AUGUSTA – Last July, in the wake of the massacre at Virginia Tech in April, Gov. John Baldacci ordered that Maine start reporting the names of those judged by a court to be a danger to themselves or others because of mental illness to the national database used to screen purchasers of firearms. Lawmakers were told Thursday that has not happened and then voted for legislation to allow it to occur.

“The information for involuntary commitments cannot be reported at this time because we don’t have the authority to get the information,” Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan told the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. Jordan chaired a task force that recommended the state change existing laws and acquire the necessary equipment to send the information to federal authorities in the form required.

“We can’t fax it or send them paper copies,” she said. “It has to be in an electronic form they will accept.”

Jordan told the panel the task force is recommending changes in current law to allow the limited sharing of what is now confidential information and the funding, estimated at $48,000, that would allow reporting to the National Instant Criminal Background System.

Federal law prohibits anyone with a covered mental illness or defect, as well as anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution, from buying a firearm. But the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled participation in the database cannot be mandated by Congress. Eighteen states, including Maine, are not providing information to the national database.

“I think we have a pretty good bill here that has been worked out carefully,” said Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison. He served on the task force with Jordan.

“I am going to vote for this, but I got to tell you I have some reservations,” said Rep. Stephen Hanley, D-Gardiner. “A person shouldn’t be penalized or lose a constitutional right because they had a mental health crisis once in their life. But at the same time you have to balance that with protecting not only the individual, but society.”

Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said the legislation seeks to achieve the right balance by limiting those names reported to the federal government. Under the measure, only a person who has been judged to be a danger to himself or others – after a full hearing with the right to an attorney and the presentation of expert witnesses – would be reported to the database.

“And this is just the person’s name, not the records,” said Diamond.

Under the proposal, Jordan said, the courts will send an abstract of the finding that a person was committed involuntarily to a mental health facility to the State Bureau of Identification, but not the entire finding of the judge. SBI will enter the name into its database and send an electronic report to the federal system.

“We had a hard time estimating just how many involuntary commitments there are,” Jordan said.

She said a review of hospital records showed not all petitions for involuntary commitments are granted, and often a person will enter a facility voluntarily when confronted with the likelihood a judge will order hospitalization.

Sen. Roger Sherman, R-Houlton, questioned whether pending federal legislation would have an impact on the proposal. The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a measure last June that was a compromise worked out by the National Rifle Association, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and lawmakers in both parties.

The measure includes some funding to help states implement the reporting system. The Senate has yet to consider the measure, but Jordan said it appears some version of the bill will be approved.

“That’s what we are hearing from those that are watching [things] closely in Washington,” she said.

The federal bill was crafted after Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, was able to buy firearms and went on his killing spree earlier this year. He had been found to be a danger to himself and others by a judge but was still able to buy a gun because his record had not been submitted to the federal database for the screening of gun purchases.

The task force legislation, which was unanimously endorsed by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, would establish the legal framework allowing the information to be sent to the federal database. The full Legislature will consider the matter in January.