Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4887 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Hinojosa H.B. No. 4887
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to gun storage and safety measures; creating a criminal
7	7	offense; increasing a criminal penalty.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sections 46.13(b), (c), (d), and (g), Penal
10	10	Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(b) A person commits an offense if:
12	12	(1) [a child gains access to a readily dischargeable
13	13	firearm and] the person, with criminal negligence:
14	14	(A) fails [(1) failed] to secure a readily
15	15	dischargeable [the] firearm; or
16	16	(B) leaves a readily dischargeable [(2) left the]
17	17	firearm in a place to which the person knew or should have known a
18	18	[the] child would gain access; and
19	19	(2) a child gains access to the firearm and:
20	20	(A) brings the firearm:
21	21	(i) in or on any real property owned by or
22	22	rented or leased to a school, school board, or other governing body
23	23	of a school; or
24	24	(ii) on a school bus; or
25	25	(B) discharges the firearm causing death or
26	26	serious bodily injury to the child or another person.
27	27	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
28	28	section that the child's access to the firearm:
29	29	(1) was supervised by a person older than 18 years of
30	30	age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes;
31	31	(2) consisted of lawful defense by the child of people
32	32	or real or personal property;
33	33	(3) was gained by entering real or personal property,
34	34	including a vehicle, in violation of this code; or
35	35	(4) occurred during a time when the actor was engaged
36	36	in an agricultural enterprise
37	37	(d) An [Except as provided by Subsection (c), an] offense
38	38	under this section is a Class A [C] misdemeanor except that an
39	39	offense described by Subsection (b) (2) (B) is a felony of the third
40	40	degree.
41	41	(g) A dealer of firearms shall post in a conspicuous
42	42	position on the premises where the dealer conducts business a sign
43	43	that contains the following warning in block letters not less than
44	44	one inch in height:
45	45	"IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE, TRANSPORT, OR ABANDON AN UNSECURED
46	46	FIREARM IN A PLACE WHERE CHILDREN ARE LIKELY TO BE AND CAN OBTAIN
47	47	ACCESS TO THE FIREARM. VIOLATION MAY RESULT IN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL
48	48	LIABILITY."
49	49	SECTION 2. Chapter 46, Penal Code, is amended by adding
50	50	Section 46.16 to read as follows:
51	51	Sec. 46.16. FAILURE TO REPORT STOLEN FIREARM. (a) A person
52	52	commits an offense if the person:
53	53	(1) owns a firearm that is subsequently stolen from
54	54	the person; and
55	55	(2) fails to report the theft to a peace officer or law
56	56	enforcement agency on or before the 10th day after the date the
57	57	person became aware the firearm was stolen.
58	58	(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
59	59	(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section
60	60	also constitutes an offense under another section of this code, the
61	61	actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both
62	62	sections.
63	63	SECTION 3. Section 46.13(e), Penal Code, is repealed.
64	64	SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this article to
65	65	Section 46.13, Penal Code, apply only to an offense committed on or
66	66	after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before
67	67	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
68	68	the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued
69	69	in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an
70	70	offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any
71	71	element of the offense occurred before that date.
72	72	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.