89R892 TSS-F
By: Hayes H.B. No. 259
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prohibition of short-barrel firearms.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 46.05(a) and (d), Penal Code, are
amended 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; or
(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.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section that the actor's conduct:
(1) was incidental to dealing with a [short-barrel
firearm or] tire deflation device solely as an antique or curio;
(2) was incidental to dealing with armor-piercing
ammunition solely for the purpose of making the ammunition
available to an organization, agency, or institution listed in
Subsection (b); or
(3) was incidental to dealing with a tire deflation
device solely for the purpose of making the device available to an
organization, agency, or institution listed in Subsection (b).
SECTION 2. Section 46.01(10), Penal Code, is repealed.
SECTION 3. 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.