89R5837 JSC-D
By: West S.B. No. 808
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the criminal offense of the
possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of a machine
gun or a machine gun conversion device.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 46.01, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (9) and adding Subdivision (21) to read as
follows:
(9) "Machine gun" means any firearm that is capable of
shooting more than one shot [two shots] automatically, without
manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
(21) "Machine gun conversion device" means any part or
combination of parts intended to make a firearm capable of shooting
more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a
single function of the trigger.
SECTION 2. Section 46.05, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (h) 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;
(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; or
(7) a machine gun conversion device.
(h) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
section for the possession of a machine gun conversion device that
the item is:
(1) 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
(2) classified as a curio or relic by the United States
Department of Justice.
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.