HBA-JEK H.B. 2184 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2184 By: Smith Public Safety 77/25/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE State law prior to the 77th Legislature provided unclear time frames in which courts and magistrates were required to function in situations regarding the disposition of seized weapons. The law sometimes led to confusion over who a person was required to contact to request the return of a seized weapon. The law also resulted in an excessive accumulation of seized weapons in the storage of evidence and allowed for circuitous methods by which individuals were 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 a timely, written request to the court in which the person was convicted or placed on deferred adjudication. The bill requires the magistrate to notify the person in possession of a weapon before the 61st day after the date the magistrate determines there will be no prosecution or conviction that the person is entitled to the weapon upon written request. The bill requires the magistrate to order the return of the weapon before the 61st day after the date the magistrate receives a request from the person. H.B. 2184 authorizes the court entering the judgment to return the weapon to the owner even if the person was previously convicted on a weapons charge, the weapon is a prohibited weapon, or the offense was committed on the premises of a playground, school, video arcade facility, or youth center. If the magistrate or the court entering judgment of conviction does not order the destruction, return, 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.