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type title description jurisdiction legislature session identifier citation classification subjects status primary_sponsors version_count action_count vote_count first_action last_action source source_identifier source_url source_hash vintage source_snapshot retrieved_at confidence tags
Bill Firearms; mental health as disqualifier for possession, etc. Involuntary commitment and restoration of firearm rights. Responds to the holding in Paugh v. Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services, Record No. 121562 (2013), in which the Supreme Court of Virginia held that on appeal by trial de novo in circuit court of an order of involuntary commitment by a district court, upon the circuit court's finding that the appellant no longer meets the criteria for involuntary commitment, the proper remedy is dismissal of the Commonwealth's petition for involuntary commitment, thereby rendering the original commitment order a nullity. As such, because the original petition would in effect never have existed, forfeiture of the right to possess a firearm as required by § 18.2-308.1:3 upon involuntary commitment would no longer be in effect. Section 18.2-308.1:3 requires that a person who has been involuntarily committed and seeks to have his firearm rights restored petition a district court for restoration of his firearm rights. The ruling in Paugh, by requiring dismissal of the original petition for commitment, removes that requirement even though on the date of the original commitment hearing the person did meet the criteria for commitment and was, in fact, involuntarily committed. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the outcome of any appeal (trial de novo on the petition for commitment) taken pursuant to § 37.2-821 or § 16.1-345.6, the appellant shall be required to seek restoration of his firearm rights. The bill also provides that, upon a finding by the circuit court that the appellant no longer meets the criteria for involuntary commitment or mandatory outpatient treatment, the court shall reverse the order of the district court but shall not dismiss the Commonwealth's petition. As a consequence of these changes, a person who is involuntarily committed would be required to petition for restoration of his firearm rights notwithstanding the reversal of the commitment order by a circuit court. us/states/va Virginia General Assembly 2020 SB 684 Virginia SB 684 (2020)
bill
enacted
T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason
4 28 7 2020-01-07 2020-04-11 openstates ocd-bill/d81639dd-37f0-4ed8-ae4c-724901583b3c https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+SB684 bb4f51a71b46ef2b7d84d8ab355a6518494784cb2223aeb8767ab4e27767c340 2026-07-01 https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump 2026-07-06 reported
legislation
bill
us-va

Virginia SB 684 (2020) — Firearms; mental health as disqualifier for possession, etc.

Involuntary commitment and restoration of firearm rights. Responds to the holding in Paugh v. Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services, Record No. 121562 (2013), in which the Supreme Court of Virginia held that on appeal by trial de novo in circuit court of an order of involuntary commitment by a district court, upon the circuit court's finding that the appellant no longer meets the criteria for involuntary commitment, the proper remedy is dismissal of the Commonwealth's petition for involuntary commitment, thereby rendering the original commitment order a nullity. As such, because the original petition would in effect never have existed, forfeiture of the right to possess a firearm as required by § 18.2-308.1:3 upon involuntary commitment would no longer be in effect. Section 18.2-308.1:3 requires that a person who has been involuntarily committed and seeks to have his firearm rights restored petition a district court for restoration of his firearm rights. The ruling in Paugh, by requiring dismissal of the original petition for commitment, removes that requirement even though on the date of the original commitment hearing the person did meet the criteria for commitment and was, in fact, involuntarily committed. The bill provides that, notwithstanding the outcome of any appeal (trial de novo on the petition for commitment) taken pursuant to § 37.2-821 or § 16.1-345.6, the appellant shall be required to seek restoration of his firearm rights. The bill also provides that, upon a finding by the circuit court that the appellant no longer meets the criteria for involuntary commitment or mandatory outpatient treatment, the court shall reverse the order of the district court but shall not dismiss the Commonwealth's petition. As a consequence of these changes, a person who is involuntarily committed would be required to petition for restoration of his firearm rights notwithstanding the reversal of the commitment order by a circuit court.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

  1. Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP1175) (committee substitute) — source
  2. Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB684ER) (committee substitute) — source
  3. Engrossed by House as amended SB684H1 (committee substitute) — source
  4. Engrossed by House as amended SB684H1 (committee substitute) — source

Votes

  • Reported from Judiciary (13-Y 0-N 1-A) — 130 (pass) · upper
  • Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N) — 70 (pass) · lower
  • VOTE: Passage (95-Y 3-N) — 943 (pass) · lower
  • House substitute agreed to by Senate (38-Y 2-N) — 382 (pass) · upper
  • Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — 400 (pass) · upper
  • Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 1-N) — 391 (pass) · upper
  • Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) — 220 (pass) · lower

Sponsors

  • T. Montgomery "Monty" Mason — primary (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

  • 2020-01-07 Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20104751D introduction
  • 2020-01-07 Referred to Committee on the Judiciary referral-committee
  • 2020-02-03 Reported from Judiciary (13-Y 0-N 1-A) committee-passage
  • 2020-02-04 Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
  • 2020-02-05 Read second time and engrossed reading-2
  • 2020-02-06 Read third time and passed Senate (39-Y 1-N) passage, reading-3
  • 2020-02-12 Placed on Calendar
  • 2020-02-12 Read first time reading-1
  • 2020-02-12 Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice referral-committee
  • 2020-02-18 Assigned Courts sub: Criminal referral-committee
  • 2020-02-19 Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (7-Y 0-N)
  • 2020-02-24 Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) committee-passage
  • 2020-02-24 Committee substitute printed 20108753D-H1 substitution
  • 2020-02-26 Read second time reading-2
  • 2020-02-27 Read third time reading-3
  • 2020-02-27 Passed by temporarily
  • 2020-02-27 Committee substitute agreed to 20108753D-H1
  • 2020-02-27 Engrossed by House as amended SB684H1
  • 2020-02-27 Passed House with substitute (95-Y 3-N) passage
  • 2020-02-27 VOTE: Passage (95-Y 3-N)
  • 2020-03-02 House substitute agreed to by Senate (38-Y 2-N)
  • 2020-03-02 Title replaced 20108753D-H1
  • 2020-03-06 Enrolled
  • 2020-03-06 Signed by President
  • 2020-03-06 Signed by Speaker
  • 2020-03-12 Enrolled Bill Communicated to Governor on March 12, 2020
  • 2020-03-12 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2020
  • 2020-04-11 Approved by Governor-Chapter 1175 (effective 7/1/20) executive-signature

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/d81639dd-37f0-4ed8-ae4c-724901583b3c. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).