Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1657 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R2559 AJZ-D
2	2	By: Gutierrez, et al. S.B. No. 1657
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to prohibiting the transfer of certain semiautomatic
10	10	rifles to certain recipients; creating a criminal offense;
11	11	increasing a criminal penalty.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 46.06, Penal Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (c-1)
15	15	to read as follows:
16	16	(a) A person commits an offense if the person:
17	17	(1) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
18	18	any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
19	19	delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
20	20	unlawful act;
21	21	(2) intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
22	22	or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give:
23	23	(A) to a [any] child younger than 18 years of age
24	24	a [any firearm,] club, [or] location-restricted knife, or firearm
25	25	other than a semiautomatic rifle described by Paragraph (B); or
26	26	(B) to a person younger than 21 years of age a
27	27	semiautomatic rifle that is capable of accepting a detachable
28	28	magazine and that has a caliber greater than .22;
29	29	(3) intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
30	30	firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
31	31	intoxicated;
32	32	(4) knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
33	33	firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
34	34	fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
35	35	(A) the person's release from confinement
36	36	following conviction of the felony; or
37	37	(B) the person's release from supervision under
38	38	community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
39	39	conviction of the felony;
40	40	(5) sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
41	41	any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
42	42	the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;
43	43	(6) knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
44	44	a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
45	45	order is directed to the actor; or
46	46	(7) while prohibited from possessing a firearm under
47	47	state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on
48	48	a form that is:
49	49	(A) required by state or federal law for the
50	50	purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and
51	51	(B) submitted to a firearms dealer licensed under
52	52	18 U.S.C. Section 923.
53	53	(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
54	54	Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] that the transfer was to a minor
55	55	whose parent or the person having legal custody of the minor had
56	56	given written permission for the sale or, if the transfer was other
57	57	than a sale, the parent or person having legal custody had given
58	58	effective consent.
59	59	(c-1) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
60	60	(a)(2)(B) that:
61	61	(1) the semiautomatic rifle is transferred to a
62	62	recipient who:
63	63	(A) is a peace officer; or
64	64	(B) is currently serving in or has been honorably
65	65	discharged from the United States armed forces; or
66	66	(2) the transfer of the semiautomatic rifle is a
67	67	temporary loan to a person who is to carry or use the semiautomatic
68	68	rifle only:
69	69	(A) while in the presence of the transferor;
70	70	(B) while on property owned or leased by the
71	71	transferor;
72	72	(C) on the premises of a sport shooting range, as
73	73	defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, and solely for
74	74	the purpose of shooting targets at the range; or
75	75	(D) at a lawful competition involving the use of
76	76	a firearm.
77	77	(d) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
78	78	except that:
79	79	(1) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] is
80	80	a state jail felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense
81	81	is a handgun; and
82	82	(2) an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(B) or (a)(7) is
83	83	a state jail felony.
84	84	SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
85	85	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
86	86	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
87	87	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
88	88	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
89	89	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
90	90	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
91	91	before that date.
92	92	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.