Bill Text: TX HB129 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to prohibiting the transfer of certain semiautomatic rifles to certain recipients; creating a criminal offense; increasing a criminal penalty.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-23 - Referred to Community Safety, Select [HB129 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB129-Introduced.html

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88R4565 AJZ-D
By: Ortega H.B. No. 129

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting the transfer of certain semiautomatic
rifles to certain recipients; creating a criminal offense;
increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1)
to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
unlawful act;
(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give:
(A) to a [any] child younger than 18 years of age
a [any firearm,] club, [or] location-restricted knife, or firearm
other than a semiautomatic rifle described by Paragraph (B); or
(B) to a person younger than 21 years of age a
semiautomatic rifle that is capable of accepting a detachable
magazine and that has a caliber greater than .22;
(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
intoxicated;
(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
(A) the person's release from confinement
following conviction of the felony; or
(B) the person's release from supervision under
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
conviction of the felony;
(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;
(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
order is directed to the actor; or
(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under
state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on
a form that is:
(A) required by state or federal law for the
purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and
(B) submitted to a [licensed] firearms dealer
licensed under[, as defined by] 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] that the transfer was to a minor
whose parent or the person having legal custody of the minor had
given written permission for the sale or, if the transfer was other
than a sale, the parent or person having legal custody had given
effective consent.
(c-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(2)(B) that:
(1) the transfer of the semiautomatic rifle is
necessary for the actual discharge of the recipient's official
duties as a member of the armed forces or state military forces, as
defined by Section 437.001, Government Code; or
(2) the semiautomatic rifle is transferred to a
recipient who:
(A) is 18 years of age or older; and
(B) holds a hunting license under Chapter 42,
Parks and Wildlife Code.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that:
(1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] is
a state jail felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense
is a handgun; and
(2) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(B) or (a)(7) is
a state jail felony.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.