Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB666 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
	1	+	89R4207 RDR-D
1	2		By: Hughes S.B. No. 666
2		-	(In the Senate - Filed December 19, 2024; February 3, 2025,
3		-	read first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;
4		-	March 5, 2025, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 11,
5		-	Nays 0; March 5, 2025, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
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9	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	8		AN ACT
11	9		relating to the age at which a person may purchase or possess
12	10		nitrous oxide.
13	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	12		SECTION 1. Section 485.017, Health and Safety Code, is
15	13		amended to read as follows:
16	14		Sec. 485.017. SIGNS. A business establishment that sells
17	15		an abusable volatile chemical at retail shall display a conspicuous
18	16		sign, in English and Spanish, that states the following:
19	17		It is unlawful for a person to sell or deliver an
20	18		abusable volatile chemical to a person under 18 years of age.
21	19		Except in limited situations, such an offense is a state jail
22	20		felony.
23	21		It is unlawful for a person to sell nitrous oxide to a
24	22		person under 21 years of age. Except in limited situations, such an
25	23		offense is a state jail felony.
26	24		It is also unlawful for a person to abuse a volatile
27	25		chemical by inhaling, ingesting, applying, using, or possessing
28	26		with intent to inhale, ingest, apply, or use a volatile chemical in
29	27		a manner designed to affect the central nervous system. Such an
30	28		offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
31	29		SECTION 2. The heading to Section 485.032, Health and
32	30		Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
33	31		Sec. 485.032. PROHIBITED DELIVERY OR SALE [TO A MINOR].
34	32		SECTION 3. Section 485.032, Health and Safety Code, is
35	33		amended by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections
36	34		(c-1) and (c-2) to read as follows:
37	35		(a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly:
38	36		(1) delivers an abusable volatile chemical other than
39	37		nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than 18 years of age;
40	38		(2) delivers nitrous oxide to a person who is younger
41	39		than 18 years of age; or
42	40		(3) sells nitrous oxide to a person who is younger than
43	41		21 years of age.
44	42		(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
45	43		Subsection (a)(1) or (2) [this section] that:
46	44		(1) the person making the delivery is an adult having
47	45		supervisory responsibility over the person younger than 18 years of
48	46		age and:
49	47		(A) the adult permits the use of the abusable
50	48		volatile chemical only under the adult's direct supervision and in
51	49		the adult's presence and only for its intended purpose; and
52	50		(B) the adult removes the chemical from the
53	51		person younger than 18 years of age on completion of that use; or
54	52		(2) the person to whom the abusable volatile chemical
55	53		was delivered presented to the actor [defendant] an apparently
56	54		valid Texas driver's license or an identification certificate,
57	55		issued by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas and
58	56		containing a physical description consistent with the person's
59	57		appearance, that purported to establish that the person was 18
60	58		years of age or older.
61	59		(c-1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
62	60		Subsection (a)(2) or (3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide
63	61		was sold or delivered was using the nitrous oxide in connection with
64	62		a lawful commercial purpose.
65	63		(c-2) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
66	64		Subsection (a)(3) that the person to whom the nitrous oxide was sold
67	65		presented to the actor an apparently valid Texas driver's license
68	66		or an identification certificate, issued by the Department of
69	67		Public Safety of the State of Texas and containing a physical
70	68		description consistent with the person's appearance, that
71	69		purported to establish that the person was 21 years of age or older.
72	70		SECTION 4. Section 485.035, Health and Safety Code, is
73	71		amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
74	72		read as follows:
75	73		(a) A person commits an offense if the person sells an
76	74		abusable volatile chemical, other than nitrous oxide, in violation
77	75		of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is 18 years of age or older.
78	76		(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person sells
79	77		nitrous oxide in violation of Section 485.011 and the purchaser is
80	78		21 years of age or older.
81	79		SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
82	80		Chapter 485, Health and Safety Code, apply only to an offense
83	81		committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For purposes
84	82		of this subsection, an offense is committed before the effective
85	83		date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs before that
86	84		date.
87	85		(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
88	86		Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
89	87		committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
90	88		purpose.
91	89		SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
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