Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 39.

FILING PETITION FOR EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER--FIREARMS This bill authorizes any family member, household member, intimate partner, or law enforcement officer who has a reasonable belief that a person poses an imminent risk of harm to the person or others if allowed to purchase or possess a firearm to seek relief by filing a sworn petition for an emergency protection order against the respondent. This bill requires that venue for a petition for an emergency protection order, and all other matters relating to emergency orders of protection, be in the county where the respondent resides. If the respondent is not a resident of Tennessee, then the petition may be filed in the county where the petitioner resides. This bill does not require a person filing a petition for an emergency protection order to bear the costs, including any court costs, filing fees, litigation taxes, or any other costs associated with the filing, issuance, registration, service, dismissal or nonsuit, appeal or enforcement of an ex parte emergency protection order, emergency protection order, or a petition for either such order, whether issued inside or outside the state. If the court, after the hearing on the petition, issues or extends an emergency protection order, then all court costs, filing fees, litigation taxes, and attorney fees must be assessed against the respondent. COURT PROCESS AFTER FILING OF PETITION This bill authorizes the court to issue an ex parte emergency protection order immediately upon the filing of a petition for an emergency protection order for good cause shown. An immediate and present risk of harm to the respondent or others if the respondent is allowed to purchase or possess a firearm constitutes good cause for purposes of this bill. An ex parte emergency protection order must prohibit the respondent from purchasing or possessing any firearm during the period that the order is in effect. This bill requires that a hearing be held within 30 days of service of an ex parte emergency protection order on the respondent, at which time the court must either dissolve the order that has been issued, or must, if the petitioner has proved the allegation of an imminent risk of harm by a preponderance of the evidence, extend the emergency protection order for a definite period of time, not to exceed one year, unless a further hearing on the continuation of such order is requested by the respondent or the petitioner; in which case, on proper showing of cause, such order may be continued for a further definite period of one year, after which time a further hearing must be held for any subsequent one-year period. Any ex parte emergency protection order must be in effect until the time of the hearing, and, if the hearing is held within 30 days of service of such order, then the ex parte order must continue in effect until the entry of any subsequent emergency protection order issued pursuant to this bill. If no ex parte emergency protection order has been issued as of the time of the hearing, and the petitioner has proven the allegation of an imminent risk of harm by a preponderance of the evidence, then the court may, at that time, issue an emergency protection order prohibiting the respondent from purchasing or possessing any firearm for a definite period of time, not to exceed one year. This bill requires the court to cause a copy of the petition and notice of the date set for the hearing on such petition, as well as a copy of any ex parte emergency protection order, if applicable, to be served upon the respondent at least five days prior to such hearing. An ex parte emergency protection order issued pursuant to this bill must be personally served upon the respondent. However, if the respondent is not a resident of Tennessee, the ex parte emergency protection order must be served pursuant to state law. The notice must advise the respondent that the respondent may be represented by counsel. In any case in which the petitioner is a minor, unless the court finds that the action would create a threat of serious harm to the minor, a copy of the petition, notice of hearing, and any ex parte emergency protection order must also be served on the parents of the minor, or in the event that the parents are not living together and jointly caring for the minor, upon the primary residential parent, pursuant to the requirements of this bill. This bill authorizes any court of competent jurisdiction to modify the emergency protection order, either upon the court's own motion or upon motion of the petitioner, within the time the emergency protection order is in effect. This bill authorizes any court of competent jurisdiction to terminate the emergency protection order, either upon the court's own motion or upon motion of the respondent, within the time the emergency protection order is in effect. In order to terminate the emergency protection order, the court must find that the respondent no longer poses an imminent risk of harm to the person or others if allowed to purchase or possess a firearm. This bill requires the clerk to immediately forward a copy of any emergency protection order issued and any subsequent modifications or dismissals to the petitioner, respondent, and the local law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction in the area where the respondent resides. Upon receipt of the copy of the emergency protection order, modification, or dismissal from the issuing court or clerk's office, the local law enforcement agency must take any necessary action to immediately transmit the order to the national crime information center. ENTERING A PROTECTION ORDER If the respondent has been served with a copy of a petition for an emergency protection order, notice of hearing, and any ex parte order issued pursuant to state law, then this bill requires any subsequent protection order to be effective when the order is entered. For purposes of this bill, an order is considered entered when such order is signed by (i) the judge and all parties or counsel; (ii) the judge and one party or counsel and contains a certificate of counsel that a copy of the proposed order has been served on all other parties or counsel; or (iii) the judge and contains a certificate of the clerk that a copy has been served on all other parties or counsel. This bill requires service upon a party or counsel to be made by delivering to such party or counsel a copy of the emergency protection order, or by the clerk mailing the order to the party's last known address. In the event the party's last known address is unknown and cannot be ascertained upon diligent inquiry, the certificate of service must so state. Service by mail is complete upon mailing. In order to complete service of process in a timely manner on a party who lives outside the county where the order was issued, the clerk may transmit the order to the sheriff in the appropriate county by facsimile or other electronic transmission. If the court finds that the protection of the petitioner, respondent, or others so require, then this bill authorizes the court to order that the protection order take effect immediately. This bill establishes that when the respondent has been served with a copy of the petition, notice of hearing, and any ex parte order issued pursuant to state law, an emergency protection order issued pursuant to this bill after a hearing is in full force and effect against the respondent from the time the order is entered regardless of whether the respondent is present at the hearing. VIOLATING AN EMERGENCY PROTECTION ORDER This bill establishes that it is an offense to knowingly violate an emergency protection order. Knowing violation of an emergency protection order is a Class A misdemeanor, subject to confinement for up to 11 months and 29 days and a fine of no more than $2500. This bill requires