86R3322 JSC-D
 
  By: Nevárez H.B. No. 544
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the unlawful possession of a firearm by persons who are
  subject to certain judicial determinations; creating a criminal
  offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 46.04, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Subsections (b-1) and (h) and amending Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (b-1)  A person commits an offense if the person possesses a
  firearm and at the time of the offense the person:
               (1)  has been ordered by a court to receive inpatient
  mental health services under Chapter 574, Health and Safety Code;
               (2)  has been acquitted in a criminal case by reason of
  insanity or lack of mental responsibility, regardless of whether
  the person was ordered by a court to receive inpatient treatment or
  residential care under Chapter 46C, Code of Criminal Procedure;
               (3)  has been determined to be a person with an
  intellectual disability and has been committed by a court for
  long-term placement in a residential care facility under Chapter
  593, Health and Safety Code;
               (4)  is an incapacitated adult for whom a court has
  appointed a guardian of the person under Title 3, Estates Code,
  based on a determination that the person lacks the mental capacity
  to manage the person's affairs; or
               (5)  has been determined to be incompetent to stand
  trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure.
         (e)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
  except that an offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third
  degree. [An offense under Subsection (b) or (c) is a Class A
  misdemeanor.]
         (h)  It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b-1)
  that at the time of the offense:
               (1)  the person is the subject of a judicial order or
  finding that the person is no longer an incapacitated adult or is
  entitled to relief from disabilities under Section 574.088, Health
  and Safety Code; or
               (2)  the person has obtained notice of relief from
  disabilities under 18 U.S.C. Section 925.
         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, 2019.