89R6410 CJD-D
By: Goodwin H.B. No. 2250
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the criminal 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), (b), and (c), 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:
(A) render a firearm inaccessible or unusable to
any person other than the owner by storing the [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, unloaded, in a locked container that is
properly sealed; or
(B) temporarily render a [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.
(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 property;
[(3)] was gained as a result of any person [by]
entering property in violation of this code; or
(3) [(4)] occurred during a time when the actor was
engaged in an agricultural enterprise.
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 at the time 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, 2025.