By: Corte H.B. No. 4336
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the civil and criminal consequences of engaging in
certain conduct creating the offense of firearm smuggling;
providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 10, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 46.14 to read as follows:
Sec. 46.14. FIREARM SMUGGLING. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person knowingly:
(1) possesses or transports a firearm knowing that the
firearm was acquired in violation of the laws of any state or of the
United States; or
(2) transfers a firearm to another person knowing that
the firearm was previously acquired in violation of the laws of any
state or of the United States.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree, unless it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
offense was committed with respect to three or more firearms in a
single criminal episode, in which event the offense is a felony of
the second degree.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the punishment
prescribed for an offense under this section is increased to the
punishment prescribed for the next highest category of offense if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor, at the time
of the offense, was engaged in the business of possessing,
transporting, or transferring firearms acquired in violation of the
laws of any state or of the United States. For purposes of this
subsection, a person is considered to have engaged in business if,
on more than one occasion, the person engaged in the applicable
conduct for profit or any other form of remuneration.
(d) This section does not apply to a peace officer who is
engaged in the actual discharge of an official duty.
(e) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this
section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor
may be prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both.
SECTION 2. Section 71.02(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to
establish, maintain, or participate in a combination or in the
profits of a combination or as a member of a criminal street gang,
the person [he] commits or conspires to commit one or more of the
following:
(1) murder, capital murder, arson, aggravated
robbery, robbery, burglary, theft, aggravated kidnapping,
kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual
assault, forgery, deadly conduct, assault punishable as a Class A
misdemeanor, burglary of a motor vehicle, or unauthorized use of a
motor vehicle;
(2) any gambling offense punishable as a Class A
misdemeanor;
(3) promotion of prostitution, aggravated promotion
of prostitution, or compelling prostitution;
(4) unlawful manufacture, transportation, repair, or
sale of firearms or prohibited weapons;
(5) unlawful manufacture, delivery, dispensation, or
distribution of a controlled substance or dangerous drug, or
unlawful possession of a controlled substance or dangerous drug
through forgery, fraud, misrepresentation, or deception;
(6) any unlawful wholesale promotion or possession of
any obscene material or obscene device with the intent to wholesale
promote the same;
(7) any offense under Subchapter B, Chapter 43,
depicting or involving conduct by or directed toward a child
younger than 18 years of age;
(8) any felony offense under Chapter 32;
(9) any offense under Chapter 36;
(10) any offense under Chapter 34 or 35;
(11) any offense under Section 37 11(a);
(12) any offense under Chapter 20A;[or]
(13) any offense under Section 37.10; or
(14) any felony offense under Section 46.06 or 46.14.
SECTION 3. Article 59, Code of Criminal Procedure is
amended by amending Section 59.01, subsection (2), to read as
follows:
(2) "Contraband" means property of any nature,
including real, personal, tangible, or intangible, that is:
(A) used in the commission of:
(i) any first or second degree felony under
the Penal Code;
(ii) any felony under Section 15.031(b),
20.05, 21.11, 38.04, Subchapter B of Chapter 43, or Chapter 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 33A, [or] 35, or 46, Penal Code.
(iii) any felony under The Securities Act
(Article 581-1 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); or
(iv) any offense under Chapter 49, Penal
Code, that is punishable as a felony of the third degree or state
jail felony, if the defendant has been previously convicted three
times of an offense under that chapter;
(B) used or intended to be used in the commission
of:
(i) any felony under Chapter 481, Health
and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act);
(ii) any felony under Chapter 483, Health
and Safety Code;
(iii) a felony under Chapter 153, Finance
Code;
(iv) any felony under Chapter 34 or 46,
Penal Code;
(v) a Class A misdemeanor under Subchapter
B, Chapter 365, Health and Safety Code, if the defendant has been
previously convicted twice of an offense under that subchapter;
(vi) any felony under Chapter 152, Finance
Code;
(vii) any felony under Chapter 32, Human
Resources Code, or Chapter 31, 32, 35A, or 37, Penal Code, that
involves the state Medicaid program;
(viii) a Class B misdemeanor under Section
35.60, Business & Commerce Code; or
(ix) a Class A misdemeanor under Section
35.153, Business & Commerce Code;
(C) the proceeds gained from the commission of a
felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision, a
misdemeanor listed in Paragraph (B)(viii) of this subdivision, or a
crime of violence;
(D) acquired with proceeds gained from the
commission of a felony listed in Paragraph (A) or (B) of this
subdivision, a misdemeanor listed in Paragraph (B)(viii) of this
subdivision, or a crime of violence; or
(E) used to facilitate or intended to be used to
facilitate the commission of a felony under Section 15.031 or
43.25, Penal Code.
SECTION 4. 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 when 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 5. The change in law made by this Act in amending
Article 59.01(2), Code of Criminal Procedure, applies only to the
forfeiture of property in relation to an offense committed on or
after the effective date of this Act. Forfeiture of property in
relation to an offense committed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect when 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 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.