Bill Text: TX HB1995 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to requiring a licensed firearms dealer to report certain sales or transfers of multiple semiautomatic rifles to law enforcement; creating a criminal offense.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-08 - Referred to Community Safety, Select [HB1995 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB1995-Introduced.html
| 88R9475 AJZ-D | ||
| By: Goodwin | H.B. No. 1995 | |
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| relating to requiring a licensed firearms dealer to report certain | ||
| sales or transfers of multiple semiautomatic rifles to law | ||
| enforcement; creating a criminal offense. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Chapter 205 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 205. REPORTS OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE TRANSFERS OF | ||
| SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES | ||
| SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS | ||
| Sec. 205.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety | ||
| of the State of Texas. | ||
| (2) "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is | ||
| licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923. | ||
| Sec. 205.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to | ||
| a semiautomatic rifle that: | ||
| (1) is capable of accepting a detachable magazine; and | ||
| (2) has a caliber greater than .22. | ||
| SUBCHAPTER B. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE SALES OR | ||
| TRANSFERS OF SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES | ||
| Sec. 205.051. REPORT BY LICENSED FIREARMS DEALER. (a) This | ||
| section applies only to a sale or transfer of two or more | ||
| semiautomatic rifles to which this chapter applies made to the same | ||
| transferee, other than a licensed firearms dealer, on a single | ||
| occasion or on more than one occasion during a period of five | ||
| consecutive business days. | ||
| (b) A licensed firearms dealer shall report to the | ||
| department, in the form and manner prescribed by the department | ||
| under Section 205.101, the multiple sales or transfers described by | ||
| Subsection (a). | ||
| (c) Before completing a sale or transfer of a semiautomatic | ||
| rifle to which this chapter applies the licensed firearms dealer | ||
| making the sale or transfer shall: | ||
| (1) review the items in the current sale or transfer | ||
| and any recent previous sales and transfers by the dealer to that | ||
| transferee to determine whether the reporting duties of this | ||
| subchapter apply to the dealer as a result of that sale or transfer; | ||
| and | ||
| (2) submit a report, if required, under Subsection | ||
| (b). | ||
| (d) A report submitted by a licensed firearms dealer to the | ||
| department under this section is confidential and not subject to | ||
| disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. | ||
| Sec. 205.052. REPORT TO SHERIFF AND POLICE DEPARTMENT. (a) | ||
| Not later than 24 hours after receiving a report from a licensed | ||
| firearms dealer under Section 205.051(b), the department shall | ||
| transmit the report to: | ||
| (1) the sheriff of each county in which the applicable | ||
| sales or transfers occurred; | ||
| (2) the sheriff of the county in which the transferee | ||
| resides; | ||
| (3) if any of the applicable sales or transfers | ||
| occurred in a municipality, the police department of each | ||
| municipality in which the applicable sales or transfers occurred; | ||
| and | ||
| (4) if the transferee resides in a municipality, the | ||
| police department of the municipality in which the transferee | ||
| resides. | ||
| (b) Information in a report submitted to a county sheriff or | ||
| a police department under Subsection (a) is confidential and not | ||
| subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. | ||
| Sec. 205.053. OFFENSE. (a) A licensed firearms dealer who, | ||
| with criminal negligence, violates Section 205.051 commits an | ||
| offense. | ||
| (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor. | ||
| SUBCHAPTER C. FORMS | ||
| Sec. 205.101. FORM FOR SUBMISSION OF FIREARMS DEALER | ||
| REPORT. (a) For purposes of the report required by Section | ||
| 205.051(b), the department shall require a licensed firearms dealer | ||
| to use a form prescribed by the department. | ||
| (b) The form prescribed under Subsection (a) must: | ||
| (1) include: | ||
| (A) the dates and locations of the applicable | ||
| sales or transfers; | ||
| (B) the number of semiautomatic rifles sold or | ||
| transferred; | ||
| (C) the identity and location of the licensed | ||
| firearms dealer, including the locations where each applicable | ||
| transfer occurred; and | ||
| (D) the identity of the transferee; and | ||
| (2) require the licensed firearms dealer to submit a | ||
| copy of the identification provided by the transferee for the | ||
| purchase. | ||
| (c) The department shall post on the department's publicly | ||
| accessible Internet website: | ||
| (1) the form required by this section; and | ||
| (2) instructions for submitting the form and related | ||
| documentation, including an e-mail address or electronic portal | ||
| that may be used to submit the form and documentation. | ||
| SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2023, the Department | ||
| of Public Safety shall develop the form for reporting multiple | ||
| semiautomatic rifle sales, as required by Section 205.101, Business & | ||
| Commerce Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only | ||
| to the sale or transfer of a semiautomatic rifle that occurs on or | ||
| after the effective date of this Act. A sale or transfer of a | ||
| semiautomatic rifle that occurs before the effective date of this | ||
| Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the | ||
| effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for | ||
| that purpose. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. | ||
