Senate Bill 565 - Extreme Risk Protection Orders

• Creates Chapter 50E establishing a court procedure for obtaining temporary Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to restrict firearm access for individuals posing danger to themselves or others.

• Permits family or household members and law enforcement officers to file verified petitions in district court; requires petitions include allegations of danger, firearm identification, and corroborating evidence from a witness or audio-visual recording.

• Authorizes judges to issue ex parte ERPOs without notice upon finding clear, cogent, and convincing evidence of imminent danger, with full hearings required within 10 days; full ERPOs issued upon preponderance of evidence standard.

• Requires respondents to immediately surrender firearms, ammunition, and permits to the sheriff upon service of an ERPO; sheriff stores items and may charge reasonable storage fees; firearms returned 30 days after motion if respondent not otherwise prohibited from possession.

• Establishes violations of ERPOs as Class A1 misdemeanors; false statements in petitions as Class 2 misdemeanors; permits ERPOs to be renewed and allows respondents to request termination with burden of proof that they no longer pose danger; effective December 1, 2019.