HBA-JEK H.B. 2184 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2184 By: Smith Public Safety 4/6/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law regarding the disposition of seized weapons provides unclear time frames in which courts and magistrates must function and sometimes leads to confusion over who a person is required to contact to request the return of a seized weapon. The law has resulted in an excessive accumulation of seized weapons in the storage of evidence and established circuitous methods by which individuals are entitled to retrieve their weapons. House Bill 2184 clarifies and modifies provisions regarding the disposition of certain seized weapons. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 2184 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to provide that a person who is either convicted or receiving deferred adjudication for a weapons violation is entitled to the person's seized weapon upon request to the court in which the person was convicted or placed on deferred adjudication. The bill authorizes the court entering the judgment to return the weapon to the owner even if the person does not request the return of the weapon within a specified time period, the person was previously convicted on a weapons charge, the weapon is a prohibited weapon, or if the offense was committed on the premises of a playground, school, video arcade facility, or youth center. If the court entering judgment of conviction does not order the release, destruction, or forfeiture of the weapon within the prescribed period, the law enforcement agency holding the weapon is authorized to request an order of destruction or forfeiture of the weapon from a magistrate. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.