85R1754 KKR-D
By: West S.B. No. 337
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the age at which a person may purchase aerosol paint.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 485.017, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 485.017. SIGNS. A business establishment that sells
an abusable volatile chemical at retail shall display a conspicuous
sign, in English and Spanish, that states the following:
It is unlawful for a person to sell or deliver an
abusable volatile chemical, other than aerosol paint,
to a person under 18 years of age. Except in limited
situations, such an offense is a state jail felony.
It is unlawful for a person to sell or deliver
aerosol paint to a person under 21 years of age. Except
in limited situations, such an offense is a state jail
felony.
It is also unlawful for a person to abuse a
volatile chemical by inhaling, ingesting, applying,
using, or possessing with intent to inhale, ingest,
apply, or use a volatile chemical in a manner designed
to affect the central nervous system. Such an offense
is a Class B misdemeanor.
SECTION 2. Section 485.019(b), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) This section does not apply to a business establishment
that has in place a computerized checkout system at the point of
sale for merchandise that alerts the cashier that a person
purchasing aerosol paint must be over 21 [18] years of age.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 485.032, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 485.032. PROHIBITED DELIVERY [TO A MINOR].
SECTION 4. Section 485.032, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections
(a-1) and (c-1) to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
delivers an abusable volatile chemical, other than aerosol paint,
to a person who is younger than 18 years of age.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly
delivers aerosol paint to a person who is younger than 21 years of
age.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (a) [this section] that:
(1) the actor [person making the delivery] is at least
18 years of age and has [an adult having] supervisory
responsibility over the person younger than 18 years of age and:
(A) the actor [adult] permits the use of the
abusable volatile chemical only under the actor's [adult's] direct
supervision and in the actor's [adult's] presence and only for its
intended purpose; and
(B) the actor [adult] removes the chemical from
the person younger than 18 years of age on completion of that use;
or
(2) the person to whom the abusable volatile chemical
was delivered presented to the actor [defendant] an apparently
valid Texas driver's license or an identification certificate,
issued by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas and
containing a physical description consistent with the person's
appearance, that purported to establish that the person was 18
years of age or older.
(c-1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
Subsection (a-1) that:
(1) the actor is at least 21 years of age and has
supervisory responsibility over the person younger than 21 years of
age and:
(A) the actor permits the use of the aerosol
paint only under the actor's direct supervision and in the actor's
presence and only for its intended purpose; and
(B) the actor removes the aerosol paint from the
person younger than 21 years of age on completion of that use; or
(2) the person to whom the aerosol paint was delivered
presented to the actor an apparently valid Texas driver's license
or an identification certificate, issued by the Department of
Public Safety of the State of Texas and containing a physical
description consistent with the person's appearance, that
purported to establish that the person was 21 years of age or older.
SECTION 5. Section 485.035, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person sells an
abusable volatile chemical, other than aerosol paint, in violation
of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is 18 years of age or older.
(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person sells
aerosol paint in violation of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is
21 years of age or older.
SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Chapter 485, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
of this subsection, an offense is committed before the effective
date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that
date.
(b) 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.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.