By: Hinojosa H.B. No. 4887
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to gun storage and safety measures; creating a criminal
offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 46.13(b), (c), (d), and (g), Penal
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) A person commits an offense if:
(1) [a child gains access to a readily dischargeable
firearm and] the person, with criminal negligence:
(A) fails [(1) failed] to secure a readily
dischargeable [the] firearm; or
(B) leaves a readily dischargeable [(2) left the]
firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known a
[the] child would gain access; and
(2) a child gains access to the firearm and:
(A) brings the firearm:
(i) in or on any real property owned by or
rented or leased to a school, school board, or other governing body
of a school; or
(ii) on a school bus; or
(B) discharges the firearm causing death or
serious bodily injury to the child or another person.
(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the child's access to the firearm:
(1) was supervised by a person older than 18 years of
age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes;
(2) consisted of lawful defense by the child of people
or real or personal property;
(3) was gained by entering real or personal property,
including a vehicle, in violation of this code; or
(4) occurred during a time when the actor was engaged
in an agricultural enterprise
(d) An [Except as provided by Subsection (c), an] offense
under this section is a Class A [C] misdemeanor except that an
offense described by Subsection (b) (2) (B) is a felony of the third
degree.
(g) A dealer of firearms shall post in a conspicuous
position on the premises where the dealer conducts business a sign
that contains the following warning in block letters not less than
one inch in height:
"IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE, TRANSPORT, OR ABANDON AN UNSECURED
FIREARM IN A PLACE WHERE CHILDREN ARE LIKELY TO BE AND CAN OBTAIN
ACCESS TO THE FIREARM. VIOLATION MAY RESULT IN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL
LIABILITY."
SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 46.16 to read as follows:
Sec. 46.16. FAILURE TO REPORT STOLEN FIREARM. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person:
(1) owns a firearm that is subsequently stolen from
the person; and
(2) fails to report the theft to a peace officer or law
enforcement agency on or before the 10th day after the date the
person became aware the firearm was stolen.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both
sections.
SECTION 3. Section 46.13(e), Penal Code, is repealed.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this article to
Section 46.13, Penal Code, apply 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.