Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2275 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R10179 AJZ-D
2	2	By: Anchía H.B. No. 2275
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the unlawful carrying, acquisition, purchase, and
8	8	transfer of certain weapons; creating a criminal offense;
9	9	increasing a criminal penalty.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 46.02(a-4), Penal Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a-4) A person commits an offense if the person:
14	14	(1) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries
15	15	on or about his or her person a location-restricted knife;
16	16	(2) is younger than 21 [18] years of age at the time of
17	17	the offense; and
18	18	(3) is not:
19	19	(A) on the person's own premises or premises
20	20	under the person's control;
21	21	(B) inside of or directly en route to a motor
22	22	vehicle or watercraft that is owned by the person or under the
23	23	person's control; or
24	24	(C) under the direct supervision of a parent or
25	25	legal guardian of the person.
26	26	SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Penal Code, is amended by adding
27	27	Section 46.055 to read as follows:
28	28	Sec. 46.055. UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OR ACQUISITION OF ASSAULT
29	29	WEAPON. (a) In this section, "assault weapon" means:
30	30	(1) a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that has the
31	31	capacity to accept a detachable magazine and has:
32	32	(A) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously
33	33	beneath the action of the firearm;
34	34	(B) a folding or telescoping stock;
35	35	(C) a thumbhole stock;
36	36	(D) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that
37	37	can be held by the non-trigger hand;
38	38	(E) a flash suppressor; or
39	39	(F) a grenade launcher or flare launcher;
40	40	(2) a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that has a fixed
41	41	magazine that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition;
42	42	(3) a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that has an
43	43	overall length of less than 30 inches;
44	44	(4) a semiautomatic shotgun that has the capacity to
45	45	accept a detachable magazine;
46	46	(5) a semiautomatic shotgun that has a folding or
47	47	telescoping stock and has:
48	48	(A) a thumbhole stock; or
49	49	(B) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that
50	50	can be held by the non-trigger hand;
51	51	(6) a semiautomatic pistol that has the capacity to
52	52	accept a detachable magazine and has:
53	53	(A) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that
54	54	can be held by the non-trigger hand;
55	55	(B) an ammunition magazine that attaches to the
56	56	pistol outside of the pistol grip;
57	57	(C) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a
58	58	flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer; or
59	59	(D) a shroud that is attached to or partially or
60	60	completely encircles the barrel and that permits the shooter to
61	61	hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned;
62	62	(7) a semiautomatic pistol that has a fixed magazine
63	63	that holds more than 10 rounds of ammunition;
64	64	(8) a revolving cylinder shotgun; or
65	65	(9) a conversion kit, part, or combination of parts
66	66	from which an assault weapon can be assembled or with which a
67	67	firearm may be converted into a weapon described by Subdivision
68	68	(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or (8).
69	69	(b) A person who is younger than 21 years of age commits an
70	70	offense if the person knowingly:
71	71	(1) possesses an assault weapon; or
72	72	(2) purchases or otherwise acquires an assault weapon.
73	73	(c) It is an exception to the application of this section
74	74	that the assault weapon is necessary for the actual discharge of the
75	75	person's official duties as:
76	76	(1) a member of the armed forces or state military
77	77	forces, as defined by Section 437.001, Government Code; or
78	78	(2) a law enforcement officer.
79	79	(d) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(1)
80	80	that the actor lawfully possessed the assault weapon on August 31,
81	81	2023.
82	82	(e) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
83	83	degree.
84	84	SECTION 3. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by
85	85	amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) to
86	86	read as follows:
87	87	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
88	88	(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
89	89	any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
90	90	delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
91	91	unlawful act;
92	92	(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
93	93	or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any person
94	94	[child] younger than 21 [18] years of age any firearm, club, or
95	95	location-restricted knife;
96	96	(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
97	97	firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
98	98	intoxicated;
99	99	(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
100	100	firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
101	101	fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
102	102	(A) the person's release from confinement
103	103	following conviction of the felony; or
104	104	(B) the person's release from supervision under
105	105	community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
106	106	conviction of the felony;
107	107	(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
108	108	any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
109	109	the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;
110	110	(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
111	111	a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
112	112	order is directed to the actor; or
113	113	(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under
114	114	state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on
115	115	a form that is:
116	116	(A) required by state or federal law for the
117	117	purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and
118	118	(B) submitted to a [licensed] firearms dealer
119	119	licensed under[, as defined by] 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
120	120	(c-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
121	121	(a)(2) that the weapon is necessary for the actual discharge of the
122	122	recipient's official duties as:
123	123	(1) a member of the armed forces or state military
124	124	forces, as defined by Section 437.001, Government Code; or
125	125	(2) a law enforcement officer.
126	126	(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
127	127	except that:
128	128	(1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a state jail
129	129	felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense is a
130	130	handgun; [and]
131	131	(2) an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of
132	132	the third degree if the weapon that is the subject of the offense is
133	133	an assault weapon; and
134	134	(3) an offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a state jail
135	135	felony.
136	136	SECTION 4. Section 46.06(b), Penal Code, is amended by
137	137	adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
138	138	(3) "Assault weapon" has the meaning assigned by
139	139	Section 46.055.
140	140	SECTION 5. Section 46.06(c), Penal Code, is repealed.
141	141	SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only
142	142	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
143	143	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
144	144	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
145	145	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
146	146	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
147	147	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
148	148	before that date.
149	149	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.