88R9475 AJZ-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 1995
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring a licensed firearms dealer to report certain
sales or transfers of multiple semiautomatic rifles to law
enforcement; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 6, Business & Commerce Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 205 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 205. REPORTS OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE TRANSFERS OF
SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 205.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
of the State of Texas.
(2) "Licensed firearms dealer" means a person who is
licensed as a firearms dealer under 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
Sec. 205.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a semiautomatic rifle that:
(1) is capable of accepting a detachable magazine; and
(2) has a caliber greater than .22.
SUBCHAPTER B. REQUIRED REPORTING OF CERTAIN MULTIPLE SALES OR
TRANSFERS OF SEMIAUTOMATIC RIFLES
Sec. 205.051. REPORT BY LICENSED FIREARMS DEALER. (a) This
section applies only to a sale or transfer of two or more
semiautomatic rifles to which this chapter applies made to the same
transferee, other than a licensed firearms dealer, on a single
occasion or on more than one occasion during a period of five
consecutive business days.
(b) A licensed firearms dealer shall report to the
department, in the form and manner prescribed by the department
under Section 205.101, the multiple sales or transfers described by
Subsection (a).
(c) Before completing a sale or transfer of a semiautomatic
rifle to which this chapter applies the licensed firearms dealer
making the sale or transfer shall:
(1) review the items in the current sale or transfer
and any recent previous sales and transfers by the dealer to that
transferee to determine whether the reporting duties of this
subchapter apply to the dealer as a result of that sale or transfer;
and
(2) submit a report, if required, under Subsection
(b).
(d) A report submitted by a licensed firearms dealer to the
department under this section is confidential and not subject to
disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
Sec. 205.052. REPORT TO SHERIFF AND POLICE DEPARTMENT. (a)
Not later than 24 hours after receiving a report from a licensed
firearms dealer under Section 205.051(b), the department shall
transmit the report to:
(1) the sheriff of each county in which the applicable
sales or transfers occurred;
(2) the sheriff of the county in which the transferee
resides;
(3) if any of the applicable sales or transfers
occurred in a municipality, the police department of each
municipality in which the applicable sales or transfers occurred;
and
(4) if the transferee resides in a municipality, the
police department of the municipality in which the transferee
resides.
(b) Information in a report submitted to a county sheriff or
a police department under Subsection (a) is confidential and not
subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
Sec. 205.053. OFFENSE. (a) A licensed firearms dealer who,
with criminal negligence, violates Section 205.051 commits an
offense.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
SUBCHAPTER C. FORMS
Sec. 205.101. FORM FOR SUBMISSION OF FIREARMS DEALER
REPORT. (a) For purposes of the report required by Section
205.051(b), the department shall require a licensed firearms dealer
to use a form prescribed by the department.
(b) The form prescribed under Subsection (a) must:
(1) include:
(A) the dates and locations of the applicable
sales or transfers;
(B) the number of semiautomatic rifles sold or
transferred;
(C) the identity and location of the licensed
firearms dealer, including the locations where each applicable
transfer occurred; and
(D) the identity of the transferee; and
(2) require the licensed firearms dealer to submit a
copy of the identification provided by the transferee for the
purchase.
(c) The department shall post on the department's publicly
accessible Internet website:
(1) the form required by this section; and
(2) instructions for submitting the form and related
documentation, including an e-mail address or electronic portal
that may be used to submit the form and documentation.
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2023, the Department
of Public Safety shall develop the form for reporting multiple
semiautomatic rifle sales, as required by Section 205.101, Business &
Commerce Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to the sale or transfer of a semiautomatic rifle that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act. A sale or transfer of a
semiautomatic rifle that occurs before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.