By: A. Johnson of Harris H.B. No. 4364
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to prohibiting certain sales and purchases of firearms;
creating criminal offenses; providing a civil penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1) 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;
(2-a) knowingly sells a firearm to a person 18 years of
age or older but younger than 21 years of age;
(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, as
defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
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
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
(c-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(2-a) that the firearm is sold to a person who holds a license to
carry a handgun issued under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government
Code.
(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)(2-a) is a felony
of the third degree; and
(3) an offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a state jail
felony.
SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 46.065 to read as follows:
Sec. 46.065. UNLAWFUL PURCHASE OF FIREARM. (a) A person
who is 18 years of age or older but younger than 21 years of age
commits an offense if the person knowingly purchases a firearm.
(b) It is an exception to the application of Subsection (a)
that the person holds a license to carry a handgun issued under
Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code.
(c) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third
degree.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.