An Act concerning submission of certain mental health records to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System and ¹[amending P.L.1965, c.59] supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes¹.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

¹[1. Section 11 of P.L.1965, c.59 (C.30:4-24.3) is amended to read as follows:

11. All certificates, applications, records, and reports made pursuant to the provisions of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes and directly or indirectly identifying any individual presently or formerly receiving services in a noncorrectional institution under Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, or for whom services in a noncorrectional institution shall be sought under this act shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed by any person, except insofar as:

a. the individual identified or his legal guardian, if any, or, if he is a minor, his parent or legal guardian, shall consent; or

b. disclosure may be necessary to carry out any of the provisions of this act or of article 9 of chapter 82 of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes; or

c. a court may direct, upon its determination that disclosure is necessary for the conduct of proceedings before it and that failure to make such disclosure would be contrary to the public interest; or

d. disclosure may be necessary to conduct an investigation into the financial ability to pay of any person receiving services or his chargeable relatives pursuant to the provisions of R.S.30:1-12.

[e. disclosure is needed to comply with the data reporting provisions of the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub. L. 110-180, and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, Pub. L. 103-159.]

Nothing in this section shall preclude disclosure, upon proper inquiry, of information as to a patient's current medical condition to any relative or friend or to the patient's personal physician or attorney if it appears that the information is to be used directly or indirectly for the benefit of the patient.

Nothing in this section shall preclude the professional staff of a community agency under contract with the Division of Mental Health Services in the Department of Human Services, or of a screening service, short-term care or psychiatric facility as those facilities are defined in section 2 of P.L.1987, c.116 (C.30:4-27.2) from disclosing information that is relevant to a patient's current treatment to the staff of another such agency.

All certificates, applications, records, and reports made pursuant to the provisions of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes and directly or indirectly identifying any individual presently or formerly receiving services in a noncorrectional institution under Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, or for whom services in a noncorrectional institution shall be sought under this act shall be disclosed to National Instant Criminal Background Check System in compliance with the data reporting provisions of the NICS Improvement Amendements Act of 2007, Pub.L. 110-180, and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, Pub. L. 103-159.

(cf: P.L.2009, c.183, s.4)]¹

¹1. In compliance with the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, Pub.L. 110-180 ²and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, Pub. L. 103-159² , the Attorney General shall direct the Superintendent of the State Police to collect, in cooperation with the Administrative Office of the Courts, such data as may be required ²[by the United States Department of Justice concerning persons who are subject to federal firearms prohibitions set forth in] to make a determination as to whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm under² 18 U.S.C. s.922 ²or applicable State law² , and to transmit such data to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.¹

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Requires submission of certain mental health records to National Instant Criminal Background Check System.