88R1952 DIO-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 253
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of making a firearm
accessible to a child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 46.13(a) and (b), Penal Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 [17] years
of age.
(2) ["Readily dischargeable firearm" means a firearm
that is loaded with ammunition, whether or not a round is in the
chamber.
[(3)] "Secure" means to take steps that a reasonable
person would take to prevent the access to a [readily
dischargeable] firearm by a child, including [but not limited to]
placing a firearm in a locked container or temporarily rendering
the firearm inoperable by a trigger lock or other means.
(b) A person commits an offense if a child gains access to a
[readily dischargeable] firearm and the person with criminal
negligence:
(1) failed to secure the firearm; or
(2) left the firearm in a place to which the person
knew or should have known the child would gain access.
SECTION 2. 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 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.