By: Reynolds H.B. No. 23
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to prohibiting the transfer of semiautomatic rifles to
  certain recipients; increasing a criminal penalty.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 46.06(a), (c), and (d), Penal Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person commits an offense if the person:
               (1)  sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
  any person knowing that the person to whom the handgun is to be
  delivered intends to use it unlawfully or in the commission of an
  unlawful act;
               (2)  intentionally or knowingly sells, rents, leases,
  or gives or offers to sell, rent, lease, or give:
                     (A)  to a [any] child younger than 18 years of age
  a [any firearm,] club, [or] location-restricted knife, or firearm
  other than a semiautomatic rifle; or
                     (B)  to a person younger than 21 years of age a
  semiautomatic rifle;
               (3)  intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly sells a
  firearm or ammunition for a firearm to any person who is
  intoxicated;
               (4)  knowingly sells a firearm or ammunition for a
  firearm to any person who has been convicted of a felony before the
  fifth anniversary of the later of the following dates:
                     (A)  the person's release from confinement
  following conviction of the felony; or
                     (B)  the person's release from supervision under
  community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision following
  conviction of the felony;
               (5)  sells, rents, leases, loans, or gives a handgun to
  any person knowing that an active protective order is directed to
  the person to whom the handgun is to be delivered;
               (6)  knowingly purchases, rents, leases, or receives as
  a loan or gift from another a handgun while an active protective
  order is directed to the actor; or
               (7)  while prohibited from possessing a firearm under
  state or federal law, knowingly makes a material false statement on
  a form that is:
                     (A)  required by state or federal law for the
  purchase, sale, or other transfer of a firearm; and
                     (B)  submitted to a [licensed] firearms dealer
  licensed under[, as defined by] 18 U.S.C. Section 923.
         (c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under
  Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] that the transfer was to a minor
  whose parent or the person having legal custody of the minor had
  given written permission for the sale or, if the transfer was other
  than a sale, the parent or person having legal custody had given
  effective consent.
         (d)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor,
  except that:
               (1)  an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(A) [(a)(2)] is
  a state jail felony if the weapon that is the subject of the offense
  is a handgun; and
               (2)  an offense under Subsection (a)(2)(B) or (a)(7) is
  a state jail felony.
         SECTION 2.  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 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.