87R6427 AJZ/AJA-D
By: Howard H.B. No. 1948
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the duties of the Department of Public Safety and
licensed firearms dealers with respect to the possession or use of a
suspended or revoked license to carry a handgun.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.1805 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.1805. LIST OF SUSPENDED AND REVOKED LICENSES. (a)
The department shall maintain a current list of license numbers
with respect to each unexpired license to carry a handgun that is
suspended or revoked under this subchapter.
(b) The department shall post the list of license numbers on
the department's Internet website. The department may not include
any information that would otherwise identify the person to whom
the license was issued.
(c) The department shall establish and operate a dedicated
telephone line that enables licensed firearms dealers to call to
verify whether an unexpired license to carry a handgun has been
suspended or revoked, as indicated on the list established by the
department under this section. The telephone line must be
continuously monitored by the department during its regular
business hours.
(d) The department shall remove the number of a suspended
license from the list under this section not later than the fifth
working day after the applicable period of suspension ends.
(e) If a revoked license is reinstated, the department shall
remove the number of that license from the list under this section
not later than the fifth working day after the reinstatement
occurs.
(f) The department shall remove a number of a suspended or
revoked license from the list under this section not later than the
fifth working day after the license's expiration date.
(g) The director may adopt rules to implement this section.
SECTION 2. Chapter 411, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H-1. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FIREARM TRANSFERS
Sec. 411.221. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "License" means a license to carry a handgun
issued under Subchapter H.
(2) "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is
licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
Sec. 411.222. REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN FIREARM TRANSFERS.
(a) A licensed firearms dealer may not sell or otherwise transfer a
firearm to a person who presents an apparently valid unexpired
license as evidence that the person is not prohibited by state or
federal law from possessing a firearm unless the dealer first
verifies that the license is not currently suspended or revoked.
(b) The licensed firearms dealer may verify the status of
the person's license under Subsection (a) either by direct
communication with the department or by referencing the list of
suspended or revoked licenses that is maintained on the
department's Internet website under Section 411.1805.
(c) If the licensed firearms dealer determines under
Subsection (a) that the license is suspended or revoked, the
dealer:
(1) may not consider the fact that the person
previously held a valid license and the fact that the person no
longer holds a valid license in determining whether transferring a
firearm to that person is prohibited by state or federal law; and
(2) not later than the fifth working day after the date
of the determination, shall notify the department that:
(A) during the applicable transaction, the
person presented a license to the dealer in lieu of submitting to
the national instant criminal background check in accordance with
18 U.S.C. Section 922; and
(B) the license was suspended or revoked.
Sec. 411.223. CIVIL LIABILITY. A licensed firearms dealer
who sells or otherwise transfers a firearm in violation of Section
411.222 is liable for damages arising from bodily injury or death
proximately caused by the discharge of the firearm by the person to
whom the firearm was sold or transferred.
SECTION 3. The Department of Public Safety shall establish
the list required under Section 411.1805, Government Code, as added
by this Act, and publish the list on the department's Internet
website not later than January 1, 2022.
SECTION 4. Subchapter H-1, Chapter 411, Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a firearm transfer that occurs on
or after January 1, 2022.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.