88R7841 SHH-D
By: West S.B. No. 682
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of the
possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of certain
devices intended to modify firearms.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.05, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsections (e-1) and
(e-2) to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
or knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or
sells:
(1) any of the following items, unless the item is
registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer
Record maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives or otherwise not subject to that registration
requirement or unless the item is classified as a curio or relic by
the United States Department of Justice:
(A) an explosive weapon;
(B) a machine gun; or
(C) a short-barrel firearm;
(2) armor-piercing ammunition;
(3) a chemical dispensing device;
(4) a zip gun;
(5) a tire deflation device; [or]
(6) an improvised explosive device; or
(7) a device that is designed and intended to:
(A) make a handgun capable of automatically
shooting more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single
function of the trigger; or
(B) increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic
rifle but that does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a
machine gun.
(e) Except as [otherwise] provided by Subsections (e-1) and
(e-2) [this subsection], an offense under this section is a felony
of the third degree.
(e-1) An offense under Subsection (a)(5) is a state jail
felony.
(e-2) An offense under Subsection (a)(7) is a state jail
felony, except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if
it is shown on the trial of the offense that the defendant has been
previously convicted of an offense under that subdivision.
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.