Amends TCA Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 13.

Under present law, if a weapon was confiscated, or obtained after being abandoned and secured, after being voluntarily surrendered, or through a buyback program, by a local law enforcement agency or a judicial district drug task force and if the court orders the weapon to be sold, then the proceeds from the sale are deposited in the county or municipal general fund and allocated solely for law enforcement purposes. If the weapon was confiscated, or obtained after being abandoned and secured, after being voluntarily surrendered, or through a buyback program, by the department of safety or the Tennessee bureau of investigation and if the court orders it to be sold, then the weapon is turned over to the department of general services, and the department sells the weapon and disposes of the proceeds of the sale in the same manner as it currently does for other confiscated weapons.<br /> <br /> This bill adds a prohibition on the department of safety, the Tennessee bureau of investigation, judicial district drug task forces, and all other state and local law enforcement agencies participating in a firearm buyback program in which persons are offered cash or any other item of value in exchange for surrendering a firearm to the law enforcement agency, unless the amount of cash or the value of the item being offered in exchange for the surrender of the firearm is equal to, or greater than, 75 percent of the fair market value of the firearm being surrendered. If a firearm that is surrendered to a law enforcement agency through a buyback program on or after the effective date of this bill is sold pursuant to present law, then all proceeds of the sale, minus an authorized commission, must be used to provide firearm safety instruction to the public. This bill states that it does not apply to a voluntary surrender whereby a person surrenders a firearm to a law enforcement agency without receiving a payment or item of value in exchange for the firearm.<br /> <br /> This bill authorizes the department of safety, the Tennessee bureau of investigation, judicial district drug task forces, and all other state and local law enforcement agencies to:<br /> <br /> (1) Accept donations of money, gift certificates, prepaid cards, and other items of value; and<br /> <br /> (2) Give any item accepted as a donation under item (1) as an incentive to an individual who participates in firearm safety instruction.<br />