| 1 | 1 | | 89R6410 CJD-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Goodwin H.B. No. 2250 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to the criminal offense of making a firearm accessible to a |
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| 10 | 10 | | child. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Sections 46.13(a), (b), and (c), Penal Code, are |
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| 13 | 13 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (a) In this section: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) "Child" means a person younger than 18 [17] years |
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| 16 | 16 | | of age. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) ["Readily dischargeable firearm" means a firearm |
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| 18 | 18 | | that is loaded with ammunition, whether or not a round is in the |
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| 19 | 19 | | chamber. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [(3)] "Secure" means to: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) render a firearm inaccessible or unusable to |
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| 22 | 22 | | any person other than the owner by storing the [take steps that a |
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| 23 | 23 | | reasonable person would take to prevent the access to a readily |
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| 24 | 24 | | dischargeable firearm by a child, including but not limited to |
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| 25 | 25 | | placing a] firearm, unloaded, in a locked container that is |
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| 26 | 26 | | properly sealed; or |
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| 27 | 27 | | (B) temporarily render a [rendering the] firearm |
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| 28 | 28 | | inoperable by a trigger lock or other means. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) A person commits an offense if a child gains access to a |
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| 30 | 30 | | [readily dischargeable] firearm and the person with criminal |
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| 31 | 31 | | negligence: |
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| 32 | 32 | | (1) failed to secure the firearm; or |
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| 33 | 33 | | (2) left the firearm in a place to which the person |
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| 34 | 34 | | knew or should have known the child would gain access. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this |
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| 36 | 36 | | section that the child's access to the firearm: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) was supervised by a person older than 18 years of |
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| 38 | 38 | | age and was for hunting, sporting, or other lawful purposes; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) [consisted of lawful defense by the child of |
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| 40 | 40 | | people or property; |
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| 41 | 41 | | [(3)] was gained as a result of any person [by] |
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| 42 | 42 | | entering property in violation of this code; or |
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| 43 | 43 | | (3) [(4)] occurred during a time when the actor was |
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| 44 | 44 | | engaged in an agricultural enterprise. |
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| 45 | 45 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 46 | 46 | | to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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| 47 | 47 | | An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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| 48 | 48 | | governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, |
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| 49 | 49 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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| 50 | 50 | | purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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| 51 | 51 | | effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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| 52 | 52 | | before that date. |
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| 53 | 53 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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