Bill Text: TX HB545 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to the prosecution of the offense of unlawful transfer of a firearm.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-09 - Postponed 1/10/21 10:00 AM [HB545 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB545-Comm_Sub.html

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86R25602 LHC-D
By: Nevárez, Calanni H.B. No. 545
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 545:
By: Moody C.S.H.B. No. 545

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of unlawful transfer of a
firearm.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (e) 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 to any child
younger than 18 years of age any firearm, club, or
location-restricted knife;
(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; [or]
(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) knowingly sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a
firearm to a person who the actor knows, or has reasonable cause to
believe, is:
(A) a person receiving inpatient mental health
services by order of a court under Chapter 574, Health and Safety
Code;
(B) a person who 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;
(C) a person who has been determined to have an
intellectual disability and committed by a court for long-term
placement in a residential care facility under Chapter 593, Health
and Safety Code; or
(D) a person determined to be incompetent to
stand trial under Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(e) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(7)
that the transfer is to a person who:
(1) is the subject of a judicial order or finding that
the person is entitled to relief from disabilities under Section
574.088, Health and Safety Code;
(2) has obtained notice of relief from disabilities
under 18 U.S.C. Section 925; or
(3) the actor had reasonable cause to believe is a
person described by Subsection (a)(7), if that person is not a
person described by that subdivision.
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.