to temporarily suspend a person’s right to possess or purchase a firearm. An extreme risk protection order (ERPO) would be a court order prohibiting a person from possessing or obtaining a firearm based upon a finding that the person presents a risk of suicide or of causing death or serious bodily injury to another person. The process would be very similar to the current PFA process but allow both law enforcement and household members to seek such orders. An order could last between three months and one year in duration and would automatically expire unless renewed by the court, which would require notice and another hearing.
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House Bill 2275, which would amend the Crimes Code to rectify a 2011 ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which held that the prior conviction offenses that prohibit a person from possessing, transferring or using a firearm do not include an attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit those same crimes.
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House Bill 2463, which would make three changes related to the firearm rights of those subjected to involuntary mental health treatment. First, the bill would reduce the prohibition against firearm possession from lifetime to six months. Second, the bill would provide a procedure for any person ineligible to possess a firearm due to a mental health issue to have his or her right to obtain a firearm reinstated. Third, the bill would require the Pennsylvania State Police to send any record relevant to a determination of whether a person is disqualified from possessing a firearm due to an adjudication of incompetency or an involuntary commitment within 72 hours to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The legislation will now go to the full House for consideration.
Representative Ronald Marsico
105th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RonMarsico.com
Media Contact: Autumn R. Southard, 717.652.3721
asouthar@pahousegop.com