Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1995 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R9475 AJZ-D
2	2	By: Goodwin H.B. No. 1995
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requiring a licensed firearms dealer to report certain
8	8	sales or transfers of multiple semiautomatic rifles to law
9	9	enforcement; creating a criminal offense.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 205. REPORTS OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE TRANSFERS OF
14	14	SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
15	15	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
16	16	Sec. 205.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
17	17	(1) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
18	18	of the State of Texas.
19	19	(2) "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is
20	20	licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
21	21	Sec. 205.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
22	22	a semiautomatic rifle that:
23	23	(1) is capable of accepting a detachable magazine; and
24	24	(2) has a caliber greater than .22.
25	25	SUBCHAPTER B. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE SALES OR
26	26	TRANSFERS OF SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
27	27	Sec. 205.051. REPORT BY LICENSED FIREARMS DEALER. (a) This
28	28	section applies only to a sale or transfer of two or more
29	29	semiautomatic rifles to which this chapter applies made to the same
30	30	transferee, other than a licensed firearms dealer, on a single
31	31	occasion or on more than one occasion during a period of five
32	32	consecutive business days.
33	33	(b) A licensed firearms dealer shall report to the
34	34	department, in the form and manner prescribed by the department
35	35	under Section 205.101, the multiple sales or transfers described by
36	36	Subsection (a).
37	37	(c) Before completing a sale or transfer of a semiautomatic
38	38	rifle to which this chapter applies the licensed firearms dealer
39	39	making the sale or transfer shall:
40	40	(1) review the items in the current sale or transfer
41	41	and any recent previous sales and transfers by the dealer to that
42	42	transferee to determine whether the reporting duties of this
43	43	subchapter apply to the dealer as a result of that sale or transfer;
44	44	and
45	45	(2) submit a report, if required, under Subsection
46	46	(b).
47	47	(d) A report submitted by a licensed firearms dealer to the
48	48	department under this section is confidential and not subject to
49	49	disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
50	50	Sec. 205.052. REPORT TO SHERIFF AND POLICE DEPARTMENT. (a)
51	51	Not later than 24 hours after receiving a report from a licensed
52	52	firearms dealer under Section 205.051(b), the department shall
53	53	transmit the report to:
54	54	(1) the sheriff of each county in which the applicable
55	55	sales or transfers occurred;
56	56	(2) the sheriff of the county in which the transferee
57	57	resides;
58	58	(3) if any of the applicable sales or transfers
59	59	occurred in a municipality, the police department of each
60	60	municipality in which the applicable sales or transfers occurred;
61	61	and
62	62	(4) if the transferee resides in a municipality, the
63	63	police department of the municipality in which the transferee
64	64	resides.
65	65	(b) Information in a report submitted to a county sheriff or
66	66	a police department under Subsection (a) is confidential and not
67	67	subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
68	68	Sec. 205.053. OFFENSE. (a) A licensed firearms dealer who,
69	69	with criminal negligence, violates Section 205.051 commits an
70	70	offense.
71	71	(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
72	72	SUBCHAPTER C. FORMS
73	73	Sec. 205.101. FORM FOR SUBMISSION OF FIREARMS DEALER
74	74	REPORT. (a) For purposes of the report required by Section
75	75	205.051(b), the department shall require a licensed firearms dealer
76	76	to use a form prescribed by the department.
77	77	(b) The form prescribed under Subsection (a) must:
78	78	(1) include:
79	79	(A) the dates and locations of the applicable
80	80	sales or transfers;
81	81	(B) the number of semiautomatic rifles sold or
82	82	transferred;
83	83	(C) the identity and location of the licensed
84	84	firearms dealer, including the locations where each applicable
85	85	transfer occurred; and
86	86	(D) the identity of the transferee; and
87	87	(2) require the licensed firearms dealer to submit a
88	88	copy of the identification provided by the transferee for the
89	89	purchase.
90	90	(c) The department shall post on the department's publicly
91	91	accessible Internet website:
92	92	(1) the form required by this section; and
93	93	(2) instructions for submitting the form and related
94	94	documentation, including an e-mail address or electronic portal
95	95	that may be used to submit the form and documentation.
96	96	SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2023, the Department
97	97	of Public Safety shall develop the form for reporting multiple
98	98	semiautomatic rifle sales, as required by Section 205.101, Business &
99	99	Commerce Code, as added by this Act.
100	100	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
101	101	to the sale or transfer of a semiautomatic rifle that occurs on or
102	102	after the effective date of this Act. A sale or transfer of a
103	103	semiautomatic rifle that occurs before the effective date of this
104	104	Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
105	105	effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
106	106	that purpose.
107	107	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.