By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 2454
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 24, 2023;
April 24, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on State
Affairs; May 3, 2023, rereferred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
May 12, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 12, 2023,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2454 By: Huffman
COMMITTEE VOTE
YeaNayAbsentPNV
WhitmireX
FloresX
BettencourtX
HinojosaX
HuffmanX
KingX
MilesX
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the unlawful acquisition of certain weapons; creating a
criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 46.06, Penal Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 46.06. UNLAWFUL TRANSFER OR ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN
WEAPONS.
SECTION 2. Sections 46.06(a) and (d), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
unlawful act;
(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give to any child
younger than 18 years of age any firearm, club, or
location-restricted knife;
(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
intoxicated;
(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
(A) the person's release from confinement
following conviction of the felony; or
(B) the person's release from supervision under
community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
conviction of the felony;
(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;
(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
order is directed to the actor; [or]
(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under
state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on
a form that is:
(A) required by state or federal law for the
purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and
(B) submitted to a [licensed] firearms dealer
licensed under[, as defined by] 18 U.S.C. Section 923; or
(8) acquires a firearm with intent to deliver the
firearm to a person knowing that the person to whom the firearm is
to be delivered is prohibited from possessing the firearm by state
or federal law.
(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
except that:
(1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a state jail
felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense is a
handgun; and
(2) an offense under Subsection (a)(7) or (8) is a
state jail felony.
SECTION 3. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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