| 1 | 1 | | 88R3678 SHH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Moody H.B. No. 1399 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the prosecution of the offense of making a firearm |
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| 8 | 8 | | accessible to a child; increasing a criminal penalty. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 46.13(a)(1), Penal Code, is amended to |
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| 11 | 11 | | read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 [17] years |
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| 13 | 13 | | of age. |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 2. Section 46.13, Penal Code, is amended by |
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| 15 | 15 | | amending Subsections (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections (c-1) |
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| 16 | 16 | | and (e-1) to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this |
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| 18 | 18 | | section that the child's access to the firearm: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) [was supervised by a person older than 18 years of |
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| 20 | 20 | | age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes; |
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| 21 | 21 | | [(2)] consisted of lawful defense by the child of |
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| 22 | 22 | | people or property; |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) [(3)] was gained by entering property in violation |
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| 24 | 24 | | of this code; or |
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| 25 | 25 | | (3) [(4)] occurred during a time when the actor was |
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| 26 | 26 | | engaged in an agricultural enterprise. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c-1) It is an exception to the application of this section |
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| 28 | 28 | | that the child's access to the firearm was: |
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| 29 | 29 | | (1) authorized by the child's parent or guardian; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | (2) for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (d) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and |
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| 32 | 32 | | (e-1), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. |
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| 33 | 33 | | (e) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor |
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| 34 | 34 | | if the child discharges the firearm and causes death or serious |
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| 35 | 35 | | bodily injury to the child [himself] or another person who resides |
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| 36 | 36 | | with the child. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (e-1) An offense under this section is a felony of the third |
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| 38 | 38 | | degree if the child discharges the firearm and causes death or |
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| 39 | 39 | | serious bodily injury to another person who does not reside with the |
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| 40 | 40 | | child. |
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| 41 | 41 | | SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 42 | 42 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 43 | 43 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 44 | 44 | | governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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| 45 | 45 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 46 | 46 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 47 | 47 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 48 | 48 | | before that date. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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