the arresting officer, after arresting a respondent for a violation of this bill, to inform the person who petitioned the court to issue the emergency protection order that the respondent has been arrested for a violation of that order and that the respondent may be eligible to post bond for the offense and be released until the date of trial for the offense. This bill establishes that an arrest or the issuance of a warrant or capias for a violation of this bill does not in any way affect the validity or enforceability of any emergency protection order. In order to constitute a knowing violation of an emergency protection order, (i) the respondent must have received notice of the request for an emergency protection order; (ii) the respondent must have had an opportunity to appear and be heard in connection with the emergency protection order; and (iii) the court must have made specific findings of fact in the emergency protection order that the respondent posed an imminent risk of harm to the respondent or others if allowed to purchase or possess a firearm. This bill authorizes arrest for violation of an emergency protection order with or without a warrant. Any law enforcement officer must arrest the respondent without a warrant if (i) the officer has proper jurisdiction over the area in which the violation occurred; (ii) the officer has reasonable cause to believe the respondent has violated or is in violation of the emergency protection order; and (iii) the officer has verified whether an emergency protection order is in effect against the respondent. If necessary, the police officer may verify the existence of an emergency protection order by telephone or radio communication with the appropriate law enforcement department. This bill prohibits enforcing an ex parte order of protection by arrest until the respondent has been served with the emergency protection order or has otherwise acquired actual knowledge of such order. DISCLOSURES REQUIRED ON THE ORDER This bill requires an emergency protection order to include on its face the following disclosures: (1) That the respondent is required to dispossess the respondent by any lawful means, such as transferring possession to a third party who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, of all firearms the respondent possesses within 48 hours of the issuance of the order; (2) That the respondent is prohibited from possessing a firearm for so long as the protection order or any successive protection order is in effect, and may reassume possession of the dispossessed firearm at such time as the order expires or is otherwise no longer in effect; and (3) Notice of the penalty for any violation of an emergency protection order. This bill requires the court to then order and instruct the respondent as follows: (i) to terminate the respondent's physical possession of the firearms in the respondent's possession by any lawful means, such as transferring possession to a third party who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, within 48 hours; and (ii) that if the respondent possesses firearms as business inventory or that are registered under the National Firearms Act, there are additional statutory provisions that may apply and respondent must include these additional provisions in the content of the order. This bill requires the respondent to complete an affidavit of firearms dispossession form and return it to the court issuing the protection order when the respondent is lawfully dispossessed of firearms. This bill establishes the following for determining what a lawful means of dispossession is: (1) If the dispossession requires the approval of any state or federal agency prior to the transfer of the firearm, then the respondent may comply with the dispossession requirement by having the firearm or firearms placed into a safe or similar container that is securely locked and to which the respondent does not have the combination, keys, or other means of normal access; and (2) If the respondent is licensed as a federal firearms dealer or a responsible party under a federal firearms license, the determination of whether such an individual possesses firearms that constitute business inventory under the federal license must be made based upon the applicable federal statutes or the rules, regulations and official letters, and rulings and publications of the federal ATF, and explosives. The protection order must not require the surrender or transfer of the inventory if there are one or more individuals who are responsible parties under the federal license who are not the respondent subject to the protection order. This bill provides that a firearm subject to the above provisions is not forfeited unless the possession of the firearm prior to the entry of the protection order constituted an independent crime of which the respondent has been convicted or the firearms are abandoned by the respondent. This bill establishes that it is an offense for a person subject to an emergency protection order to knowingly fail to surrender or transfer all firearms the respondent possesses as required by this bill. A violation of this provision is a Class A misdemeanor, and each violation constitutes a separate offense. PETITION FORMS This bill requires the office of the clerk of court to provide forms that may be necessary to seek an emergency protection order. The forms must be limited to use in petitions filed under this bill and made available to all who request assistance in filing a petition. The clerk may obtain the most current forms by printing them from the website of the administrative office of the courts. This bill authorizes the petitioner to present to the court any legally sufficient petition in whatever form; the petitioner is not required to use the forms from the clerk's office. This bill requires the office of the clerk to also assist a person who is not represented by counsel by filling in the name of the court on the petition, indicating where the petitioner's name must be filled in, reading through the petition form with the petitioner, and rendering any other assistance that is necessary for the filing of the petition. All such petitions that are filed by a petitioner without the assistance of an attorney must be liberally construed procedurally in favor of the petitioner. This bill requires the administrative office of the courts to develop a petition for an emergency protection order form, an amended emergency protection order form, an ex parte emergency protection order form, an affidavit of firearms dispossession form, and other forms that are found to be necessary and advisable for the implementation of this bill. The forms must be revised as the laws relative to emergency protection orders and ex parte emergency protection orders are amended by the general assembly. To the extent possible, the forms must be uniform with those promulgated by surrounding states so that Tennessee forms may be afforded full faith and credit. This bill requires the form developed by the administrative office of the courts to fully advise the respondent in language substantially similar to the following: (1) If the emergency protection order is granted, the respondent is required to terminate physical possession by any lawful means, such as transferring possession to a third party who is not prohibited from possessing firearms, of all firearms that the respondent possesses within 48 hours of the granting of the order; (2) It is a criminal offense for a person subject to an emergency protection order to purchase or possess a firearm while that order is in effect; and (3) The issuance of an emergency protection order will terminate or, at least, suspend the individual's right to purchase or possess a firearm while the order is in effect. This bill requires that the forms be used exclusively in all courts exercising jurisdiction over emergency protection orders.