HB 1509 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2707
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1509
SPONSORS: Rep. Luneau, Merr. 10; Rep. Bordenet, Ches. 5; Rep. Welch, Rock. 13; Rep. Rodd, Merr. 6; Rep. Amanda Bouldin, Hills. 12
COMMITTEE: Education
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a procedure for issuing an emergency threat protection order against an individual at a post secondary educational institution, who poses an immediate risk of harm to themself or others.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2707
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Chapter; Emergency Threat Protection Orders. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 135-F the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 135-G
EMERGENCY THREAT PROTECTION ORDERS
135-G:1 Definitions. In this chapter:
I. "Concerning behaviors" means observable behaviors within the 6 months prior to the filing of the petition exhibited by the individual that, taken together, create a pattern of behavior indicative of a situation escalating towards a violent incident, including:
(a) "Anger" meaning a display of aggressive attitude/temper inappropriate in context and more intense than previously observed in the individual's previous displays of attitude/temper.
(b) "Change, escalation, or contextually inappropriate firearms behavior" meaning an interest in or use of firearms that appears unusual given the individual's background and experience with firearms.
(c) "Interpersonal interactions" meaning more than the usual amount of disagreement in ongoing relationships with family, friends, or colleagues.
(d) "Physical aggression" meaning an inappropriate use of force.
(e) "Physical health" meaning significant changes in physical well-being beyond minor injuries and ailments that are noticeably disruptive to the individual.
(f) "Quality of thinking or communication" meaning indications of confused or irrational thought processes.
(g) "Risk-taking" meaning actions that show more than a usual disregard for significant negative consequences.
(h) "School performance" meaning an appreciable decrease in academic performance or unexplained or unusual absences.
(i) "Violent-media usage" meaning significantly more than a usual age-appropriate interest in visual or aural depictions of violence.
II. "Concerning communications" means:
(a) "Threats/confrontations" which are direct communications to a target of intent to harm and which may be delivered in person or by other means (e.g., text, email, telephone); or
(b) "Leakage" which is the intentional or unintentional revealing of clues to a third-party about feelings, thoughts, fantasies, attitudes, or intentions that may signal the intent to commit a violent act. This may include indirect threats of harm that are less obvious, subtler threats like innuendo about a desire to commit a violent attack, or boasts about the ability to harm others.
III. "Emergency threat protection order" means a temporary or final order issued pursuant to this chapter.
IV. "Fame-seeking leakage" means a kind of leakage in which the respondent reveals clues that signal an intent to commit a violent act for the specific purpose of seeking fame.
V. "Family member" means a spouse or person cohabiting with another person.
VI. "Firearm" means any weapon, including a starter gun, which will, is designed to, or may be readily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.
VII. "Imminent" means likely to take place within the very near future.
VIII. "Individuals" means any person who is a student, former student, employee, or former employee at a post secondary educational institution.
IX. "Licensed mental health professional" means a person licensed by the state of New Hampshire or another state to provide mental health services and who has had suicide threat training.
X. "Mental health" for purposes of RSA 135-G:2, or II(b)(1) means an individual who appears to have depression, anxiety, or paranoia, in his or her daily life in the 6 months before the attack. "Mental health" is not synonymous with a diagnosis of mental illness.
XI. "Other weapons" means any item capable of causing mass casualties such as, but not limited to, an explosive device, a motor vehicle, or bio-hazardous materials.
XII. "Planning" means specific thoughts and actions involved in carrying out a shooting attack as revealed in words and/or conduct. These actions may include the decision to engage in violence, the selection of specific or random targets, the act of conducting surveillance, and other practical issues such as obtaining victim schedules, transportation, and site access. A general intent to act violently does not constitute planning.
XIII. "Post secondary educational institution" means any institution governed by the higher education commission under RSA 21-N:8-a.
XIV. "Potential stressors" means physical, psychological, or social forces within the last year that place real or perceived demands or pressures on an individual and which are causing psychological and/or physical distress.
XV. "Preparation" means actions within the last year taken to procure the means for the attack, such as a firearm, ammunition, special clothing, or body armor.
XVI. "Primary grievance" means the cause of the active shooter's distress or resentment; a perception, not necessarily based in reality, of having been wronged or treated unfairly or inappropriately. It is more than a typical feeling of resentment or passing anger, rather it is one that results in a grossly distorted preoccupation with a sense of injustice, such as interpersonal, employment, governmental, academic, or financial actions that were perceived as distinctly personal to the respondent.
XVII. "Public mass casualty shooter" means an individual who plans to kill, attempts to kill, or kills more than one person in any public space.
XVIII. "Respondent" means the individual against whom the petition in RSA 135-G:4 is filed.
XIX. "Targeting" means a person or group of people who were identifiable before the shooting occurred and whom the respondent intended to attack. It is not necessary that the respondent knows the target by name; intending to attack a person holding a position at or affiliated with a business, educational facility, or in a governmental agency shall be sufficient.
135-G: 2 Involuntary Relinquishment.
I. If the court finds by clear and convincing evidence at the hearing that the respondent poses a serious and imminent danger of personal injury to self or others, the court shall issue an extreme threat protection order.
II. In determining whether a danger exists, the court shall determine if the following conditions are met:
(a) A threat of suicide using a firearm exists based on:
(1) The presence of both of the following:
(A) Verbal suicide threats; and
(B) Firearms acquisition, possession, or access; and
(2) The presence of at least 4 of the following:
(A) Expressions of hopelessness and helplessness; and
(B) Previous suicide attempts;
(C) Daring or risk-taking behavior;
(D) Personality changes;
(E) Depression;
(F) Giving away prized possessions;
(G) Lack of interest in future plans; or
(3) The testimony of a licensed mental health professional that there is a threat of suicide by firearm given the possession of or access to a firearm by the respondent; or
(b) A threat that the respondent may become a public mass casualty shooter exists based on either:
(1) Evidence of 5 or more of the following:
(A) Planning;
(B) Preparation;
(C) Firearms acquisition, possession, or access;
(D) Possession, acquisition, or access to other weapons explicitly articulated by the respondent as the weapon of choice;
(E) Potential stressors;
(F) Mental health;
(G) Leakage;
(H) Concerning behaviors;
(I) Primary grievance;
(J) Targeting;
(K) Suicidal ideations and/or attempts;
(L) Concerning communications; or
(2) Evidence of either (A), (B) and (C) or (A), (B), and (D) below:
(A) Fame-seeking leakage.
(B) Planning and/or preparation.
(C) Acquisition or possession of or access to a firearm.
(D) Possession of other weapons explicitly articulated by the respondent as the weapon of choice.
135-G:3 Petition.
I. A law enforcement official may petition for a hearing in a circuit court to remove one or more firearms or other weapons on an involuntary basis from an individual under the standard in this section.
II. Any person may report their concerns to a law enforcement official regarding an individual who may meet one or more of the standards in this section. That official shall conduct an investigation, including outreach to the individual in question.
III. The petition for removal of firearms or other weapons shall include:
(a) The name of the respondent and their last known address.
(b) The specific actions and words that the petitioner alleges will satisfy RSA 135-G:2.
(c)(1) If proceeding under RSA 135-G:2, II(a)(2) an affidavit from a licensed mental health professional, who has examined the respondent within the 7 days prior to the date the petition is filed and who states that, based on this examination, the respondent satisfies the standard for removal of the individual's firearms set forth RSA 135-G:2, II; or
(2) If proceeding under RSA 135-G:2, II(a)(1), or RSA 135-G:2, II(b), an affidavit from a family member or other responsible person that describes the specific actions, conduct, and