Senate File 2253 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 2253
BY WEINER, CELSI, WINCKLER,
TRONE GARRIOTT, and
PETERSEN
A BILL FOR
1 An Act establishing a mental health firearm safety fund.
2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
TLSB 5797XS (5) 90
dg/ko
 S.F. 2253
1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 225C.70 Mental health firearm
2 safety fund.
3 1. A mental health firearm safety fund is created in the
4 state treasury under the control of the department and shall
5 consist of any moneys appropriated by the general assembly
6 and any other moneys available to and obtained or accepted by
7 the department for placement in the fund. Moneys in the fund
8 shall be used to award grants to organizations or coalitions of
9 organizations for any of the following purposes:
10 a. To train staff at a firearms retailer or a firearm range
11 on how to recognize signs that a person may be considering
12 suicide.
13 b. To provide suicide prevention materials for distribution
14 at a firearms retailer or a firearm range.
15 c. To provide voluntary, temporary firearm storage for
16 the lawful owner of a firearm who is or may be experiencing a
17 mental health emergency.
18 2. A grant awarded pursuant to this section shall not exceed
19 five thousand dollars per recipient organization per fiscal
20 year.
21 3. In awarding grants pursuant to subsection 1, the
22 department shall give preference to organizations or coalitions
23 of organizations that have not previously received a grant
24 under this section.
25 4. For purposes of this section, “organization” means any
26 of the following:
27 a. A county.
28 b. A city.
29 c. An Indian tribe as that term is defined in 25 U.S.C.
30 §5304, including any subdivision, subsidiary, or business
31 enterprise wholly owned by such an Indian tribe.
32 EXPLANATION
33 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
34 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
35 This bill establishes a mental health firearm safety fund
LSB 5797XS (5) 90
-1- dg/ko 1/2
 S.F. 2253
1 (fund) under the control of the department of health and human
2 services (HHS) to be funded with moneys appropriated by the
3 general assembly and any other moneys available to and obtained
4 or accepted by HHS for placement in the fund.
5 The bill allows HHS to use moneys in the fund to award
6 grants to organizations for the purposes of training staff at a
7 firearms retailer or a firearm range on how to recognize signs
8 that a person may be considering suicide; providing suicide
9 prevention materials for distribution at a firearms retailer
10 or a firearm range; or providing voluntary, temporary firearm
11 storage for the lawful owner of a firearm who is or may be
12 experiencing a mental health emergency.
13 The bill limits annual awards from the fund to $5,000 per
14 recipient organization per fiscal year.
15 The bill requires HHS, when awarding grants from the fund, to
16 give preference to organizations or coalitions of organizations
17 that have not previously received a grant from the fund.
18 The bill defines “organization” as a county; a city; or
19 an Indian tribe as defined in 25 U.S.C. §5304, including any
20 subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprise wholly owned
21 by such an Indian tribe.
LSB 5797XS (5) 90
-2- dg/ko 2/2